large booking at restaurant- how to split the bill?

Feral_Moon

seven-day-weekend wrote: »

I have been in a McD, but not a Pizza Hut or a KFC and up until recently I had not been in a Caf! Nero.

Oh I do like Caffe Nero, would always opt to go here rather than Costa, can't stand Starbucks though.

I can't actually recall the last time I had a KFC either, maybe 30 years ago? I don't often eat fast food although I'm rather fond of a BK Whopper

mumps

duchy wrote: »

Possibly as most people with kids have taken them at some point or another even if it's a birthday party there.
I too grew up with Wimpy but remember experiencing McDonalds in the shadow of Cologne Cathedral (before MacDonalds had reached the UK)in around 1973 and certainly used to stop at the Croydon branch in 1976/77 as we had off site swimming lessons and had to bus it back to school through Croydon so would all meet for lunch there before going back to school for afternoon lessons.Cheaper than buying a school dinner too if I recall correctly.In those days if a date wanted to impress me we'd go to Berni Inns for dinner LOL

MacDonalds is usually my goto breakfast at any airport worldwide as their counter service is fast - and worldwide is usually a loo stop when sightseeing as their facilities are often far cleaner than anything else available and easy to find.

I have a friend whose American husband who travels widely internationally for work and also spent two years living in Germany and he has a deep mistrust of foreign food so eats in Macdonalds whenever he is abroad. I teased him when we met for dinner in central London that we were surrounded with so much choice but he had to eat of MaccyDs. Some people just like the familiar <shrug>

Like most things that are convenient MacDonalds has its place - it may not be the finest choice but it does what it says on the tin.Sometimes that's what people require. If I had to choose between the Golden Arches or a greasy spoon of doubtful cleanliness -I know which I'd choose . I'm not going to eat somewhere dodgy just because someone snobbishly looks down on MacDonalds and prefers to risk food poisoning themselves.

Whatever happened to Berni Inns? I used to like a Berni coffee after a meal, like an Irish coffee without the whisky. I must google them now.

Just checked, they became Beefeaters or Brewers Fayre.

I agree about McDonalds, at least you know its clean and you know what to expect. Same with BurgerKing and KFC but personally I would go to McD or BK rather than KFC as KFC always seems very greasy to me. We take the grandchildren to McD sometimes but we don't have a BK within miles. If we are in a hurry we can go to McD and get fast food pretty fast and the eldest, who is a nightmare with food, will actually eat it.

I like prezzo as well but my husband doesn't like pizzas or pasta so I don't get to go there very often.

Feral_Moon

Peter333 wrote: »

:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

PMSL at the McDonalds snobbery on this thread! And the snobbery in general towards 'fast-food'places!

"I am 29 and I grew out of McDonalds YEARS ago."

"I have never set FOOT in a Mcdonalds."

"I have never set foot in a pizza hut or a mcdonalds or KFC!"

My goodness perish the thought!!! :eek::eek::eek:

Can you people actually hear yourselves?! :rotfl:

I was giving me and my wife popping into McDonalds for lunch (when we're out for the day, or out shopping,) as an example of how we share when we're out. Sometimes we will have a meal, sometimes just a coffee or cappucino, because it's quick, convenient, and cheap.

We go to Wetherspoons for actual meals out. Sometimes, the village pub, sometimes a Chinese or Indian restaurant. Sometimes we go into Costa for a latte.

But I am sure all that is waaaaaaaay too common for the classy and refined folk on here, who only do fine dining at the poshest of posh restaurants! :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

Hilarious! I can't actually believe some of the stuff I'm reading here!

It's not so much the denial of ever going in to such places as McDonalds and KFC and pizza hut, as much as the looking down your nose and thinking you're better than people who DO go in them. and this hilarious idea that only poor people, young people, and teenagers use them!

Good grief. Some of these posts are hilarious. :rotfl:

The funny thing is, that these fast-food snobs are probably the people who would quite happily slurp something of someone else's fork, and nab food off someone else's plate in one of their 'posh' restaurants. :rotfl:

ps a little side note for KxMx; it's not just CHILDREN who go into McDonalds my dear.

Nothing whatsoever to do with snobbery, not on my behalf anyway. I don't actually like anything McDonalds or KFC have to offer. And I don't eat take-away pizza from anywhere. I'd rather buy an Artisan sourdough crust one from the local Co-op for £4/£5 and cook it myself!

I do, however, like some of the burgers from BK, especially the Whopper! I may have one every month or so if I happen to be passing and use the drive-thru. I never eat in the restaurant itself, purely because I've always got my dog with me.

I live in a very rural location. We don't have fast food restaurants on every corner. My nearest chip shop is over 5 miles away but we have a mobile van which visits the village every week. Even to have take-away food delivered costs at least £4 on top of the cost of the food, from the very few who actually deliver to our village.

What we do have, however, are a few decent pubs and restaurants that serve freshly cooked local produce, even the local Indian and Chinese are second to none and a world apart from the usual high street takeaways. People travel from far & wide to eat in them.

silvercar

onlyroz wrote: »

Fundamentally how is it different? Multiple main, side and dessert options are available along with a variety of drink options. So you still have to contend with a mixed group where one just wants a coffee and another wants a Big Mac meal plus onion rings plus apple pie plus milkshake.

Just because the amount of money changing hands is less doesn't mean that people are happier to subsidise somebody who is eating more.

There is a lot of snobbery on this thread, particularly from people obviously used to fine dining in large groups with wealthy friends. That is not the only way to dine out - and it says a lot about people who look down sneeringly at anybody who doesn't do things their way.

And for the record I put the whole fork in my mouth, not that it matters at all.

Fundamentally different because it is prepay, so no question of a bill arriving and then a discussion of how to split it.

silvercar

MacDonalds is usually my goto breakfast at any airport worldwide as their counter service is fast - and worldwide is usually a loo stop when sightseeing as their facilities are often far cleaner than anything else available and easy to find.

Starbucks have free wifi, deciding factor for me. That and I can't (hot) drink out of disposable cups.

missbiggles1

Feral_Moon wrote: »

Am I the only one who has never stepped foot in a McDonalds? Nor a Pizza Hut for that matter. We used to hang out in the local Wimpy bar or coffee shop when we were kids.

I use McDonalds when stopping for something quick to eat on a long drive or when I need to use their internet signal. I think they're rather better than Wimpy bars used to be, in part because they don't have Benders. (Sick bag smiley!)

onlyroz

silvercar wrote: »

Fundamentally different because it is prepay, so no question of a bill arriving and then a discussion of how to split it.

And so instead you have the discussion before you eat. But the discussion still needs to be had. And you still have to contend with "po faced" and "miserable" people "spoiling the fun" of those who want to eat more than them.

silvercar

onlyroz wrote: »

And so instead you have the discussion before you eat. But the discussion still needs to be had. And you still have to contend with "po faced" and "miserable" people "spoiling the fun" of those who want to eat more than them.

But the difference is likely to be smaller, you are more likely to each be paying for your own, no one is likely to order 6 milkshakes vs another's one juice, no alcohol.

When one person is sitting po faced it is more likely to be that they don't want the calories rather than they can't afford the second course.

moneyistooshorttomention

I just plain don't say anything about McDonalds normally.

There are two reasons I long back decided not to go there:


- My diet is a healthy one and doesnt include meat
and
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McLibel_case

McDonalds may have moved on since then in one or both ways - but my suspicion is they probably havent.

onlyroz

silvercar wrote: »

But the difference is likely to be smaller, you are more likely to each be paying for your own, no one is likely to order 6 milkshakes vs another's one juice, no alcohol.

When one person is sitting po faced it is more likely to be that they don't want the calories rather than they can't afford the second course.

And that would be an equally valid reason for avoiding the dessert in a "fine dining" restaurant - however a number of posters here have suggested that their meal would be spoiled if I said I didn't want a dessert, regardless of my reason.