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

beedeedee

I like to eat out occasionally and generally choose something I wouldn't normally cook at home. I do have certain requests though....steak to be rare, lamb to be pink etc and if anything is then overcooked or inedible, I will tell them and request a fresh portion or have it removed from my bill.
When they come along to ask if everything is satisfactory (which forms the contract during the meal) I only ever answer "Yes, so far".....just in case!
I will tip good service, but decline service charge if I get the choice.

THIRZAH

We took MIL out to lunch today. We'd been to the pub before just after Christmas and the food was ok. MIL had booked but there seemed to be some confusion about the table. There was also a "Under New Management" notice. After buying drinks and finally finding a table we asked for menus only to be told that there was only a carvery on Sundays. We had to get tickets from the bar and choose between large or small servings. MIL and I went to look at the carvery and after checking chose large as it was only £1.50 more. We got two slices of meat, a rubbery yorkshire, a solid stuffing ball and then a choice of overcooked veg-except for the roasties which were underdone.We had turkey, DH had beef and for some reason got more meat but still got the stuffing ball!

Never again.I really don't know what to do about food when we visit MIL. She doesn't really want to cook but doesn't want to let me take over her kitchen.

Eenymeeny

So glad that someone resurrected this thread, I must have missed it first time around! When we first retired we thought that it was a treat to have a pub lunch and as OH said it meant that 'I didn't have to cook later' (!)
We've now realised that quality can be very different within pub chains and can be very disappointing, although we may have enjoyed a meal previously with what are probably the same ingredients.
We try to search out independents these days as there seems to be more care involved in the whole experience. I try to remember the good ones for when we are in that area again and I do find that TripAdvisor etc. can be helpful, but not infallible!
I must admit that OH often comments that he's never eaten better than at home so I suppose I should take some pleasure from that...

Siebrie

DH and I are not excellent cooks, but still better than most restaurant chefs in all the restaurants I've been to in Belgium. If I have to eat non-perfect food, I prefer to NOT pay 20euros for the privilege


For instance, the mussel restaurant I went to (reknowned for having 20 types of mussel dish on the menu) served mussels with sand and little crabs in.... and expected me to cough up 25 euros (22 GBP). That was only once, and I've been dissuading people from going there ever since.

Hobsons_Choice

DH and I usually go for carveries. We have three 'favourites' around here that charge between £6-£7 and they're good value for money really. I like that fact that you can pile the plate with veg rather than potatoes or chips.

catkins

Me and DH rarely eat out now. We just got sick of saying to each other "you can make this better". Also the price now of eating out is ridiculous.

On the rare occasion we do eat out we almost always choose Indian. We can both cook pretty good curries and I make lovely onion bhajis (not greasy like a lot of restaurants) but just cannot make decent naan bread. I can make parathas, chapatis and puris but never any joy with naan. I definitely think you need a tandoor oven to make a good one

maman

Eenymeeny wrote: »

So glad that someone resurrected this thread, I must have missed it first time around!

FrugalAndFabulous wrote: »

I love to eat out, more for the whole experience of going out rather than the food.

I have to say that we eat out to enjoy the company of friends but the number of meals I really enjoy is getting less and less.


I recently ate at a smart restaurant that had taken nouvelle cuisine to such ridiculous lengths that the dishes were no more than tiny snacks. Then they had the cheek to add 12.5% service charge. I find this is increasingly common.


When I go to pub chains I find it more and more difficult to find food that's remotely healthy. Someone posted about Greene King but the chain seems to have varying menus. There's one I use where I can get steak, salad and new potatoes but that's not true of every branch.


It's the same with cafes. In some, everything has either bread or pastry and vegetables are a rarity.

Pollycat

maman wrote: »

I have to say that we eat out to enjoy the company of friends but the number of meals I really enjoy is getting less and less.


I recently ate at a smart restaurant that had taken nouvelle cuisine to such ridiculous lengths that the dishes were no more than tiny snacks. Then they had the cheek to add 12.5% service charge. I find this is increasingly common.


When I go to pub chains I find it more and more difficult to find food that's remotely healthy. Someone posted about Greene King but the chain seems to have varying menus. There's one I use where I can get steak, salad and new potatoes but that's not true of every branch.


It's the same with cafes. In some, everything has either bread or pastry and vegetables are a rarity.

Service charge = no tip (at least it does to me).

Robin9

A colleague and I went out for a pub lunch and ordered from their "new menu". The meals duly arrived - my friend said " this is not what I ordered" and called the waitress who took the meal back to the kitchen. Shen returned with the same plate and carried a cardboard box - "this is what was in the box"

JIL

I have no choice but to eat out when I'm away with work, I do quite enjoy a carvery, but I do like the bistro Pierre chain and Bills, they do some set menus that are good value.