Belle Vue Zoological Gardens - Catering

Catering

The gates were opened to visitors between 10:00 am and 10:30 am. Kiosks around the gardens sold snacks and ice cream, made in Belle Vue's own ice cream factory. Families were catered for at lunchtimes by the hot water rooms, each of which could accommodate up to 3,000 diners, providing hot water for drinks and crockery for visitors who brought their own picnics. The price was 2d per person, according to the 1892 guide book, and cakes and jams made in the gardens' bakery and on-site kitchens were also available, at extra cost. "One shilling tea rooms", close to the hot water rooms, offered lunchtime deals such as a pot of tea, bread and butter, green salad and fruit cake for a shilling. The more expensive restaurants tended to open during the evening. Alcohol was available in the many licensed premises in the gardens, including, until its closure in 1928, beer produced in Belle Vue's on-site brewery. Many public houses were also opened in the area immediately surrounding the gardens.

Licensed hotels were built at each of the three entrances to the gardens. The Longsight Hotel, built in 1851 and demolished in 1985, was a part of the entrance. The Lake Hotel, built in 1876, had facilities for the free stabling of horses belonging to Belle Vue's visitors. It was extended in 1929 and then again in 1960, when a concert room was added, offering late-night entertainment. After its closure in the 1980s, the hotel was demolished. The Hyde Road Hotel and Restaurant at the main entrance, originally known as Belle Vue House, was renamed the Palm Court Restaurant in 1942, and then Caesar's Palace in 1969. It housed a cabaret bar and a restaurant, which was converted to an amusement arcade in 1976 when it was once again renamed, to Jennison's Ale House. The building was closed after a partial collapse in 1980.