To not want to go to an all you can eat buffet?

I never go to all you can eat. I never ever eat more than I always do so it’s completely pointless.
I’ve also only been once possibly 20 years ago and I’ve never fancied trying again.
it’s a weird and gross custom to me

I mean, when food is served "family style" i.e. a Sunday roast at someone's house most people manage. So just think of it like that?

Also there is a huge range of buffets. So pointless really to ask what they are like as they aren't all the same... the brunch buffet at The Ned is going to be different to a Pizza Hut lunchtime deal, which will be different again from a trendy sushi place. But even at a cheap and cheerful one, you can't really go wrong on the salads, veggies and potatoes. Enjoy!

Just eat what you want! Think of it as "all inclusive" rather than "all you can eat".

id like to try them but not too fussed overall

I make myself little portions of each “course” - starter, main, salad, cheese to extend the time eating, without actually eating a huge amount.

Love them for the fussy eaters in my family. Everyone manages to find something they like. The gluttons get to be gluttons. It’s very easy to put together a healthy plate.

Why would the hosts be offended if you eat one plate and no more? You’re not obliged to be a big fat pig just because it’s ’all you can eat’.

Buffet type places are not my favourite as I loathe to see gluttony, which you always see.

Whether I went would depend whether I wanted to see the other people that were going. I wouldn't feel obliged to eat more than I wanted and I wouldn't take notice of what anyone else was eating.
If the main reason I was going out was because I wanted nice food I probably wouldn't go. If the main reason for going was to meet up with friends then I would go.

YANBU if you have good reason to think the food will be rubbish.
YABU to be queasy at seeing plates full of food. Just eat how much you want to eat!

Reasonable places imo, have as much or little as you like.
My only rule is eat what goes on that plate unless it is a particularly unpleasant bit of food, I find it disgusting how much some people waste at these places.

Bloody love them. I'm vegetarian so there is usually only one or two things on normal menus to choose from. With buffets I can have a bit of variety. I know I don't get my money's worth not having meat or fish but I'm there for the company, the ambiance and a treat, not to make a 'profit' or focus on balancing macros or provide my daily nutrition!

Being concerned by a trip to an all you can eat buffet points to a worrying relationship with food and common sense or a nice bit of performative MN teeny-tiny appetite-ness 😆

Enjoy it for the company and be assured the staff and your friends will not notice. The person paying will get their money's worth by you being there, enjoying yourself and adding to the evening, not by you making yourself ill with 5kg of food!

I think the previous posters finding mixing cuisines and not sticking to tradition disgusting are doing themselves a disservice...Yorkshire pudding, macaroni cheese, salad, veg curry and spring rolls go really well together ❤️

Not RTFT but just stop when you're full, surely? 🤷🏻‍♀️

Well it costs them the same no matter how much you eat. Why spoil your enjoyment of the evening by eating food you don't want?

I don't like them because they're priced as if you're going to eat a huge pile of food and I'm a 'little and often' type of eater, so when I go out, I eat a small amount and take quite a bit of what I'm served home for the next day, which obviously you can't do at an all you can eat place.

You can't say 'I've only had a small plate, so I want to take two more plates of food to have at home tomorrow, because everyone else has had three plate fulls' but it costs the same either way.

Sounds like it's a group meal, which makes an all you can eat place a strange choice as people are constantly getting up to get food, which interrupts the whole point of going out to eat together. But if you want to go to the event, go, eat what you want, and don't worry about upsetting people who've chosen the venue.

It sounds like you're going in a group?

If no one is going to eat their money's worth, I might wonder if a different venue might be more appropriate. If, however, there is one teenage boy, giant rugby player or generic greedy guts there, the hosts will still be quids up taking you all there rather than somewhere else.

I wouldn't eat my money's worth these days (I might have done as a poor student who was very physically active) but I'd enjoy the opportunity to have a little bit of a variety of things. The value doesn't necessarily have to be in volume, it could be in choice.

Presumably you have been invited because your hosts want your company? In which case, what you do or don't eat isn't relevant. They just want to spend time with you.

I actually detest them now, having been dragged to them by 2 exes! They were both greedy sods though so that's why.

The ones I've been too have been pretty crap tbh. I've had much nicer meals in restaurants where I just ordered the dish I wanted.

I also never got my moneys worth as the price was usually higher than a single dish in other places. So for me it was crap and expensive.

I think you’re overthinking it OP.

Don't worry about that

I've been to a few and only ever gone up once for main stuff and sometimes again for a pudding, but not always

No ones has ever looked at me like I'm a weirdo for doing that

@wizarddry they obviously want to go there and the price is set regardless of how much or how little you eat, so it would be more polite to just go rather than say how you don't like buffets which makes it look as if you are criticising their choice.

The good thing about them is there is usually a good variety of food, so you should find something you like. If you would rather stick to one starter and one main, you can absolutely do that as well.

We don't go all the time, but it's nice when different members of the family fancy different things to eat.

Why would you assume that and what difference does it make. She either wishes to habe dinner with them there or doesn’t.

I think you're overthinking. Just have what you want and avoid turning up your nose at other people's choices. My kids adore a "world foods" place near us and it's not what I'd choose myself, but it's not just massive plates of sweet and sour and bolognese. Sushi, dim sum, hoisin pancakes, fish or octopus fried in front of you, salad bar.