Which bit do you drive through at Briarhill?

[onq]

http://two.archiseek.com/2010/2010-drive-through-restaurant-briarhill-galway/

I was looking at the review of the restaurant at Briarhill on the front page and couldn't work out which part you were supposed to drive through.

There didn't seem to be a hatch to serve from and the place seems surrounded by roads.

A site plan showing care spaces and or the nebulous serving hatch location would have been good.

Unless of course you don't actually "drive through" it, just partk, go in, eat and drive off.

More a "drive around" than a "drive through".

Forgive me if this sounds picky - we spent many an evening driving through the Drive Thru McDonalds at Nutgrove shortly after completion just to experience the Yankee culture first hand.

TIA

ONQ.

[Bren88]

I think expecting an actually drive through restaurant was a little bit naive or prehaps excitable is better. It simply wouldn't and doesn't work in any format other than what we currently have (McDs, KFC, BK) where the menu is well know and limited, and the food is well, pre cooked crap.
I think drive through was a sensationist title, and it worked given that we are talking of it. I must admit that my first reaction was indeed orderign at a window and being gifted a steak.

Forgive me if this sounds picky - we spent many an evening driving through the Drive Thru McDonalds at Nutgrove shortly after completion just to experience the Yankee culture first hand.

I think this ironic response actually answer the question of Why?

Given the site, and the fact that its surrounded by roads, especially being of a motorway, one could be forgiven for think that the best option for a restaurant (using the term lightly) was a traditional drive through. It's pretty safe to say that the sole source of custom will be drive-bys, drive-ups, drive arounds etc, Basically nobody strolling by. But the above project is an attempt to show that these sites can actually have legitimate architecturally interesting buildings, and don't need a copy and paste straight from Ronald McDonald's portfolio of set floor plans.

Of course, there are many other restuarants that you have to drive to due to their location, but most of the time its a remote location, maybe on the grounds of a hotel/golfcourse/castle. Being right on the edge of the M6, on the hill, in your face, this is letting you know its there, just like those golden arches. Although this time, its might be the wife or girlfriend asking to stop and not the two kids in the back.

It's by no means a first, there are a number of similar restuarants that have "motorway frontage", but I can only think of one other that is in any ay nice to look at. The rest being glorified pertrol stations.

Thoughts?

[wearnicehats]

didn't this open earlier this year as a KFC?

you drive round the back - if you look through the pictures you can see 2 little serving boxes sticking out of the facade

in australia they have drive through off-licences which is an equally appealing and conflicting concept

[Bren88]

didn't this open earlier this year as a KFC?

you drive round the back - if you look through the pictures you can see 2 little serving boxes sticking out of the facade

I don't know about KFC, would be quite ironic.
But the serving boxes are prob the drycleaners drop off.
The restuarant is at first floor level.
Although, they might be seeign as the kitchen is at ground level.

[onq]

So its a drive-thru in the sense of not being able to get food on the ground floor and having to park, go get the food drive off:

"Drive Through" ---> "Park, Grab and Go".

ONQ.