Beware of the Bottomless Brunch
and BYOB
When you’re reading this, just picture me in bed with a flannel on my face, alcohol sweats mixed with a hint of anxiety, butterfly clips still in my hair from the night before and temporary tattoos on my arms that will never leave my skin. I went to a hen do. And not any old hen do I might add, it was my sister’s hen do as she ties the knot next month.
The day started off with alcohol and finished with alcohol and fried foods. The perfect meal combo.
It brings me on to what I want to chat about this week…
THE BOTTOMLESS BRUNCH
It’s 3.30pm in Shoreditch, East London. The gates of hell have opened up as a swarm of dressed up and heeled huns leave one of the many bottomless brunches in the vicinity. The smell of pornstar martinis and vomit fills your senses, the loud cheers and hoarse voices of the women who have just sang their heart out at an ABBA themed brunch. Some need assistance of their peers to even stand up as they took the two hours of unlimited booze a bit too far. Usually the woman with the bridal sash, is sitting down on the floor regretting that last pina colada.
The bottomless brunch. It started off in the late 19th century where combining the words “breakfast” and “lunch” to create the term "brunch" became a phenomenon. It is now a huge marketing ploy by getting people absolutely rat arsed within two hours of sitting down. The issue with a bottomless boozy brunch is that I see it as a challenge. How many cocktails can I consume within 120 minutes? The limit does not exist, until my head is down the toilet at the venue, throwing up the mediocre pizza included in the price.
Since the coronavirus pandemic, we’ve seen a surge in the number of brunch events in London as well as other big cities like Manchester and Leeds. Don’t get me wrong, they can be fun but the food is not always the show stopper anymore. You get some that provide a cold stodgy pizza, plain unseasoned chicken burger or even a measly slice of toast and an undercooked or overcooked poached egg. I would like to see more places take pride in the food they serve, I know some places there is no point in doing that as people are only there for the drinks mostly but some of the foodies, like myself, would like to enjoy something that tastes of something. Maybe I’m just a snob now.
BYOB
Speaking of alcohol, the trade publication The Drinks Business found that restaurants are hiking up the price when it comes to corkage fees to make a profit. What is a corkage fee? It’s a charge that you pay when you bring your own wine to a restaurant and it helps regain the costs of uncorking, pouring and serving the alcohol as well as the washing up afterwards. The Drinks Business say that customers will be paying on average £12 to £15 per bottle. The Restaurant, another trade publication, says some London restaurants are charging a whopping £100 a bottle and charging the increased amount due to the market value of the wine.
So what’s the issue with this?
The soaring cost of running a restaurant is not helping so that business owners are having to add little price hikes here and there to keep going. It’s also a way to deter people from bringing their own and getting something off the wine list.
I think people will only bring their own wine if it’s worth it or celebrating a special occasion with an old vintage bottle. We might see less people bringing their own especially if restaurants hike up the price too extensively.
Thanks for reading as always. If you know someone who would like this newsletter, do send them this one. I would appreciate it!
Next week, I will be chatting about fat clubs and our obsession with weight loss.
Have a good rest of your week.
Chloe x