Eating out is always an expensive let down.

I agree - there’s many times I have been disappointed!

I also agree with others who say it’s so expensive to take the family out for lunch now

You're not wrong OP. It's not just the price, it's the meal itself. I have a big birthday coming up, and have been offered a meal out, but after perusing several menus I've chosen an Indian takeaway instead!

Family here that used to eat out at least twice a month, often 3 or 4 times. Cut it back to once a month as prices rose. We live rurally so only pubs, generic takeaways and the odd fancy restaurant on offer. As prices went up portion control and quality nosedived. Still went out to avoid dishes etc. Nowadays, we just can't be bothered to spend £100+++ for crap food, flat beer and lukewarm reception. Had too many fish pies with no fish or sulky bar staff. No thanks. I do think age has something to do with it. Younger lot stick to the chains for example. And the older I get the better my own cooking. We buy lovely local, organic or otherwise high quality food and make many of the ingredients ourselves (we have a small holding). I would still like to go out 'for the event', but I have to find a really good reason to get me off the sofa eg music night or combined with the theatre.

I was just using a ploughmans as an example that was current to the thread about something that's expensive for what it is in a pub because you're not paying for 'cooking' as such.

Eating out is often about more than the food for me too, but the concept of accepting some of the overpriced rubbish that many places, especially chains, serve is lost on me because, well why would you? Why not go somewhere that serves better food as well as the ambience, company etc. If you wanted to eat microwaved pasta, you can do that any night of the week for a lot less money.

I just went for a walk in the new forest and the pub was there. Really no big deal and I wish I hadn't commented on it 😂

Agree the roasts are never the same as you can make at home.
Tinned veg and big peas lol instead of petit pois.

Your comment was fine, but it demonstrates for this poster the occasion of eating out is about the food, where as for you, it is clearly more than that.

Christ all right. I only mentioned it in response to a comment about the new forest.

Or you could have the 'social experience, to have a meal cooked for them, the ambience,change of scene, time spent with friends or family' somewhere that also does food that's better than ready meals or more challenging to put together than a ploughmans. It's not an either/or decision.

I like a ploughmans, but it's not worth paying pub prices for someone to put food on a plate. I save that for something that takes skill and effort to reproduce.

It's not a matter of cost for us, it's that me and DH can cook as well if not better than so many restaurants.

We both love food so going out to eat and then being so disappointed is just not worth it.

We have tried going to better restaurants and still been disappointed.

Very true and what spurred me on to get good at cooking my favourite meals. I learned from YouTube.

I think maybe a lot of the difference here is:

1/ folks who go purely for the food, look at the cost of the ingredients and decide if they can or cannot do it better themselves, even if only in their own heads.

2/ folks who go for the social experience, to have a meal cooked for them, the ambience,change of scene, time spent with friends or family.

I fall into the second group, I’ve never once had a meal out and thought about how much the ingredients cost or if I could make it myself. Becusde the food is part of it, but a long way from all of it. The social side is just as important for me.

but it seems for some people it’s all about the food and how much it costs.

No I presume you wouldn't go out of your way to eat there if your not that fussed on ploughman's

So you're paying pub prices for someone to put a pork pie and a bit of bread, salad and pickles on a plate?

Just looked at the website, it's £12, so not too terrible, but I wouldn't go out of my way to eat there.

There's a pub in the new forest that only serves ploughman's, it's great

I agree actually and am getting more and more reluctant to go out. We used to enjoy going out for a roast or for pub grub but it is just so disappointing every time. Can't remember the last time I thought a meal out was delicious, even coffee and cake the cake tastes artificial and stodgy.
I'd honestly rather stay in and get a curry or do some baking with DD

I agree OP. I'm quite lazy but enjoy cooking good food that everyone eats (this is rarer these days). I buy meat from the butchers which is good value and quality. I begrudge a thin pub steak for £15 when I could have one that is fresh and twice the size for half the price. Airfryers make cooking so quick and easy these days, it's rare I look at all menu and think I can't make that.

We only tend to eat out or get a takeaway that I don't make from scratch at home, maybe 3-4 times a year.

Of course you can cook something at home for a fraction of the price you pay in a restaurant, you're not paying yourself £18(estimate) an hour to cook it, £11.44 an hour to make your drinks, decide what you want and deliver the food to the table and then wash/clean up afterwards, nor the employer costs associated with employing someone else and legal requirements like food hygiene and allergen training.
You're not paying an alcohol and music licence so you can have a glass of wine and some background music while you eat. And that's before you get to the cost of the food and fuel to cook it, which isn't capped like domestic bills are. Nor public liability insurance.
If you want to eat out, you're using the service which comes with the price tag of the above.
I get it, I work in hospitality and I'm priced out of eating out except for special occasions at cheaper places. But that doesn't mean I'm owed paying less than what it costs to deliver the service to me.

Some of the best food I've had out have been in chain pubs. It all depends on the chef.

We found a pub in the New Forest that did the most amazing traditional Plougmans as a special, another pub just served the usual Surf n Turf, Hunters Chicken etc but it was cooked just right.

Yes I can't stand it. The service is often terrible, food average and prices insane. Takeaways are even worse in some ways, such awful quality of food for so much money. I enjoy cooking myself anyway.

Well I know it's not the done thing to say so on here, but I quite like a Toby Carvery.

The meat isn't chewy (it's slow cooked overnight) and the veg is usually decent.

I sometimes get one when I'm out and about for work, it's only a couple of quid more than somewhere like McDonalds, far healthier (I usually get meat, veg and just a couple of roast potatoes and not bother with a Yorkshire or stuffing) and as McDs are rammed with the delivery people, often quicker for the food to arrive.

@Strictlymad yeah, that it isn't it. I don't understand why pub roasts have to be so naff. Apart from the money grabbing element obviously. The beef is always chewy and cold?! I usually opt for chicken but that's often pretty dry. Grrr...🤣

I used to be a bit of a snob about spoons and hungry horse, prob because the ones near us were rough, there was a fight near my table one lunchtime 😳.

However a friend tempted me back to HH and I was very surprised. Fish, chips, mushy peas, curry sauce and a nice white wine … £12!

Because it makes the plate of otherwise rather naff roast look impressive for 5p of ingredients