Nothing says Christmas better than the arrival of Cadbury’s Creme Eggs in the shops…..
They’re 50 in 2021….
Category: Food and Drink
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Brewdog – Desk Dog
And an interesting update that I hadn’t noticed to Brewdog’s Desk Dog scheme that I tried in Liverpool.
The scheme is still operating as usual (or will be when pubs re-open), which is unlimited coffee, wi-fi, power points where possible and a pint of Punk IPA for £7 per day.
But, there’s now a monthly pass available for £70, so you could get a pint per day, unlimited coffee between 12:00 and 16:00 and so on for what I’d say is a bargain rate. And you can shift between all the Brewdogs as well. Unless you’re in Swansea or Bradford, as they don’t take part.
What a lovely idea.
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The Fork – I Give Up
And another of my random moans…. As I posted a couple of weeks ago, it transpired that it was TheFork (linked to TripAdvisor) who were behind a situation where single diners were barred from receiving discounts at scores of restaurants in London and around the country. The restaurants I contacted knew nothing of this and TheFork were adamant that it was the restaurants who had imposed this restriction, it was just groups of 2 to 6 that they wanted. Which is fine, if that was the case.
I think it’s fair to say that The Fork weren’t perhaps truthful in blaming the restaurants and I have asked for clarification from their press office, who haven’t been able to provide any. I think it’s clear why. I wasn’t actually too bothered about that, I was just hoping that in the next iteration of their special offers that they’d include single diners in the same way as OpenTable does. Partly this was selfish, half of my visits using TheFork are on my own, and I was collecting their Yums. But, partly, restaurants and pubs are doing some great work at the moment on allowing individuals who are lonely, disconnected or wanting company to get out and receive great value. This is marvellous and is a useful contribution to the community which a restaurant or pub serves. It’s not really about the money though, if a restaurant says “single diners aren’t welcome to a discount”, it sends a message.
Given all that, I did think that it might just be a little oversight that TheFork could consider fixing for next time they had a promotion. I thought that’d be nice. But, it seems not, or at least, the press office won’t tell me. I imagine it’s just easier to blame restaurants and damage their reputation. I did wonder whether any restaurant would actually care about this, but the ones who replied absolutely did and were encouraging single diners. As a diner, there’s no way I’d trust TheFork to be honest about matters, so good luck to any restaurant who signs up with them.
Not that TheFork have much choice in Norwich, my nearest restaurant is Bella Italia where apparently, according to TheFork’s app, the average meal costs £108 (the average main is actually about £10). It is a bizarre level of contempt being shown to restaurants here, but there we go. Normally a company’s press office responds with some level of interest, as although I’m not the Washington Post and this page will unlikely get more than around 2,000 views, it’s nice that there’s some engagement and thought provided. So, despite wittering on about this, there are more pressing things even for me to worry about in the world and I shall use OpenTable instead in the future.
For anyone who wants to read some reviews of how they’re getting on, there are some at https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/thefork.com.
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London – Kensington and Chelsea (Borough of) – Earl’s Court Pret Update
As an update to the situation at Pret Earl’s Court….. There’s now a gap in the display above the counter where the pumpkin spiced latte poster was, it has been removed. I was humoured though that the two people in front of me in the queue still tried to order the drink.
This is about the most excitement that I get at the moment given the Government’s announcement….
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It Wasn’t Hard Rock – It Was The Fork
I muttered and moaned a couple of weeks ago about how the Hard Rock Cafe wasn’t offering a promotion to sole diners. In these times when it’s nice to welcome single diners to restaurants, whether they’re key workers, lonely, unable to go with friends due to tier restrictions, it seems unclear why all group sizes were entitled to 50% off food unless they went alone.
To be fair, I had contacted the Hard Rock Cafe in question and queried it, but they hadn’t replied. But, Hard Rock themselves looked into this for me when they saw my post, and after investigation clarified that this was an initiative and decision led by TripAdvisor’s The Fork and their “Back to the Restaurant”. The Fork’s customer service team denied this, saying that all restaurants as part of their latest campaign decided to exclude sole diners.
This seemed unlikely, so I’ve contacted some of the restaurants and they’ve all replied saying they were never told of this restriction. I was also invited by these restaurants to get the 50% off if dining alone, although that wasn’t quite the point. It has also transpired that Booking.com’s OpenTable has nearly all of the same restaurants and they have included sole diners.
So, this initiative to block sole diners as part of their “Back to the Restaurant” was that of TripAdvisor and The Fork alone. It doesn’t much matter, but I think it’s be more honest of The Fork to admit that it was them that blocked sole diners getting discounts than trying to say it was the restaurants. For The Fork to mess about the reputations of restaurants at this time seems brave.
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Greggs – New Loyalty App
I’ve rather abandoned Greggs recently, lured away by Pret, and this appears to be the response (I don’t mean to just me, but to the current crisis of people not eating out) that they’ve made. It means a free coffee and potentially more free chicken bakes and sausage rolls. Not as generous as Pret, but getting there…..
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Greggs Rewards is changing
Hi Julian,
We’ve got a shiny, brand-spanking new version of Greggs Rewards, and it’ll be live on your device on 3rd November.
So, what’s new about it?
You’ll now get stamps for EVERYTHING (well almost everything). In the classic version we only have 1 stamp card, for hot drinks. Now you’ll get 6 different stamp cards in your app*
Drinks – now for ALL drinks not just the hot ones; from your latte to your bottle of water
Sandwiches and Salads – toasties to baguettes
Sweet Treats – from doughnuts to cookies
Breakfast – bacon butties to croissants
Hot Food – a healthy soup, to wedges and chicken goujons
Savouries & Bakes – from our famous Vegan Sausage Roll, to a slice of pizza and moreThe deal is ‘Buy 9 get your 10th for free’. Every time you buy a product you get a stamp. Collect 9 stamps and your next purchase in that category will be on us. Plus, you’ll still get your birthday treat and the odd little surprise.
What does this mean for you?
Your device
The new app is now available for Android users! We’ll do the magic in the background, just make sure you’re using the most up to date version of the app.
Your Rewards
As you switch between old to new, we will transfer any pre-paid top-up balance as well as any of those well-earned Rewards. When it comes to your stamps, we have wiped the slate clean and given you a free hot drink Reward to say thanks.
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Good Beer Guide 2021
To my great delight, the Good Beer Guide 2021 edition is out and the app has updated, so I can see which of my favourite pubs have made a reappearance. My delight is mostly reserved to see that the brilliant Hop and Vine is back in, although I’d have refused to have acknowledged that the book even existed if it hadn’t…..
Anyway, the new copy is available at https://amzn.to/3e6eoCB.
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London – Kensington and Chelsea (Borough of) – Earl’s Court Pret
I was slightly humoured (it doesn’t take much if I’m being honest) when popping into this Pret this morning, next to Earl’s Court underground. I ordered a spiced pumpkin latte and with some noticeable annoyance, the staff member said they don’t sell that. I ordered something else, but then the next person ordered the same, then the next one and then the next one. One staff member was politely explaining the options, whilst the staff member who served me was busying herself being grumpy at customers.
The staff member snarled, so customers could hear, at a colleague “I don’t know why people think we sell this”. She seemed to have forgotten that the external poster board and the menu board poster above the counter are both advertising the Pumpkin Spiced Latte. It is the only drink that this Pret store is promoting.
OK, this isn’t as fascinating as Alan’s Funny Stories (from Alan Partridge, although I diminish that by having to mention that) but I suspect that the staff are fed up with this Pret subscription as the customers ordering from it seem endless. It’ll be interesting to see how Pret proceed with this coffee subscription, their stores (or the ones that I’ve seen) are clearly under some considerable stress from it at the moment. The staff used to be excellent at engaging with customers, but from my experience this week, they just don’t have the time with the size of the queues forming.
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Random – Old Jamaica Pineapple Soda
And more in my riveting random drivel series of posts…. But, for 39p, this was a surprisingly good treat from Sainsbury’s, I haven’t heard of this one before. Sufficiently sweet and pineapplely (I would have been disappointed if there wasn’t much pineapple flavour) this was rather lovely.
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BLT Sandwich at JD Wetherspoon
OK, I’m verging back into irrelevant content again. But at the Shakespeare’s head, the JD Wetherspoon pub in Holborn, this BLT sandwich is relatively new to the menu. And, since it’s an extension of the company’s discounted Monday to Wednesday meals which are here until November, this meal and drink cost £2.99. It usually costs £5.99 and shouldn’t come with chips, they’re an optional extra the kitchen gave me by mistake.
I accept it’s not exactly Michelin starred food, but it was pretty good, especially since they used bacon without fat on it. This avoids any Ed Miliband related issues. Anyway, all rather lovely.
