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Food & Beverage: The Aramark Era begins

GooseOnTheLoose said:
Whilst it appears to be a massive increase in quality, and it's a positive to see themed food (we should praise the good), the price point is absolutely appalling.

Student Tickets for admission to Alton Towers, even on peak days, are £21. The combo deal is £1 less.

The ONLY justification for this price is that, in reality, for the majority of visitors it's actually £16 for a combo deal. Aramark outlets are contractually obliged to give all customers with an ATAP or MAP a 20% discount on items. Clearly Merlin do not financially compensate Aramark for the 20% loss in revenue, which hurts Aramark's profit margin. Ironically it's the pass holders who are bringing their own food and drink, opting to not spend on the resort, having been burned by the drop in quality and service. The CazzyVs (Casual Visitors) are the ones who will be most impacted by this price hike, and they're the ones who Merlin need to impress the most. You won't be able to turn them into repeat customers, of passholders, if they're not getting a great customer experience on Visit 1.

I would actively encourage Merlin to introduce some sort of price cap with Aramark outlets, or renegotiate the deal. In its present form it's alienating customers and damaging the reputation of both firms.
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A burger at GBK is around £12 and even at Gordon Ramsay’s restaurant in _Las Vegas_ is $27 so essentially the same. I hate to price compare like this and the special burger last year was nice but it wasnt £20 nice.
 
It might be the same as Five Guys (burger, fries, drink) but I am sure as anything the taste quality won't even be close (and in reality Five Guys is cheaper as their fries are always enough for 2-3 people, and unlimited refills on drinks). It just seems they haven't read the market, because as soon as you put £20 on a sticker for a burger meal the brain automatically says "no" (well actually says "How much/scamming b'stards" ).

When you start to price yourself out of a captive market, you might as well give up!
 
Just got back from Paultons. £12.50 in Route 83 diner for a burger, tornado fries and a soft drink. Huge portion of chips and all very good quality; a gluten-free bun was also available (prepared separately to avoid cross-contamination). It all took less than five minutes to be delivered (albeit after the main lunch rush). That is how to do park food.
 
Ate at Towers twice yesterday as it was a long day and we were rained on and chilled to the bone.

Lunch was at Eastern Express/Mutiny Bay burgers. I had the vegan wrap from EE, and it would have been nice except for the extremely vinegary dressing. It was proper vegetables, not fake meat which makes a change, but ruined by terrible dressing. Chimp had dead animal in a bun and said it was hot and tasty so she was happy but her coke was flat and didn’t taste of much, she didn’t tell me this until we were miles away so I didn’t bother going back.

Tea was at Woodcutters. I had the vegan curry, I’ve had it before, again it’s real veg not fake meat so very nice and although not massively hot and quite a small portion, it was tasty. Chimp had even more dead animal in a bun, but this time some corn on the cob too as a small nod to healthy eating. Again she was happy with it and it kept her going until close which was the aim.

If only Aramark could be consistent with quality and provide more options that aren’t “dead animal in a bun or variations in that theme” maybe we’d like them a bit more?
 
Alix said:
Ate at Towers twice yesterday as it was a long day and we were rained on and chilled to the bone.

Lunch was at Eastern Express/Mutiny Bay burgers. I had the vegan wrap from EE, and it would have been nice except for the extremely vinegary dressing. It was proper vegetables, not fake meat which makes a change, but ruined by terrible dressing. Chimp had dead animal in a bun and said it was hot and tasty so she was happy but her coke was flat and didn’t taste of much, she didn’t tell me this until we were miles away so I didn’t bother going back.

Tea was at Woodcutters. I had the vegan curry, I’ve had it before, again it’s real veg not fake meat so very nice and although not massively hot and quite a small portion, it was tasty. Chimp had even more dead animal in a bun, but this time some corn on the cob too as a small nod to healthy eating. Again she was happy with it and it kept her going until close which was the aim.

If only Aramark could be consistent with quality and provide more options that aren’t “dead animal in a bun or variations in that theme” maybe we’d like them a bit more?
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You keep saying dead animal in a bun as if it's a bad thing, but have you ever tried eating a live animal in a bun? It gets very messy very quickly. I'll bash Aramark, but I think this is the best option.

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£20 for the Halloween burger meals is an absolute joke, for the quality they serve up its about double what it should be.
 
"If God had wanted us to be vegetarian, he wouldn't have made chicken taste so lovely" 😁

I have no idea what Merlin are thinking.... People are happy to take time to travel there, take time off work, stay at their stupid-priced hotels (I do). Cheap tickets and over-priced food don't fit in the same boat. Charge me £30 and give me a decent meal and a nice glass of wine.
 
NuttySquirrel said:
Just got back from Paultons. £12.50 in Route 83 diner for a burger, tornado fries and a soft drink. Huge portion of chips and all very good quality; a gluten-free bun was also available (prepared separately to avoid cross-contamination). It all took less than five minutes to be delivered (albeit after the main lunch rush). That is how to do park food.
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I don't even particularly rate it there but it's certainly better than TBK!
 
Had two meals on park yesterday:

Lunch - Tikka wrap from Eastern Express. £9.50 but it was seemingly freshly cooked, tasty and the chilli sauce was actually spicy. Really enjoyed this, took about 4 minutes from ordering.
Dinner - Prosciutto and mushroom pizza from the Submission Memorial Garden Eatery. £17.50. A very nice pizza, cooked to order in what appeared to be a proper pizza oven. Almost entirely covered in Prosciutto. Took about 8 minutes from ordering.
I know EE isn't Aramark, but I believe the trucks are as they do MAP discount. So it's possible for them to do decent food, although the price was at least a fiver more than it should have been. Also, when we got to the SMGE at around half 5, two of the trucks (bar & fish and chips) were already shut and the burger one closed as we walked up to it.
 
We made the decision to swerve RCR this year and instead went to Woodcutters.

Had low expectations but was actually decent enough - think Hungry Horse pub level quality, although a bit overpriced. Loads of chips with the chicken flatbread. And, as a bonus, served Corona on draught (drinks are way overpriced - a large glass of mediocre wine was £10 😖). Importantly, very speedy service (and pleasant, friendly waiting staff).
 
Ate at the RCR for the first time on Friday and thoroughly enjoyed it, especially the chips which were up there with the best I've had in a long while. Would I eat there more often than not if I visited the park multiple times a year? Probably not. But as someone who only gets to visit the park once a year I don't mind paying a bit extra if the food is decent and the gimmick was good fun too.
 
Dobba said:
Ate at the RCR for the first time on Friday and thoroughly enjoyed it, especially the chips which were up there with the best I've had in a long while. Would I eat there more often than not if I visited the park multiple times a year? Probably not. But as someone who only gets to visit the park once a year I don't mind paying a bit extra if the food is decent and the gimmick was good fun too.
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That reminds me, i saw somewhere that the RCR is walk up only for Scarefest, is that right? If so how are the queues? Is it actually inside the park?
 
Bowser said:
That reminds me, i saw somewhere that the RCR is walk up only for Scarefest, is that right? If so how are the queues? Is it actually inside the park?
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It's the old Air Shop building so very much in the park, yeah.

We tried booking ahead and noticed that you couldn't do it through the app so we just walked in and got a table, with no queue. We were in there for just before 12 and there was a couple of groups already in when we arrived and three more turned up whilst we were eating.
 
Dobba said:
It's the old Air Shop building so very much in the park, yeah.

We tried booking ahead and noticed that you couldn't do it through the app so we just walked in and got a table, with no queue. We were in there for just before 12 and there was a couple of groups already in when we arrived and three more turned up whilst we were eating.
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The RCR is always walk-up only for Scarefest and Fireworks.
 
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