Pub gets round Tier 2 rules with new 'Boris menu'…

Pub gets round Tier 2 rules with new 'Boris menu' featuring £1.99 meals

An Essex pub has launched a brand new menu that will enable pub-goers to enjoy alcoholic drinks without breaking the bank under the new Tier 2 rules.

When the lockdown ends next week on December 2, pubs and restaurants in Tier 2 areas will be allowed to open to serve alcohol as long as they serve a 'substantial meal' with the drink.

The Kings Head in Gosfield near Braintree has brought out a new menu allowing their regular customers to enjoy a drink but still conforming to coronavirus rules.

Named "The Boris Menu", it allows people to enjoy a substantial meal alongside their drinks, without spending a fortune, reports Essex Live.

Starters and desserts on the menu are just 99p while main courses are £1.99.

The menu is aimed at people who want to go out during Tier 2 restrictions to have a drink and a smaller meal, as permitted by the government's Tier 2 conditions. The menu prides itself on providing 'cheap dishes to keep the hospitality trade going'.

England will come out of the national lockdown and go into its various tiers next week (POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

The pub is aware of the financial difficulties the coronavirus pandemic has caused, so created the menu to allow people to have a cheap meal with alcoholic drinks, while helping the hospitality sector stay afloat.

The pub does already serve food and has a variety of menus already, but for the pub-goers who are not looking for a large meal, there is now a range of smaller meals starting from 99p for starters and desserts, and £1.99 for main courses.

The Kings Head owner, Matthew Arnold, 38 said: "I was getting quite frustrated with having to keep opening and shutting the pub and also adapt the way we operate each time the Government rules change.

"Every time a new regulation is implemented it incurs a lot of time and cost for pubs to abide. It's the frustration that prompted the menu idea initially at the same time as catering for customers that don't necessarily want a large and costly meal each time they want to visit us.

"I'd thought about doing something for a while with the loom of the tier change. We have a great mix of destination diners and local drinkers. The diners will be accounted for so I needed a way of looking after our locals that use the pub as the hub of the village.

"The Boris Menu seemed a good way for people to continue to enjoy what we do whilst sticking to Government guidelines and not breaking the bank.

"Our current takeaway and delivery service is also successful and helps out a lot of the more vulnerable people. I'm hoping The Boris Menu will also prove a strong tool in continuing to keep the village together during these hard times.

"Everybody wants us to be open but they all understand the current climate. The tier was unfortunately inevitable but we're trying to counteract the negative affects with ideas like The Boris Menu. Maybe the customers will be pleased as it's probably cheaper to eat at our pub than at home."