Beefeater launches new menu with dishes as cheap as £5

Whitbread steak pub arm Beefeater has unveiled a new Daytime Saver menu with dishes available for £5.

The menu offers five options including beer-battered fish and chips, roasted vegetable linguine, 6oz gammon steak, an open chicken sandwich and a beef steak burger alongside steak and triple-cooked chips, priced at just £6.

The dishes are available at 130 of Beefeater’s 150-strong estate, from Monday to Saturday, 12noon until 6.30pm.

Vegetarian and vegan menu

Though Beefeater is the latest pub chain to release a new menu, Mitchells & Butlers-owned group Harvester has also launched a new food offer, targeting vegan and vegetarians.

Seven veggie- and vegan-friendly main meals were added to Harvester’s line-up, ranging in price from £7.99 to £10.49 and includes a vegan coconut and raspberry rice pudding (rsp: £4.29).

The brand trialled the menu for six months across a third of its 224 outlets before rolling it out across all sites.

In a similar move, JD Wetherspoon also has a separate menu for diners looking to consume meat and dairy free dishes.

Opportunity for pubs

Meanwhile, Whitbread announced the opening of a new Bar + Block site in London last year (September) following the concept’s debut in Birmingham.

The site serves an all-day dining menu focusing on hand-cut steaks alongside a range of breakfast, lunch and dinner options and specials on rotation.

Whitbread also revealed last month (April) that it will reduce its Costa coffee arm’s high-street estate by up to 10%.

This presents an opportunity for pubs to tap into the coffee segment, according to trade experts with almost a third (29%) of customers already going to the pub for a hot drink over any other beverage or meal.