Eating out - is it a waste of money

You get quite a small portion of meat at Toby Carvery, and a lovely light yorkie. Then you can pile your plate with loads of several different vegetables. I have broccoli, green beans, carrots, onion, a nd a little bit of cauliflower cheese, and two small roast potatos. My plateful looks huge but it's mostly healthy, and beautifully cooked, veg.

There is no snob value in eating there so it would n't appeal to all.

(It's got 5 for scores on doors though)

Carveries are a vegetarian's worst nightmare. I went to one with my friends once - in a group - to have a meal before going to the theatre. I asked for the veggie option. There wasn't one but they said they would make me a lasagne. It was disgusting - I could swear it had Marmite in it!

I regularly have people here for meals so dining out is a real treat for me. I don't tend to eat out in pubs very much because it can be a real hit and miss affair, so will only eat in a pub on someone's recommendation. Our local hotels do superb food at very reasonable prices and there are two that we regularly choose to eat in. A three course Sunday lunch for £19.50 - £22 is very good value in a posh hotel complete with sea views and a serenade from the resident pianist.
We also have locally a brilliant carvery (£11) and a tiny Indian restaurant where we take our own wine and the food is fantastic; the local fish restaurant is 'special occasion' only as it's quite pricey. We sometimes go out for coffee and cake or afternoon tea and living in a seaside town gives us a lot of choice.
Hmm - now I've been thinking of it I would really like some cake.......

Gill, you are so right about the carvery food and people eating them. Last night my friend and I popped into a pub like this, we were just having a pot of tea, the diners were walking past us carefully so as not to spill the gravy off their mountain of potato and Yorkshire pudding. My friend said it was turning her stomach and I had to agree.
I visit restaurants that serve manageable sized portions so that I can eat three courses if I want to. I have to say I have never ever been in a place that advertises ALL YOU CAN EAT FOR £5.99

I have recently discovered Toby Carvery. Love it!

We've got a pub belonging to Anthony Worral Thomson near us. There is only one dish on the menu that I fancy eating. I'm a simple soul foodwise.

overthehill

little county pubs that cook their own food

That has tended to be my experience - it may take a little longer to arrive at the table but it has been worth the wait.

The cost of eating out on the Island is very offputting: our local pubs offer Sunday lunch (main meal and either starter or pudding plus coffee) for £12.95 and I know that the roast potatoes and Yorkshire puddings are frozen ones (and mass produced ones at that).

I like eating out but tend to go to restaurants that cook meals that I'm either not able to do or can't do as well as they can (Indian, Chinese, Italian, Thai)

I love eating out, mainly at lunchtime, and I'm very lucky to live in an area where there are lots of lovely country pubs, that do good food.

It's not particularly cheap, but I think it's worth it because it always lifts our spirits, and we've met and chatted to some lovely people.

I should have said I always enjoy a Jamie's Italian and if there are any problems they are sorted straight away with lost of apologies. Also if you get a Gold Card (free ) you get lots of offers and special prices and a bottle of wine on your birthday so contrary to my previous posting I will be going to Jamie's (DH doesn't like it says its still pricey but I need the occasional break from cooking as he absolutely cant cook - disaster after disaster). Problem is Jamie's are only to be found in major towns.

I absolutely love going out for a meal, but I do agree that the chain pubs are best avoided, though some of the younger DGC think them very sophisticated (the ones who haven't been on holidays in Europe!)

Down here in North Devon, we are quite spoilt for choice. Fish and chips galore, of course, but also some excellent restaurants of all types, and some superb pubs, often hidden away down winding lanes.

Granjura I may well take you up on your offer - one part of France that I do not know at all.

It very much depends on the pub- some cook from fresh, most use boil in the bag meals bought in- they just pop the plastic bag into very hot water and then pour it on the plate and make it look as appetizing as poss. I only found out about this when 2 students who were staying with us got a job as part time waitresses there- and they told us how it was done

But I know some amazing pubs with amazing food, and ver good value. In Rutland we even had a Michelin starred pub, The Olive Branch- and that was of course excellent, but a bit more pricey.

Here we usually go out for lunch once a week, usually on the French side, with the days meal being 7Euros50 and the full menu 11E50, with coffee and a drink. Excellent value for money and the choice of restaus is great.

BTW if anyone ever fancies doing a holiday in the French Jura- do get in touch so we can meet and I can take you out- but so I can advise you on great places to stay at very reasonable cost. It is a lovely area and so little tourism and tourists.

I love eating out. There are lots of pubs in my area that do lovely food at reasonable prices.

I think a lot of the problem is a 'race to the bottom' with prices, and customers are responsible to be honest. Do we really think we can get Sunday lunch with fresh ingredients and good quality meat for the kind of prices you see advertised on blackboards; screaming two meals for £10.99? Really? I have friends who love the pile it high carvery type places. We decided to try one, took one look at the people in there with their plates piled to overflowing with more food than they could (or should) eat, all dressed in their elasticated waist tracksuits..........and gave it a miss. We are very fortunate to have a lovely pub restaurant run by a couple in our village, fresh food, locally sourced and a short menu, long menus mean boil in the bag Brakes Brothers catering food. The food is excellent, the service is excellent, it is always busy, but it is not cheap. To be honest, with the exceptions of a few places that are a rip off, i think that you get what you pay for when it comes to food. I love eating out, just wish we could afford to do it more often!

Thanks NanKate for the tip about Bill's. I have found that there is one near me, in Oxford. The afternoon tea sounds delicious. I have a birthday coming up, I must start dropping hints!

I do agree I'm afraid I am really fed up with being ripped off in gastro pubs and restaurants including recently a Gordon Ramsey restaurant in London where the food was miniscule but I have to say the service was excellent. HOWEVER my major beef (get it) is that good service is almost non existent- they seem to think plonking down a plate of food and saying 'enjoy your meals (which always gets a reply of 'that's up to you' or 'I'll do my best from me') is service. Very fed up with paying almost £100 for 2 people and still being hungry. I think we are not ging out for a while - I enjoy cooking so I am just going to spend a bit more on some special ingrediants and cook at home. I do make comments on Trip Advisor both good and bad to try to help other customers.

What a shame you didn't enjoy your meal out. It's one of my favourite pastimes a meal with good friends, unlike dinners parties and all the work and stress involved. However, I've had a few awful meals too and it's all very disappointing and a waste of money.
I have found that pubs that are part of a chain don't provide very good food but it is hard to find a family run pub these days. Our local Indian Restaurant is one of the best places to eat in our area ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ '[p;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;

My cat has just walked across the keyboard so this is her contribution to this thread

Yesterday we stopped at a smartish hotel and paid £18 for a tuna sandwich, a cardboard gf salmon sandwich and two orange juices! We didn't complain as there was a funeral party in the bar!

On the whole I usually enjoy a meal out. I never choose a roast though (unless it is a 'very good restaurant ) as I find every thing tastes the same.

I eat out on occasions the average on my own is around £7-£9 mark, this can vary from a pub lunch to a Chinese eat as much as you want.
Mick

That was at a "bistro" restaurant - I just realised it might seem that I was still talking about Bill's.

Bill's food is good, and so is the service in our local one.

I felt so bad a few weeks ago, my children took me out to lunch, and when my meal arrived, it consisted of one slice of Serrano ham, three sticks of asparagus and a tiny poached egg. I had ordered the "plate of English asparagus with ham". I didn't want to make a fuss and show my disappointment, but it cost 8.95 - and it wasn't on the starter menu either.

Because I have a gluten free diet we have to be very careful when eating out but find it fairly easy to have a good meal out.

I would agree with harri that it's worth paying a little more to get good quality. I distrust those 'Sunday Lunch - £4.95 for 3 courses'. I can't do it for that price!

Although I love cooking, I think eating out every now and again is worth the cost!

I have been to a Bills in London and it's lovely. I think they do fish finger sandwiches and proper chips!

I don't know where you all live but in Brighton and Lewes and Windsor they have a chain of cafe/restaurants called Bills. The serve great freshly prepared food mostly organic meals, lots of veggie dishes, salads which have salad leaves I have never tasted before, delicious steaks, yummy cakes.

The layout of the 2 I have visited are trestle tables so you could be sitting with other people.

The prices are mid range.

We are shortly to have a Bill's in our town in the Thames Valley, I can't wait.

Numberplease couldn't you go out to lunch with a girlfriend in the week, if the rest of your family don't want to ? It's the way I get my fix of eating out.

A meal out should be a treat shouldn't it? Our local pub does excellent fish and chips for around £7, and we can get a nice curry at a reasonable price. If we want to push the boat out for a special occasion we can go to a number of fine dining restaurants and have a 3 course lunch for around £20 a head. I wouldn't expect much in the way of good food from a cheap chain, check if they use frozen fish, chips etc you might as well stay at home if the food isn't fresh and freshly cooked.