After 4 months of lockdown, our pubs and restaurants are now allowed to reopen – with the usual social distancing caveats.
Some aspects of the ‘new normal’ just sound awful. Barriers between tables, masked staff and customers, allocated times etc. They don’t make for a relaxing night out.
I have always tended to eat out at lunchtime and this will continue to be my strategy going forward. I never understand why more people don’t eat out more at lunchtime – it is tremendously good value. Our favourite Indian restaurant has a 2-course lunch offer for £7.99, the same meal at nighttime is over £20.
Thanks to my son we have gotten into the habit of getting up early, so we can get in an early lunch at 12pm and be out before 1pm, before a restaurant gets busy.
I have very little desire to get back into a pub anytime soon. I like pubs but I have cut back by alcohol intake dramatically this past year. I have had 1 pint since February. If I do go to a bar my strategy will be to go in the afternoon. It will be quieter and you also get the benefit of the booze wearing off before you go to bed. I am fanatical about sleep these days and I let nothing get in the way of a good nights rest.
I do pity the poor restaurant and bar owners, it was a tough game even before the plague. I suppose it is our public duty to get out there and stuff our faces – the economy needs the pounds even if your waistline does not.
I shall be heading to Bo Tree Thai in University St, Belfast as soon as they reopen. I also like The Bengal Brasserie on the Lisburn Road for the above mentioned dirt-cheap lunch deal. Our son will look forward to Little Wing Pizzeria reopening. I also notice Al Gelato the fancy ice cream shop has opened a new branch on the Lisburn Road right opposite Mauds, I hope our ice cream wars are not as vicious as the famous ones in Glasgow. Ice cream and a dander round the park is the perfect thing to soothe the soul in these trying times.
Are you looking forward to heading back to a favourite restaurant or bar? Feel free to give them a plug in the comments, they need all the support they can get.
Photo by Free-Photos is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA
I help to manage Slugger by taking care of the site as well as running our live events. My background is in business, marketing and IT. My politics tend towards middle-of-the-road pragmatism, I am not a member of any political party. Oddly for a member of the Slugger team, I am not that interested in daily politics, preferring to write about big ideas in society. When not stuck in front of a screen, I am a parkrun Run Director.