All-you-can-eat buffets and bottomless brunches - how do you make the most of them?

olgadapolga

https://metro-co-uk.cdn.ampproject.org/v/s/metro.co.uk/2022/01/17/buffet-eater-who-tried-to-get-50s-worth-of-sushi-hospitalized-15934946/amp/?amp_js_v=a6&amp_gsa=1&usqp=mq331AQKKAFQArABIIACAw==#aoh=16424943128813&referrer=https://www.google.com&amp_tf=From %1$s&ampshare=https://metro.co.uk/2022/01/17/buffet-eater-who-tried-to-get-50s-worth-of-sushi-hospitalized-15934946/

RogerBareford

y3sitsm3 said:

wolvoman said:

comeandgo said:

Would never go near them.  Why would anyone eat more than they need. Total greed.

Why would anyone drive faster than they need?
Why would anyone take more time off than they need?
Why would anyone spend more time lying in bed than they need?
Why would anyone have more holidays than they need?
Why would anyone spend more time with friends than they need?
Why would anyone have more wine than they need?

You must live a very puritanical life!

None of those are relevant.

Nobody goes faster than they need, nobody takes more time off than they need, nobody lies in need more than they need.  They do all those things in excess because they can, but there is very little value in eating more than you need, and quite possibly a very detrimental effect to your health if you do.

Arriving at your meeting 10 minutes early won't kill you, eating 5 pounds of greasy fast food every day will do so prematurely.

If you don't need to be somewhere for an hour but drive faster and get there in 30 minutes then your driving faster than you need, if you have booked a week long holiday and take 2 weeks off work then you have more time off than you need, if you have 8 - 10 hours sleep and stay in bed for a further few hours then you lie in more than you need...

I bet even you will ocassionally have more food than you need by eating a dessert, snack or similar after having your main meals of the day.

mr_stripey

used to go to a all you can eat Chinese in Loughborough and it was great, but at the end of the day, you can only eat so much and the restaurant probably gain overall in the end. There's no point making yourself feel sick or over indulged just "to get your money's worth"

At a Premier Inn type breakfast my tip would be ask the kitchen for poached eggs - they tend to cook these to order, rather than have one of the sad looking fried eggs which have been under the heat light for half an hour

IvanOpinion

tacpot12 said:

I think some of your tips are in poor taste. Eating more than you need to eat is a receipe for obesity and ill health. 

Eating sensibly sized meals on a regular timetable is proven to promote good health. Eating as much as you can at odd times of the day will make you fat and ill. I don't think MSE should be encouraging people to behave in this way. 

I would go further and say the entire concept of the thread is in poor taste.  I am surprised an 'MSE_' person posted such a thread.  If there had have been a 'Report' option for 'poor taste' I would have reported it.

Many people are struggling at the minute to put food on the table, and things are likely to get tougher in the near future. Ways of pigging out at a buffet will not be on their agenda.

jon81uk

IvanOpinion said:

tacpot12 said:

I think some of your tips are in poor taste. Eating more than you need to eat is a receipe for obesity and ill health. 

Eating sensibly sized meals on a regular timetable is proven to promote good health. Eating as much as you can at odd times of the day will make you fat and ill. I don't think MSE should be encouraging people to behave in this way. 

I would go further and say the entire concept of the thread is in poor taste.  I am surprised an 'MSE_' person posted such a thread.  If there had have been a 'Report' option for 'poor taste' I would have reported it.

Many people are struggling at the minute to put food on the table, and things are likely to get tougher in the near future. Ways of pigging out at a buffet will not be on their agenda.

I don't think there was any suggestion of "pigging out" in the opening post, just how to make the most of the buffet and get best value for money. For example the OP suggests doing a lap first to see what is available, then you can check what dishes there are rather than filling up before you find something you later with you tried.
Also the suggestion of skipping breakfast seems reasonable, then you aren't overeating but making the most of having a larger lunch in lieu of breakfast.
For some people who are on a tight budget a buffet is probably one of the most affordable ways to get a three course meal, I doubt you could get starter, main and dessert in most places for a similar price to many buffets.

davelewis

Just like on the Cruise ships - always avoid the buffet. Go to the main dining room for a portioned lunch or dinner. Much better for you and your BMI. You need sharp elbows in a buffett!!

Spendless

I think buffets/all you can eats are fab for trying new things. It was at one some years ago that I first tried Thai green curry. I'd have never have ordered it as I would have thought it a waste of money if I didn't like it. This way I got to try a spoonful at the side of something I already knew I liked, turns out I loved it, has become one of my favourite meals. Also been helpful for my faddy vegetarian daughter to try out different things.

My tip is to be careful of any complimentary stuff. At a tapas I enjoy the deal is you can order 3 tapas, then 2, then 1 by 1. But at the beginning they also fetch out a loaf of complimentary bread with dips, of course eat it and you're already on the way to being full. Our next mistake was to order nice sounding dishes that were heavy on potato and cheese. That meant we were pretty full after the first 3 dishes. After that we got wise, limited our bread intake, ordered salad and lighter dishes for the first 3 plates and only moved onto heavier items after that.

Also check out pricing at different times. Our bill for exactly the same food was far more expensive due to dining on a Saturday compared to dining on a weekday lunchtime. Won't make that mistake again either. 

MalMonroe

I hate all you can eat buffets because I can never eat my moneysworth. Even if I go along with an empty stomach. They are a waste of time for me. One in our town charges £15 for all you can eat - puddings extra, all drinks extra. I can never eat more than one plateful (and it's not even full either). So for me, useless. 

And besides that, there are all those people leaning over food, breathing over food, coughing over food, kids picking things up and putting them back. (Saw that once, with chips. Told a server who removed the whole dish, what a waste. Unless they just reheated and returned . . . ) Puts me off before I've even started! 

No thanks, I'll give them a miss. Not a bargain at all for me.

Spendless

MalMonroe said:

I hate all you can eat buffets because I can never eat my moneysworth. Even if I go along with an empty stomach. They are a waste of time for me. One in our town charges £15 for all you can eat - puddings extra, all drinks extra. I can never eat more than one plateful (and it's not even full either). So for me, useless. 

And besides that, there are all those people leaning over food, breathing over food, coughing over food, kids picking things up and putting them back. (Saw that once, with chips. Told a server who removed the whole dish, what a waste. Unless they just reheated and returned . . . ) Puts me off before I've even started! 

No thanks, I'll give them a miss. Not a bargain at all for me.

tbf  around £15 now is a standard price of a main meal at a pub/small restaurant. it's a very good price for all you can eat, as I'm presuming they do dishes which are starters and various sides, in addition to being able to fill your plate more than once.  If your appetite is small, then you're probably better off eating at different  places which offer small plates or where you can order a starter as a main and add a side if you so wish to it. 

Don't know what the server was meant to do after you'd informed them what happened, removing it was the correct thing.