Crapisfactory

Some of you may have noticed I like pubs. I also quite like restaurants, and indeed, one of my favourite pubs is both.

Yesterday, we went out for a Valentine’s night meal. Very nice too, at a well-respected local Thai restaurant. We went by taxi, as, quite frankly, there was no way I was driving and the weather was grim, plus we’d had to book an early table.

A great meal. Good price too, but there’s no bar to sit and drink in, so we went round the corner to The Crown to get a drink, and order a taxi.

It struck me how much I dislike this kind of place. It’s no longer a pub: it’s a “restaurant” that happens to serve beer, and at a price. You just know the food will be microwaved, and while it’s 2-for-1, the prices are inflated to take account. The staff are pleasant enough, but it doesn’t sound sincere- it comes from a manual, with an air of faux obsequious tone that jars with me: I’m not a sir, please don’t patronise me.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s OK, if you’re happy with that kind of place, but this sort of homogenised, corporate, bland, marketed, formulaic approach to food and drink just depresses me: It’s like a thin parody of a pub or restaurant. It would be better were it not pretending to be a traditional pub: it falls into the same bracket as other “restaurant” chains like Frankie & Benny’s, etc, which is why the new cinema and leisure centres in town aen’t thrilling me greatly. A cinema will be nice, but it seems that I’m in a minority in not wanting more identikit chain restaurants.

One Response to “Crapisfactory”

  1. Willenhall Lad Says:

    If you are up for a drive (or a ling bus ride) try The Fox at Shipley for their exotic meats and pleasant staff.