A very disappointing lunch. Should pubs and restaurants be more honest.

I almost never eat out as I’m a good cook and it’s usually very disappointing ..unless you want to do a very high end meal.

Reheated food looses a lot of ‘life force’ and therefore appeal and I feel angry that these places can say ‘fresh’ which translates as freshly heated from a packet!!
Instead as a treat I get really good produce and have something really special which will probably cost less than half

4allweknow

I live near a very prestigious hotel. During Covid they did a click and collect menu albeit only three choices. Had a meal a couple of times. Some of the items were in sealed plastic bags ready to be warmed in hot water. This hotel had purchased the necessary equipment to enable them to provide such a service. Meals were delicious. Even the cocktails were in plastic bags. Gordon Ramsay has food prepared elsewhere and then transported to his kitchens to be assembled. Woukd a meal prepared in that manner be classed as made on the premises The cost of eating out has gone up a lot, the amount Sago quoted seemed about normal nowadays.

THAT is a totally different story though.

I am not at all sure a restaurant that would only serve a choice of 5 main meals would go out of business. If quality and cooked fresh in house, with local products- I think it would do well.

Certainly the case in many countries, like France, where most restaurants offer a fixed lunch menu with 2 or 3 choices.

I have to confess we go to 'Spoons' occasionally for a laugh, for people watching you can't beat it. But, the wine is excellent and cheap, beers are well kept and a good choice. I always have ham egg and chips (small portion) I don't think that goes in a hot bath?

ruthiek

I was shocked when I went to an upmarket chain of restaurants to hear their food was brought in not cooked on site . Felt a bit cheated

The problem is, with margins so tight now, restaurants which just offered a couple of daily specials without other choices on the menu would soon go out of business.

Some dishes require longer cooking times, too, so buying in good sous vide dishes then cooking fresh vegetables to go alongside that seems like a good idea. It avoids expensive wastage of food as well.

As I have always enjoyed cooking have always avoided eating out. Apart from holidays or abroad.
I still cook my own food but more simple meals using frozen vegetables. Have tried ready meals but not liked them.

I live near a very prestigious hotel. During Covid they did a click and collect menu albeit only three choices. Had a meal a couple of times. Some of the items were in sealed plastic bags ready to be warmed in hot water. This hotel had purchased the necessary equipment to enable them to provide such a service. Meals were delicious. Even the cocktails were in plastic bags. Gordon Ramsay has food prepared elsewhere and then transported to his kitchens to be assembled. Woukd a meal prepared in that manner be classed as made on the premises The cost of eating out has gone up a lot, the amount Sago quoted seemed about normal nowadays.

The point is how good the food is, not how it was prepared. But, I'm sorry, going out with the attitude that you want 'something special' is just ASKING to be ripped off.

Went to a brand new big city restaurant yesterday. One of the mains was a whole chicken priced at £44 with a waiting time of 45 minutes. Interestingly the next table had ordered this and the delivery actually took 70 minutes. Looked attractive but totally unspectacular. Been looking forward to this lunch far too much which is probably why I ended up disappointed. Happily our food was decidedly tasty.

I was shocked when I went to an upmarket chain of restaurants to hear their food was brought in not cooked on site . Felt a bit cheated

Callistemon21

Poor baby cows, died in vain ☹

I think they should have been told before they chose it as an option.
I remember DS coming back from a French trip thin and very hungry - the school dinners they had sounded good but he said the meat, including lamb, was practically raw!

You didn't choose options on our cheap ski trips, by coach! lol.

Yes. Home cooked means delivered frozen from a factory ! Then re heated

I know it is not to everyone's taste, but places like Wagamama serve freshly made stirfrys.
We eat out a lot - getting tired of cooking on a daily basis - and nice food is getting harder to find at a reasonable price. You don't seem to get so many offers these days and where we expected to spend about £35 for two mains and two drinks, it is now about £50.

We rarely eat out these days but when we do we research, research, research. Tripadvisor, word of mouth via friends, acquaintances etc. Restaurant's website, sample menus etc. It's not foolproof and occasional dishes can disappoint but in general it works. If there are issues we wouldn't hesitate to make them known to the restaurant staff. We usually contact the restaurant by phone to ask for a quiet table as I wear hearing aids and have trouble hearing in a busy, noisy environment. The response of the staff in terms of understanding and helpfulness is a good guide to the professionalism of the restaurant which one hopes translates into professionalism in the kitchen!

There are a myriad of things that can spoil a dining experience, not always the food. I have been to restaurants where the food has been wonderful but spoiled by very long waiting times or rude staff. The food would have to be spectacular to overcome those negatives for me.
What price point is considered high in the UK? I am totally out of touch now. Over here a three course meal with wine for 2, in in a good restaurant, would be @ 80 -90 euros. A 3 course lunch for 2 in a local bistro would be @ 40 euros.
MacDonalds is about the same as a bistro!

Poor baby cows, died in vain ☹

I think they should have been told before they chose it as an option.
I remember DS coming back from a French trip thin and very hungry - the school dinners they had sounded good but he said the meat, including lamb, was practically raw!

Callistemon21

FleurPepper - you want the provenance of meats to be shown on restaurant menus but were annoyed when a parent explained to, presumably teenagers, exactly what veal was?
Should they not have been told what it was?

I must admit that I didn't know what veal was until I was about 16 and staying with an aunt at a hotel. I chose veal, it sounded interesting, started eating it, but then was told by the chef what it was. I didn't eat it after the first mouthfuls and I've never touched it since.

Provenance is one thing...

as said, in this case, we had 80 teenagers who needed lots of energy to be on the slopes all day- Being a skiing beginner is very hard work (falling and getting up again- do you remember 'on the Piste') - and the point was, they were at last tucking in for the first time. The 'baby cow' comment was just not required at the time!

Hubby and I went out for a Christmas lunch in December. The food was good but the pub appeared to have no heating. They actually had a TV screen with a picture of a cosy fire! We were so cold we didn't enjoy our food. The food went cold quickly. Staff were wearing layers of warm clothing. I think that was dishonest to serve food in a cold pub.

I don't think you can expect gourmet food from pubs unless they are an acclaimed gastro pub and you then pay a fortune for lunch . I've found that small cafes are so much better for home prepared food . Our local market cafe dors homemade pies. Talking of British food I love chip shops . You get real potatoes (not reconstituted ), and it's a godsend for a hard up granny like me with 6 grandchildren when I take them to the seaside. 7 portions of chips, cones for the little ones(and me!). Don't worry ,they get healthy meals the rest of the time .

Oh dear, first world problems. We're all lucky to have food in our bellies, never mind where it comes from, whether it's freshly cooked or reheated in a bath. We should count ourselves lucky that we have the option to decide precisely what kind of food we wish to eat, be it vegan, vegetarian, full on meat and hailing from the farm down the road. Many millions in the world would swap places.

Yes, I’d like to know in advance if the place I’m booking cooks fresh or not. I agree you can often tell from the price/type of place but it would be good to know so you can make a decision before you book .

How kind of your husband to suggest it though, a lovely idea and well intentioned. Hope he wasn’t too disappointed

I love veal and nearly always order it if on the menu especially in Italian restaurants. I find it hard to find at the butchers and the supermarkets very rarely have it. I also love venison and wind my vegetarian niece up by saying we're eating Bambi.

Germanshepherdsmum

Kate1949

I couldn't care less how it is prepared. If I enjoy it, that's fine.

Same here.

Ditto. If the food is nicely presented, cooked (reheated) well and served with a smile, it has my vote. Most restaurants will discuss provenance if you ask and will certainly ascertain allergy info.

I think the real point, Sago is that you didn't enjoy what was served up. It could have been cooked from scratch and still been grim. You'd have still felt seen off and quite rightly so.

Seems like a waste of money and spoils the outing too. I also dislike the adding on of a service charge automatically. I challenged this recently and the waitress was clearly not happy with me when I asked for this to be removed from the bill, which was quite a palava in itself.

FleurPepper - you want the provenance of meats to be shown on restaurant menus but were annoyed when a parent explained to, presumably teenagers, exactly what veal was?
Should they not have been told what it was?

I must admit that I didn't know what veal was until I was about 16 and staying with an aunt at a hotel. I chose veal, it sounded interesting, started eating it, but then was told by the chef what it was. I didn't eat it after the first mouthfuls and I've never touched it since.