Racecourse Prices Index: how much for food and drink at Down Royal?

The Racecourse Prices Index (RPI) is a new and occasional series, in which we report from each of Britain and Ireland's racetracks on the cost of going racing. 

Racecourse report: entry, food and pint prices from Down Royal

Down Royal

Date visited: Friday November 4, 2022

Was it a big day?

It was the first day of the Northern Ireland festival of racing, the biggest meeting of the year at Down Royal and a key jumps fixture in the early part of the season. There was a good crowd as expected.

How much was entry on the gate?

£20, £15 for seniors and free for under-14s.

Other than restaurants/hospitality, what were the food and beverage options?

Corporate areas are well catered for at Down Royal and there is quite a large reserved area too in the new grandstand, as well as a reserved marquee near the winning post.

The main action for food and drink for the public is in the Grandstand Bar. The bar area is large and well stocked, and even around midday the trade was brisk, although there were no long queues.

There are a nice few food options, even if they all serve similar fare. In the Vanilla Black cafe/restaurant at the far end of the grandstand, there are mostly burger options, with the large gourmet burger costing £6.50 and the chicken fillet burger trading at £6. Chips are an extra £4. Other choices are the £5 jumbo hot dog with all the trimmings or the warm bacon roll at £4.50.

The exit at the end of the grandstand brings you into the food court, and the main burger van had quite an extensive selection, with a few items not normally seen from such an outlet on an Irish track.

Included are the pork belly at £8, a goat's cheese bonbon for the same price, and chicken tacos at £7. The Aberdeen Angus steak burger, advertised as being 6oz dry-aged was available for £6.50, £1 extra with cheese. The old northern staple of the sausage supper could be purchased for £7.

For someone fancying a bottle of champagne, a short walk towards the winning post is the Dark Horse wine bar, where a bottle of Heidsieck can be bought for the reasonable sum of £50.

What's the damage?

Bottle of water: £2
Cheapest pint: £5.90
Guinness: £5.90
Champagne: £50 a bottle
Burger: £4.50 to £7.50, depending on your sense of adventure

Most drink prices taken from Grandstand Bar

What was the burger like?

The burgers looked delicious – but when in the north – and all that, I went for the old reliable sausage supper, and a good choice it was.

The old Down Royal staple - the sausage supper

And the queues?

There was a nice buzz around the bar and plenty of people around from quite an early stage, but the queues were well managed and nobody had to wait long.

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