I'll freely admit that 25 years ago they were kind of pioneering in having a bean burger that you would want to eat and I used to go to the one in Yate maybe once a month?
Just looked to see where my nearest one is to me right now and it's 25 miles away in Porthcawl. Closed at the moment. With no opening hours all week.
― Bimlo Horsewagon became Wheelbarrow Horseflesh (aldo), Monday, 7 January 2019 14:19 (five years ago) link
xxp I went to high school in Worcester in the early 90s and don't remember a Wimpy there, it went McDonald's, Poppins, Deep Pan Pizza. I don't remember a Burger King in Worcester either, and that's usually the mark of a former Wimpy.
― mfktz (Camaraderie at Arms Length), Monday, 7 January 2019 14:23 (five years ago) link
Buns are wholemeal which they brag about iirc, don't have a problem with that tbh
― I can't dérive fifty-feev (Noodle Vague), Monday, 7 January 2019 14:24 (five years ago) link
seems the least of their problems, really
― an erotic picnic with Ming (bizarro gazzara), Monday, 7 January 2019 14:26 (five years ago) link
Xxp my mum says it was on the High St by Boots. Probably gone by the early 90s as that was the reign of Viking burgers
― Colonel Poo, Monday, 7 January 2019 14:34 (five years ago) link
There was a Burger King in Worcester late 90s/early 00s but that's long gone too
― Colonel Poo, Monday, 7 January 2019 14:36 (five years ago) link
https://media.boutiquehotel.me/instagram/standard/997011731703618892_455226494.jpg
this is my nearest one iirc, which is on a wind-battered cliff-edge on the greying outskirts of the already pretty scruffy town of peacehaven. maybe you can actually see it from france given good weather and military-grade imaging technology?
― my name is leee john, for we are many (NickB), Monday, 7 January 2019 14:51 (five years ago) link
normally loads of dogshit on that pavement btw, someone must've had a clean up before they took the photo
― my name is leee john, for we are many (NickB), Monday, 7 January 2019 14:56 (five years ago) link
Only Wimpy I've ever been in is the one in Huddersfield but I see it suffered a "shock closure"
― lbi's life of limitless european glamour (Le Bateau Ivre), Monday, 7 January 2019 15:01 (five years ago) link
i see your life of limitless glamour isn't confined solely to the continent, then
― an erotic picnic with Ming (bizarro gazzara), Monday, 7 January 2019 15:53 (five years ago) link
otm. u lot can leave the eu but huddersfield wimpy will always have a special place in my hedonistic heart.
― lbi's life of limitless european glamour (Le Bateau Ivre), Monday, 7 January 2019 16:06 (five years ago) link
that's called cardiovascular disease iirc
― an erotic picnic with Ming (bizarro gazzara), Monday, 7 January 2019 16:10 (five years ago) link
tomayto tomahto iirc
― lbi's life of limitless european glamour (Le Bateau Ivre), Monday, 7 January 2019 16:11 (five years ago) link
after brexit we'll no longer have access to tomatoes, so the question of pronunciation will be rendered moot on these shores
― an erotic picnic with Ming (bizarro gazzara), Monday, 7 January 2019 16:13 (five years ago) link
I went to the Hudds one a few times in late 70's early 80's but I can't remember much tbh. Watching sat matinee CFF shorts like Glitterball at the ABC cinema just up the road from it that got demolished to build the sainsburies is what gets my sad nostalgia pangs going these days.
― calzino, Monday, 7 January 2019 16:21 (five years ago) link
Still a Wimpy in Morden, apparently, which was my local as a kid, tho I don't remember going to it.
― Bênoit Balls (stevie), Monday, 7 January 2019 19:32 (five years ago) link
just googled to see where the nearest wimpey is to my hometown and there's only one 5 minutes away from my parents' bit, in strathclyde park
― ( ͡☉ ͜ʖ ͡☉) (jim in vancouver), Monday, 7 January 2019 19:42 (five years ago) link
Very sad about the Nottingham one. Not sure if I mentioned upthread but I went on a first date there! It was v old-school and enjoyable.
― emil.y, Monday, 7 January 2019 19:50 (five years ago) link
That's a beautiful memory. I had chips there w/ my then gf and munching down realized the inevitable falling apart of my relationship. Ok, maybe I didn't at the time, but it feels now like I did, so I tend to embrace that memory. They had napkins aplenty, which was nice.
― lbi's life of limitless european glamour (Le Bateau Ivre), Monday, 7 January 2019 19:54 (five years ago) link
Wimpy Porthcawl is a seasonal Express bar and is now closed for the winter period. It will reopen in spring 2019, dates will be confirmed here nearer the time! This Wimpy is not offering Wimpy Ketchup or Special Sauce for retail.
― kinder, Monday, 7 January 2019 22:24 (five years ago) link
The photos make it look great to be honest. I might go in the summer.
― Bimlo Horsewagon became Wheelbarrow Horseflesh (aldo), Monday, 7 January 2019 22:41 (five years ago) link
https://scontent-lht6-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/66457848_10218821779525930_6120292460808634368_n.jpg?_nc_cat=106&_nc_oc=AQkH6fWCtdIsaeqeB_wDdPy2l9NGK9Fud9DQ89J-niRM2JVwIsSz_a6pcjYKw2ifEro&_nc_ht=scontent-lht6-1.xx&oh=90a1f29c8c289924e2fe2512e6060ed2&oe=5DACC878
― Ward Fowler, Thursday, 11 July 2019 15:11 (four years ago) link
'brown derby' is never not gonna make me snigger is it
― A man offers an inverted bottle of water to the Techno Viking. (bizarro gazzara), Thursday, 11 July 2019 15:13 (four years ago) link
WIMPY 16 1/2p
You could order a BENDER the meaty frankfurter + a biscuit and still not meet the 20p minimum lunchtime charge. Brutal.
― kinder, Thursday, 11 July 2019 18:15 (four years ago) link
If the prices were blanked out, you wouldn't be able to tell it was from the 70s. I recall that the mid-90s menu looked almost identical.
― just another country (snoball), Thursday, 11 July 2019 18:23 (four years ago) link
Dundee lost its Wimpy when the ten pin bowling closed. Went there on my birthday quite a few years ago (for the bowling, not Wimpy) and my mate who Notices Those Sorts of Things saw the Angel Delight guy from Come Dine With Me out with his family.
― michaellambert, Thursday, 11 July 2019 18:42 (four years ago) link
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x14zas6
This thread is the place for this Ram John Holder cut.
Link for more info on this thread.
https://www.ilxor.com/ILX/ThreadSelectedControllerServlet?showall=true&bookmarkedmessageid=7641186&boardid=41&threadid=92576
― xyzzzz__, Saturday, 25 July 2020 12:27 (three years ago) link
Joe Strummer and John Peel at Wimpy bar in Piccadilly Circus, central London in July 1981.
https://scontent.fman1-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t39.30808-6/276231258_5146100878744575_1917766481083459959_n.jpg?_nc_cat=103&ccb=1-5&_nc_sid=730e14&_nc_ohc=4xuWFEyeZ-AAX9jNiwj&_nc_ht=scontent.fman1-1.fna&oh=00_AT81w0zqCy2dbEPUZ4SGoP5uSBohdCL-pKVGw9-Xmr9xbQ&oe=6240DC4D
― Ward Fowler, Wednesday, 23 March 2022 16:41 (two years ago) link
They were both vegetarians. The Beanburger was the only veggieburger that was available at the time.
― everything, Wednesday, 23 March 2022 17:01 (two years ago) link
The only thing in that picture that doesn't look like 1981 is the Wimpy cups.
― Being cheap is expensive (snoball), Wednesday, 23 March 2022 18:32 (two years ago) link
We had a local wimpy in Hendon for birthday parties. They used to let you behind the counter to fry burgers while the chef had a cig two feet away
― Chuck_Tatum, Wednesday, 23 March 2022 20:03 (two years ago) link
Basildon Wimpy still seems to be for sale
https://www.nationwidebusinesses.co.uk/businessesforsale/basildon-essex-fast-food-restaurant-takeaway-for-sale-r5975.asp
True Wimpy aficionados take note: "It will be appreciated upon inspection that the first floor area has the potential to be converted into living accommodation, if desired."
Living above a Wimpy in Basildon, does life get any better
― salsa shark, Wednesday, 23 March 2022 20:23 (two years ago) link
Lol ok
When Cher toured Britain in the sixties, she was homesick and wanted a burger. The promoter’s gopher went to Wimpy, brought one of its delicacies back to her hotel and the famed songstress burst into tears https://t.co/HBj6cqs9jD— Nicholas Booth (@Thievesbook) May 28, 2022
― xyzzzz__, Saturday, 28 May 2022 19:31 (two years ago) link
only 15p for one of those lime green milkshakes...
― koogs, Saturday, 28 May 2022 20:32 (two years ago) link
https://scontent.fman1-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t39.30808-6/321675251_916746296427944_4590954951965034507_n.jpg?_nc_cat=109&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=5cd70e&_nc_ohc=6O1iHHvhN5IAX_Tdedk&tn=c92m_WFoAYtXleHM&_nc_ht=scontent.fman1-1.fna&oh=00_AfCy1uz6ylQerDDP6rKSdqhkkoGBjRkmeapmVWBJFRov2A&oe=63C1B846
― Ward Fowler, Tuesday, 10 January 2023 17:14 (one year ago) link
I last went to Wimpy back in 2018. I popped off to this one in Bermondsey, but it was closed:https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-h494VRwu-Z8/W0B-WBZPqXI/AAAAAAAAXwE/LLXbveoloScxufJSV_gsKz_Y9y1etS2qACLcBGAs/s1600/Untitled-24.jpg
I must have just missed it. But there's one in Basingstoke, so I went there instead. It looked closed from the outside:https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LgxliPO9Opc/W27YtHB7jkI/AAAAAAAAXy0/QahAV8Yk8wcyhCDtmyrbpTkWoq_ohoSDwCLcBGAs/s1600/Untitled-18.jpg
As far as I can tell it still exists. I was torn by a desire to photograph the meal, but at the same time I just didn't have the guts. I remember coming down with impostor syndrome. I have a blog, but I'm not famous. Anthony Bourdain can get away with writing about Wimpy because everybody knows that he's joking. I'm not in that position yet. I did manage this photo, which made me wonder if there's a small warehouse somewhere in Doncaster that makes things for Wimpy:https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-V1IjMCNcZH8/W27ZQXoFq5I/AAAAAAAAXzI/J5U3eT-G_hwxg7Imw6YdFYdVO2tmbCCZQCLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_Wimpy.jpg
Who works there? Old people and one young intern, probably. The burger had the same taste that I remember from when I was young.
Wimpy is trapped - they're more expensive than McDonalds and Burger King, so they compete with Wetherspoons, but Wetherspoons has beer. Nando's is slightly more expensive still but feels like a proper night out. The whole "nostalgia for the 1950s" aspect doesn't work because it's hard to be nostalgic for Britain in the 1950s. I don't want to think about self-loathing club comedians and Adam Faith when I'm eating. And the Instagram aspect doesn't work because Wimpy is meaningless in the states. It's not even naff enough to be funny, it just exists.
Like Little Chef! Except that it exists, unlike Little Chef.
― Ashley Pomeroy, Tuesday, 10 January 2023 18:02 (one year ago) link
Xp We are stardust, we are goldenAnd we've got to get ourselvesBack to the garden
― Bully King and Chips (Bananaman Begins), Tuesday, 10 January 2023 18:02 (one year ago) link
ok, I'm herehttps://i.postimg.cc/LXnGkN5F/20230113-152356.jpg
― Camaraderie at Arms Length, Friday, 13 January 2023 15:47 (one year ago) link
it's the mid-afternoon so not many people expected, but place is half full, mainly with kids who've just finished school, but still, no sign that this place is dying.
― Camaraderie at Arms Length, Friday, 13 January 2023 15:50 (one year ago) link
Staff seem to be mostly Spanish, kids seem to be leaving, still most of the tables are occupied. Stereo is playing Sweet Harmony by The Beloved, always a favourite. let's see what's on the menu.https://i.postimg.cc/Rh01JDZw/20230113-154751.jpg
― Camaraderie at Arms Length, Friday, 13 January 2023 15:59 (one year ago) link
chose the "bendy with cheese" - a little disappointed that it isn't called a "bender in a bun" now, but relieved that I can ask for it without difficulty.https://i.postimg.cc/J7yvF6qs/20230113-155141.jpgsausage is good, meaty, tomato is mealy, too many onions, bread is nasty, like the cheapest rolls from the supermarket, actually crumbles as I eat. I'll give it a 5/10
― Camaraderie at Arms Length, Friday, 13 January 2023 16:08 (one year ago) link
they started playing Shape Of My Heart, so I made my excuses and left.
― Camaraderie at Arms Length, Friday, 13 January 2023 16:12 (one year ago) link
Last Wimpy I had was at a service station en route home from Reading festival in like 2003 or so. Bun was brown and stale and gross.
― his cartoon heart expands, then he relaxes by smoking crack (stevie), Friday, 13 January 2023 16:47 (one year ago) link
last nostalgia Wimpy i had might have been around the late 2000s. normally i'd say no such thing as too much onions but given these had the texture and flavour of boiled sellotape i'd make an exception
― Wyverns and gulls rule my world (Noodle Vague), Friday, 13 January 2023 17:07 (one year ago) link
My mate Paul worked in Stevenage Wimpy and used have to put on the Mr Wimpy costume for kids parties and have the shit kicked out of him by sugar-crazed nippers.
― Piedie Gimbel, Friday, 13 January 2023 17:22 (one year ago) link
yes, the onions were still like boiled sellotape, no idea how / why you do that to a poor onion.
― Camaraderie at Arms Length, Friday, 13 January 2023 17:37 (one year ago) link
wonderful revive. still laughing at adam faith. still laughing at boiled sellotapeaesthetic charming, bun looks heinous, menu doing too much. recalls french outlet flunch somehowhad a small fight with an ex once because he went on a longed-for nostalgia visit to the nearest wimpy without me while I was on a very prohibitive diet. thought it was brazen at the time, but in retrospect it was the low blood sugar / yearning for a bendy colouring my thinking.
― verhexen, Saturday, 14 January 2023 07:21 (one year ago) link
i think the spicy beanburger is the only thing i miss and would cautiously revisit
― Wyverns and gulls rule my world (Noodle Vague), Saturday, 14 January 2023 07:28 (one year ago) link
I don't think I've posted this before - UK competitive eater Beard Meats Food tackles pretty much the full Wimpy menu at the Milford, Stafford branch a couple of years ago. It's a curious wee shack rather than a sit in restaurant, for added novelty.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7QG3LIX4gQY
― brain (krakow), Saturday, 14 January 2023 16:57 (one year ago) link
THAT'S MY CHILDHOOD WIMPY!!
― Wyverns and gulls rule my world (Noodle Vague), Saturday, 14 January 2023 17:06 (one year ago) link