Do you enjoy eating out?

Not regularly but enjoy it when I do. Not having a big appetite I usually just have a starter with perhaps some extra vegetables and if I have room I'll follow with a pudding.
Actually got a busy few dates coming up, and having either lunch or dinner out four days on the trot!
Feast or famine ?

It depends on who’s paying the bill.?

Once a week we either go out for breakfast (and then usually go shopping) or go shopping (or the cinema) and then have lunch out. Either that or I'll meet a friend for lunch (maybe in the cafe of a garden centre?) I don't go to posh places - I go somewhere where the food is nice and the atomosphere is friendly. And, cooking from scratch every evening, my standards are fairly high - so anything put in front of me that's been microwaved or frozen beforehand, I can tell right away (and wouldn't go back).

I dont like eating out in the evening,I much prefer lunch out.I like small portions and find lunch menus have smaller portions and quite a good choice of meal, also I dont like the hassle of going out in the winter evenings here in Sweden, treacherous roads etc.We dont have anywhere decent to eat around here consequently have to travel to the City. Here one is NOT allowed to have anything with alcohol in so sometimes its better to stay at home and enjoy a nice meal with a glas or two of wine. Am I getting old and enjoy home comforts?

I seem to find myself eating a lot in Cote these days, we have one on the river near us and it's always my go to place to have lunch with a friend. My husband likes it a lot too so we probably go there one a month together, in fact we are meeting friends there tomorrow. We also like the Giggling Squid, another chain prolific in the south east, who do Thai tapas, My Chinese, Malaysian friend who I met many years ago at antenatal introduced me to it. They do a great lunch time menu for about £12, which consist of four small dishes, which are amazingly filling. My children love Wagamama but the bench type tables put me off a bit, although I gather the food is tasty, but have yet to try it. My kids also tell me that "brunch" is the new going out, smashed avocado on sourdough with poached eggs is a favourite for them on lazy Saturdays and Sundays. The downside is that those type of places tend to be packed at the weekends.
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If we push the boat out for a celebration, we like the River Cafe in West London, or J Sheekys in the West End for fish have had a couple of excellent meals there, but for birthday type of occasions, we normally don't do that expensive. We also had a nice meal for husband's birthday a couple of years ago when we were in Cornwall at Rick Stein's flagship restaurant, but I gather the ones he has now rolled out around the country are not so good, that always seems to be the case unfortunately, overstretching hasn't worked for Jamie Oliver.

Kittylester I am also in Leicestershire. Which village has the michelin star restaurant?

I've got to the point where I am not prepared to pay £60-£100 for a very average meal for two.
I'd rather go less often and go somewhere really good.

Eating out is a good opportunity to meet with friends but I don't particularly like the eating part as I have to be careful what I consume. I continue to be surprised that waiting staff don't always know whether there is eg cream in the soup and I've had staff going to and fro to the kitchen to find out which I find embarrassing as I hate making a fuss

I was pleased to be able to book a table at a college catering school last week when we were on a weekend away; in fact surprised they were open on a Friday night. Having the students learn while they are fussing over you, with a proper cloakroom, and bar, and fine dining meal, is fun, and no Michelin starred prices. The only problems with this type of establishment really is that you have to plan ahead as I am sure most book up way in advance.

I'm not into small amounts on huge plates/wooden boards/slates etc.
Food gets fiddled about with when being put on dishes and I'm never certain how fresh it is.
Monday is not a good day to eat out as weekend leftovers are often incorporated into different dishes. Unused cooked roast meat, minced into rissoles or pies or diced into cubes for stews/beef Bourguignon. Much of the roast meat you are served in a Sunday lunch is precooked and portioned elsewhere, certainly not cooked on the premises.

I hate eating out and always have done. Maybe because I love cooking and it has always been a hobby of mine.
I often watch cookery programmes on TV and see chefs fiddling around arranging the plate with their fingers and often top chefs have to be reminded to wash their hands after touching raw chicken.

In winter I prefer eating out at lunch then I’m home before rush hour traffic. Portions are usually far too much and I hate wasting food. Sometimes the music in places is so loud you can’t hear each other. I also get too hot if it’s awful busy!! Other than that I love spending time with old friends !!!

The only foods I ever eat when I'm out, are (occasionally) cake and hot cheese and onion pasties from the West Cornwall Pasty Shop in Guildford or The Pasty shop in Bristol TM station. Delicious and filling.

Depends..... mostly on the quality of the food and how much it costs. For example, we have an excellent Chinese restaurant hereabouts where the food is à volunté, which means that you can [and very many do] go back as many times as you wish to fill your plate. At lunchtimes, this gourmet repast costs €13.50 and in the evenings and weekends €19.50 - real bargain! Exists in quite a number of restaurants in this [wonderful] part of the world.

MissA
'Dolled up'...[???‍????????

If I eat out it is with daughters and grandkids mostly, lunchtimes, and I enjoy being with them. I've had the child's portion a couple of times if I want to cut food intake (weightwatcher) and it was large and filling. That was a pub roast and tasty. We've been to Giraffe and that has a nice selection of foods and relaxed waiting staff. One daughter and kids are vegan so we have to be careful with them.

Locally we've been to a Harvester not long ago and the service and variety of food was good and comfortable. All the places were reasonable prices, not more than about £20 a head.

Yes, I do enjoy going to eat Signature's Restaurant, Aberconwy Park, Conwy, however, I go only about 4 times a year so it's a treat.

I'm finding the portions at restaurants overwhelming. We stayed in a hotel last week and I asked for scrambled eggs for breakfast. There must have been 3 or 4 eggs in it. It was an unappetising mound, and slightly cold. This was a 5 star hotel and I was disappointed. Dinner was chicken with a lot of different purees vegetables. I immediately thought "care home" food!

I love eating out. Today it’s a pub lunch with girlfriends and on Friday its a very expensive lunch at a Michelin Star restaurant with daughter. I love being waited on in a really first class restaurant. I also run a Fine Dining group at my local U3A so get to experience all types of cuisine monthly.
Unfortunately my waistline pays the penalty but hey ho, who cares!

Inishowen I love hotel buffet breakfasts! Used to visit friends in Bolton and stay at Whites and fain 3lbs over a weekend. I am a pig and would begin with cereal and fruit juice and go on to bacon and sausage and egg and then croissants and danish and toast. Lovely!

That's why I have to attend weightwatchers! Gold member since 2009 but a constant struggle with piggy nature.

dragonfly, I've pm'd you!

Apart from Prezzo, we rarely eat out in chain restaurants. We live in a highly populated rural area and round us there are enormous number of pubs serving really good well prepared and cooked food at every price level and every cuisine from French through Indian to Polish .

Our village has for some years had a very good artisan bakery. A recent sale of land for housing has enabled them to build a new bakery/shop/cafe. They do a range of light meals based on their bakery output, which changes weekly. We have to ration our visits, otherwise we would be there every day, and on Saturdays we need to book in advance to be sure of a table.

I have always preferred my main meal at lunch time. Which is possible now we are retired, so most eating out is done at lunchtime. The one exception is where some of the better restaurants, like a local French pub we use for high days and holidays, where the full menu is only available in the evening.

I don't mean to sound boastful but I'm a good cook. And if restaurant food isn't better than I can make then I tend to be disappointed and it really puts me off eating out.
I'd imagine if I had the finances to eat at higher end establishments I may be less frustrated?
I have found an amazing Chinese restaurant. It's off the beaten track, you could pass it and not know it's there. They don't use MSG (which makes me very unwell) , everything is cooked fresh, and it's very small, so not loud and rowdy. If I do have funds, I go there. Never been disappointed yet. ?

I enjoy taking myself for lunch when I am out shopping...a pleasant experience.