What do we eat at a pub?

I've read that eating at pubs is much cheaper and many times even better.  Since we have 4 young children, we are looking for economical eating.  But since my kids are picky eaters, I'm wondering if we will find something at a pub that they will like to eat.  We will be living in Uxbridge maybe Ruislip-they are in MIddlesex. 

I found a thread here that directed the OP to a site called "beerintheevening".  I've looked to see if I saw any pubs in the area we will live at, but for now I just want to get an idea of what type of food (examples please) are served.  THANKS!!

It depends on the pub - some don't serve food at all and some have a whole restaurant section. Also, not all pubs allow children inside - usually pubs that serve food are family-friendly (e.g. Wetherspoons), but some won't let anyone under 18 in.

But general British Pub food includes:

Burger and Chips
Pie and Chips
Roast Dinner (usually on Sundays)
Jacket (Baked) Potato (with various fillings) and Salad
Bangers and Mash
Ploughman's Lunch
Hot Pot
Pasties
Sandwiches
Salads

The more restaurant-based pubs offer a wider variety of food (including children's menus), such as:

Pasta dishes
Curries
Panini's
Stir-fry

However, if you're looking to eat cheaply, I'm not sure pubs are really the way to go. While they're generally cheaper than restaurants, the food is still fairly pricey compared to the US and is getting more expensive as time goes on (http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2007/oct/16/lifeandhealth.foodanddrink)

Wetherspoons is a well-known chain of pubs that do food.
You might want to take a look at their menu here:

http://www.jdwetherspoon.co.uk/food-and-drink/

I hope you mean eating in pubs is cheaper than eating in a nice restaurant. It's not cheaper than eating at home.

Also, the cost of beer and wine adds up.

ETA: Oh, I see that was mentioned before.

I always find eating in quite a nice pub about the same price as eating in a decent restaurant.     Recently I took my mother and sister out for dinner in a niceish pub and it cost £70 for the four of us.  Only my husband and I were drinking alcohol too. 

Wetherspoons is a well-known chain of pubs that do food.
You might want to take a look at their menu here:

http://www.jdwetherspoon.co.uk/food-and-drink/

You can eat cheaply at Wetherspoons: they have various special offers and a special kids menu, however some Wetherspoons are not very nice to take kids to as their cheap booze prices attract a lot of drunken yob types. Their food is quite decent though.

The Harvester & Brewster chains are very family friendly but to be honest the food is not very nice at all, especially Brewsters. But again they do have kids menus and some of them have play areas for young kids.

You can eat cheaply at Wetherspoons: they have various special offers and a special kids menu, however some Wetherspoons are not very nice to take kids to as their cheap booze prices attract a lot of drunken yob types. Their food is quite decent though.

The Harvester & Brewster chains are very family friendly but to be honest the food is not very nice at all, especially Brewsters. But again they do have kids menus and some of them have play areas for young kids.

Agreed. I refuse to eat in pubs due to either grotesquely overpriced or rubbish, frozen food for children. We eat out alot with our two, but never at pubs....we do the italian/indian/chinese/thai rotation...

Every single time I go out for a pub meal these days I wind up saying, you know, I could do a better dinner than that. Especially if its a Roast Dinner...

Yes, some pubs have fantastic food...and I do find the Chef and Brewer chain to have generally consistantly good food and good prices.

Chain pubs are like chain places anywhere some are good and some are bad.  Weatherspoons near us was a place for cheap booze and had the clientel to prove it.  The Harvester in Plymouth is actually pretty decent.  Most nice country pubs just aren't that cheap, but boy are some of them good!

Most nice country pubs just aren't that cheap, but boy are some of them good!

I agree!! And some of them actually are cheap! Some also do use a lot of pre-cooked frozen stuff, but there's really no way to tell which pubs are good unless you try a few.

Thank you for the replies.  I guess as w/any place to eat, it might be a hit or miss on the food quality and taste.  Hopefully once we are there, we can get a feel for what is a good place and what is not. 

Harvester is great, especially for the kids. They have a lovey fresh salad bar and you cant go wrong with fish and chips or a burger or a piece of roast chicken. And they do 1/3 off during the day for adult meals so not bad for those on a budget.
Altho, I would avoid the white meat chicken breast dishes as its processed..

You should probably just ask other parents where you live  for recommendations.

Harvester is great, especially for the kids. They have a lovey fresh salad bar and you cant go wrong with fish and chips or a burger or a piece of roast chicken. And they do 1/3 off during the day for adult meals so not bad for those on a budget.
Altho, I would avoid the white meat chicken breast dishes as its processed..

Their salad bar is good but don't you find a lot of their food is very bland and usually overcooked? Or maybe I've just been unlucky.

You should probably just ask other parents where you live  for recommendations.

Jings!  Thanks for making the rest of us feel useless!