More Chester Restaurants We Have Lost

You may remember last week I had a bit of an old reminisce about days gone by after walking past Pacino’s in Newtown. This started me off in thinking about the Chester restaurants we have lost. I began the trip down Memory Lane talking about Donato’s which later became Donato and Sandro. Italian food at its best. Anyway, this really got the old grey matter going and I began to ponder about any more Chester restaurants we have lost. There have been quite a few in my lifetime.

So, who’s up next? Well, to keep it quite general in some respects, this next post is about a few burger places I remember.

More Chester Restaurants We Have Lost

More Chester Restaurants We Have Lost-The People’s Cafe (aka; The Hole In The Wall)

The three I remember that were the flavour of the month (no pun intended) were Wimpy, Great American Disaster (GAD) and Oscars. Before I go any further, is it right to refer to these as restaurants? Possibly not, but let’s go for a bit of author’s poetic licence shall we. Even more artistic licence, as I will also sneak in a mention about The People’s Cafe on Brook Street.

I must admit I didn’t frequent Wimpy that often. You could find Chester’s Wimpy on Bridge Street Row. As the nation’s favourite ‘go to’ burger place, Wimpy precluded today’s McDonald’s and Burger King.

I’m not sure when it closed but because I don’t remember going in there too often, I must have been in short pants. Nevertheless, I do remember it. And yes, it was very popular in its day.

Great American Disaster (GAD) and Oscars

Hands up. How many of you are scratching your head and saying, “where were they?” I must admit after a shed full of beer on a Friday or a Saturday night, I struggled to find them even though I knew where they were!!!

Great American Disaster (GAD) was in Lower Bridge Street. Where the Thai restaurant is now, opposite La Fattoria. Although burgers haven’t necessarily been my favourite food, there was something about a GAD burger. Inside the walls were adorned with blown up photos of the Kennedys (who?….you need to Google JFK!!) if I remember. And a mixture of newspaper cuttings. Particularly impressive was the four different types of relish you would get to choose from. Quite an adventurous style and set up considering it was the 70’s!!!

A few sherbets in the Talbot (which later became Clavertons), the Bear and Billet, or the Kings Head then off to the GAD. I did have a snifter or two in the Cross Keys but it wasn’t my favourite. I seem to recall in those days the Cross Keys served ale like Toby Light. Nowadays it is a far better option, with some great beers.

What about Oscars? Other end of town at the end of Foregate Street. If I remember rightly this was owned by a fella called Lou Parker, who also owned The Stables (nightclub) in St Asaph. Wobble out of Tiffany’s at chucking out time and head towards Oscar for that customary late night burger.

Miss Wales

Now and then, North Wales beauty, Sian Adey Jones used to work at Oscars. If you can call it work. Rumour has it she was on the arm with aforementioned Mr Parker, so every now and then she could be seen sitting and swinging in a wicker basket seat, suspended from the ceiling collecting the money at the till by the door.

Wise move by the astute Mr Parker to have a Miss Wales beauty queen and a future Page 3 girl swinging seductively in a wicker seat right by the entrance and the window!!

I’m not 100% sure (he said with tongue firmly in cheek), but I heard that she may have attracted a fair few punters into there. I could be wrong.

In fact, not unsurprisingly, Oscars was extremely busy most nights.

Last but not least in this – more Chester restaurants we have lost – trip down Memory Lane we have The People’s Cafe.

The People’s Cafe – AKA “The Hole In The Wall”

This place was mega. It is wrong to call it a restaurant really. Again, after club chucking out time, so many hungry revellers set off for the “hole in the wall”. So called because you ordered, and were served your food, from a small serving hatch in the side of the wall.

I know this article is about burger places. And, “the hole in the wall” did serve burgers, but I never got a burger from there. My favourite at 2.30am was cottage pie, chips and peas (as you do at 2.30am!!). All served in a silver container with a two pronged wooden fork. And for me, with lashings of vinegar. Bliss!!!

It was indeed a very, very sad day  when the “Hole In The Wall” closed. I can’t remember exactly what it was immediately after, but it is now the Chester Tandoori. I often walk past and have a flashback or two.

When I look back at these burger restaurants or cafes and recollect the type of food we used to consume at ‘silly o’clock’, it is amazing I have managed to keep my silth like, athletic, fighting fit shape.

Cough…..cough….splutter….splutter!!!!

Some great memories indeed. There are more Chester restaurants we have lost oldies to consider. Watch this space for more recollections. The more I think about it, after I have exhausted the Chester restaurants we have lost angle, it seems a natural progression would be to consider some of the Chester pubs we have lost. Now that will be a great trip to relive.

Thanks for reading.

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