Do You Ever Eat Out and Wish You Hadn't Bothered?

Alikay

OH took me somewhere special for our anniversary a few months ago. It was at the suggestion of a "foodie" friend who said it was pricey but worth it. The bill came to £95 for 2 of us, and that was with just 2 glasses of wine and a bottle of water :eek:
No, we didn't have lobster or oysters either!! It was sweet of him to plan the treat, but I felt really ripped off...we could've had 4 nights out for that price.

Kaz2904

On the subject of eating out with children, I always order from the adult menu for my two and then split their meal. The childrens food seems to be complete and utter rubbish. We went out to a local hotel for DH's 30th last month and ordered DS a chicken fillet from the childrens menu as I thought "great- real meat". When it came out he had this enormous dry chicken fillet with 2 boiled potatoes and some peas. Everyone was asking him if it was nice and he was just shaking his head at them- poor little devil!
When our meals came out it was a bit of a surprise as though they were trying to use up leftovers. We had fried red onions, tinned sweetcorn, and ratatouille made with celery! This was regardless of what had been ordered. I shan't be going there again.

Penny-Pincher!!

We went for a lovely meal at Reading. The pub was called The George and we had a sunday meal out 2 weeks ago when we were away.

I had Roast lamb (3 large fresh slices), 3 roast spuds, mash, cauli, carrots and peas, yorkshire pudding and gravy.

DD had a childs meal of Organic ham, FR egg and chips

OH had Steak/Ale Pie, Mash and above veg

1 pint of Guiness, 2 large cokes and DD had a pudding. Total was £29.00. It was great value and the food was lovely.

PP
xx

Poing

Started reading this thread before going out for lunch for a colleagues leaving do. Well can agree based on todays experience - Roasted vegetables and pesto crunchy baguette and chips £5 - bread tasted like ciabatta (still very yummy though) and was about 12inches filled with 3 pieces of pepper, three half slices of courgette and a bit of leek!

Very disappointed - why are some places so stingy when it comes to the amount of filling they use?! Particularly p!ssed off because veggies aren't that expensive, now are they?

It would have been a lovely sandwich, and worth the money, if there had been a bit more filling. I would have probably complained if I hadn't been with work colleagues. It makes me so annoyed. Rant over

sue_balu

I had to smile when I saw this thread..
I went out to lunch with my mate today and I'm sitting here with the most awful indigestion!
I had ham salad and a mug of coffee - OK It was "only" £5.25 for the meal and drink but it was the coleslaw I think was a bit "off" I wonder how long the coleslaw sits in the cold display before being replaced! Yikes I'm making myself feel sick now!!

The Ham was nice and lean and not slimy packet stuff but hey, I only pay £3:50 for a whole ham joint from the butcher which after I've cooked it makes about 10 portions!

The only meals out that I've really enjoyed for years have been at expensive places and we dont do that often, only special occasions. However we all need to have the treat of not shopping/cooking/clearing up, every once in a while.

gb57

I so agree with the comments about not eating at chain restaurants. On the odd occasions when we eat out we go to Thai or Indian (I can cook these myself, but never tastes the same) or family run Italian, etc.

Sadly when eating out with groups of old friends one has to go where they choose, and I normally feel ripped off under those circumstances.

The other thing I HATE in many restaurants is LOUD MUSIC. The whole point of eating out is good conversation along with good food. No point at all if the only way to converse is to shout. Ask them (politely) to turn it down and they usually say "the customers like it". I AM A CUSTOMER!!:mad:

Angelselondon

Ok, don't scream at me, I know this is bad and I wouldn't usually do this, however. This week 3 of us went from work to see a colleague who had a stroke. We decided to take a Chinese take-away with us as a present to him and his partner. Please remember I work in the centre of London and that they also lived in the centre....

Ready.......

£84.00 for 5 of us; and yes it was just a normal Chinese takeaway and no we didn't over order.

We pre ordered and I paid, the other two gave me their money later, when the girl told me the total I almost forgot how to breathe.

The worst of it was the whole meal was in a one plastic bag !!!!

snails's_pace

I love eating out. I remember 4 years ago,my oh took me to a real posh nosh restaurant ( red velvet chairs, carpet on the walls)...and I was starrvvvinnnng.
Ordered what sounded like a real plateful. When it arrived, our faces dropped.
The plate itself was huge, after getting our magnifying glass out to see our meal, we stumbled across something that resembled a walnut whip, with sauce around the plate and 3 green beans on the top . Was the quickest meal we'd ever had.

can't beat a good old harvester

marsha8

I eat out only occasionally & being a reasonable cook myself I tend to judge by my standards.Carveries tend to be disappointing with their rock hard yorkshires,kept-warm veg & "synthetic" meat & poultry.Harvester salads are a great adventure but sadly the main courses do not live up to the same adventure.I tend to keep away from the chain restaurants.Why are Ploughmans so expensive?Why is a jacket potato with a filling so expensive?Why is rice so expensive? I adore Indian food & need a "fix" on a fortnightly basis & I am seldom disappointed with either the standard of food or the convivial service.Pub meals are getting a bit "big for their own boots" so often charging restaurant prices & not even a tablecloth to be seen.I must learn to complain more when I am asked"Is your meal OK"? I was asked that question during a bar snack recently & said "These are the worst chips I have ever had in my life" & suggested that they introduce themselves to McCains oven chips (Taste as good as fries)

marsha8

Here is one of my favourite Indian recipes(I have been on Indian cookery courses)You start by making the onion puree which can be used in various recipes:5 large onions,10 garlic cloves,2oz fresh ginger,peeled,half pint veg.oil.Coarse chop all veg,heat half of oil,fry veg gently for 15 mins. until soft(no browning.Cool.Puree in food pro. or blender.Heat remaining oil & fry puree again gently for about 15 mins - don't let it stick.This is your base.
1.5lb.pf meat,chicken or shellfish.3fl oz veg.oil,1 cup of the puree you have made,1 tablesp tomato puree.Now the important bit:SPICES 1:
1 teasp ground cumin,1 teasp ground coriander,1 teasp turmeric,1 teasp paprika, 1 teasp of chilli powder( I prefer about 5 finely chopped red birds eye chillies instead),1 teasp ground ginger,1 teasp garlic powder,later on you will add SPICES 2:1 teasp garam masala & 1 dessertsp. dry fenugreek leaves.
Cut meat/poultry into cubes.Heat oil & fry onion puree until hot. Add a little water to SPICES 1 & mix to paste.Preheat oven to 375F/190C/Gas 5.Add paste to hot onion puree & chillies if you have used them.Reduce heat & cook for about 8 mins. gently - this is the important part of the process(called the bhoona) & when the oil appears on the top it is done.This is the sign of a good curry when oil comes to top & you can always skim at the end if you wish.Add meat & onion spice mixture & tomato puree to a casserole dish,stir, & put in oven.Cook covered for about 45mins.Stir & add SPICES 2 & cook for a further 10 mins.I like to add a piece of cassia bark,a touch of sugar,a touch of lemon juice during the cooking & of course some salt to your taste.Don't buy your spices from the supermarkets go to your local Indian shop & pay a lot less(though they won't be in fancy little jars but in bags)Do experiment to suit your taste especially with the chillies) Enjoy!