When I was very young, in the late 1980s, my parents regularly took me to two different pubs. Both had outdoor equipment (slides, climbing frame, sandpit etc) for children. One served food in the "lounge bar".
When I visit London, it's not difficult to find a pub with no children and no food.
Things have changed, but you are exaggerating it.
My own local pub doesn’t do food, and (was) incredibly popular. CAMRA has a good guide to these places!
Yes let’s get back to the good old days where the men went to the pub and any bloody women could go to the saloon bar .... arrrgh!
I'd think the Rovers Return would count, no? They do the odd hotpot, and they do event catering, but other than that it's pretty much just drinks and darts ;)
Re:Why Restaurants Are So Fucked
by ironic_ali on Saturday May 02, 2020 @10:10PM
(#23056338)
> it's pretty much just drinks and darts ;)
And drama!!
It starts with Sunday lunches, and slips into weeknights.
It starts with order at the bar, and slips into little “reserved for diners” signs on most of the tables.
It starts with the barman working the sandwich toaster and slides into teenagers in white blouses and knee length black skirts with name tags saying “trainee” asking you to wait to be seated as you enter.
Pubs used to be adult domains where people went to drink and chat in the evenings. Now pubs put playgrounds and bouncy castles in the car park to bring in families to dine.
Of course there might be some classic true pubs left? Perhaps someone should make an app ... arrrgh!