Finding it increasingly difficult to justify eating out at pubs etc

London is terrible for serving little portions in pubs for £20 a throw, and puddings at £8. My daughter turned 18 last year and only goes to pubs for special occasions with her mates because it's too expensive to do regularly.. When I was her age getting pissed on £30 was the norm. They do go to Spoons to make the money go a bit further.

Up to about five years ago (post Brexit but pre-Covid) we would go to the pub for drinks and a roast every couple of weeks but now...I can't remember the last time I've been...

OH went to local chippy the other week. One small cod, one chips, one mushy peas, one gravy. He's still muttering at the cost. Our Chinese takeaway prices have doubled, portions shrunk, ingredients lessened. The overheads are so high now.

I agree abd am quite sad about it. We are financially comfortable but not big spenders, we enjoy a pub lunch though.

Some lovely pubs in my village, good quality home cooked food. The prices shot up and I jus couldn't justify £25 for a basic meal. Then the price fell a bit but the quality plummeted.

I do realise they're probably struggling, ingredients, wages, bills have all gone up. I not blaming the pub but to me it's poor value for the experience. We now eat lunch at home and nip over for a lunchtime drink if it's a nice day.

I've noticed the food quality steadily declining as the prices rise.

We used to go out a few times a week. This year I think the last time we went out for food was in January.

We can just make far nicer at home, and not feel ripped off.

We try and support our local pub but it's more likely once a month or every two months for a Sunday dinner. Other than that it's just a birthday sort of thing really.

I guess it depends on what you like to spend your money on

100%, we have been to Portugal recently where two nice mains, 2 children's meals and 2 alcoholic drinks have been costing around 50 euros. Huge difference to back home. Meals all lovely quality in good locations next to beach or sea etc.

At home recently paid £11 for a small take away fish and chips!!!

I've never eaten out often because I can have better food at home for far less. When I have gone out to eat, I've often been disappointed and shocked by how much it costs.

The upside is that when you do go out you tend to enjoy it more. I'm going to a really good Italian restaurant next month for my birthday and looking forward to it. It's more of a real treat now.

The NI contributions have been crippling. Especially as with lots of part time workers the threshold lowering has entered in huge numbers of staff to the pool.

The service charge thing I actually hate personally (despite needing it to actually survive - without it I earn £13 an hour and that's as a supervisor), but if everyone stopped paying it all that would happen is food prices would go up accordingly. You can't keep staff on those wages - we need the service charge to make it worth it. If it disappeared overnight restaurants would have to increase their hourly rates and put prices up accordingly. Id actually prefer that as I think my employer ought to pay me my worth, rather than expecting customers to choose whether I get paid or not (we pool tips as well so someone else's service impacts my pay). Also maternity pay does not include service charge, and it's tricky to use it as evidence for getting a mortgage etc. Its better for everyone to simply have the employer pay that rate and pass the cost along.

I agree about COL crisis. I don't see how it can be affecting the majority when I see people daily dropping the cash they do (I don't work in an upscale place - it's a chain suited for families just very expensive!).

Went out on Sunday for a birthday and we were saying exactly the same afterwards. The food wasn't even great! And one thing I've noticed is that everywhere suddenly has stellar reviews, all 4 and 5 stars (mostly from 'new users'). Funny that.

Yes absolutely agree. Used to go for a pub lunch about once a week after a long walk. Now it's maybe once a month but might rein that in as well as each time I feel it's just too much and iften disappointing.

The other say DH, toddler and I had 2 meals in a pub, nothing spectacular just fish and chips and a prawn taco dish that was underwhelming and seemed to have low quality ingredients. Fishcand chips shared with toddler!
Pint, squash and a small coke.

£47!!

It's not just that it's so expensive but also the quality has gone down a lot in most places. I understand the increased cost but just doesn't seem worth it mostly..

I hear you. I can't afford to drink more than one drink in the pub now, about once or twice a month. And I sometimes get crisps which cost £1.50. if it wasn't for my mate asking me there I wouldn't bother go at all really.
I used to be able to afford to actually get drunk and have a meal?!
Life is cruel isn't it. Nice things are harder now.

The wheel has gone full circle. When we were young it was pack a picnic for a family day out, 80s we couldn't justify the price of a meal for four very often. Fast forward post COVID my grandchildren are now having picnics with parents on a day out. As pp said £100 for a family is ridiculous.

I miss the experience as we rarely eat out anymore
I’m a very good cook and will only eat out if it’s as good as or better than my cooking or something I wouldn’t cook at home
I’m happy to pay more for a better experience - it just means we do it less often

It’s sad isn’t it? As well as high wages, employers have to pay pension contributions and employer NI etc and we have one of the highest corporation taxes in Europe. Who’d want to enter an industry which requires a lot of employees now? I know I wouldn’t.

Most people feel that way, I think. Even those who have the money. The correlation between what you get and what you pay changed immensely. We used to go a lot and now stopped. Can't justify. Actually, the same happened to the formerly very affordable Wagamama. I have not gone in a while and after 2 years ordered a takeaway to be collected by myself, by phoning in. I was shocked when I picked it up - I don't think I shall be in a hurry to repeat the experience. It went up from the usual 40 to 75 quid for the same stuff. Not justifiable.

Same! Only dine out somewhere very nice as a rare treat now, no more pub grub and the same for takeaways. I can cook as good, often better, at home for so much less.

I also agree. A meal out is the main way I socialise, but it's so expensive that I only do this 2ish times a month, and I no longer see a properly good meal as reasonable value, and don't enjoy the food that's more affordable. But, it's still my main way of seeing friends. In good weather we can pick up a coffee and go for a walk, in bad weather we can just get a coffee, but it's not as nice as meeting up with a good friend and sharing an enjoyable meal together.

I don’t mind so much if it’s just me out for food with friends, it’s worth it to be spending a couple of hours together. But going out for a family meal can easily be £120, which is about what we spend at the supermarket each week.

Last time we went out the drinks alone cost £50 (2 beers, 1 G&T, 5 soft drinks). Nearly fell off my chair. And don’t get me started on the price of starters!!

Agreed, can’t justify the cost. If we do on a very rare occasion go out, we get pudding at home.

We have never been prepared to eat in bog standard pubs and mediocre/chain restaurants.

The last time we did it was £64 for fish pie and a grilled chicken salad with some bread and olives to start and a pint and a glass of wine. We were en-route and it worked at the time. I can grill two steaks, make up a salad, saute some mushrooms and bung some crispy potatoes in the oven for about £20/£25 and the steak is excellent quality. £12 buys a reasonable bottle of wine.

We prefer to very occasionally go to somewhere with a Michelin star. Whilst it's serious money, it's better value because we are served with exquisite food, cooked and presented beyond my capabilities

Agree, eating out is expensive & often the food isn't actually that great.

Yes, it is so expensive to go, but I do try to prioritise going sometimes, partly because I do like to go out so we get a break from cooking and cleaning, and because I worry about the places shutting-the high streets /malls all had shops when I was little, now most of them have gone and the cafes/restaurants/pubs that replaced them are closing too. It's so difficult with the budget changes-a lot of us didn't realise how badly it would affect people. Lots of pubs and restaurants have shut, and so many people are out of work. For those of us who are elder millennials/young Gen X, we could just walk into a waiting-on job. Now, that's really not easy, and servers will often have to cope with far fewer colleagues, leading poor experiences that some of you say you've had eating out. Even pro government media like the Guardian have said how many businesses will close due to the NI changes, and some of the places near us that closed recently apparently seemed to have fewer staff/menu choices shortly before they shut.

I prefer eating out much less for a better quality experience of food rather than mediocre food that's priced too high. I feel for the business owners to an extent and with the recent N.I increase that must be impacting but I hate feeling ripped off (who doesn't).

My local arts venue with a restaurant attached charge £12 for a fine but unexceptional salad, £18 for a nut roast Sunday lunch. Don't get me started on the service charge crap. I was in Germany last week and the prices there eating out are much lower in general. My local university allow anyone to walk in to eat food there at the student union, but even they charge £2.75 for a bread roll with a sausage and £4 for a jacket potato with tuna mayo! Place is half empty most of the time, most students bring their own food or go to a supermarket.