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

[Deleted User]

We're always slightly disappointed with eating out except in one restaurant we go to which is a vegan one and the food there is always wonderful because they only use the freshest of ingredients. They also make the best coffee we've ever tasted.

I think part of the problem is the glossy pictures in most pub menu's which lead to a feeling of let down when the food that arrives on the plate bears no resemblance to what is shown in the picture. The other part of the problem is strangely the availability of so many ingredients for all the exotics and the plethora of recipes to use them from all the cuisines of the world online which let us all 'dip a toe' and cook good food at home and this leads to adverse comparisons with what is sometimes served when we eat out.

I still think one of the best meals you can buy in is good old Fish and Chips but it has to be from the 'right' chippy doesn't it?

suki1964

I cant mind the last time I had a meal out that I enjoyed enough to make me want to go back again

Food out around these parts is boring. Its the same menu everywhere and there is no such thing as fine dining

It says something that the biggest and most popular place to eat can have a two hour queue for a table, where you order at the bar and have to get your own cutlery and condiments and dessert, and you pay handsomely for the privilege

So we rarely bother and for us we prefer to get a Chinese take out

Here a good place to eat is judged so purely on portion size, the bigger the portions the more popular the place is

maman

Pollycat wrote: »

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

Yes, of course, but would you normally tip 12.5% of the bill?

Serendipitious

My aunt had a wonderful word when dining out was disappointing - when asked how everything was, she would say it was 'adequate.'

I generally avoid eating out because of the price and the inferior quality compared with home cooking. But a few weeks ago, I was in town with a friend and we were starving. We went into a pub, but we weren't attracted by anything on the lunch menu and I commented that I just fancied egg and chips. The barman said they could do that, and within fifteen minutes I had a steaming hot plate of eggs and chips. Perfect! And very very cheap.

Pollycat

maman wrote: »

Yes, of course, but would you normally tip 12.5% of the bill?

I'd probably tip 10% so they'd end up with slightly more than no service charge and a tip.


I have once refused to pay a service charge as the service and food was so appalling.

PasturesNew

I rarely eat out, if I do it's either a carvery or a chain pub meal. Usually I find that menus contain expensive dishes containing ingredients I don't fancy or like. I like my food "plain" and so I can "see what I've got".

A carvery, therefore, suits me best - but I don't like carvery meat, so I'll usually go for an "empty plate" which most offer - which is £1-2 cheaper than the meat version .... I like the idea of being able to pick and choose the food I want and putting it where on the plate I wish, next to what, how much of each item I have .... and where the gravy's poured and ignored. Having said that, some carveries are vile; the last one I had was a Toby and it was appalling, including the sweetcorn that tasted as if they'd washed it in fairy liquid!

lisyloo

I am rarely disspointed, but on the whole I tend to plan and check menus and reviews.

If we chose somewhere to suit family or because it's convenient then my expectations would be lower so again not often dissapointed.

happyandcontented

I think that eating out should be an experience but unless you are lucky it simply isn't. We used to eat out at least twice a week, but now we prefer to cook our own most of the time unless we are eating out with friends, then we are there for the company really. We buy quality food so if we eat out the quality rarely matches what we can produce at home but the price is not reflective of that.

We really don't mind paying for meals out and are happy to pay top whack if the food reflects the price tag.

maman

Pollycat wrote: »

I'd probably tip 10% so they'd end up with slightly more than no service charge and a tip.


I have once refused to pay a service charge as the service and food was so appalling.

I did the same. It was, to name and shame, at the Hilton in Brighton. We'd gone there for lunch during a conference. The waitress tipped a jug of water over a colleague but to be fair took the cost of his meal off the bill. I wasn't blaming her for that, it was an accident.


The reason I asked for my service charge to be removed was that the service was so incredibly slow and the menu so limited that there was no way I was paying for service. I told the waitress that it wasn't her fault but that the slow kitchen (or lack of staff chosen by management) was the reason so she could feed my comment back if she chose.


The service was so slow that some people were asking for doggy bags so that they could eat their meals on the run as our 1.5 hours lunch break was about to run out!

minimad1970

We go out for lunch once a week, sometimes to a carvery or somewhere more expensive. My favourite is Casa Brasil, I've never had a disappointing meal there. I don't like big plates of food so the carved meats and hot and cold buffet is ideal for me. I probably don't get my money's worth though but my son makes up for me