Carvery food

Kiwi in IE

Why why why why why is it so popular here?

On a Sunday afternoon when you feel like going out for lunch, all that can be found are restaurants that have perfectly normal, acceptable menus at other times, serving carvery! And they are always full!

The stuff is awful without exception. Why would anyone want to pay a restaurant for a few slices of meat, mashed potato, and some unidentifiable, overcooked vegetables that the average person could cook better themselves? They are like a boring week night dinner. I just don't get why people want that sort of food when they go out for a meal. Perhaps it's just me, but if I'm going out to dinner I don't want to pay for something I could cook better myself. I want food that is different that I wouldn't think to cook at home very often. The most useless cook could make a roast dinner taste better than carvery!

Also there is the lining up to get the awful food! Carverys remind me of hospital/school/workplace canteens, and the food certainly tastes no better! I would actually rather get McDonalds and I'm not a fan of that either.

That is my carvery rant over. Maybe someone could enlighten me on their popularity!

Wacker The Attacker

I would have sex with a nice slice of roast beef.

ElleEm

I love a carvery!

The Master

Also there is the lining up to get the awful food! Carverys remind me of hospital/school/workplace canteens,

This ^

GenieOz

Never understood it either, awful stuff. Anything you have to queue up for and get served from a Bain Marie is just not worth it.

Gongoozler

Myself and the boyfriend have been wondering this for a while. We assumed everybody else just loves it. Glad to know this is not true.

Dried out, old muck. Not that it's the type of food I'd eat anyway, even if it was edible looking.

wazky

Don't forget the snotty offspring with their paws stuck in every jaysus thing.

Karl Stein

Food hipster.

YellowFeather

Not a fan at all. And my parents always want to meet on a Sunday in the same place for the same carvery! Watery mushy peas - gross!!!

Butterface

It's worse in England. There are chains of carvery restaurants that are all decorated the same way, produce the same food and serve the same selection of beverages - all at the same set prices.

I'd prefer to go for a carvery meal in Ireland tbh. The standard of pub grub in England can be shockingly bad.

whupdedo

It's all the food they don't use during the week, they just stick it in the microwave and heat it up and serve it to the masses like their in the Shawshank redemption

ArnoldJRimmer

Depends on the carvery, some can be absolutely rotten, just stodgy, warmed up cr*p. Others can be really good, and still quite a reasonable price.

Personally, I can make a lovely roast beef dinner at home, but its a lot of effort to do it properly. I see your point on this though, I rarely buy sandwiches or pasta dishes when out as I make them myself quite regularly

jaja321

Carvery food should be banned - seriously!

billyhead

I love Carvery food. Roast Potatoes, Gravy, beef and veg. Pure Bliss:P

cml387

There are people who love a bit of poor quality meat that has been sitting under hot lamp for two hours.

c_man

My parents fu(king love carverys man. They tut disapprovingly if the roast beef is a bit pink, and instead go for the chicken. They hate going out eating anywhere else.

Liam McPoyle

Kiwi in IE wrote: »

Why why why why why is it so popular here?

On a Sunday afternoon when you feel like going out for lunch, all that can be found is restaurants that have perfectly normal, acceptable menus at other times, serving carvery! And they are always full!

The stuff is awful without exception. Why would anyone want to pay a restaurant for a few slices of meat, mashed potato, and some unidentifiable, overcooked vegetables that the average person could cook better themselves? They are like a boring week night dinner. I just don't get why people want that sort of food when they go out for a meal. Perhaps it's just me, but if I'm going out to dinner I don't want to pay for something I could cook better myself. I want food that is different that I wouldn't think to cook at home very often. The most useless cook could make a roast dinner taste better than carvery!

Also there is the lining up to get the awful food! Carverys remind me of hospital/school/workplace canteens, and the food certainly tastes no better! I would actually rather get McDonalds and I'm not a fan of that either.

That is my carvery rant over. Maybe someone could enlighten me on their popularity!

The day after a night out drinking stout its hard to beat heading to somewhere like O'Neills on Suffolk Street, getting a whopper turkey and ham dinner, having a massive dump after it and then getting stuck into more pints.

/perfect Sunday

Banjo String

/adopts mams voice. "if you where in Africa, ye'd be glad of it.

super_furry

It's ****E! Those 'roast' potatoes? Not roast potatoes, they're frozen spuds thrown into a chip pan. Then they're served with shoe-leather dried out meat, stuffing that may just as well say Brennan's on it, such is the bread quantity and soggy, limp and flavourless veg. All drowned in manky brown instant gravy thick enough to repair a wall with.

I'd literally rather eat McDonalds, it's that bad.

catallus

The quality of the food is much the same. It is a staffing issue; a kitchen doesn't run itself you know! And a Sunday carvery attracts a lot of people!

I dont go for the food , i go for the gravy

Banjo String

Coleman Slawski wrote: »

The day after a night out drinking stout its hard to beat heading to somewhere like O'Neills on Suffolk Street, getting a whopper turkey and ham dinner, having a massive dump after it and then getting stuck into more pints.

/perfect Sunday

No, just no.

I cannot poo in a pub.

Nothing like your own jacks Imo.

Sir Osis of Liver.

I fcukin love it.
Mmmm...roast beef,spuds and veg swimming in litres of gravy and washed down with a few pints.
I love sundays.

wil

wouldn't it make sense to ask the same question about most of the usual fast food joints.

wazky

Banjo String wrote: »

No, just no.

I cannot poo in a pub.

Nothing like your own jacks Imo.

After a few pints of stout you wouldn't want to be dumping in your own toilet.

Biological hazard.

Kiwi in IE

I'm clearly not alone in my dislike of carvery. What a relief! I was starting to wonder.

Rasheed

I hate carvery food! Was only thinking that today when myself and mam went to a pub in Dun Laoghaire for a bit of lunch. The heaps of dried spud and lump grey veg turned my stomach.

wil

Sir Osis of Liver. wrote: »

I fcukin love it.
Mmmm...roast beef,spuds and veg swimming in litres of gravy and washed down with a few pints.
I love sundays.

wot, no chianti?

Me?

I'd love a good carvery now, sweat drips and all.

geckovision

cml387 wrote: »

There are people who love a bit of poor quality meat that has been sitting under hot lamp for two hours.

Seems to be more people who love crap quality, chemical filled meat at every deli counter in Ireland. Pure rubbish.

At least a carvery can be decent.

I usually about both though. Most carvery's I've seen haven't been great.

Produce rubbish and charge through the f*ck out of people - seems to be the Irish way.

whupdedo

Coleman Slawski wrote: »

The day after a night out drinking stout its hard to beat heading to somewhere like O'Neills on Suffolk Street, getting a whopper turkey and ham dinner, having a massive dump after it and then getting stuck into more pints.

/perfect Sunday

I hope you're a man:eek:

billyhead

Rasheed wrote: »

I hate carvery food! Was only thinking that today when myself and mam went to a pub in Dun Laoghaire for a bit of lunch. The heaps of dried spud and lump grey veg turned my stomach.

Depends on where you get it. Some places do a ****e carvery

Kiwi in IE

Coleman Slawski wrote: »

The day after a night out drinking stout its hard to beat heading to somewhere like O'Neills on Suffolk Street, getting a whopper turkey and ham dinner, having a massive dump after it and then getting stuck into more pints.

/perfect Sunday

Places that serve carvery deserve to have people miss when taking a dump in their toilets.

Is it good on a hangover because it induces vomit and makes you feel better? Maybe it does have it's place. Must try that.

we'llallhavetea

i dont get this either, the beef is always thinly sliced dry cheap cuts and the gravy is beyond fcuking vile.

The Dagda

A lot of people seem to be linking a carvery with bad food.

The food in a good carvery is perfect, IMO, you can see exactly what your getting, and you don't have to worry about microwaves and spitting kitchen staff...

Corvo

Hold on here a second - before we even get to the absolutely horrendous vegetables, meat that is drier than Ghandi's flip flop and spuds a Smash lover would turn away, can we first address the coffin dodgers that frequent these places?

Jesus H Christ, getting stuck behind these biddies that have been coming to the same carvery since Lincoln was in office and make the same complaints every week is just soul destroying.

"Yes I'll have a three-quarter portion of Beef with just carrots...yes that's right just carrots...and a touch of gravy...a little more....OH! Too much, I can't eat that. Can you start again?"

Meanwhile I'm standing behind them and the wooden tray (aren't they always the same trays) is in splinters I'm wrenching it that tight.

whupdedo

Corvo wrote: »

Meanwhile I'm standing behind them and the wooden tray (aren't they always the same trays) is in splinters I'm wrenching it that tight.

You should ware it off the back of their head

Corvo

whupdedo wrote: »

You should ware it off the back of their head

If the food hasn't killed em, no amount of violence will!

eireannBEAR

I love a carvery where else can you get pork,ham,beef all on the same plate together with roast spuds,mash, chips,gravy and stuffing!!!

Holsten

I used to love it, then again I used to love spending hours in the pub and if your there on a Sunday its part of it.

The idea of it now makes me feel ill.

kryogen

From a business point of view, a busy carvery is a goldmine, its relatively cheap to produce and once it actually sells you make a great margin from it.

Some carvery can be ok, if you get it early, once it hits the front basically! Any I have been involved in personally I know has all been cooked that morning, its the day after you might get the re heated stuff and I have heard of places that actually used bags of Smash instead of real potato

billyhead

kryogen wrote: »

From a business point of view, a busy carvery is a goldmine, its relatively cheap to produce and once it actually sells you make a great margin from it.

Some carvery can be ok, if you get it early, once it hits the front basically! Any I have been involved in personally I know has all been cooked that morning, its the day after you might get the re heated stuff and I have heard of places that actually used bags of Smash instead of real potato

Thats it. Get it early and you will have no problems. Leave it late and you will only get scraps and leftovers that would turn a cow from ****eing

Kiwi in IE

wil wrote: »

wouldn't it make sense to ask the same question about most of the usual fast food joints.

No! It's not the same. McD's, KFC etc, although I can't stand them most of the time either, have a unique taste that once in a blue moon you might be in the mood for. I couldn't make the exact replica of a McD's burger or piece of KFC chicken at home. If I overcooked the meat and vegetables, used frozen 'roast' potatoes and instant gravy, then left it all to sit in a warming oven for four hours and asked whoever I was serving dinner to to line up for it, I could make an exact replica of carvery food pretty easily.

billyhead

Kiwi in IE wrote: »

No! It's not the same. McD's, KFC etc, although I can't stand them most of the time either, have a unique taste that once in a blue moon you might be in the mood for. I couldn't make the exact replica of a McD's burger or piece of KFC chicken at home. If I overcooked the meat and vegetables, used frozen 'roast' potatoes and instant gravy, then left it all to sit in a warming oven for four hours and asked whoever I was serving dinner to to line up for it, I could make an exact replica of carvery food pretty easily.

Carvery is a lot healthier then the muck you get in the likes of KFC and McDs

Holsten

billyhead wrote: »

Carvery is a lot healthier then the muck you get in the likes of KFC and McDs

Is it really though?

I'd love to see the nutritional content of an average carvery meal.

orchidsrpretty

I won't go into a pub that serves carvers food. The smell of that food makes me feel sick and would turn me off from having a alcoholic drink.

Mena

Man a lot of you eat in really crap places!

Tin Foil Hat

The Dagda wrote: »

A lot of people seem to be linking a carvery with bad food.

The food in a good carvery is perfect, IMO, you can see exactly what your getting, and you don't have to worry about microwaves and spitting kitchen staff...

Microwaves are grand (ish). Spitting staff is a myth. Food kept warm over hot water, or under hot lights, that I have to bring back to the table myself is for prisons.

Kiwi in IE

billyhead wrote: »

Carvery is a lot healthier then the muck you get in the likes of KFC and McDs

If you were wanting a healthy option you'd avoid both like the plague.

cletus van damme

Coleman Slawski wrote: »

The day after a night out drinking stout its hard to beat heading to somewhere like O'Neills on Suffolk Street, getting a whopper turkey and ham dinner, having a massive dump after it and then getting stuck into more pints.

/perfect Sunday

one of the better places.

I adore carvery but I'll accept since the end of the celtic tiger when the price of a carvery dipped from 12-15 e to the tenner and below mark the quality of them have fallen.

a few good spots left on my list.

If the missus would let me I'd go to a carvery on a sat night for a night out

Corvo

cletus van damme wrote: »

one of the better places.

I adore carvery but I'll accept since the end of the celtic tiger when the price of a carvery dipped from 12-15 e to the tenner and below mark the quality of them have fallen.

a few good spots left on my list.

If the missus would let me I'd go to a carvery on a sat night for a night out

Ah Jaysus.