London prices

There is no doubt everyone is feeling the pain of our stumbling economy. Customers don’t have the same level of disposable income as they did a few years ago. One can blame Covid and Brexit for that. Restaurateurs, and most small business owners, are not making the same level of profit – if at all – either. You can blame Covid, Brexit, Russian aggression and rapacious energy suppliers for that.

So it really irks when the odd customer complains that we – Watson and Walpole – are charging “London prices”.  First, it’s simply not true. A London restaurant, offering similar quality of Italian food to ours, is charging between £22 to £28 for a main course pasta – and with no truffles involved. Indeed, the latter price is for tagliatelle alla ragù Bolognese. We charge £19 for the same dish. In any case, it’s always completely apparent that the grudge-filled customer has never eaten in London in their life. (It’s illuminating looking at their other reviews: normally pubs, cafés and the likes of Zizzi.)

But my main gripe is how ignorant most people are about restaurant overheads and yet still blame us for overcharging. Do these people even go food-shopping? Somehow, I doubt it or they’d realise parmigiano is now over £25 per kilo as is fresh cod.

To breakdown our charges in simple terms, if you pay £10 for a starter the government, in the form of HMRC, instantly grabs 20%. That reduces what we get to £8.30. Staff wages account for another 30% which leaves us with £5.90. The ingredients count for another £2.40. That leaves £3.50 to cover all our overheads from cutlery, crockery and glass to staff uniforms, menu paper, till rolls, order pads and napkins, kitchen disposables (blue paper, detergent, aluminium foil, clingfilm, etc.) and floor cleaner. And a whole lot more, too stressful to list.

I have deliberately left out the biggest burden of all: energy costs. Our electricity bill, which accounts for lighting, aircon/heating and all the kitchen equipment, went up last year from £750 per month to £3,500 per month. As an example, in December (when we were closed for several days) for every customer who came into the restaurant we had to pay the rapacious EDF £3.00 per head. You do the maths as to how much profit is left for the restaurateur out of that £10 – bugger all.

Yes, we don’t have to pay quite such extortionate rate and rents as restaurants in Mayfair and Kensington. But nor do independent restaurants in Hackney and Peckham. What we all have to pay, in exactly the same measure, is 20% VAT, the high cost of good ingredients, staff wages, general overheads and energy. Whether you trade in Fulham or Framlingham, no restaurant is making a fortune. Most of us are barely scraping a living — and we’re the good ones, the ones that customers come back to time and time again. Thank God.

So this is why the next time someone complains of “London prices” I would like to condemn them to a lifetime of Zizzi’s pizza as sold by Tesco:

Dough (58%) (Wheat Flour, Water, Durum Wheat Semolina, Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Salt, Flour Enhancer (Wheat Starch, Flour Treatment Agents: Ascorbic Acid, L-Cysteine), Yeast, Dried Barley Malt Extract), Tomato Sauce (Tomato Pulp, Salt, Dried Oregano, Dried Basil), Flaked Mozzarella Cheese (13%) (Mozzarella (Milk), Rice Flour), Sliced Spicy Paprika Salami (5%) (Pork, Pork Fat, Salt, Hot Paprika Powder, Spices, Sugar, Antioxidant (Ascorbic Acid), Preservative (Sodium Nitrite)), Crumbled Pepperoni (4%) (Pork, Pork Fat, Salt, Hot Red Pepper Powder, Chilli, Spices, Sugar, Antioxidant (Ascorbic Acid), Preservative (Sodium Nitrite)), Sliced Hot Peppers (3%) (Sliced Red Jalapeno Peppers, Sunflower Oil, Water, Salt, Acidity Regulator (Citric Acid), Antioxidant (Ascorbic Acid), Firming Agent (Calcium Chloride))

The cost is only £4.25 – but let’s not forget the shopping time, car expenses, crockery, heating, cooking and washing up. But you do get a lot of added enhancers, preservatives and antioxidants, if that’s what you prefer to real food.

Watson and Walpole

Rob Walpole, and Ruth and David Watson, are co-proprietors and directors of Watson and Walpole, a neighbourhood Italian restaurant in the heart of Framlingham. The menu is arranged in authentic antipasti, primi, secondi and dolce style. While we love guests to avail themselves of all four courses we are more than happy if just an antipasto or primo is preferred before the secondi. For those who never eat animal products, we have a vegetarian-cum-vegan menu available. We are open for lunch and dinner from Tuesday to Saturday. Dogs are welcome at lunchtime - please mention when booking - but not dinner. Only children aged 10 or over may have dinner but all are welcome at lunchtime. Click Here
© 2024 Ruth Watson.