JD Wetherspoon founder Sir Tim Martin has revealed why a classic dish was officially removed from the pub chain’s menu last year, and the reason may surprise you.
When it comes to budget-friendly eats, cost-price pints, and cheap-as-chips cocktails, Wetherspoons really is king.
The UK-based company’s portfolio boasts over 800 establishments across England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, with plans in place to open the first in continental Europe next month.
Last week it celebrated Burns Night, with haggis, neeps, and tatties, while deals such as money off pizza, gourmet burgers, and the infamous curry club continue running from Monday to Friday.
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If you’re a regular pub goer, then you may have noticed that a fan-favourite dish suddenly disappeared from the menu in May last year.
It’s understood that despite the main’s popularity, it was raising serious issues behind the scenes.
In a new interview with The Sun, Martin claimed punters were unhappy with how part of it was being prepared and were sending it back to right the apparent wrong.
Following backlash, the item was later omitted from all Wetherspoons restaurants.
The bad news is that we’re talking about the meat-tastic Mixed Grill, which included sausages, gammon, steak, a choice of chicken or pork, egg, mushroom, tomato, chips, and onion rings.
Martin explained that complaints about how the steak was cooked kept cropping up, leading to the Mixed Grill’s eventual expulsion.
“It was mainly the steak issue,” he stated.
“There’s no two people in the UK who agree what a medium steak is so they were getting sent back a lot and it was causing us a lot of aggravation.
“We struggled overall to do it well. So, do what you do, do well, we simplified the menu….it’s still a pretty big menu.”
Wetherspoons still has a plethora of meaty dishes available to purchase, including: Wiltshire cured ham, which is served with eggs and chips, bangers and mash, and the all day brunch.
The latter, which costs £10.51 with a soft drink after 5pm, comes with two fried eggs, bacon, two Lincolnshire sausages, baked beans, and chips.
Other options include a sticky Korean fried chicken bowl, a KFC-inspired boneless basket, and a burger topped with pulled bbq beef brisket, American-style cheese, and maple-cured bacon.
Speaking on Times Radio, Martin explained how his company had been hit with ‘enormous’ cost increases in the last couple of years.
“In the first Budget, a year or so ago, it was £1.2 million increases per week for Wetherspoon, £60 million a year, all the different things that have been done amount to even more in the current year,” he lamented.
“So, it’s a very challenging cost environment for pubs.”
Martin’s worries come amid newly-proposed drink-driving limits, with experts warning additional policy measures would be a ‘real concern’ to pubs in rural areas.
The BBC reported that the Department of Transport’s new legislation would see the drinking limit falling from 80mg per 100ml of blood to around 20mg.
The new limits are part of the UK government’s new road safety strategy, which hopes to reduce fatalities and serious injuries on Britain’s roads by 65 percent before 2035.
Topics: Restaurants and bars, UK Food
Ella Scott