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


Last time I was in the canteen in Tallaght Hospital, I got a basic "meat & two veg" dinner for around a fiver.

My point was that just because a hospital canteen is cheap doesn't mean that is a particularly attractive option.
 
Litre bottle of powers whiskey £17.98 in Asda, Enniskillen 9/5/2008, converted to €23.08. Same bottle €37.74 in Dunnes, Sligo 10/5/2008.
 
The minute I read the post about the pub grub cheap in NI, I just knew it had to be one of those Wetherspoon places.

I was in one in Glasgow and it was the scariest place I have ever been in. Bar none. The food looked absolutely awful. You just cant compare the likes of that to a half decent carvery lunch in one of our better pubs.
 
Litre bottle of powers whiskey £17.98 in Asda, Enniskillen 9/5/2008, converted to €23.08. Same bottle €37.74 in Dunnes, Sligo 10/5/2008.

When you take away the tax what's the real difference?
 


Was that the one near Central Station? Wouldn't go near it either. Wrong end of town, really.
I don't think anyone is - or can - comparing basic pub grub to a decent carvery lunch in "one of your better pubs". That applies anywhere. But comparing like for like with many products, Guinness for example, you can buy cheaper elsewhere.
 
No from what I remember it was Jamaica Street. (is that a place) We stayed in the Jury's up the road from it, scary scary place too.

One of the original posters got a a pint of ale and a dinner for 7.20 euro(in a Wetherspoon place) whilst their friend paid €5.30 for a bottle of miller in Langtons. Judging by the place I was in, the €5.30 for the miller would be infinitely better value.
 
One example from one street in one city in one country does not prove anything. I have relations who toured around Scotland recently and they were amazed at the great value for money in grub and drink...oh, and they got friendly service too.
 
No from what I remember it was Jamaica Street. (is that a place) We stayed in the Jury's up the road from it, scary scary place too.


Aye, that's the same one Manda. Not the nicest part of the city centre, especially since the working girls got moved not far from there when their old haunt was turned into mega-priced apartments. Attracts all sorts of low-lifes.
Next time, try the one on the corner of George Square - The Counting House. A very different experience, but at the same price.
 
One example from one street in one city in one country does not prove anything. I have relations who toured around Scotland recently and they were amazed at the great value for money in grub and drink...oh, and they got friendly service too.

The only place in Scotland I have been to is Edinburgh, and prices there in restaurants and pubs are not much different to home. Incidentally, we recently researched a tour of Scotland for a summer family holiday but abandoned our plans when we learned that the country's tourist venues as a whole have a reputation for being child-unfriendly. I can't vouch whether this is 100% true but it came from a normally-trustworthy source (possibly the Rough Guides)
 

A steak and chips in a decent restaurant in Edinburgh is about 13 to 14 sterling...about 17 to 18 euro. You will not get that in Dublin. They have kids too, no problem there. Check your source again, I doubt it was the rough guides.
 
I can get steak & chips for €18 or so near my home. I don't live in Dublin.

Edinburgh is not child-unfriendly, however as I say I have read that Scotland as a whole is not regarded as a child-friendly country for tourists. As I say,I can't vouch whether this is 100% true.
 
Edinburgh is not child-unfriendly, however as I say I have read that Scotland as a whole is not regarded as a child-friendly country for tourists. As I say,I can't vouch whether this is 100% true.

I think a lot of this perception stems from the law which doesn't allow children into public bars. Other than that, I can't think of any major difference.
 
A steak and chips in a decent restaurant in Edinburgh is about 13 to 14 sterling...about 17 to 18 euro. You will not get that in Dublin. They have kids too, no problem there. Check your source again, I doubt it was the rough guides.
I can, and I live in Dublin.
 
Please tell me where you can get a steak in Dublin for 17-18 euro?

More value in NI:

Cup of coffee in JDW for 70-80p or 1 euro.
 
Please tell me where you can get a steak in Dublin for 17-18 euro?

More value in NI:

Cup of coffee in JDW for 70-80p or 1 euro.

This isn't exactly true. JDW normally offer a promotion special on a particular coffee product (cappucino, espresso etc) for about 75p, but if you want any other type of coffee or tea you pay the same as everywhere else.

My local Statoil/Topaz garage does the same, offering coffee and a bar this morning for €2, yet they are an expensive choice for almost everything else. If I were to use the "coffee & a bar" offer to try to convince you that Statoil/Topaz is great value for refreshments, and emblematic of the great value in cafes in the Republic, you would laugh at me.
 
But your example is of a takeaway nature.

Whereas I can sit down in a JDW pub in NI, and have a coffee for 1 euro.

Here is a pdf of a part of their menu:

[broken link removed]

The coffees on this are all 99p for a small, 1.19stg for a large. That's 1.55 euro for a large one.

The prices aren't the same all over the UK, that accounts for how it's 79p in NI.
 
But your example is of a takeaway nature.
No its not, my local Statoil/Topaz has extensive sit-down area, as have many (most?) of their outlets

Btw, its a bit pointless linking to a pdf which you then concede does not apply in NI.
 
Also on that menu, note the following:

a traditional breakfast for under 3.50 euro

a 10-oz aged rib-eye steak for under 12 euro

a tuna or ham baguette or ciabatta for under 3.50 euro

guest ales for under 2 euro a pint


Plus wine for under a tenner euro a bottle, in a pub.

I have to say again, such value.