Caversham pubs slash meal prices to £2

Two pubs in Caversham, Berkshire are offering value meals for less than £2 in a bid to attract customers.

The Prince of Wales has been operating a £1.50 menu for the past two months while the nearby Clifton Arms is offering a £1.99 menu from noon until 2.30pm and from 6pm to 9pm on Wednesdays and Fridays.

The Berkshire pubs are not the first to offer such drastic cuts in menu prices in the wake of the credit crunch. In September the Morning Advertiser reported on how the Four Crosses Inn in Hatherton, Staffordshire, had been successfully offering £1 dishes for four months.

At the Prince of Wales, licensee Gary Taylor is offering nine meals on the low priced menu, including lasagne, chilli and rice, sausage and chips and burger and chips. The meals are homemade in bulk using fresh ingredients and then served from frozen.

Taylor said he noticed trade at dinner time drop off completely following the smoking ban last year and knew he had to do something to encourage customers back.

He said: "I saw that a pub up north was doing it for £1 and they said it was a successful venture, so I looked at it and while I couldn't do it for a pound, I could do it for £1.50. I am not making any money on the food but people are coming for a drink as well.

"We are going to continue the offer for the foreseeable future, especially as I have a Wetherspoons on my doorstep selling beer for 99p. I have to do something to compete with them.

"It seems to have worked at the moment."