Brewers Fayre, a brand name of Whitbread PLC is a good family orientated restaurant that is also well favoured by many adults both young and old. In this review I hope to give a strong in-depth look at not only what the brand is like to have a meal at, but also to show what it is like to work ... Read review
NH Hotels, the hotel chain leader in Europe, with more than 300 hotels in 20 countries in Europe, Latin America and Africa. Enter into our web site and find the best available tariff at all times
Advantages: Quick service, good service, nice food and good value. Disadvantages: Bar is fairly expensive, working hours are long, pay isnt great. 90% of food is microwaved.
Brewers Fayre, a brand name of Whitbread PLC is a good family orientated restaurant that is also well favoured by many adults both young and old. In this review I hope to give a strong in-depth look at not only what the brand is like to have a meal at, but also to show what it is like to work at one of this brands restaurants and Whitbread PLC. I will start with my experience in dinning at these restaurants. I have visited many pubs and restaurants ... ...like any other decent pub/restaurant. Brewers Fayre are well aware that most of their customers are generally families with young kids looking for a good value meal where the kids are made to feel welcome and/or are elderly couples looking for a decent fairly inexpensive meal. They cater for both quite well. Kids are given Activity Packs, basically a folded A3 sized piece of paper with various colouring-in activities as well as simple mathematical ... more
Brewers Fayre, a brand name of Whitbread PLC is a good family orientated restaurant that is also well favoured by many adults both young and old. In this review I hope to give a strong in-depth look at not only what the brand is like to have a meal at, but also to show what it is like to work at one of this brands restaurants and Whitbread PLC. I will start with my experience in dinning at these restaurants. I have visited many pubs and restaurants under the Brewers Fayre badge, all over the country and in general they are all pretty much the same. The upper echelons of the company control the internal and external décor, and they have the same styling in every restaurant. Something that I find rather silly as although varnished wooden cladding and lovely rich red warm carpets may look all well in good in a small country pub, situated in an idyllic location, but in a pub that is situated next to a motorway service station the internal styling doesn't really gel.
Besides that nit picking of taste, the pubs are well furnished and look quite respectable. In most the atmosphere is warm, and much like any other decent pub/restaurant. Brewers Fayre are well aware that most of their customers are generally families with young kids looking for a good value meal where the kids are made to feel welcome and/or are elderly couples looking for a decent fairly inexpensive meal. They cater for both quite well. Kids are given Activity Packs, basically a folded A3 sized piece of paper with various colouring-in activities as well as simple mathematical problems and mazes etc. They are also provided with crayons and the pack does a fairly decent job of keeping the kids occupied whilst the adults chat and wait for their meals to be brought out. The 'Adult Only' sections of the restaurant work well and do a good job of drowning the noise of screaming kids from the family dining area and the atmosphere is generally pleasant and conversing with your friend at the opposite end of the table isn't hard.
Now then, on to the food. The pub opens at 12pm and serves for right up until 10pm. The menu is well varied and covers a lot of traditional British meals, from Sunday Roasts and Cottage Pies but they also serve some fairly well known international foods like Linguine and Lasagne's etc. Now generally the quality of the food is pretty good. Most of the meals taste good enough to eat and are well portioned and very reasonably priced. Now then, the thing that really lets the food down. 95% of the food comes pre-packed and frozen. Our chef's in the kitchen are nicknamed 'Microwave technicians'. Basically all the food is whacked in the microwave or fried. A lot of the food comes ready mixed or ready cooked, so it is just really a case of heating it up or adding water. The only foods the 'chef's' actually cook are the eggs, steaks and various other menial things like peas etc. You don't have to be a master-chef to work in the kitchen. This is ok, I suppose, but if you're looking for in-house cooked foods, stick to the steaks or don't eat here.
Service is very good, most of the staff I have encountered are friendly and helpful and will generally (unless you catch them in a bad mood :D) be very polite and do pretty much anything to make sure you have an enjoyable time and leave with pleasant memories of the pub. Food is usually delivered to your table promptly after you order, usually only a 10-20 minute wait, and when they're really busy waiting times can go up to about 30-40mins but the average is about 10-20mins. Once you have made your initial order at any of the food tills, you can expect full table service. This is both good for you and the company. They can get more chances of asking you to buy something and part with your hard earned cash and you don't have to get up, queue and then order it. You can continue drinking and eating whilst you're waited on hand and foot. If there's a problem with your meal your most likely be offered a replacement, along with sincere apologies and if that's not what you want then a free desert, drink or refund is perfectly ok. Their aim is to make you as happy as possible, and if the food doesn't then they will try there hardest to rectify it and let you leave with fond memories.
Since the value of meals is pretty respectable you'll be quite annoyed to find the bar is pretty steep. Ok, now I know I'm looking through the eyes of a student, but nearly £3 for a pint of Stella is steep in my opinion. You go to the bar for a round of drinks for your mates or family you wont be returning to them with a lot of change in your pocket. It's not extortionate though, and as long as you're not planning on drinking there all day a couple of pints won't break the bank,
Now then, I think I've covered everything on the customer side of things I'll move onto what its like to work in a Brewer's Fayre restaurant. There are three basic sections in the restaurant, the kitchen (chef's) the floor (waiters) and the bar (bar people) or as I like to call them, 'bar stewards'. J Ok well lets get a few general things out of the way. If you're going to work here, expect three things, long unsociable hours, sore feet and to be paid as little as your managers can get away with. Ok this is pretty much typical of any management in any place, their jobs are pretty much to save money etc. but sometimes when you are working really hard you just wished you were getting paid that little bit more and that your manager showed his appreciation more often. The work definitely doesn't reflect the pay.
From my experience, each job has its pro's and con's. If you work on the bar, your in the eye of the public for the entire shift, when its busy its hard to just get a breather, but when its not you can pretty much just stand around and do really easy jobs. If you work as a waiter you can take a minute break or so just to get yourself together but you have to walk great distances during a shift, deal with customers intimately on a one to one basis, be constantly friendly and appear happy smart and tidy. If you work in the kitchen, you don't have to walk anywhere and pretend to be happy, but you are in a greasy boiling hot kitchen for up to 13 hours a day. It's not great at the height of the summer when the kitchen can reach unbearable temperatures and all you want to do is go to the beach and chill.
The job in general is quite hard. You don't have to be a rocket scientist to work in this type of restaurant and it will only take you a couple of weeks at most to have most jobs under your job role nailed. You need to be a people person if you're working as a waiter of a barman. During a really busy shift it is quite hard to keep your cool when some bone idiot stops you when you have an armful of plates to ask if you have a table for 10 with the best views in the restaurant, when they can see quite clearly that it is absolutely packed. Or when you make a trek to an outside table, only to find they aren't sitting on the table they ordered from and have moved back inside without telling anyone. Then they complain because they have been waiting 1/2 an hour for their food. You wont believe how often that happens. But if you can just keep smiling you should be all right, and once you're in the kitchen you can always have a good giggle about it.
If you're not someone who likes going out at weekends then this is the job for you. Weekends are generally the busiest period for the restaurant and you expect to be working ten-hour shifts for the best part of them. If your working until 'end' then on average you wont be leaving until about 10:30pm - 11.00pm. Ok you've got a few hours to get out and have a good time before all the pubs and clubs shut, but if you've been working all day your not really going to be feeling like it.
Uniform is quite smart, it consists of smart black trousers, a black apron, either a blue or French mustardy chequered shirt and a name badge. Its generally quite comfortable and definitely not the worst uniform to wear. For the kitchen staff it's your bog standard kitchen whites, which are comfortable and fairly light. The yellowy mustard shirts are probably the worst to wear as they show up a lot of sweat. This is usually worn by anyone bellow the rank of management/supervisor but it really depends on what the general manager decides. In the pub I currently work at floor staff can wear either blue or yellow shirt. I'd recommend the blue one.
The pay isn't great. They tend to stick close to minimum wage for waiters and bar persons and a little bit more for kitchen staff. In theory the management are supposed to have reviews every 6 months or so, where they have a chat with you and decide whether or not to give you a pay rise etc. In my two and a half years experience of working there, under two different managers I haven't had one of these interviews and my pay has stuck to around minimum wage. Your best bet to getting a pay rise is to push for a job with more responsibility like a supervisor or team leader. The pay gets a little better, but doesn't really reflect the amount of responsibility you'll be handling.
Ok so I think I've covered most aspects of working and eating at a Brewers Fayre restaurant. If you have any questions about either please feel free to contact me at comicalgenius87@hotmail.com. Thanks very much for reading my review and I hope you enjoy.
Advantages: A well priced meal in a pleasant environment Disadvantages: None
Our local Brewers Fayre offer some good affordable meal deals,and given that the nearest one to us is only ten minutes walk away it has become a favourite visiting place.
Brewers Fayre is a large chain of around 150 restaurants,most of which have a Premier Travel Lodge onsite.
They welcome family dining,so you will often see large family gatherings,from Grandma to baby..so if you prefer to eat without being surrounded by children then maybe go ... ...favoured by most.
Our local Brewers Fayre is a modern building with a contemporary interior.
As you walk in the door.~~~
As you walk through the double doors,there is a distinct feeling of warmth and comfort,brown leather sofa`s and red upholstered chairs are gathered around the tables.
Of course there are many tables that have the traditional seating,and it all looks clean and well cared for.
High chairs are always available.
A modern colour ...
Sarahjh1 11.11.2008
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Brewers Fayre
Advantages: execellent service, food always piping hot and what you ask for, wide choice on the menu, even for those of us dieting,childrens menu, basically everything you wuld expect from a chain restaurant Disadvantages: None
...I enjoy it at the Brewers Fayre as you always get a warm welcome, your served quickly, your food is always correct and hot and the value of the food is good.
I have been eating at the Brewers Farye now for nearly 3 years and I can even still eat there being on a diet.
They are also very hygienic and clean as I have never had to request for clean cutlery or my table to be cleaned. I have never found anything in my food like I have in some places. ... ...going to return to the Brewers Fayre as I cannot fault them in anyway and I have always had execellent service from them. They do have a website so if you fancy trying them out sometime just to take a look and see what I mean log onto www.brewersfayre.co.uk enter your post code and they will tell you where the nearest is to you, there is also a telephone number so you can contact them for directions.
As long as the Brewers Fayre is in business I ...
coolchanty 10.12.2001
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Brewers Fayre
Being a regular when it comes to eating out, I thought I'd share my experience's of this restaurant with you. These are accounts of four different occasions at four different Brewsters. The following content may be slightly on the gross side and is entirely factual.Ahem...
GENERAL INFORMATION
You can find these restaurants at the side of busy roads and near slip roads. They look rather welcoming and usually have a large play area outside for children. ... ...off in the direction of the indoor play area. Of course, mums and dads have to pay £1 for their kiddies to enjoy the use of this facility. There may also be a big bear by the name of Brewster, roaming around with kids hanging off his arms and legs. This is the restaurant mascot, he usually hands out free balloons or sweets. They will also host your childs birthday party here for a sensible fee. When in the play area, their are various tv screens ...
cbrown1980 15.05.2003
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Brewers Fayre
Advantages: Traditional Pub Food Disadvantages: Plenty of room for improvement
Introduction
Brewers Fayre is a chain of restaurants operated all over the United Kingdom serving British pub food. They have a standard menu which ranges from Sausage and Mash to Warm Blackforest Pudding. My experience with them is fairly recently just from six months back. I have tried almost all the dishes as I am a frequent traveller who stays in Premier Travel Inn and have almost always depend on their group of companies such as Beefeater, ... ...The interior of all the Brewers Fayre restaurants are reasonably good. Some offer outside area to dine, children's play area (can be monitored from eating area), and they offer a great selection of drinks in their pub area. Very important thing is the water jugs. I always order a jug of water for the kids apart from our drink orders. Among the time we ordered fresh water, 99% of the time it was served in a jug with lime scale marks and greasy marks. ...
moneymaster 05.08.2006
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Brewers Fayre
Advantages: well trained staff, clean and tidy Disadvantages: standard menu across all branches
...had never eaten in a Brewers Fayre. They just did not appeal to me, however when we were staying in Torquay we were looking for something other than fish and chips along the harbour and decided to pay them a visit. Since then I have also been to one in Exeter and two in Oxford, so I now feel qualified to write an opinion on Brewers Fayre. I also took away a menu leaflet so that I could remember what was on it.
BREWERS FAYRE
+++++++++++++++
According ... ...of British food.
Most Brewers Fayre's are located next to a Premier Travel Inn. This means that if you are on a motorway stopover, you have somewhere to sleep and somewhere to eat. Really they are just a "posher" version of Little Chef!! They are set out as pubs, with a strong emphasis on food, most tables being laid up ready to eat.
Brewers Fayre have a standard menu which is used in all of their pubs. Although it does state on the menus that ...
kismet 20.04.2006
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Brewers Fayre
Value for Money
Standard of Menu
Atmosphere
Standard of Service
Cleanliness
Similar reviews »
Reviews which might be of interest for "Brewers Fayre"
Advantages: Free unlimited salad, a good family pub. Disadvantages: Can get very busy at weekend's, but this is the same for alot of places.
I'd never heard of the Harvester chain before until I came across a review online. Then nearby, a pub that was originally Brewer's Fayre closed down, and was later re-opened as a Harvester Pub & Grill meaning I could now try a Harvester Pub.
What is Harvester?
Harvester Pub & Grill restaurants are a family run chain and they have over 160 outlets in the UK. They bought a large number of Brewer's Fayres and Beefeaters, which explains why the nearby Brewer's Fayre suddenly re-opened as a Harvester pub.
The Earlybird Menu
They run an offer called the 'Earlybird meals' which offers some meals for £4.99 until 6.30pm, 7 days a week. A good bargain considering the prices of meals in other places! They also do some early bird meals for £5.99 and a selection of starts for £2.50. The £4.99 meals consists of ...
Advantages: Meat is nicely cooked Disadvantages: Rubbery veg
Crown Carveries took over one of our local pubs from BrewersFayre a couple of years ago, and I have to say whilst it's cheaper, it's certainly not an improvement.
For those that don't know, Crown Carveries is a national chain of restaurants, to find out if you have one close to you, you can check here
http://www.crowncarveries.co.uk/find-us.html.
My experience has not been a great one though.
Background
The carveries cost £3.50 for adults and £3.25 for children.
For that you get choice of meats, which are plated for you, and then you get to choose from a range of vegetables, which you plate yourself. Then there is a selection of sauces and gravy.
This carvery is available Monday to Saturday, then a more expensive carvery is available on a Sunday
My Thoughts
Firstly, there is no point buying the kids ...
Fiver29 23.09.2009
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Crown Carveries
Advantages: Discounted meals, fantastic surroundings, superb service Disadvantages: Some restaurants may only permit the offer once a year on the membership.
As a young couple just getting into the commitment area that is life i.e House, Wedding etc life's little treats we becoming few and far between, that is until I came across an offer on a discount website promoting the Hi-Life Diners Club.
The Hi-Life Diners club is a great opportunity for those that dine out reguarly and features high class restaurants including Est, Est, Est, The Fat Cat, The Slug and Lettuce, BrewersFayres, Nandos, The Living Room, Tiger Tiger and many many more.
I mentioned the offer to my partner who initially thought it to be a good idea but it was forgotten about until I picked up a leaflet several weeks ago from a local brewersfayre, we both also checked out the Hi-life website which listed a great deal of the restaurants.
I decided to contact the call centre to obtain my membership as I had ...
