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Food & Beverage 2019

The Burger Kitchen was still as bad as I remember a few years ago. A lake with wet floor signs around the drinks fountains and no sauces in the dispensers. Same mushy, soft chips. Bland burger, it had toppings on it but somehow you can't taste them. Still avoid from now on. I found Just Chicken was actually quite good in comparison.
 
I’ve been fried chicken or just chicken depending what they want to call it a few times this season and the food has been really good there this year.
 
GaryH said:
So, RCR tonight..... Not bad, staff very keen to give out slips of paper with their names on them asking you to leave reviews on TA if you are happy. Frequently then coming around to ask if everything was ok. One order was late coming so they couldn't do enough to speed it up. Obviously management are acting on all the bad reviews of late. Was a decent night in there though, food was ok.
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If they are doing this [slips of paper with names on / requesting TA reviews / OTT service] then leave a review - but quite clearly make it clear the staff were requesting it - the message will start to filter back to management.

If the food & service was genuinely excellent / very good anywhere, I'd be inclined to leave a review on TA under my own steam. Ditto if the food & service was notably poor / terrible.

So start your Average TA review on the RCR with "Average experience - only leaving the review because it was requested by staff member [name]".
 
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I've been to other restaurants where staff give cards with their names on them asking for reviews IF they enjoyed their meals. I don't have a problem with this personally as I will always leave a honest review regardless of any cards being handed out.

The staff were much better however this visit and very attentive and the food was ok. I say ok because for the price, it was nothing extra special but your typical AT fayre.

I would have given it 4 out of 5
 
So the ‘grab and go’ style Pizza offering at Explorers has risen from £5 to £6. I decided to look at a restaurant which offers a similar model and their pricing.

‘Za’, a ‘grab and go’ spin-off offering by PizzaExpress, offers pizzas by the slice for £4 in Central London. Arguably with higher quality ingredients, and in a place which has exceedingly high overheads and rent costs.

Another great example of Merlin being greedy but also not providing great quality. Za must have great profit margins; I dread to think how much profit Merlin make from this offering. £2 more expensive than a high quality brand in Central London. Baffling!
 
Not really.
There are thousands of other options, even if sticking to pizza, in central London to choose from.
So the price must be competitive.
Za also has a far greater operating period to sell their goods, Towers has about five hours to sell its produce.
Similar product, completely different market.
Supply and demand are not the be all and end all.
Prices are set to maximise potential profits in a closed market.
 
This is just something all companies do. Take holiday companies and flights for example, lots of demand, they put the price up. Towers are doing the same, it must be obviously popular. I think £6 is still decent value for the 3 items you are getting , especially when compared to Burger Kitchen.
 
Do they do thin crust at Alton, or is it still that deep pan rubbish. I would buy a loaf of bread and make a sandwich if I wanted to eat what is basiclly bread with some thinly coated ingredients ontop.
 
DistortAMG said:
Do they do thin crust at Alton, or is it still that deep pan rubbish. I would buy a loaf of bread and make a sandwich if I wanted to eat what is basiclly bread with some thinly coated ingredients ontop.
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Can't see them doing thin crust - people will eat more, so it'll cost them more in toppings. It'll be deep-pan only so guests fill up on the thick pizza base, which is cheaper then the toppings. It's the same reason why the unlimited fizzy drinks are included in Pizza Pasta - it helps to fill people up so they eat less.

It's a well known trick in the business. Near where I live there is a good Indian buffet place - they charge £2.50 for a [quite large] fizzy soft drink & tell you to keep the glass for unlimited free refills at the bar, in the hope you will fill up on CO2 from the drink & eat less.
 
Uncommon opinion, I know, but I actually really like deep pan pizza! Potentially more so than thin pizza, although thin pizza is nice! So in that regard, I don't mind if Alton Towers keep serving deep pan pizza!
EDIT: Actually, they could do what Pizza Hut did last time I went there and let you pick a base from a range of choices; then everyone would be happy!
 
Matt N said:
Uncommon opinion, I know, but I actually really like deep pan pizza! Potentially more so than thin pizza, although thin pizza is nice! So in that regard, I don't mind if Alton Towers keep serving deep pan pizza!
EDIT: Actually, they could do what Pizza Hut did last time I went there and let you pick a base from a range of choices; then everyone would be happy!
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Pizza Hut don’t do that on their lunch buffet. All you can eat places tend to have stodgy foods to minimise consumption.
 
Ah right, that must only be at their table service restaurants. Thanks for the clarification @Dave! Have Towers ever considered turning Pizza Pasta into a table service restaurant? They could generate a lot more money if they served 3 courses in that sort of format, although I suppose very few people will want a 3-course meal in a theme park.
 
Dave said:
Pizza Hut don’t do that on their lunch buffet. All you can eat places tend to have stodgy foods to minimise consumption.
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Yep usualy thick crust and extra strong flour to bump up the calories and stodge per slice. Wouldn't surprise me if they add whey or other protein powder in also as protein levels are a big part of how full you feel
 
Matt N said:
Ah right, that must only be at their table service restaurants. Thanks for the clarification @Dave! Have Towers ever considered turning Pizza Pasta into a table service restaurant? They could generate a lot more money if they served 3 courses in that sort of format, although I suppose very few people will want a 3-course meal in a theme park.
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I think people genuinely would eat 2 or 3 course meals if the park opened long enough to warrant having a longer lunch break. When the park is only open 6 hours on some days, even 15 minutes for lunch feels like you’re wasting time. I eat at a completely different restaurant at Towers during Scarefest compared to the days where operating hours are significantly less.
 
Daft question time. Do all the F&B outlets take card? Even the small ones scattered around the park?

Our bank notes are different here in N.Ireland and not accepted on mainland UK even though they're pound sterling. I usually get a load of bank of England notes for our visit but I don't like carrying a lot of money around with me on park.

Please do not say you thought we used Euro here or some strange leprechaun currency. I'm British and live in part of the UK.
 
Pretty sure almost everything in the park takes card payment these days apart from the arcade machines and maybe some vending machines (most seem to have been adapted). F&B outlets are more likely to be cashless than cash only.
 
Could we please keep the discussion a little more...savoury? (no pizza pun intended). Just removed a few rather inappropriate posts. ;)
 
Don't know what is going on RCR this year but the reviews continue to be dire. Have they had a new chef or something? I say chef quite loosely as we know putting precooked food in a microwave to warm it up isnt really cooking!
 
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