Do you enjoy eating out?

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.

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.

MissA
'Dolled up'...[???‍????????

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.

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.

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 !!!

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.

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 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.

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'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.

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

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.

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?

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).

It depends on who’s paying the bill.?

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 ?

We enjoy eating out but dislike restaurant chains so try to find independent establishments.
In the next town are two very good fish restaurants, owned by the same people, we like to have lunch in one or other.
Almost all restaurants and pubs in our own town serve Italian food and none of it reaches our own cooking standard.

OOOHH! You've just reminded me, GD, our local agricultural college had a Catering Department that used to do the most fantastic Sunday lunches. I haven't thought of it for ages - must check if it is still going. I can think of one GNer who would enjoy that.

Last year, we took some out of town friends to lunch in the restaurant at our local catering college. The food was beautifully plated and absolutely delicious, the service impeccable. We had to book well in advance because it is very popular. A lot of years ago, my son did his chef training there but the training restaurant was not at that time open to the public except on certain ‘theme’ nights which were invitation only.

I’m often disappointed when we eat a meal out. Too picky maybe. There is a good restaurant on our sea front which we go to for a treat. Excellent food, efficient, intuitive staff and a fabulous view. My favourite meal out is a good cooked breakfast. Usually happiest with a nice piece of GF cake and a cuppa in a warm and comfortable setting.

I too enjoy eating out however DH only occasionally. He is happy for me to go out with girlfriends to some of the many restaurants, cafes in our town.

We have a lovely small Vietnamese restaurant but I think it is pricey.

Our favourite that DH will always come to is a small Italian cafe that has been such a hit in our town that they now keep open in the evening . They have a tiny kitchen so a limited menu. We often go early evening when we just have a chilled glass of wine and one of their toasted paninis filled with Italian cheese, salami, vegetables etc, just fab. The good news is that a dress shop about 10 yards away has closed they have bought it and are going to make it into a genuine pizza cafe. Just to set the scene this is in a small courtyard and in the summer they put out striped deckchairs in the sunshine for customers. Perfect ?

We have lots of different eateries near us which with my late OH I enjoyed visiting, although he didn’t do India or Chinese but now I’m alone I won’t enjoy doing that alone. I’ll maybe go to lunch and with evenings with other family members I do enjoy it.

I don’t enjoy eating out as much as I used to as it’s becoming quite a challenge I have a garlic intolerance (garlic goes into Everything nowadays) and high cholesterol. DH can’t drink alcohol or eat chillies. This Sunday we’re meeting friends at a local gastro pub and he’s vegan. It’s become a minefield!!

We are lucky to have a super Gastro pub in our village where we go if we get an urge to eat out. We also have a Turkish cafe but we often have food from there as a takeaway.

We tend to eat out differently for different reasons Lunch for Dh and I could often be at a pub, meeting friends for lunch could be at more upmarket Gastro pub and, if we are pushing the boat out, there is a Michelin starred restaurant in the next village.

There is a large Italian element to our town so there are some great Italian restaurants about

And, of course, being close to Leicester, we have a huge number of Indian restaurants to chose from.