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Scottish Sun
17-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Scottish Sun
Best and worst value bottomless brunch revealed from high street chains like Slug and Lettuce and Las Iguanas
We rated bottomless brunches for big chains based on price, drinks options and how long you can booze for CHEERS Best and worst value bottomless brunch revealed from high street chains like Slug and Lettuce and Las Iguanas Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) FANS of bottomless brunch will tell you its a marathon not a sprint. Necking too many Bellini's before your eggs benedict is served can see you bundled up in a cab home before midday. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 2 We share the best place for bottomless brunch in the UK 2 Seasoned pros will tell you its better to wait until after your food is dished out - and your stomach is lined - to crank up the bevy order and try to get your money's worth. Today, nearly every high street boozer offers some variation of the day-drinking bonanza. But which spot gives you the most bang for you buck? Take a look below to find out. Slug & Lettuce Rating: 4.5/5 Price: £33.95 per person Sunday to Friday, £39.95 per person on Saturday £33.95 per person Sunday to Friday, £39.95 per person on Saturday Drinks: Eight cocktails to choose from, along with spirits mocktails and larger Eight cocktails to choose from, along with spirits mocktails and larger Food : Good mix of brunch classics alongside some stodgy options for soaking up booze : Good mix of brunch classics alongside some stodgy options for soaking up booze Time: 2 hours The drinks selection is impressive as it includes processo and cocktails, such as Woo Woo and Aperol Spritz, as many independent pubs and bars only offer prosecco or mimosas. There's only one beer option - Amstel. Which might be a downer for larger fans. Food is included and it has classics like eggs benedict and avocado and poached eggs. There are also a few more stodgy options, ideal for soaking up the booze, like a bacon cheeseburger and fries or shredded chicken and waffles. The whole table can upgrade for £10 per person to get access to a choice of Pornstar Martinis, Espresso Martinis or S&L Sangria. I tried Butlin's 90's Reloaded Weekender breaks with DJ pool parties and bottomless booze This would take your bill £43.95 per head. All in all, its a pretty decent spot considering you can expect to pay £13.45 for two Aperol Spritz at the joint if you just came for drinks with a friend. The bacon cheeseburger, when your not doing bottomless costs £13.95 on its own. So even if you ordered two rounds of 2 for 1 cocktails and the burger your total would come to £40.85. That's a saving of £6.90. If I was planning a bottomless soon, Slug & Lettuce would be my go too. Those who can look past the flowery decor and neon signs can get their hands on a decent meal and impressive drinks list for a bargain price. LAS IGUANAS Rating: 4/5 Price: £37.95 per person everyday until 3pm £37.95 per person everyday until 3pm Drinks: 10 cocktails to choose from, along with prosecco, Corona and spirits 10 cocktails to choose from, along with prosecco, Corona and spirits Food : Tasty menu that will excite those sick of avocado on toast : Tasty menu that will excite those sick of avocado on toast Time: 2 hours This is a South American themed restaurant and is often a fan favourite amongst Uni students. It's bottomless brunch comes in at slightly more pricey than Slug & Lettuce at £37.95 per person and is available everyday until 3pm. You get two hours to drink and eat it up and food is included in the price. Again, you can expect an array of cocktails and just one beer option a Corona. If you are off the sauce there is an option to have soft drinks instead. Off the bat, the cocktails are not as well known as what our first contender offers. Drinks like Coconut Sour Bomb and Wray of Sunshine are likely to deter fussier guests. There is also a risk you order something you don't like. However, when it comes to food the high street chain is a little more adventurous, ditching the eggs and offering a Katsu curry instead. You can also try a chilli con carne or mac 'n' cheese instead. Quesadillas are also an option for those in need of carbs. You can upgrade for £5.50 per person to try the premium menu, which includes enchiladas. That would take your total cost to £43.50. While slightly more expensive, this bottomless menu sounds much more enticing than other chains. In terms of value, a Woo Woo costs £9.50 on its own. But the chain regularly runs 2 for 1 offers through out the day. The price of a main costs around £15. So if you ordered two rounds of 2 for 1 cocktails and a main it would come to £34. That comes in around three quid less than the price of bottomless. Being realistic, many people will have more than two or three cocktails when they head to a bottomless. But it is something to bear in mind if you plan to take it easy. This would be a good second choice for those looking to do bottomless on a bargain. I think the food choices are by far the best of any high street chain, and while the cocktail list is a little less unknown, most would find something they like. MEGAN'S Rating: 2/5 Price: £25 per person £25 per person Drinks: five options including prosecco, breakfast martinis Bellinis, IPA five options including prosecco, breakfast martinis Bellinis, IPA Food : Extensive list of Mediterranean delights, but not included in price : Extensive list of Mediterranean delights, but not included in price Time: 90 minutes This trendy cafe is loved by many for it's Instagram worthy aesthetic - but how does it hold up in terms of bottomless. You get less time - 90 minutes - for £25 per person every weekend and bank holiday until 5pm. The drinks selection is slightly less generous than what we have seen with other chains. Also, the £25 only covers bottomless, so you will need to add extra for your food. As you are not ordering off a set menu, the options are endless and include everything from shakshouma to open kebabs. Prices range from £14.90 for the shakshouma to £13.90 for the kebab. There are cheaper menu items such as £7.90 for eggs on toasts or £6.90 for loaded hasbrowns, but you may not be very full after eating this. If you opted for the loaded hashbrowns with bottomless, you would pay £31.90, which is cheaper than other contenders. However, if you opted for the open kebab with chicken & halloumi chargrilled chicken thigh & grilled halloumi you would be adding another £17.90 to your bill, taking it to £42.90. In terms of value, a breakfast martini costs £10.90 at Megans if you are not doing bottomless. Those not doing bottomless would pay £43.60 for four drinks, and then would have to add whatever extra for their choice of meal. Megan's was voted the best spot in London for bottomless brunch, but I would have to disagree. It's great customers have a varied menu but I believe doing a bottomless at Megan's runs the risk of becoming pricey. The drinks selection is also a tad bit boring. From the mimosas to the bellini's to just straight up bottles of prosecco. It feels like an overload of the poor man's champagne. A glass of bubbly is already a pretty inexpensive drink to order at a pub, so I don't really feel like I am being treated here. That's compared to Slug & Lettuce or even Las Iguanas, where customers get a chance to order round after round of pricey cocktails they would normally be hesitant to order. Turtle Bay Rating: 3/5 Price: £40.88 £40.88 Drinks: 20 cocktails no beer or spirits 20 cocktails no beer or spirits Food : Tasty Caribbean menu perfect for carb loading : Tasty Caribbean menu perfect for carb loading Time: 2 hours This Caribbean themed restaurants promises two hours of bottomless drinks and one meal for £40.88 per person. You get a choice of cocktails, but no spirits or beer are on offer with at this chain. Cocktail fans have a range to choose from, including Passion Fruit Coconut Espresso Martini, Reggae Rum Punch and Strawberry Daiquiri. There is a varied menu and customers can pick anything from its brunch or lunch selection, which is included in the price. This includes Mac & Cheese, Curry Goat or Ackee on Sourdough Toast. Like many of these high street chains, Turtle Bay offers 2 for 1 on cocktails during specific times during the day, and drinks cost around £12. If you headed there during happy hour and ordered two 2 for 1 Strawberry Daiquiri's and the Curry Goat (£16) it would come to £40. That's 88p cheaper than if you did bottomless, and while you may plan on drinking more it's something to consider. While the food and cocktail selection is good, this is one of the more expensive bottomless options on the high street. If you are not planning on drinking your body weight in Reggae Rum Punch. I would recommend sticking to the 2 for 1 cocktails offer to save cash. TGI FRIDAY'S Rating: 3.5/5 Price: £29.95 £29.95 Drinks: five drinks no cocktails five drinks no cocktails Food : Selection of American style fast food : Selection of American style fast food Time: 2 hours Many people might be unaware the American themed diner offers a bottomless option. Customers pay £29.95 per person and get a choice of the five drinks including TGI Fridays American Pilsner, House Vodka, Rum, Gin and whiskey for two hours. For an extra £5 you can upgrade to bottomless cocktails such as Aperol Spritz, Strawberry Daiquiri, Bubblegum Daiquiri, Piña Colada. That would take your cost to £34.95. In terms of food you have a choice of wings. mozzarella dippers, nachos and fries are included with every order. You can again upgrade to have a main, which will add an extra £10 to your bill. The drinks option for TGI's basic bottomless package is not very exciting, and I think many would end up upgrading to get free flowing cocktails. In terms of food, the fact orders come with fries is a plus and I think their is something for everyone on the menu. Compared to places like Megan's or Turtle Bay, the food is quite plain but great for lining your stomach ahead of a night on the town. Those not doing bottomless would pay £9.50 for mozzarella dippers, £4.50 for fries and £19 for four vodkas. That comes in at £33. That's a saving of £3.05 for those who did bottomless. For those who could stomach bottomless vodka cokes, this might be a hidden gem. But I fear the majority would struggle with this limited drinks choice, and would recommend a party splashing out an extra £3 or £4 to go to a different chain. The fact you get food included in the less than £30 price point, gives TGI some brownie points but I would not be rushing out anytime soon. Who comes out on top? Taking time, drink, food and price into consideration, Slug & Lettuce appears to come out on top. The trendy pub chain has something for everyone on the menu, and you get a chance to save on expensive cocktails, such as Aperol Spritz or Sex on the Beach. At £33.95 it is more expensive than Megan's but food is included in the price. A close second would be Las Iguana's but the lack of well known cocktails within it's package lets the chain down.
Daily Mail
29-04-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
Britain's biggest pub chain hikes prices of drinks by 4% with could add up to 20p onto the cost of a pint
Britain's biggest pub chain has hiked prices of drinks by four per cent - in a move that could add 20p onto the cost of a pint. Stonegate Group, which owns bars including Slug & Lettuce, Walkabout, Be At One and Popworld, is set to increase prices for its leased and tenanted pubs to get booze from May 2. The prices are likely to then be put onto customers, which could add as much as 25p onto the price of a pint. The weighted average duty inclusive selling price - a calculation determining the average cost of goods considering their weight and tax - will rise by 8.2 per cent for cider. Wine and spirits will also both be hiked by more than 6.5 per cent. Stonegate Group, who operate more than 4,500 sites across the country, blamed price rises on 'considerable economic uncertainty' as they said boozers continue to be 'disproportionately impacted' by energy and staff costs. They told pub trade outlet The Morning Advertiser: 'This increase reflects the significant inflationary pressures and ongoing challenges faced by our sector, as well as our ongoing commitment to partner with our publicans to enable them to continue to play a vital role in the communities they serve.' A spokesman for Stonegate added to MailOnline that they expected other chains to also be putting the price of beer up by at least 10-15p. He said: 'Our annual price review this year reflects the significant cost pressures and challenges faced by our sector over the last 12 months. 'We are absolutely committed to supporting our publicans, enabling them to continue to play the vital role in the communities they serve.' It comes despite the Chancellor cutting draught duty by a meagre 1.7 per cent in the October budget, with cash-strapped Brits branding it a 'f***ing joke'. Industry bosses accused Labour of 'betraying' businesses and rowing back on its election pledges - with new celebrity publican Jeremy Clarkson calling Keir Starmer's government 'hopeless'. In a scathing critique Mr Clarkson, who opened his £1million pub in the Cotswolds last year, wrote on X: 'Rachel Reeves. I literally daren't comment,' before adding. 'We have a new government. It's turning out to be hopeless.' And his former Top Gear co-host James May lamented: 'Cripes: a penny off a pint of beer. This is a small step to putting the 'great' back in to United Kingdom.' It comes just a month after Guinness manufacturers Diageo revealed the price of a pint of the black stuff would be hiked by 4.2 per cent from May 1. It will affect Guinness sold in a keg, microdraught and Guinness Surger - although 0.0 and Guiness Draght in a can will not be affected.
Scottish Sun
29-04-2025
- Business
- Scottish Sun
Popular UK pub chain with Glasgow branches to hike beer prices
Find out how much your favourite drinks will cost Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) A POPULAR UK pub chain with several Glasgow branches is set to hike beer prices in a fresh blow for punters. Stonegate Group, which owns boozers such as Slug & Lettuce, Walkabout and Popworld, says the change will come into force from Friday, May 2. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 1 Stonegate Group is set to hike beer prices Credit: Roddy Scott Their portfolio also includes The Merchant, Home, The Ark and The Howgait in Glasgow, among others. Bosses say the move follows "significant cost pressures and challenges" affecting the hospitality industry. The sector was hammered by closures during the Covid-19 pandemic and was immediately dealt another blow by supply issues and the cost of living crisis. A spokesperson for Stonegate said: "Our annual price review this year reflects the significant cost pressures and challenges faced by our sector over the last 12 months. "We are absolutely committed to supporting our publicans, enabling them to continue to play the vital role in the communities they serve." Stonegate is hiking beer and other booze selling prices by 4% for its leased and tenanted pubs. Boozers will likely then have to push this cost onto drinkers, which could add an extra 15 to 20p onto drinks. For example, a pint like Hofbräu Original Lager that typically costs £5.50, could now cost £5.75. Similarly, the Thistly Cross Traditional Sparkling Apple Cider that would usually sell at £5, could increase to £5.20. A number of pubs are also warning they will have to hike prices for customers this year after the Government's Autumn Budget. First look inside new Glasgow pub with a live train timetable board and hi tech cocktail machine Employer National Insurance Contributions (NICs) and the national minimum wage are both rising. But businesses have cautioned this will force them into upping the price of drinks as they try and absorb the extra costs.
Yahoo
20-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Britain's biggest pub group's debt costs surge to almost £500m
Britain's biggest pub company saw its financing costs surge by 50pc to almost £500m last year, as high interest rates put pressure on the debt-laden business. Stonegate Pub Company, best known as the owner of the Slug & Lettuce and Be At One chains, suffered a £214m loss for the year to October 2024 after the cost of servicing its debt pile rose from £301m to £455m. Debt costs grew far faster than sales across its almost 4,500 pubs. Takings increased by just £28m to £1.74bn over the year, recently published filings show. The figure underline the pressures on the private equity-owned business, which is sitting on debts of £3.6bn. Last July Stonegate's owners, private equity house TDR Capital, pumped £250m into the company to avoid defaults as part of a major refinancing deal. The rise in Stonegate's finance costs last year included sums associated with the refinancing. The transaction allowed the repayment date for Stonegate's debts to be extended to 2029 and saw TDR give up a stake in the pub chain to one of its lenders, Albacore Capital, which was also given the right to appoint a director to its board. TDR said at the time that refinancing meant Stonegate would be able to invest around £300m more into the company over the next three years. Stonegate was founded in 2010 when TDR Capital bought 333 pubs from Toby Carvery owner Mitchells & Butlers, and grew steadily following a series of acquisitions. As well as Slug & Lettuce, it runs the Popworld and Craft Union brands. The company racked up billions of pounds of debt when it bought rival pub company Ei Group in 2019 shortly before the pandemic shut down pubs across the country. Interest rates have also soared in the wake of the pandemic, putting pressure on the business. While its sales rose over the year to October, Stonegate warned in its accounts that customers were continuing to cut back because of the high cost of living in the UK. Management said they were having to 'work harder to attract guests to its pubs, bars and venues over our competitors'. The pub company was criticised last year for surge pricing after it emerged it was charging drinkers higher prices during sports matches. Phil Urban, the boss of rival Mitchells & Butlers, later claimed pub companies had used this tactic for 'forever and a day'. Stonegate bosses also raised the alarm over the impact of a slew of tax rises levied on employers this month by Rachel Reeves, including a rise in the rate of National Insurance (NI) contributions and a lowering of the earnings threshold at which it is paid from £9,100 per year to £5,000. Hospitality chiefs have argued that the move will disproportionately hurt their industry because of the large number of lower-paid and part-time staff they employ. In a bid to mitigate the impact of the tax raid, Stonegate said it had kicked off negotiations with its beer suppliers over prices and would consider raising some prices in its pubs too. David McDowall, Stonegate's chief executive, said the company had more recently benefited from 'improved trading in the second quarter to date, notwithstanding continued headwinds including the unseasonably bad weather and ongoing cost pressures'. David Ross, the company's chief financial officer, said: 'While we anticipate significant cost pressures, especially in labour, we are well-positioned to maintain our trajectory of profitable growth moving into 2025.' Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. Sign in to access your portfolio
