Cup of Tea and a scone

allthedoyles

We paid € 2.20 for the tea and € 2.50 for the scone here :
http://www.oldgrainstorecottages.ie/cafe-carlow.htm

What would you consider expensive ?

Rebel021

Yes

jahalpin

No, it doesn't seem too bad actually

irish1967

In Donegal yesterday. Tea €1.95 Scone with jam cream etc €2.00.

Tora Bora

Luton England last week. Cup of tea and scone £1.20 = €1.41.

Dusseldorf city centre few weeks ago. Cup of coffe and a sort of Danish €1.15!

This is a crazy, crazy, crazy, expensive country!

lau1247

It depends on the size maybe?

I know one in dublin that is also 2.50 but the size was reasonable however I would still consider it expensive..

Also it looks like a tourist location from the website, which is typically pricier..

91011

Tora Bora wrote: »

Luton England last week. Cup of tea and scone £1.20 = €1.41.

Dusseldorf city centre few weeks ago. Cup of coffe and a sort of Danish €1.15!

This is a crazy, crazy, crazy, expensive country!

Dusselldorf city centre - €6 for sausage in a roll.

Even within cities & town, prices vary considerably. The OP states carlow - you can get a cup of tea in carlow for €1.30 on Tullow street in the centre of town, A scone is €1.20 in the same cafe.

You need to look at what you are paying for - good seats, quality of tea, quality of scone, size of scone, additions such as jam / cream. Location of place - high traffic area or low traffic area. - In low traffic areas prices can be higher as staff have to be paid even when standing still.

There are so many variables in pricing of foodstuffs, you simply can't say rip-off based on price alone.

For a decent tea & decent homemade scone with jam & butter in a quality seated cafe, I'd say the price is about right. If it was in a greasy cafe, i'd say expensive. - Looking at the website, it looks like a fabulous cafe and therefore worth the extra few cent.

91011

Tora Bora wrote: »

Luton England last week. Cup of tea and scone £1.20 = €1.41.!

London, February - crap dirty pub in earls court - £10.60 (about €12.50) for glass of wine & pint of warm beer served by someone who couldn't give a toss about anything let alone customers. Not even cafe en seine would dare charge such prices and the service in cafe en seine would almost justify a high price.

As I said, prices vary considerably even within 100 yards - depends on what the "package" involves.

jor el

Tora Bora wrote: »

This is a crazy, crazy, crazy, expensive country!

Ever been to Italy? Cafe on the street charged €48 for 4 coffeys. Pub charged €56 for 3 brandys and 1 7-up. Rip off prices are not the exclusive domain of Ireland. While €2.50 does sound a bit much for a scone, I've seen a lot worse, and not just in Ireland.

rubadub

Tora Bora wrote: »

Luton England last week. Cup of tea and scone £1.20 = €1.41.

Dusseldorf city centre few weeks ago. Cup of coffe and a sort of Danish €1.15!

This is a crazy, crazy, crazy, expensive country!

Thats very cheap for the UK, whenever I go there I actually usually find cafe type places are slightly more expensive than here, or around the same, I am always surprised at people saying how cheap it is there.

Were the 2 places you mentioned comparable to the OP's establishment? I hope you are not just talking of some takeaway places, since I could say I got a chicken fillet baguette for €1.50 in londis here and paid £6.50 or 7.50 for similar in a UK cafe.

I found norway very expensive, but the worst place by a long shot was charles de gaulle airport in paris,

beagle001

Just back from UK and the value is far better over there without any doubt.
Cafe in Holyhead 2 Latte`s 2.60 pounds,scones 85p.
Tesco considerably cheaper on many Irish brands,pint of beer in decent popular bar Nothampton 2.75 pounds.
Eating out in Ireland in general is way overpriced and not good food although you can now get deals,I always feel ripped off here.

91011

beagle001 wrote: »

Just back from UK and the value is far better over there without any doubt.
Cafe in Holyhead 2 Latte`s 2.60 pounds,scones 85p.
Tesco considerably cheaper on many Irish brands,pint of beer in decent popular bar Nothampton 2.75 pounds.
Eating out in Ireland in general is way overpriced and not good food although you can now get deals,I always feel ripped off here.

The price difference between Tesco UK & Tesco Ireland on most items is neglible when you strip away vat differences. (Biscuits 0% UK, 13.5% or 21% Ire, Cakes 0% UK, 13.5% Ire + many others)

The difference is so small these days, shopping levels in Newry have dropped by as much as 70% according to Newry chamber of commerce.

As for a pint of beer in Northampton at 2.75, many small town pubs in Ireland charge €3.60 (£2.90) for good beer and FAR better service & quality.

" lattes in holyhead £2.60" (€3.20) - 2 lattes in carlow town in good cafe €3 (1.50 each),

scone 85p - scone in carlow town €1.


Questions - was the coffeee fresh ground, was the service good, were the surroundings good, was the scone mass market muck made from cheap flour, or homemade with premium ingredients.

So many variables affect the price of food that it is so totally ridiculoues to compare even cafes on the same street let alone in different towns let alone in different effin countries - are Irish people really so negative about their own contry that we must compare a high quality service with the cheapest muck we can find in some otehr country with a totall different cost base?

Why can't we hold our heads high like we used to and support Irish business and stop this utter crap - there is value in ireland, you can also be over charged in ireland the same way there is value in every other country in the world and the same way you can be overcharged in every country in the world.

end of rant

beagle001

Are we living in the same Ireland?
I won't even begin a rant it's clear as day this country is a ripp off and I have lived on several continents to compare our old expensive isle

91011

beagle001 wrote: »

Are we living in the same Ireland?
I won't even begin a rant it's clear as day this country is a ripp off and I have lived on several continents to compare our old expensive isle

therefore you'll know the different wages, taxes, local charges, property taxes, health insurance costs in all these places.

if ireland was such a rip off, why are you back here?, maybe its the higher wages, lower taxes, lack of local taxes, lack of property taxes and a reasonable free health & education system?

whoops, nearly forgot the generous social welfare system!

its not perfect, but the costs are not near as high overall as UK, France & USA - apologies for being unable to compare "several continents" as these are the only places I've lived for more than a year and paid their taxes. - UK being the worst.

beagle001

91011
Please take of your Fianna Fail blinkers and save your everything Irish is best attitude for the more naieve.
You constantly champion your case and it is getting old mate

91011

beagle001 wrote: »

91011
Please take of your Fianna Fail blinkers and save your everything Irish is best attitude for the more naieve.
You constantly champion your case and it is getting old mate

Last election I voted Labour / greens - previosly PD's & FF and prior to Enda Kenny I always voted Fine Gael.

I have a dislike of FF as they looked after the very rich (landlords who on average TREBLED retail rents from 2004 - 2008) and gave a few crumbs to the ordinary person who at the time thought it was great. - Hindsight is a great thing to have.

Retailers / restaurants are not ripping people off - try venting anger at lanldlords (read as the main pension funds) many of whom STILL refuse to bring rents down to a reasonable level.

beagle001

91011
Did not mean to strike a nerve in you

91011

beagle001 wrote: »

91011
Did not mean to strike a nerve in you

I used to be in retail - landlords, council rates & service charges meant it was impossible to make any decent living as once they though you were doing well they jacked up the rent and there was absolutely nothing whatsoever you could do about it. Nadda, nothing.

When I left retail in early 2007, new rent and rates meant that 35% of turnover would go paying these charges. At a 42% average margin, it meant no chance whatsoever of even making enough to pay wages of staff.

And this was repeated in every shopping centre & main street in the country.

beagle001

Coincidentally I was in a ver similar situation as yourself until this year.
It is a desperate situation to survive in business in Ireland and yes I so agree on this as Greedy landlords and the city council destroyed our business and had no sympathy.
It has scared us permanently of going down our own business in Ireland because of the excessive charges it's an uphill battle.

The Lovely Muffin

Cost me €5.00 yesterday for a Mocha and Chocolate Cupcake.

Mocha was €3.00 and Chocolate Cupcake was €2.00.

looksee

Some things in the UK are cheaper, but I don't think it includes eating out - I'm talking teas and lunches here - in a lot of cases the quality is not as good as here, much more mass produced.

I think you have to look at what you are paying for, as other posters have said. You do not rent and furnish an attractive premises with heating, lighting, air con, fridges etc, not to mention staff to serve and keep things supplied, the place clean etc for nothing.

I went to a famous cafe in York last year where they charge £15 for tea! But. It is a lovely building in an attractive spot. The food was amazing. The service was fast, pleasant and efficient. There was a guy playing a piano, flowers, the works. Its a tourist trap. You didn't have to go in though, there were plenty of other cafes around, but as an occasional treat, it was lovely.

Waterford Castle charge something similar for tea, again you are paying for the surroundings and the ambiance as much as for the food.

You can sit at a table in a cafe and have tea or coffee and a scone with butter and jam for less than the price of a pint, sounds fair to me.

Billy86

91011 wrote: »

London, February - crap dirty pub in earls court - £10.60 (about €12.50) for glass of wine & pint of warm beer served by someone who couldn't give a toss about anything let alone customers. Not even cafe en seine would dare charge such prices and the service in cafe en seine would almost justify a high price.

As I said, prices vary considerably even within 100 yards - depends on what the "package" involves.

Take a trip around the corner to Dandelion. I was charged €7.70 for a bottle of Corona there a month or so back. I moved on to vodka & coke, wound up getting charged upwards of €10 for a single of that... and promptly left.