To think my home cooking is better than a lot of restaurants?

We rarely eat out for the food. We tend to eat out because we are going to the theatre nearby or sometimes if we are celebrating an anniversary and we want to focus on each other, not cooking. We’d choose somewhere with superb food for the latter, but not the former. I am an accomplished cook and I can cook a wide variety of different types of food suitable for both family suppers and entertaining, but top quality restaurant food is different. It’s about the presentation of individual dishes, not a Lancashire hot pot or a large family sized pie with decorated pastry (it’s a family tradition for the children to help me make pastry flower and leaves etc to go on top of the pastry lid - my mother and grandmother did the same) or a whole side of salmon or even a whole beef Wellington.

Surely it s not just about the food, it's about the labour involved as well

My DS (25) reckons the roast potatoes and Yorkshire Puddings I make are better than any others , but maybe he's just being a little creep

100% agree its basically a mushroom/bean/soya burger or vegetable chilli. Come on people be more adventurous.

We need to go back to the days of dinner parties, so we can all cook for each other. No microwaved ready meals allowed!

You could be a very good cook. I guess that's partly reliant on time and money as well as skill.

Or the restaurants you've been to in your area are very sub-par.

I would never order pasta with roasted veg, or any pasta in a restaurant as I know how to cook it well.

I feel that about roast dinner. Pub or restaurant never as good as home cooked.

For Korean food, I don't know how to cook anything Korean, especially fried chicken at all. So I'm impressed that yours is better than a restaurant.

Sorry, not the point of this thread I know, but £10 for 5 of you??? What are you ordering?

Yanbu but I dont really go to restaurants because the foods better I go because it means I dont have to cook and wash up.

YANBU. I go out for preference to ethnic restaurants or things I want deep fried. Most other things I can do at home.

I spent £34 last night on a glass of wine and a sodding flatbread. Out with friends at a lovely pub but the veggie options were either a bean and courgette casserole or a flatbread. Flatbread was literally a flatbread with artichoke hearts and hummus then put in the oven-who the heck bakes hummus? No option as part of this group.

I'm a good cook but there is no way I could produce an authentic Thai/Indian/Mexican meal as good as a decent restaurant would - experts just have skills and nuances that make the difference.

I think because it's so expensive to eat out now that we tend to think that we could do the same at home, for basic meals.

My local gastropub charges:

£28 for sirloin steak - I could do that at home just as well

£18 for fish & chips - I don't have a deep fat fryer for the fish so it's not something I do at home

£15 bean burger - that takes a lot of effort to achieve a decent taste! So wouldn't make at home

I dabble in various cuisines and do make great roasts, tagines, etc but complicated stuff I leave to the professionals!

My 22 yr old DS cooks better than most restaurants I have been to! Only the really posh ones beat his food. I’m not s bad cook myself & when I eat out I order dishes that I wouldn’t make at home. So yeah I get you op! It’s disappointing paying a lot for something you could make similar or better yourself!

Yes-I know what you mean. Both DP and I can produce meals as good as most mid range restaurants. Nowadays we go out to eat much less often but much more expensively.

I know what you mean — there are so many mediocre restaurants out there serving up bland and boring food. I love eating out at fancy restaurants because I’m not cooking at that level in my home, but basic Italian restaurants, chains, or cafes are often so underwhelming.

My partner had veal at a Italian (chain I think) restaurant in Kensington and was asked how he enjoyed it

It didn't ho down well when he said he preferred my veal liver at home

I’d be happy to comment if you send me some of your food.

There’s been a few threads recently where people have been underwhelmed by restaurants and think that they no longer offer value for money. You probably do better than many restaurants - especially if you’re cooking sauces from scratch rather than processed out of a packet.

I generally agree with you OP, bit it is a lovely treat to just be fed, without having to think, plan, shop, cook, wash up.....
Tbh, egg and chips at the local cafe does it for me😅

I often think I could do better, with just a small aubergine......

I'm a good cook, but I live alone, so often batch cook things like curries.

When I go out I make sure I order a meal that I simply would not do for myself at home - so if we go to an Indian I would have a Thali, or at lest go with people who want to share dishes so that I can have a range, same with Chinese or Thai. I would not cook 4-5 separate dishes just for myself and I don't have the fridge or freezer space to keep a wide range on standby.

Personally I love Wagamama, yes I can make a decent ramen at home, but I wouldn't also have starters like the chilli edamame or vegan "spare ribs" which are delicious.

If I go Italian then I avoid pasta, easiest thing in the world to make a decent pasta sauce, and yes, I do judge the quality - but you can't beat a proper Italian pizza, or a nicely cooked piece of fish for the main. My local "proper" italian does a fish stew to die for, with seafood and multiple different kinds of fish. I never cook fish at home, so really enjoy it when I go out.

You just have to make going out into a real treat.

I mean, places like Wagamama are cheap and cheerful. They are aiming for mass food at a reasonable price, as opposed to culinary masterpieces. They are also aiming for uniform taste across their restaurants, so are likely following set menus with possible pre-made aspects. You as a willing home cook probably do put in more effort than chains like that.

I only eat out for poached eggs 🤣
Impossible to cook at home!

I agree eith you op, I get mightily pissed off if I have something in a restaurant I could have done better, which happens

Whenever I’ve had food at your house, it’s been really mediocre. In fact last time I stopped at McDonalds on my way home.