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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Eating out is always an expensive let down.

264 replies

istheheatingonyet · 30/01/2025 09:20

I'm just not doing it any more. Granted I am "older" but the last offering was bread, mashed acocado, feta and some sort of sauce. Is it a meal, is it brunch nobody knows?
Cheap ingredients, silly price.
What a waste of money.

OP posts:
LadyKenya · 30/01/2025 09:29

I eat out only for social reasons, and it is always what I expect it to be, just meh! Cheap ingredients, and cold plates. I would just prefer to go for a lemon, and lime at the pub thb.

Original poster
istheheatingonyet · 30/01/2025 09:27

@NuffSaidSam , We used to do this if we couldnt be bothered to cook and wash up. Not now though.

OP posts:
PokerFriedDips · 30/01/2025 09:27

You're going to the wrong places, or ordering the wrong things, or going with the wrong people. At some places food is appreciated as an art form with exquisite combinations of sight and smell and taste and texture that are worth every penny of the astronomical cost. At other places the food is more basic but you are paying for a convivial atmosphere to enjoy spending time eating and drinking with the people you love spending time with, paying for someone else to be responsible for keeping the food and drink flowing and dealing with the clearing up but the food is less of an art-form. If you aren't enjoying either the food or the company then of course stop bothering but it's not the restaurants that are the problem but your choices.

HeronWing · 30/01/2025 09:27

Macrodatarefiner · 30/01/2025 09:21

You must have ordered it? I'm confused!

Yes, it sounds like a standard brunch or lunch offering, and delicious if done well, but presumably you ordered it, and the price was on the menuso why the outrage?

What has bring ‘older’ got to do with anything? Are avocados reserved for the under-20s?

EveryKneeShallBow · 30/01/2025 09:26

I’m inclined to agree. I’m often disappointed by food in restaurants and feel I could have prepared better myself.

Original poster
istheheatingonyet · 30/01/2025 09:26

@Joy69 , that's it exactly!

OP posts:
Joy69 · 30/01/2025 09:26

Something, not sometimes. Predictive text!

Original poster
istheheatingonyet · 30/01/2025 09:26

CherryPopShowerGel · 30/01/2025 09:22

Depends where you go surely.

Some chains even are fantastic, even if it's fast junky food.

Wagamama is the best imo and always worth every penny.

Yes, sometimes that can hit the spot and it feels fresh and tasty.

It's the eggs and bread thing that annoys me. They are very cheap ingredients and not worth paying extra for this. Especially if you are on a very restricted budget.
I suppose many people have plenty of money.

OP posts:
Joy69 · 30/01/2025 09:25

I think that some places make dishes sound amazing on the menu, but in reality they are just avocado on toast with a drizzle of sometimes on top! Just don't go back. I hate disappointing food, especially as I can't afford to eat out very often.

NuffSaidSam · 30/01/2025 09:24

It depends on how much you like cooking/clearing up after...it's worth it to me even if the food is only ok because it's preferable to having to cook at home.

CherryPopShowerGel · 30/01/2025 09:22

Depends where you go surely.

Some chains even are fantastic, even if it's fast junky food.

Wagamama is the best imo and always worth every penny.

AllPlayedOut · 30/01/2025 09:22

Offering? Didn’t you have a menu to select from?

Mandatoryamanda · 30/01/2025 09:22

This is why I just go to nandos. I like it, I know what I'm getting and the cost isn't crazy

Macrodatarefiner · 30/01/2025 09:21

You must have ordered it? I'm confused!