Before McDonald's and Burger King there was Wimpy. More or less the same thing but with lower hygiene standards, tables swimming with spilt drinks and the last customers leftover food! The staff were usually adults instead of teenagers but were just as interested in the soul destroying job. It was THE place to meet on Saturday afternoons 'dahn tahn' (if you came from Nottingham). It was purely a meeting place and you very rarely ate anything but no-one looked at you strangely if you weren't eating or drinking in there.
FOOD & DRINK
Wimpy
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Do You Remember Wimpy?
Do You Remember Wimpy?
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nibs
on
It's terrible that there are so few Wimpy's about now. Such happy memories of going to The Wimpy Bar with mates in the '70's and '80's. They only seem to exist in London now.
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Chez F
on
My very first burger experience when I was little was a Wimpy. I remember the lovely helping of fried onions and toasted bun. It was my weekly treat when in town with my mum and although I didn't eat a lot I always finished off my Wimpy!!!
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tulip
on
We still have one here,but its dearer than McDonalds,however,the burgers are better.
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James Donald
on
I have been to Wimpy's all over the country. One that paticularly caught my attention was the wimpy in worthing over the summer. Although the decor was a little dated, service was remarkable and the food was astonishing the benders looked the same as they did 20 years ago!! most impressed.
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hungry lass
on
I remember going to Wimpy in the 1980s and getting a burger and chips that came on a plate and NO BUN - most disappointing.
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Marks
on
We had a branch here in Norwich years ago, but it operated more in the style of a McDonalds - No knives and forks, and no plates (though I have eaten in one that does offer the more civilized dining experience). I was particularly fond of the fish and chips, which came in a cardboard box. This was a treat I looked forward to once or twice a month, until they changed the fish to something which looked more like one of those frozen rectangular breaded fish portions you buy at Iceland, rather than a proper fillet.
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NostalgiaGirl
on
Wimpy franchises still exist in London and you still eat with a knife and fork! I had one recently and the curled sausage is called a "Bender in a Bun". They still do the Brown Derby, Knickerbocker Glory, Banana Split and my personal favourite, the coke float (ice cream and coke) MMMM long live "The Home of the Hamburger" as it was so fondly referred to back in the day!
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sweettooth
on
Well burger me ! ive eaten in loads of these,yet until seeing this site id forgotten all about them,and the curled sausage, yes its all coming back to now. I seem to remember walking out of one(and not paying,think you actually paid after eating back then)once because they wouldnt melt the cheese slice in my cheese burger,well thats how we serve them was all i got, so me and my girlfriend at the time just up and walked out with the waitress repeating but youve still got to pay, happy days.I seem to remember i liked the brown derby as well.
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neilo67
on
Where else could you get a dessert called a Brown Derby? (Presumably named after the hat which it kinda resembled.) Always thought it was amazing how they snipped the sausages in such a way so as they could curl them round into a circle to fit the bun!
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Monique
on
I worked as a waitress in a Wimpy in Camden, London in the Eighties. I was about 25.
I actually liked them.
The chef would cook them fresh in front of your eyes on a grill so no nasty teenagers doing god-knows-what at the back like they do in McDonald's and such.
The place was spotlessly clean and we were always busy lunchtimes. It was the most popular place in town.
For dinner every day I had a burger in a bun with fries and a vanilla ice cream served in a little silver bowl.
The only thing then was serving food when you were full up.
Wimpy bars were the best places to socialise too.
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