Food & Beverage 2018

[AstroDan]

Team edit 19/01/2018 - Please use this thread for all F&B discussion throughout the 2018 season!
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To be honest, Towers St Bar & Grill is dreadful.

• The décor is appalling.
• The food is dreadful.
• The drinks are rubbish.

 

[jon81uk]

To be honest, Towers St Bar & Grill is dreadful.

• The décor is appalling.
• The food is dreadful.
• The drinks are rubbish.

Two of those three are easy to fix. Given that Woodcutters has a similar menu and the general opinion is it’s better then they should be able to get the food at Towers St up to scratch. Similarly changing the drink selection isn’t difficult.
The decor I don’t know about as I haven’t been in since the canteen counter was removed. But if the food and drink is good I can put up with poor decor.
In fact there is no reason why they couldn’t bring the smokehouse menu to Towers St restaurant or the Peri Peri chicken menu that Chessington has before they got the smoker.
In fact that could be a good solution. Grilled chicken at Towers St, burgers and ribs at woodcutter and Rollercoaster Restaurant, fried chicken in X Sector and Katanga has pizza.

 

[delta79]

If they retro style it to the style of towers street then they can get away with half the decor they have in there now.

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[JB1985]

Two of those three are easy to fix. Given that Woodcutters has a similar menu and the general opinion is it’s better then they should be able to get the food at Towers St up to scratch. Similarly changing the drink selection isn’t difficult.
The decor I don’t know about as I haven’t been in since the canteen counter was removed. But if the food and drink is good I can put up with poor decor.
In fact there is no reason why they couldn’t bring the smokehouse menu to Towers St restaurant or the Peri Peri chicken menu that Chessington has before they got the smoker.
In fact that could be a good solution. Grilled chicken at Towers St, burgers and ribs at woodcutter and Rollercoaster Restaurant, fried chicken in X Sector and Katanga has pizza.

That’s an absolutely brilliant idea for food - is the Pizza Buffet still there? As long as they are all reasonable price wise, say £8-£10 for a meal then you can’t loose here with the range of food tour suggesting.

As for the decor - last time I went in it was very canteen like. If they can refit it to be similar to the new McDonalds roll out then that should last then 10 or so years

 

[Dave]

Trouble with Towers Street bar and grill is the location, no one is around there at lunch time. Unlike other parks with main entrance streets or plazas you don’t need to cut across the top of Towers Street to cross the park as you bypass across White Bridge.

 

[themeparkfan]

Trouble with Towers Street bar and grill is the location, no one is around there at lunch time. Unlike other parks with main entrance streets or plazas you don’t need to cut across the top of Towers Street to cross the park as you bypass across White Bridge.

Yes but it would be nice to get breakfast when we arrive or some tea before we leave and hit the road


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[delta79]

It would be great to see a 'for the road' menu to run from say an hour each side of park close.

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[venny]

They used to actively encourage staying behind to ‘miss the traffic’. A far cry from ‘give us the parking fee and get out’.

 

[MakoMania]

One problem is that opening times are often too short to justify spending any substantial period of time in a restaurant.

 

[jon81uk]

is the Pizza Buffet still there?

Pizza buffet is still in Katanga Canyon and is now £12-13 (but of course includes unlimited soft drinks). I think Woodcutters is around £10-12 for mains and Rollercoaster Restaurant is £12-15. Then there is fast food from Burger Kitchen or Fried Chicken for around £6-7 for a meal inc drink.

 

[Matt.GC]

There isn't much reason Towers Street Bar and Grill can't reopen. It could open early before the park does for breakfast, there was always a steady trade when it used to, fry up ingredients and other breakfast staples are notoriously cheap and easy to lay on in the catering industry. It could run on as little as 3 staff (1 cook, 1 serving and plating up, 1 on tables/plating up).

It wouldn't be busy lunch time for reasons already mentioned but with a café style menu, it wouldn't need much staff to run. Looking at the queues, even on quiet days at other park outlets, if it had a fraction of that trade it would be perfectly feasible. In the evening it could stay open after park close serving up cream teas, booze and a small, simple pub grub style menu.

The main problem with it would be the decor, but the floor can be easily covered and you'd be surprised what some paint and a change of lighting can do. Those toilets however look very 1970's.

 

[jon81uk]

Also Towers St Grill is only a three minute walk from the courtyard where the smokehouse counter is planned. With the right signage and promotion on park maps I'm sure people would walk the extra distance.

 

[James]

I'm sure you could drive guests in CBeebies Land towards Towers St Grill too, given there's not a huge range of food in CBeebies Land.

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[Matt.GC]

I'm sure you could drive guests in CBeebies Land towards Towers St Grill too, given there's not a huge range of food in CBeebies Land.

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Yes, it seems ironic that Towers St Grill is now closed after all these years of service when the area next to it is now busier than its ever been. Worth noting as well, that not only has Cbeebies Land got a very limited food offering, but Towers St Grill sits on the main route between Cbeebies and other family ride areas of MB, KC and GW.

 

[GaryH]

Its an area that could be utillised in the closed seasons and throughout Christmas. In the closed seasons, open the gardens and have this open as a restaurant for a few hours. At Christmas it could open for food and Christmas themed lunches.

As for during main season - open it for Breakfast and price it sensibly, i.e. £6.95 for a breakfast and hot drink and the place will be packed out. Then as others have said, open it at park close for a goodbye meal before you hit the road. Sad if its closed after all these years

 

[WickerManiac]

As for during main season - open it for Breakfast and price it sensibly, i.e. £6.95 for a breakfast and hot drink and the place will be packed out.

Couldn't agree more with this. The prices at Merlin parks I think are too over inflated that they disincentive visits to their eateries which results in low quantities. Surely it is better to have a restaurant filled with 50 people paying £5 per meal as opposed to 25 people paying £10?

I think the economies of scale at Merlin's RTPs aren't exploited enough. This model can also be linked to their admission pricing strategy too.

 

[BarryZola]

Couldn't agree more with this. The prices at Merlin parks I think are too over inflated that they disincentive visits to their eateries which results in low quantities. Surely it is better to have a restaurant filled with 50 people paying £5 per meal as opposed to 25 people paying £10?

I think the economies of scale at Merlin's RTPs aren't exploited enough. This model can also be linked to their admission pricing strategy too.

Na, I'd rather have the 25 people paying £10. More room and quieter for the diners and it'll cost me less in supplying and cooking food. Plus we'd take the same amount of cash in total. Maybe you'd like to rethink your sums

 

[WickerManiac]

Na, I'd rather have the 25 people paying £10. More room and quieter for the diners and it'll cost me less in supplying and cooking food. Plus we'd take the same amount of cash in total. Maybe you'd like to rethink your sums

In an ideal world - yes!

But on a more serious note, if they sell more food however at the same price they can exploit their economy of scale. Buying food in bulk instead of in low quantities brings with it savings which is financially beneficial. Not to mention spends on drinks etc. in the venue.

 

[AstroDan]

To be frank, the reason Alton Towers are not opening Courtyard Tavern (i.e. adding Smokehouse), not opening Ripsaw Café, not opening Towers Street Bar & Grill, not opening Wobble World Café, not opening the Dark Forest kiosk outside of summer/Scarefest, not opening Spinball Noodles and not opening Rehydrator (lower floor) is due to the dropping budgets at the park over the past few years.

Even though the number of guests in 2018 should, quite obviously, be greater than any of the past two years, the food and beverage offering will, for now at least, remain stubbornly limited.

The most worrying thing of all is that in the year that they are adding a £15m rollercoaster experience, there's nothing else that seems to be happening in terms of operations to back that up...

 

[jon81uk]

@AstroDan I get the general point. But some of those have already been replaced (but lost in other areas).
Coffee bar in forbidden valley replaces ripsaw cafe. But we lost fish and chips
Spinball noodles was pointless in a dead end, we gained little explorers lunch box which makes more sense to have it inside CBeebies land.
Wobble world cafe is only worth it if wobble world is open. But of course it really should be.
The dark forest fast food stuff is an odd one. Having Woodcutters and Burger Kitchen nearby means there is better indoor offerings with seating available. But at peak season the extra places are needed open as the tuck shop at the entrance to dark forest can’t cope with the drink refills.

So yes, they need more places open for weekends and school holidays. But not all of the places you list are actually needed.
Again thinking about it, having smokehouse or similar at Towers St grill and then adding fish and chips to mutiny bay would make more sense. Fish for sale in a bay is perfect and adds back in a popular cuisine that is missing.
Also of course we gained Rollercoaster Restaurant recently.

Basically the park needs to focus on getting enough good quality stuff every day and then add the extra fast food kiosks on weekends and holidays only. Something that Drayton Manor, Oakwood and other parks always have done. Better to plan and prepare with staff and stock for peak days than open lacklustre kiosks every day.