A Bargain Pub Lunch

Last Thursday I made a short business trip to Bristol. We required an additional analytical balance for our Quality Control Laboratory, so I drove down with a colleague to view a nearly new unit that had been advertised by a well-known vendor of second-hand laboratory equipment. We have bought several items in the past from this company, so know the products they sell are of good quality. It was therefore worth the three hour drive each way to Bristol and back in order to view, and as it turned out, purchase the balance.

Once the business had been concluded we decided that a spot of lunch was in order. There was a large pub just down the road. We had eaten there on a previous occasion and remembered that whilst it was a bit on the basic side, it offered good value for money. This proved to be double the case on this visit, as a sign at the entrance informed us that the pub was offering lunches for just £2.00 a head!

The menu, like the pub, was pretty basic - chips with everything, including the curry! I chose cod, chips and peas, whilst my colleague settled for ham, egg and chips. There was one cask ale on tap; Gem Bitter from Bath Ales. The ale was in good nick and the food was well presented. The portions weren't gargantuan, but for £2.00 a time we weren't complaining. and at these prices it was the best value I've come across in a long time. Not all the tables were full. but a good proportion of them were, with a good mix of people enjoying the excellent value food. My colleague and I were wondering how the pub's management could offer cooked meals for less than the price of most sandwiches? Is this he way forward we wondered? I know of at least one local pub in Tonbridge that does lunchtime meals for £2.99, so perhaps the idea is catching on.

The pub offering the £2.00 meals was the Chequers, in the Kingswood district of Bristol. Check it out if you are ever in the area.