Why don't Irish pubs sell snacks?

Geuze

By snacks, I mean more than crisps / nuts, but less than full meals.

During my last few trips to the UK, I was in several pubs that sold hot snacks, but where there was no cook/chef present.

Often I am hungry, but I don't want to spend 15 euro on a meal.

First example: the Athletic Arms in Edinburgh

Pies, heated up = 2.00 to 2.50, Toasted sandwich = 2.00, see the menu below (older version)

Another example: the Hope in south London

Pork pies and rolls from the counter.

One-pot meals 6.50-7.50 served until 10pm, see below

In the Southhampton Arms in London, they sell pork pies (cold) and hot roast pork bap, again no chef present.

Is it due to a lack of demand from customers?

Or maybe some health & safety regulations preventing it?

Cetyl Palmitate

Drinking pints and eating should be kept as far apart as possible.

whisky_galore

I'd like having the option.

Disliking pubs that do food is a peculiarity weird Irish notion.

artanevilla

A boozer is a boozer.

Strumms

Probably more hassle then it’s worth. Might not be a need for a chef but you’d need a few more lounge staff to take care of microwaving the food, serving it with cutlery, cleanup etc…..

a lot of effort for maybe not a whole heap of profit.

Geuze

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121294365#Comment_121294365

Then why do many pubs in the UK do it?

PommieBast

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121294381#Comment_121294381

Probably the much higher foot-fall. Real caveat is which parts of the UK and Ireland are you comparing?

Edit: Maybe it is because pubs in UK tend to be part of chains whereas in Ireland they are not. @L1011 has encyclopedic knowledge of licencing so can verify/debunk this guess..

seablue

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121294479#Comment_121294479

Agreed. Grogans in Dublin, near Grafton street, are famous for their ham and cheese toasties.

D n G

A lot of pubs in Ireland used to do toasted sandwiches, baskets of sausages & chips and chicken & chips ec in the 80s and early 90s. I can't remember why or when that stopped.

Geuze

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121294479#Comment_121294479

The three examples I gave:

(1) Athletic Arms, not part of a chain AFAIK, is in an inner suburb of Edinburgh, not in city centre, it's nears Hearts FC ground

(2) the Hope is in a residential area of south London, maybe 15-20 mins walk from Sutton town centre, in a village called Carshalton

(3) the Southampton Arms is a small pub about 10 mins walk of Kentish Town station

L1011

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121294527#Comment_121294527

The sausage/chicken and chips still requires a kitchen and those places evolved in to doing other food.

Toasties (and maybe soup) as the only food is still fairly common in Dublin pubs.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121294381#Comment_121294381

In the states they have hooters, basically a bar to stare at women’s chests.

Why dont we have that here?

oh right it’s not America or UK 😎

LowOdour

Bout 25 odd years ago I worked in a small rural pub where we done those awful microwave burgers and quick but very nice toasties.

Biggest issue I remember is when one person ordered, everyone got the smell and wanted one. If you were only staff on, it was a pain.

RoboRat

I would have a guess that is down to the hygiene regs that go with prepping hot food. I know from working on garages that there is a fair bit to it, and it needs to be profitable to make sense.

PommieBast

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121294528#Comment_121294528

I'm only taking guesses here. About to head over to Kings Cross so will keep eye out for drinks-only pubs 😁

GAAcailin

The English are way more into pies then us paddys.

must say I dislike the smell of food in a pub

waterwelly

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121294319#Comment_121294319

Plenty of pubs in ireland do food though so you have the option surely?

Princess Consuela Bananahammock

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121294312#Comment_121294312

Would downvote this post if I could!!

Pint and a good roast is a perfect combo....

JVince

Once you do food you have to adhere to food safety regulations and they are a pain if you are only doing a small offering.

The positive side is the regulations are strenuous and very strictly enforced with HSE visits any time of the day and evening, hence you can be fairly confident of good practice in any food serving establishment

TinyMuffin

Serving food also attracts families with squealing annoying children.

ted1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121294365#Comment_121294365

Never ever serve food that people pay for from a microwave

Beechwoodspark

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121294672#Comment_121294672

+ 1 on that.

The hipster “aul man pub”.

I’d heard so much talk over the years I specifically went to there for a pint of Arthur and a toastie.

The pint? - yeah, decent.

The toastie?

Nothing special whatsoever.

The toasted sandwiches are literally slice pan, mild Tesco/Dunne’s cheddar, packet ham.

no doubt some hipster will be in to say

“exactly, the mundanity is the point bro. We love paying a tenner for them when you could make for 50cent at home.”

bog master

My rural local did soup and toasted sandwiches back in 2001-02. As soup was made in his own home kitchen and sandwiches made behind the bar, Health Board swoops in and says no no. Kitchen at his home would have to be upgraded at a cost of approx 10k and one cannot prepare a toasted sandwich behind the bar, there must be a dedicated kitchen.

waterwelly

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121294687#Comment_121294687

It's ridiculous really. Toasted sandwiches were standard in almost every Irish pub back in the day. Enter the HSE to solve a food safety problem that didn't exist.

Geuze

Ok, so I have now learnt that "Toasties (and maybe soup) as the only food is still fairly common in Dublin pubs.", this is good to know.

I think the Lark Inn on Meath street sell soup and sanwiches?

Also, some answers confirmed a possible reason that I suspected: regulations.

B.A._Baracus

On the subject I do wonder how many sales those pringles machines make in pubs if there is a lack of food.

CGI_Livia_Soprano

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121294687#Comment_121294687

If a pub is prepared to profit from selling food they should also be prepared to follow the health and safety laws of the land.

We don’t live in the era of perpetual stews and fulacht fiadhs anymore; Publicans slinging pub grub need to wash their hands, separate raw food from cooked, keep the plates clean, and so on and so forth.

Geuze

The three examples I gave:

(1) Athletic Arms in Edinburgh = no chef, the bar staff serve the food. They do have a room behind with a kitchen, I saw a pie being taken out of fridge, put into microwave.

(2) the Hope in Carshalton, south London: I was here only once, but it is big, as was previously owned by a brewery, so I suspect there is a kitchen.

However, outside of 12-3pm, the menu is reduced to one-pot meals, with no chef

(3) the Southampton Arms: small pub, I can't see any space for kitchen, no chef, the hot pork bap is made by bar staff on front of you. The barman took pork pie out of fridge, onto plate with mustard, handed it to me

Conclusion: HSE food regulations about kitchens are something to do with it.

Geuze

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121294687#Comment_121294687

"can't prepare a toasted sandwich behind the bar, there must be a dedicated kitchen"

I have seen this done in UK and France.

So it seems that Ireland is over-zealous with regulations?

Geuze

I have been in this bistrot in Paris.

The bar staff cut bread and made sandwiches behind the counter, on front of customers.

Is that not allowed here?

bucketybuck

Lots of pubs do food, almost all of them I'd say.

Why everything is priced at €9 is a mystery though.

waterwelly

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121294783#Comment_121294783

The HSE quote EU standard regulations. But go into a bar in Spain and it's interpreted a lot more leniently.

Sultan of Bling

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121294682#Comment_121294682

The pint of Guinness is really good in there imo.

Never understood the fuss on the sandwich, though I prefer one of them to the "beef dripping chips", you see on pub menus nowadays.

Dial Hard

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121294795#Comment_121294795

I wish you could get a bite to eat in a pub for 9 quid these days. Prices are through the absolute roof since the days of the €9 "substantial meal".

CGI_Livia_Soprano

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121294832#Comment_121294832

Do you not have an off switch? You’re always whinging.

JVince

The regulations are not onerous if you are doing a half decent trade in food. Even €1000 a week food sales would be worth it.

But for a sideline, the sales are not there and you'd have a fair level of food waste and add in the regulations and you have a loss making sideline

bog master

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121294904#Comment_121294904

I would think €1000 a week is a sideline. You may need to hire extra staff for serving and cleaning, even 3-4 hours a day by a wage cost of say €15 per hour would well eat into that €1000-and NO PUN INTENDED!

Strumms

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121294794#Comment_121294794

just speaking from my own locals perspective… there just wouldn’t be room.

Parisian bars are mostly table service. You don’t have people thronging around the bar ordering drinks, you sit for the most part and order.

Geuze

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121294943#Comment_121294943

In the three pubs I mentioed, the same staff served beer as served the food.

No chefs, no waiters.

enricoh

Used to get sandwiches in a plastic wrapper that they put into toaster, wrapper n all years ago. Hit the spot when a bit of soakage was required.

Some jobsworth from the HSE probably put a stop to it! Was over in Italy recently n one corner of the bar had a bottle of gas n a few hobs knocking out grub. They'd be condemned n closed over here!

JVince

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121294943#Comment_121294943

Exactly, even doing €1,000 a week on very basic offering of sandwiches/ pies (we don't really eat pies here) and a gross margin of 65%, it would most likely be loss making

joebloggs32

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121294548#Comment_121294548

Like that I worked in a pub with a proper coffe machine, i used to hate it when someone ordered a cappuccino or Irish coffee as you knew it would create a dominoe effect and you'd be stuck to make a liad of them.

bog master

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121295003#Comment_121295003

You did I will admit. I am coming from a rural, local pub perspective. Generally one staff on. If anyway busy, one staff is not enough to serve drink and do minimal food preparation and service and clearing of tables. Again I will note there are posters from large urban areas and their pubs (generally quite large) and those of us in rural Ireland.

Dial Hard

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121295001#Comment_121295001

The Grogan's toasties are all pre-made and popped into the toaster by the barman/maid once ordered.

They're bog-standard, as others have said but at a fiver each, probably the cheapest sambo in town by a long shot. If you're having a few pints, get a bit peckish but don't fancy a full feed, I can see the appeal.

Insect Overlord

You'd miss the 02:15 toasties in Costello's in Limerick after a night of beer-pong and moshing to indie rock upstairs in a funky cloud of secondhand smoke.

waterwelly

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121294922#Comment_121294922

Many publicans only want to serve drink.

€7 pints and cover bands has its share of the market too.

Tork

I'd say the regulations have a lot to do with it. A pub near me used to do a good trade at lunchtime, selling soup and fresh sandwiches etc. They decided to stop doing them after a visit from some sort of inspector. The choice was to either spend thousands upgrading the existing kitchen or stop doing the lunches they had been selling. They started doing a cut down version of lunch for a while (might have just been the soup) but then they stopped.

It's a real shame. It'd be lovely to have the option of going to a tapas bar or similar. I guess bar owners aren't willing to take a chance on it, knowing how much it'll cost to get going. There's no guarantee it's a viable business model either.

Leg End Reject

An old local of mine used to do soup and sandwiches in the noughties, and chips, cocktail sausages and gougons on big sporting occasions. They also served lunch Mon-Fri. The bar staff used to let locals go out to the kitchen to make their own when they were busy in the bar.

The kitchen was always spotless, but the bar staff didn't have time to prepare food when it was busy. It was a popular pub so they were busy most of the time.

They stopped serving food after a few years, probably due to regulations. No one ever got food poisoning though.

What was with the plastic on the toasties? It was horrible.

Aurelian

Spain are brilliant at bar food. Every bar has someone in the back cooking.

Every bar is open for coffee and toasted breads etc in the morning too.

babyducklings1

Probably regulation. Parents friends had a restaurant said the food safety regulations and checks were rigorous. Glad of this over all as hopefully can be assured that we are getting safe food when we eat out. Reminded of the recent case in Paris of botulism over canned / preserved sardines. Can never be too careful around food safety I think,