Do you enjoy eating out?

I posted earlier this year about our experience in a local Michelin star restaurant. We'd been offered a dinner there as a thank you to DH for some work he'd done.
Well it was just daft! Obviously we're gastronomic philistines but I thought so much of it was just silly. I actually laughed when the main course was revealed with a flourish from under its smoky dome: 5 tiny nuggets of meat interspersed randomly with odd cubes of goodness knows what. The dessert when we finally made it past the pre dessert meringue was 7 ways with rhubarb. Just torture of a perfectly nice fruit.
One glass of wine each - £250!! Thank goodness we weren't paying for it.
Just off to the Light House now. Proper grub and nothing fancy.

Yes! And it doesn't happen often enough! Unless we're away and then it's all meals out.

I hate this business of the waiter/ess arriving just as you've started and asking how the food is too! You don't get it in Europe so why here??

As vegetarians the choice is almost always very limited, expensive and usually we eat better at home. topped with rubbish service, I agree, don't enjoy eating out very much anymore.

In the North West we have the Pig and Whistle now called Stone house Carvery. You arrive buy a drink at the bar and pay for either a big plate or small plate of carvery. Or pizza and then find a table and sit down. No waiters you pick up your carvery when you are read and can go back for more vegetables if yous wish. absolutely great experience and no hovering waiters.

I have to say I love the fish and chips at the George when we have our GN meet up, but I think its the interesting conversation that makes it.
Love eating out and meeting up with people.

Jane 10, I still have my fingers crossed.

I enjoy a coffee and a cake when I'm out shopping in town, something I don't do every day.
I also really love fish and chips with friends every other month or so.
I rarely have a two or three course meal like I used to in the old days in either a pub or restaurant. It's nice to have a change and no washing up.

I stayed at the Hilton in Cardiff on the day it first opened. Great time and it only cost me £10pn as my then best friend, who worked for the group as a conference and banqueting manager, got me the low rate afforded to family. On these occasions, I was her mother and in this manner I stayed in many Hilton Hotels both here and abroad.
Her husband was a manager within the Macdonald group and so I rarely paid more than £10pn for accomodation and food.

MOnica
The red onion and cheddar quiche with salad and chips, sounds like my kind of food (vegetarian) but alas, there are no bakeries in the wider area here, who make their own. It would be bought in from a supermarket, supplemented with pre-packaged and chlorinated salad greens and frozen chips. The meal would cost about 4 times what it would cost me to make at home.

I enjoy eating out because I usually only do so with family and friends and I love a get together where I don’t have to cook. A carvery is a mid-week or impromptu meal, often with my parents in law; lunchtimes in local restaurants are for my female friends, mid price evening dining is for couples and posh nosh is for special family events. Dining out alone with The Wonderful Man usually involves a hotel stay or a gift voucher from our children.

Right now I’m in a hotel room, having dined on (delicious) take away noodles whilst TWM is being feted at a nearby hotel where dinner has been laid on for conference delegates. I’ve just come along for the ride (we’re in Cardiff).

My husband was a chef before he retired, so we are quite fussy about where we eat out. I don’t eat red meat and onions have a terrible effect on my tummy and everything has onions in it and often they don’t tell you on the menu. It’s difficult, so when we find somewhere that has things that I can eat, we tend to stick with it. Relatively recently we have found a very nice restaurant attached to an Antiques Centre which does lovely fresh food including delicious salads, with huge portions so we’ve been there quite a lot. It’s nice to eat out for a change, but we have such lovely meals at home, cooked by a Swiss-trained chef (my husband!) and it’s much cheaper, too. I cook as well, by the way!

I love to eat out from fixed price lunch or pre-theatre menus, but a la carte is wasted on me. I resent the expense, invariably cant eat it all and dont particularly like spending the whole evening eating. My big problem is I like just one large glass of decent red wine as a treat, but this is hard to come by. By the glass is usually the poorer quality house which gives me a headache and none of my friends drink.

It certainly is Juliet27. I have to be thankful for the wonderful times we had over many years.

EllanVannin....that’s very sad for you. ?

I find the more expensive the restaurant the smaller the portions.

I almost always stick to two courses, because I have lost my sweet tooth and just a look at the dessert menu makes me feel cloyed and I just order a black coffee.

We sometimes eat out, but I often find it disappointing. I hate it if I have to wait ages for courses to arrive, and, don't want to sound smug, but I often prefer my own cooking. Having said that, we do have an excellent Italian in the village where we eat now and then.

That was a few years ago when my late friend and I went on the Orient Express just before Christmas and I remember the name of our train coach was Perseus.

Afternoon tea at the Dorchester well worth a splurge.

Yes Alban, its a joke the cost and you can make something brilliant at home for 30 quid or a Waitrose ready meal, why not.

We haven't eaten out for AGES!
Around here, NE England, it's all fast food places. Even when we were in France it was either moules et frites or magret et frites.
The last really good meal out was ages ago - included lamb's liver with onion gravy yum.

Yes, eating out is something we like to do, when we can.

I prefer honest, unpretentious eateries although we do have one or two 'special' restaurants we use if the occasion demands it. Sadly, quite often those 'special' and more expensive restaurants have let us down - the standard of food varies and from time to time or the fancy recipes just don't work, or portion size is ridiculous and they charge a fortune for extras - ie: vegetables. We cross them off our list.

We have found one or two pubs which serve lovely home-cooked food at reasonable prices. We try to support independent cafes and bars but most we have found are charging extremely high prices for very little food and fancy presentation and often, fairly long waits and poor service.

Good, honest, (not microwaved!) hot pub grub tends to win out.

I really like eating out but round here so many restaurants have upgraded themselves it can be difficult to find really good food that doesn’t cost a fortune.
Norfolk Restaurant Week took place a couple of weeks ago so that was a good opportunity to try a couple of new venues without breaking the bank. We did and really liked both places.
We often share starters and puddings, no one seems to mind, they usually bring 2 spoons! I can’t manage 3 courses.
Like another poster I also have 2 starters at certain restaurants that seem to think we need huge portions.
I like looking forward to going out especially with friends.

I'm in two minds- it is nice to be served and not have to do the washing up, but I can never manage half of what's on my plate - I prefer to eat little and often.

I like eating out but hate paying 12% or more service charge. Recently in London there was also a £2 per person cover charge. When you have paid £25 already for a £9 bottle of wine these extra charges are too much and put me off eating out. We had a very nice Waitrose curry and side dishes for around £10 for lunch today .

Not a treat anymore with so many pubs, restaurants and cafes. Amazing value too. We've found most "posh" restaurants disappointing and far too expensive,although for a special occasion, we have enjoyed fine dining at recommended restaurants. Always look forward to eating out, it's social, relaxing with no clearing up to do. Takeaways are good now and then but it's not quite the same. Wish I could eat out more often.