Food in nightclubs

mikemac · 04-01-2011 10:32pm #1

I wasn't sure which forum to ask, I hope the brothers can help. And settle a bet.
But mods, certainly feel free to move

In the late 1990's, I remember attending nightclubs and they gave out baskets of chips and cocktails sausages.

As I understood it there was some law/licensing situation that clubs were required to give out food. But alas, that's long gone now

Don't tell me I imagined this. :eek:

Or have I got it all wrong? Anyone else remember? A few places in the midlands did this

Silverfish · 04-01-2011 10:34pm

No, it was something to do with getting a late license, they had to serve food.

I remember getting a roast chicken, mash and veg in a nightclub in Moate.

And chicken and chips in the Ardboyne in Navan.

Bad times, bad times.

Dutchie · 04-01-2011 10:38pm

Ahhhhhhhhhhhh they were the days.

The club i used to go to during the nineties used to serve free burgers and chips to everyone who produced their entrance tickets.

Best burgers in town.

As far as i know it was a licensing law agreement with the local Judge, in order for them to have a night club license.

Toto Wolfcastle · 04-01-2011 10:40pm

I always thought it was gas when my parents used to tell me about going out to a club and eating a snack box.

Even a snack box couldn't entice me to go into a club. What's the point? Just go to the chipper instead.

paddydriver · 04-01-2011 10:43pm

Me and "the bird" (Not the one sat next to me now... who is now wife and Mammy) used to go to club 92 on Sunday nights (free ladies and men's concession passes) to get fed for free and then head home - she lived close by and was happy to drive - I got to have chips & sausages, and a few pints: Result!

Then one night I was biting into the sausage, bit through the fork and broke a crown I had on one of my teeth - I promptly left in a huff and didn't come back for some time; cost me £60 to get my crown back on - so much for free grub!:rolleyes:

Silverfish · 04-01-2011 10:44pm

janeybabe wrote: »

I always thought it was gas when my parents used to tell me about going out to a club and eating a snack box.

Even a snack box couldn't entice me to go into a club. What's the point? Just go to the chipper instead.

'twas free!

Free food!

Zaph · 08-01-2011 12:47am

That free food could be dangerous! A friend of mine once had the curry in one particular club when a piece of meat got caught in her throat and she started to choke. Someone did a Heimlich on her which caused the piece of meat to fly across the room at high speed. Closely followed by the several pints of beer that she had consumed over the course of the night. I am told it was a sight to behold.

yabadabado · 08-01-2011 5:39pm

I remember this,what was the reason for stopping it?change in licencing laws?

rainbowtrout · 08-01-2011 5:45pm

Most of the nightclubs in Limerick seemed to serve chili con carne which wouldn't be a good combination with a belly full of alcohol.

The Lodge, the nightclub out by UL used to always serve it. I knew students who would go to the nightclub (free in before 10) so they could have a few pints and 'free dinner'

irish_goat · 08-01-2011 5:49pm

Zaph wrote: »

That free food could be dangerous! A friend of mine once had the curry in one particular club when a piece of meat got caught in her throat and she started to choke. Someone did a Heimlich on her which caused the piece of meat to fly across the room at high speed. Closely followed by the several pints of beer that she had consumed over the course of the night. I am told it was a sight to behold.

You obviously don't go to many rural clubs, plenty of girls shovin meat down their throats still...

bungler · 09-01-2011 12:15am

Wouldnt mind an oul bowl of coddle next time im out on the dance floor nom nom nom

mikemac · 09-01-2011 1:13am

What's coddle?

Never heard of it in my life

Tefral · 09-01-2011 1:15am

feelingstressed wrote: »

What's coddle?
Never heard of it in my life

a "Stew" of rashers, sausages, onion and potato

bungler · 09-01-2011 1:16am

feelingstressed wrote: »

What's coddle?
Never heard of it in my life

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coddle

Its a real Dublin dish but jaysus id do anything for a bowl of it

mikemac · 09-01-2011 1:16am

Ah, must be a Dublin thing
I'd never heard of it

bungler · 09-01-2011 1:18am

Yea its very Dublin my good man

MonkeyDoo · 19-01-2011 3:45am

rainbowtrout wrote: »

Most of the nightclubs in Limerick seemed to serve chili con carne which wouldn't be a good combination with a belly full of alcohol.

The Lodge, the nightclub out by UL used to always serve it. I knew students who would go to the nightclub (free in before 10) so they could have a few pints and 'free dinner'

I remember picking tickets off the floor that had "chili con carne meal" on them to go back for second dibs....ahh the life of a student ;-)

Joe10000 · 19-01-2011 3:55am

Annabells was always curry and blinkers/92 sausages and chips. Every club had to serve food to comply with the licencing law of the day.

evercloserunion · 19-01-2011 4:00am

Never liked coddle, definitely wouldn't go to a nightclub for it. Saw it on the menu in a restaurant there the other day, I just think it's a very odd dish to have anywhere except at home.

_feedback_ · 19-01-2011 5:40pm

I remember the Greville in Mullingar back in the day having the full carvery on the go during the night club. Madness!

Sofiztikated · 19-01-2011 5:47pm

Why is everyone saying it's madness?

I think it's a bloody brilliant idea! Although it would screw the chippers over.

mikemac · 20-01-2011 1:52am

Glad to see so many remember these days

I wonder why it stopped. I might stroll over to legal forum and see if they know what happened.

JabbaTheHut · 20-01-2011 2:08am

Yep. Twas a great idea. iirc, It was working backwards; as in, when food was served, then alcohol could be too. So beer was served, ONLY once food was too.

Ahhh, the olde days, when you could get drunk, and fed, for next to nought. There was more to World Cup '90 than football

Sugarfree · 20-01-2011 2:12am

Does anyone here remember the Grill nightclub in Letterkenny. They had an actual chip shop in the nightclub, I think its well gone now.

Mint Sauce · 20-01-2011 2:16am

Sugarfree wrote: »

Does anyone here remember the Grill nightclub in Letterkenny. They had an actual chip shop in the nightclub, I think its well gone now.

Was just about to post that, think it was late ninties early noughties.

Food was about as bad as the venue.

Tar.Aldarion · 20-01-2011 2:36pm

voodoo lounge sold pizza! mm

Senna · 20-01-2011 8:20pm

irish-stew wrote: »

Food was about as bad as the venue.

Jesus, dont say that, many a Sunday night was spent in Bella's, £5 (maybe less) in and you got a ticket for food.
The mates used to get a curry chips and coleslaw, which looked like crap and i always got something different, but one night i was particularly drunk i order it.....fecking heaven. couldn't even look at it sober, but it just "worked" on a belly full of beer.

Them were the days, i think they only ever served the food on week nights or a Sunday night, think they could serve drink later on Fridays and Saturdays without the food.

mikemac · 20-01-2011 8:40pm

Asked over in Legal forum and got this rather excellent explanation

coylemj wrote: »

I'm not sure where it is now but it goes back to the 70s when cabaret joints with restaurants attached to them exploited a loophole whereby a person consuming a 'substantial' meal could be served drink for an hour after normal closing time.

The definition of a substantial meal was that it was a meal that could be considered a meal in itself or as the main course of a meal 'and for which it would be reasonable to charge not less than 50p' - 63 cents in todays money.

This gave rise to the chicken dinners at cabaret spots all over the country. You paid an admission charge which included the meal and you got a voucher for the meal, most of the vouchers were never redeemed because almost everyone was there for the extra hour at the bar.

Any of the old style dance halls that hadn't been killed by discos were completely wiped out by this development as it meant that in most towns on a Saturday night there was a big migration from the pubs to the cabaret spots at closing time for an extra hour's drinking.

hrcbob · 23-01-2011 11:03pm

This late meal was the only decent food i got in the week when i was living in carlow town in around 99.. The foundry did a decent enough feed of chilli/curry/ or sausage and chip in a little room over the jacks.. i was a regular customer of a thursday nite and part of the nite out was the wonder of what was gonna be for dinner that nite ..

donutheadhomer · 26-01-2011 6:00pm

i used to work in tropics in Limerick and hated cleaning up the curried vomit. also the food used to come from the kitchen in a black plastic sack in a shopping trolly that we used to push across the floow.

LostinBlanch · 26-01-2011 7:03pm

rainbowtrout wrote: »

Most of the nightclubs in Limerick seemed to serve chili con carne which wouldn't be a good combination with a belly full of alcohol.

The Lodge, the nightclub out by UL used to always serve it. I knew students who would go to the nightclub (free in before 10) so they could have a few pints and 'free dinner'

BTW that was also the place that used to play Rock The Boat as the last song when the staff couldn't be arsed cleaning the dancefloor!

Food in nightclubs

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