More examples of good value in NI, poor value in RoI

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This weekend I came across more examples of the good value available in the north.

I had a Sunday roast dinner (roast pork or beef, etc., with roast potatoes, stuffing balls, Yorkshire pudding, veg) with a free drink for 5.59 stg.

That's means a pint of ale and a dinner for 7.20 euro!!

Compare this to a firend who paid 5.30 euro for a 33cl bottle of Miller in Langton's in Kilkenny on Sat night.

I know the overheads and costs are lower in NI, but still, such value.

Other examples: all bottles of wine will be 5.39stg or about 7 euro in J D Wetherspoon pubs in NI during their wine festival.

Yes, that's right, 7 euro per bottle.

I also got 440ml cans of Murphy's draught stout, reduced from 67p to 47p in Lidl in Enniskillen. Unreal price. That's about 70c for 500ml.

Sure I had to take a tray or two at that price!!!!
 
In general, I do not do any substantial food or alcohol shopping in the Republic whatsoever, precisely for the above mentioned reasons. A pint of milk or loaf of bread here or there is the height of it.

I suppose I'm lucky in this respect as it is convenient for me to shop in the north.
 
I was home a couple of weeks ago & was delighted to show my in-laws decent city-centre pubs where a very good pint of Guinness was about €2.10.
A meal for a fiver? No problem, take your pick from the menu. Not a gargantuan feast, nor haute cuisine, but perfectly acceptable as a pub meal.

This thread got me thinking about when people back home used to complain that the price of a new car was higher in Scotland than, say, Belgium.

The "official" response from the motor industry- sorry, don't recall the who or what was he- was that the cars are priced "based on what the market will stand".

Anyone feel that a similar rational is at work here?

(ps - before anyone feels the need to point out - yes, I know, you don't have to buy it!)
 
Caveat said:
Please tell me this is a typo Jock...
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Caveat, my friend, I cannot tell a lie.

Well, OK, I won't tell a lie!
The Goose on Union Street - and others - Guinness £1.50 to £1.60 sterling.

There was still a few pubs with lager of the day at 99pence too.
And by that I mean maybe draught Coors or McEwans lager, named brands.
 
Here are some Enniskillen prices:

Guinness = 2.10 stg = 2.70 euro

Coors lager = 1.79 stg = 2.30 euro

Let me repeat that, EUR 2.30 for a pint of lager, while it's 4.00-5.00 in the RoI. Just a few dozen miles away.

Beer and burger (certain times) = 3.99 or 4.49 stg = under 6 euro

Wine = I think about 2.00 stg for a 175ml glass = 2.60 a glass
 
VAT here is 21%, VAT in UK is 17.5% (cafe/restaurant food may be different).

Excise duties on alcohol:

UK: 14.96 stg per hectolitre per % alcohol (= 19 euro approx)

http://customs.hmrc.gov.uk/channels...ls&propertyType=document&id=HMCE_PROD1_027236

This means 8.50 pence per pint per %, or 35.7 pence per pint for 4.2% beer.

Ireland: 19.87 euro per hecto litre per % alcohol

[broken link removed]

So there is very little difference in the tax rates.
 

Presumably these rates are from the Wetherspoon pub The Linen Hall? In my experience its a very poor pub for food. It competes vigorously on price by running happy hour and other promotions. However unless you confine yourself to the promotion products, its not particularly cheap either.

In general, pub food in the North is not nearly as good as south of the border. Ditto for most restaurants. In Co. Cavan the restaurants along the border are all booming due to a large trade coming from the North - even though they are way dearer than their competitors up there.
 


Agreed. I would rather spend extra to sit in good surroundings (the few Wetherspoon pubs I have been have been shabby, dark and dirty). When I have eaten good food in Northern Ireland it has not been that much cheaper than south of the border.
 

Yes, I am referring to J D Wetherspoon pub.

I agree the ambience and atmosphere is not great in there. It's not upmarket. You wouldn't go on a date there.

I also agree that the food is by no means brilliant. I'd say they don't employ any chefs. It is simple, "canteen" style food.

In contrast, I recently paid 12.95 for a "Sunday lunch" dinner in a nice restaurant in Kilrush. Yes, the food was better than JDW, and yes, the atmosphere maybe was better.

But, and this is my key point, was it worth that much more?

12.95 in Kilrush restaurant (no drink)

versus

7.20 in JDW including a drink (Guinness, ale, wine, lots of choice)
 
Purple said:
Agreed. I would rather spend extra to sit in good surroundings (the few Wetherspoon pubs I have been have been shabby, dark and dirty). When I have eaten good food in Northern Ireland it has not been that much cheaper than south of the border.
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"Shabby, dark and dirty" - ok, they are not like Cafe en Seine or other similar large modern pubs.

But I can't agree with shabby and dirty. Simple, less decorated, more basic, yes.

Anyway, I prefer the way the simpler fixtures and fittings leads to lower prices.
 
ubiquitous said:
Ditto for most restaurants. In Co. Cavan the restaurants along the border are all booming due to a large trade coming from the North - even though they are way dearer than their competitors up there.
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OK, but places like The Olde Post Inn and McNean's Bistro are among the best provincial restaurants in the country - hardly a fair comparison.

I don't think anyone would disagree that the franchised type pub/diner places in the UK are pretty grim, but do you really think that restaurants (proper restaurants) in NI, in general, are of lower quality than in the south?
 
Caveat said:
OK, but places like The Olde Post Inn and McNean's Bistro are among the best provincial restaurants in the country - hardly a fair comparison.
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I can't see how you can accuse me of making an unfair comparison when I didn't even mention these places, let alone compare them to anything. For what its worth, in the Cavan area there are several less upmarket restaurants like Polo D's in Ballyconnell that are also booming from Northern trade, even though there are plenty of similar establishments in the North.

Caveat said:
but do you really think that restaurants (proper restaurants) in NI, in general, are of lower quality than in the south?
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In a word, Yes
 

Admittedly, I've been in one Wotherspoon's pub in the North which wasn't up to much. Seen a couple from the outside that I wouldn't patronise either.
But they're not all like that, some are like [broken link removed]. "The Counting House" in George Square, Glasgow.
No affiliation, other than I sometimes spend some money there.
 

You can get a Sunday roast type dinner (non-subsidised) in hospital canteens around the country for not much more than a fiver. The thing is that the stuff is so basic that you mightn't want to make a habit of it. Ditto with Wetherspoons.
 
ubiquitous said:
... I didn't even mention these places...
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OK, fair enough. I read 'Cavan restaurants', 'booming' and 'far dearer' and made assumptions.

I'm intrigued by your opinion that the NI restaurants aren't as good though - no reason to dispute this and I haven't eaten in enough of them myself to have an opinion - but it's the first time I've heard this. It seems strange to me that there should be a marked difference.
 
Well, put it this way, its commonplace for Northerners to travel south to eat out - formally or casually. I never, ever hear of Southerners travelling north to eat out. I suspect that there isn't much of a tradition of eating out up North, possibly due to the legacy of the Troubles.
 
ubiquitous said:
You can get a Sunday roast type dinner (non-subsidised) in hospital canteens around the country for not much more than a fiver. The thing is that the stuff is so basic that you mightn't want to make a habit of it.
Click to expand...
A fiver did not go far in the last hospital canteen I was in. As regards being non-subsidised, do the prices in the canteen reflect market prices paid for overheads / rent / elec / insurance etc. Besides, canteens have a captive audience, so to speak, so the comparison is like comparing apples + oranges.
 

People eat out in N. I too, and I have seen southeners eating out there too ...

Talking of eating out, before "celtic tiger" Ireland eating out was not very common for many southeners either..
 
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