Sick of eatting out and it’s not that good!

Oh my god Croatian food is a revelation, isn't it? I've been a few times in the past few years and you don't even have to try hard or do any research to eat amazingly.

Gosh, I wish I'd just thought of that and saved all the trouble.

Pick better restaurants

I live in Devon and it is one of the worst places to eat out, you must be in a tiny isolated oasis. Exeter is dire.

@Frenchbluebird wagamamas is one of my go tos too - did go to a pan Asian in Brighton called Tonkatsu last week - small chain - several in London - enjoyed that a lot and pretty reasonable too -

I so agree with this thread. Dh and I used to eat out a lot pre children and now they are teenagers we have looked forward to trying new restaurants again.

We have lost the love of eating out as its usually extortionate and a bit meh. I just feel like I'm being ripped off. Recently, we just go to 2 local independents or the only chain we use is wagamamas.

Depends where you live. Here in Devon within a few minutes we have 2 gastro pubs, a couple of medium range places and a couple of cheaper places. Difference is these are all INDEPENDENT! We can go and eat for £30 for 2 of us to £170. All are excellent. In towns you have diabolically awful places like Harvester and Beefeater whereas here we have fab places so can go out a couple couple of times a week

Totally agree. We live in South Devon in a high tourist area and our population trebles in peak season. I get totally embarrassed at what our local hospitality venues offer visitors. Nearly the same at all restaurants, maybe one or two very highly priced venues for the boating fraternity but nothing great for families or a special evening out 😔

I know lots of places round here with open kitchens. I see them cook what I’ve just ordered. I’m sure it’s common. I’m sure there’s been a shift. I’m sure it’s not 99%.

@cardibachsorry to disappoint you but, having been in the industry for over 30 years and witnessed the seismic shift in produce, 99% is very accurate

I know costs of wages and ingredients have gone up a lot but my pension hasn't gone up accordingly so I can't afford to eat out much. Plus it's no better than I can make at home.

We dont eat out much at all anymore.

Mainly because most the food is mediocre at best, even in places that we used to really enjoy. I can't remember the last time I ate out and thought that was better than we could do at home.

But cost. Obviously. It's ends up being at least £50+ for the 3 of us to eat a mediocre main with a soft drink.

Plus, vegetarian offerings are poor in most places, especially as they have changed what was often the only veggie option to be vegan.

All the decent independents by us have closed. 😪 Including ones that have been in business for decades.

Find and frequent your local independent eateries or just cook at home. Never eat at chain pubs that just shovel out cheap unappetising food fast...iykyk

99% is definitely an exaggeration. I believe lots do, but only 1 out of every 100 not? Nope.

Yes most food out is disappointing to be honest. I no longer buy any takeaway except fish and chips occasionally but only from one place - I know the staff.

I can cook far nicer food at home and i can make sure it’s not full of salt, contains good quality ingredients and i am happy with hygiene.

I had a friend years ago that refused to eat out as she was a food hygiene inspector for a while. She said what she saw during her 2:3 years in the job put her off eating out! She had some grim stories.

Corarima Wakefield-another favourite of mine, I absolutely could not replicate their food unless I spent hours/weeks/years? Learning about different spices and flavour combinations.
Not cheap but not expensive either and lovely service.
I wish though, that it was a 'restaurant' restaurant and was less so set out like a takeaway/cafe! For more special occasions-but then I guess the food would be compromised.

There's a cafe I go to that does a very ordinary cheese toastie, but I still go there because it's handy for work for a friend and I and there's parking and it has a lovely garden centre. I wish it did better food.

We have a cafe in Bath called Green Rocket and although I’m not veggie I sometimes go in for their lovely offerings - my fave is a multiple types of mushrooms on toast with pesto and a cashew nut crumb

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/5273580-to-be-annoyed-that-vegan-options-have-replaced-vegetarian

This thread regarding vegetarian eating out I found it a very interesting read.

I went to a Turkish/Greek restaurant recently in a town not too far from me and I was impressed. Quite simple food but perfectly cooked in a way that I'd have struggled to do myself and I am quite a confident cook. It was about £80 for three of us (with no alcohol and one meatless meal), and if the food had have been rubbish I'd have been very annoyed.

@BunnyLake I just had a gorgeous lunch at a local vegetarian community cafe for £6, now THAT was gorgeous.

Agree about the majority of restaurants being not worth it and overpriced. A dismal burger is a dismal burger.

There was an interesting thread on here about vegetarian options in pubs and restaurants last year-risotto was mentioned heavily! I'll see if I can find it.

See I think Wetherspoons are actually a great example of good value in comparison to quality.

Yes of course you're not going to get gourmet cuisine or unusual meals you can't make at home in there BUT their meals are worth the price. And they're not bad, they're generally decent, nice enough tasting.

Compared to a fine-dining place which will cost £££££ and you find isn't great, slow service etc.

Or a middle-of-the-road restaurant like the ones people have mentioned on this thread where waiters aren't interested and the food is underwhelming and bought in from Brakes or similar.

Or a chain where the service is rubbish, food is the same quality as 'spoons anyway, and they charge £12 for a small glass of wine.

Kinda defeats the object of eating out

It started with takeaways for us. We used to get one a week but stopped a few years ago because we'd be spending £30 or so to get something delivered on a "can't be arsed to cook night" and it just wasn't worth it. We decided we'd rather have some pizzas in the freezer or a ready meal for a fraction of the price ... particularly because takeaways are often really disappointing.

Now it's the same with eating out. We could afford it but when a meal out for the four of us could end up being the same price as a weekly food shop it just doesn't feel worth it. Going out for dinner as a family of four is now just for birthdays and special occasions. I'd rather spend more at the supermarket and buy some steaks or a Charlie Bigham ready meal because it'll still be far cheaper than eating out.

If we do go out for a meal we're more likely to go out for brunch and have some nice independent places near us. We did yesterday for Father's Day and it was delicious....but it was still £50 for breakfast out! Although if it were lunch or dinner that would have been £75-100.

Yes that's what I thought. It's just a chain steak restaurant. Why do people have to be so nasty all the time.