Keep the price of pub food palatable

While the Menurama research indicated that restaurant prices fell more than pub food prices had risen​, there is a risk pubs may be killing the goose that laid the golden egg.

The sophistication of the food menu in many of the pubs in which I eat has to be applauded — the vast improvement in food quality in pubs is making a real difference to the bottom line. But with the rising custom created by a good food offering comes a temptation for some pubs to forget their traditional customer base  and over-complicate menus.

And with the restaurant sector repricing its offer, pubs may need reminding what made their food popular in the first place — or else risk a migration of customers back into the arms of the restaurants.

Traditional​

As the Horizons survey suggested, menu trends in many restaurants are edging towards the simple, with traditional beef and chicken roasts entering the top 20 main dishes list for the first time.

This, along with fish and chips, shepherd’s pie, and pie and mash, is very much pub-grub territory, and if restaurants are matching, or bettering, the pub price point, this is a reason for concern — especially as increasing numbers of pubs aspire to the gastro prefix and offer higher end quality that threatens to alienate their traditional clientele.

That old maxim of KISS — keep it simple, stupid — is especially appropriate. For pubs, KISS surely means:  good beer; good, simple food for all the family; good, simple customer service. Without this, the loss of custom to the restaurant sector may well come to match the home-drinking culture. And we know the impact that this has had on overall pub numbers.

Re-evaluating​

For those that have experimented with higher quality food and found that it’s resulted in rising food costs (which they’ve been unable to pass on to the customer) and a falling off of overall trade, there is no embarrassment in re-evaluating the menu. Nor is there any shame in seeking specialist advice from either your property advisor or menu experts.

There is a place for the higher end, gastropub offer, in the right location and where the demand is proven. But operators need to be mindful of their customer profile and bottom line. And, as we’ve seen recently in the food like-for-likes reported by Wetherspoon, Toby and Hungry Horse, there’s profit in keeping it simple.

The winner in this pub versus restaurant battle will always be the customer. It’s up to pubs to ensure they remain part of the winning team.

Simon Chaplin is director and head of restaurants at Christie+Co​