One of the biggest challenges while travelling is eating. It take most of your expenses but is an essential part of the enjoyment. We are always challenged to find good food that is cheap. The is easy in Asia with their huge variety of street food however in Europe this is not so easy. Eating in a restaurant every meal can soon add up and end up shortening your holiday but living on two minute noodles and pasta sauce really is not and option. So is finding a cheap meal in a pub dead and buried in the UK
We were staying in a small country village with no cafes, or cheap eateries. It’s in an area where people are quite affluent and after visiting the local pub for a meal and coming away with an empty wallet it had us wondering what ever happened to the cheap pub meal did it only exist these days in the Pubs linked to the big chains in mass produced food.
These days the budget meals are alive and well in Pub chains like Weatherspoons which seem to be in every town and city offering cheap roasts and meals for about $10-$15. These are places where you can fill up on quite good cheap meals but it still had us wondering what ever happened to the cheap local pub meal. After a meal at one of the other chain pubs selling £6 roasts, which were quite filling however not so tasty we were still at odds whether a cheap pub meal still existed outside the bigger centres.
Earlier in our trip we’d wandered into the Old Oak pub in a little village near Langford to take shelter from the rain and dry out a bit. We ordered our meals and were pleasantly surprised with two quality meals for a cheap price. That had us wondering whether cheap meals only existed in the towns way off the beaten track. We decided to put this theory to the test.
We’d been told about a little pub not far from Kings Langley at the little village of Belzise called “The Plough” so we decided to check it out. It wasn’t the biggest pub with inside seating for about 25, a small courtyard and a decent sized beer garden. We ordered off their lunch specials menu and were surprised that the meals were about the same price as the big chain but a hell of a lot tastier. The meals were made fresh and in true British tradition the service was excellent. One thing about most pubs, cafe’s and restaurants in the UK they have high quality food service staff. They will go out of their way to ensure you have a great dining experience.
We checked out another small village pub and discovered instead of having the big meal which you’re unable to walk after a smaller meal which was quite filling could be purchased for about £ 6.50. Another local also had a lunch special Fish, chips and salad for around the same price.
So in summary there are cheap fresh pub meals out there to be had, you’ve just got to know where to look . Best of all the cheap pub meal is still alive and well.
Happy eating.
