MSE Forum Poll: Do you check the menu online before eating at a restaurant/pub?

Rob5342

I always look at the menu in advance, decide exactly what I'm having and plan the rest of the weeks food and budget around it. I'm always ready to order before we sit down but everyone else takes ages deciding.

CapricornLass

Yes, I always check.  I have a nut and coconut allergy which puts me into anaphylactic shock, so I not only look on line, but frequently phone the venue in advance.  Its not fool-proof.  Venues still can get it wrong.

If I feel any doubt about what's on offer, then I don't eat....  but I don't like it because my companions feel guilty for eating.

Retro_Bunny

GF, so have to check first.

Jemma01

I try to stick to pescetarian food, so I do check

moneysaver9099

No, it's part of the experience to arrive and browse the menu IMO

itsthelittlethings

I usually go to the same places on my own so tend to have the same thing. Am trying not to eat out alone.

If with friends and family I'm afraid we usually go to Cote or Bills. I think Bills is terrible so I just pick the least worst option, if Cote I have a look beforehand. 

If with friends it's usually spontaneous so no chance to look beforehand. 

strawb_shortcake

I always check the menu beforehand, but often if it's somewhere I regularly frequent then I often have the same thing - but lesson learnt the lounge chain has amended some of their dishes for the worse in my opinion.

My Husband and I would like to do a dinner show in London I.e. 58th street, and all the ones we find the menu is very limited and not to my taste. With the cost for travel, hotel plus the dinner and show it's going to be an expensive for food I don't like. 

purplevamp

I only look online when it's been booked by someone else in our group.  It's almost always very expensive and the food I like on the menu is very limited, because I'm fussy!!  My SIL has booked a restaurant for a Christmas family meal and it's £36 for 2 courses or £45 for 3!  I only like one thing on the entire menu. Also, it's nearly 200 miles from our home and she booked it for 12pm.  We're going to have to leave really early to get there in time.

goldfinches

I'm both a foodie and a vegetarian who's always on the lookout for interesting dishes to try so I clicked on the deep dive option. Price isn't my first criterion and I would rather pay more for really good food that I can't or won't make myself but I do balk at paying a lot for something I know I could do better so I'm quite picky.

One problem I frequently find is that the only starter and main course suitable for vegetarians don't go well together so if somewhere can offer me a choice for either of those courses that's a bonus. And, if I did enjoy the meal, I often have to wait for them to change the menu before I can eat there again as I don't want just to repeat the whole evening. 

A good thing that came out of the pandemic was the number of really good restaurants/chefs that have continued their at home options either through sites like Dishpatch or on their own sites like Simon Rogan At Home. That's meant that I've been able to try food that would be otherwise out of practical reach which is a lot of fun and has also shown me that the main difference between my own kitchen and top professional ones is the quality of the ingredients. That discovery lead to my taking on an allotment and to increasing my shopping budget and changing where I shop for quite a lot of things, which has really improved my home cooking, so now I'm even less inclined to eat out unless it's very special.

Deec

Not only do I check the menu but I read the Tripadvisor reviews. Both wife and I cook using good local ingredients and we rarely eat out so we want to make sure it is worth it.