The Racecourse Prices Index: how much for food and drink at Naas?

In the Racecourse Prices Index (RPI) we report from Britain and Ireland's racetracks on the cost of going racing.

Racecourse report: entry, food and pint prices from Naas

Naas

Date visited: Sunday, January 8, 2023

Was it a big day?

Yes, the biggest day of the year at Naas. The Lawlor's of Naas Hurdle was the first Grade 1 contest of 2023 in Ireland, and is the only top-level event held at the racecourse.

How much was entry on the gate?

€15, €9 for senior citizens and students and under-16s were free. Not bad for a fixture with a Grade 1 on the card.

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

There were any amount of places to fill your belly. The first van you came to inside the entrance gates served pizzas, and punters seemed to have a raging appetite for dough – in both senses of the word!

The relatively new Circle building, which overlooks the parade ring, is impressive and a lovely location to socialise. It has fantastic views of the track.

The self-service restaurant is in the Post building adjacent to the parade ring and Lily & Wild do the catering.

Soup with brown bread was €5, while roast striploin of beef with a choice of two sides set you back €16.90. Other options on the menu were a chicken bhuna (€14), a fish pie (€14), sausages and chips (€8), and goujons and chips (€8).

If you fancied a dessert, death by chocolate was €4.50, as was apple and cinnamon crumble, red velvet cake, rocky road cake and a chocolate brownie. A fine selection.

What's the damage?

Bottle of water: €2
Cheapest pint: Guinness, €6.30
Guinness: €6.30

What was the fish pie like?

Fantastic. I got a tip for it before racing in the car park from a good source and it lived up to expectations.

The pastry was perfectly cooked and the filling inside of cod and salmon had a generous topping of mashed potato and melted cheese. This was no ordinary fish pie and, from looking around the restaurant to see what others were eating, it seemed a popular choice.

If you are to attend a meeting at Naas in the coming weeks, please order the fish pie. You can thank me afterwards.

And the queues?

Big, but moved quickly. There were about 15 people ahead of me in the queue but I was still served within three or four minutes. Impressive.

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