£100 for a casual lunch out for 4 is too much

Were you eating paint?

Well, obviously that depends entirely on your takeaway pizza provider.

@CoffeeLipstickKeys I wouldn’t say it’s huge , so would order a big salad to share too but to be fair it’s still 3 or 4 decent sized slices if you order a large one and I know myself that’s plenty ‘for me’ with salad and I’m 13 stone 4 , so not exactly a tiny eater - my H could just about manage whole one but would rather not as it makes him feel off . I guess we are all different - but I know the other week we had 3 large ones between 5 of us plus salad and everyone was totally stuffed .

Ok
But nonetheless I don’t think half a romana pizza per adult is huge. It’s really is not in so huge I need to share category

I like the sizzlers from asda pizza counter. Prefer them to any takeaway ones and can get 2 ten inch pizzas and bottle of drink for 5.98

@Fireflybaby totally agree - I cannot see the point in it for something thats a straight ‘stick in the oven’ -

I think takeaway pizza in England is so overpriced and not that good at all. I've tasted better supermarket pizza and so much cheaper. Just need to pop it in the oven and you have it nice and hot for a fraction of the price.

I’m also shocked at those who pay full price in pizza express.
We go as a 4 and have all got the rewards app. You can all log in each visit. A couple of visits later we’ve all got gold which means we can all share a couple of pizzas or salads which are paid for and free on the app are 4 dough balls, 4 sides, 4 soft or hot drinks, plus 4 kids (3 course) meals, which all in all costs around £40. Plus if there’s any birthdays that month there’s extra vouchers for desserts, fizz or more pizzas.
Its a good scheme, which makes it very affordable.

I would say that’s about right across the board now. With the increase in utilities, rents, business rates, staff wages, food costs…. Hardly surprising is it? Restaurants are struggling to get the customers through the doors these days. We live in an area where people usually have a bit of disposable income and liked to go out, but in the last year or so have seen a couple of restaurants close. It’s really sad.

@CoffeeLipstickKeys that is not a Romana - it’s a legara - I rather like them but then I’m dieting and yes I can eat a whole one of those - a romana is pretty big

Yanbu. Last time we went to pizza express it was £100ish, for three pizzas, a kids meal and a couple of soft drinks and it took an hour to get served. So we don’t go anymore.

I think a lot of middle of the road chains are going to fold tbh. If we need sustenance whilst we’re out and about we get a supermarket meal deal or a Greggs. If it’s an occasion we’re splitting between eating something nice at home or going to a better quality restaurant. We do go out for the odd brunch but it’s monthly not weekly these days. We’re higher earners so if we’re pulling our horns in I don’t know how the hospitality industry is going to carry on as it is unfortunately.

We normally eat at independent restaurants and pubs. Our local Mexican (independent) is not cheap but large portions a 2 course meal for 3 adults and 1 child with plenty of drinks, some alcoholic some not came to £150

YANBU, but most chains like these have lots of offers, especially in their apps. If you and another diner both have the app and pay separately then you can often avoid paying full price. Lie about when your birthday is for birthday freebies (there’s a list of these on MSE I think), and use different email addresses to set up new accounts with free intro offers every time you go out!

Taste and Blue Light cards are useful for this too. Check your add-ons with your bank, Compare the Meercat, union membership etc too.

DH took two 16 year olds to London for a weekend recently and spent about £100 on food for the three of them over two days. It certainly wasn’t fine dining, just chains, but a lot of it was sit down food.

BTW, I don’t feel bad about ‘cheating’ big corporate companies like this: I’d never do it for a smaller or independent establishment though.

It's he time to shop around for deals now. Tuesday 241 makes pizza possible but we still only order 2 for 3 of us plus a side and tap water all round please. It's about £25 Inc service and we live in London.

A 500 calorie pizza with a hole in it with some leaves in middle is not huge. Not at all. For most people that’s not in huge let’s share category

Indeed and on mumsmet that is a banquet for family and plenty left for next day
Yup it is a thing pizza with a hole in it for £15

You will get business people saying costs have gone up. But our salaries haven’t. So we won’t eat out as much. It’s tedious.

I love a double carb fest once in a while.

Depends on your height. I’m 5ft 5 and to maintain weight I only need 1450 cals approx unless I’m doing g lots of exercise.

I don't think 1000 calories is a lot for your main meal! I don't snack, and breakfast is normally a banana or yoghurt with muesli, with lunch being about 500 calories. How little do people eat?!

Im so glad I read this thread

So PE have come up with a wheeze to sell just pizza crust and a half a small bag of rocket and get to charge you £15??????

Clever

Im early 60's and the only restaurant we were ever taken too was a Chinese down in Selsey - big family affair

We might get a treat of a Wimpy when we were on holiday at Bognor , and I have very vivid memories of my Aunt Pat wrapping up the half finished burgers in serviette's and putting them in her hand bag - we had them for supper that night :)

Take away was fish and chips on a Saturday night - and not every week

It would have been the 80's when eating out became more affordable for working classes with Bernie inns and Harvesters, Pizza Hut etc opening up

But as someone who has worked in hospitality all my life, it was definitely cheap labour and crap working conditions that kept it affordable for so long

A Margarita Legera pizza at Pizza Express has 711 calories, so 182 calories each if you're sharing it among four. About as many calories as a small bag of crisps.

A hearty and filling meal, for sure!

I know what you mean OP - we used to ‘casually’ eat out quite often in that we’d go for a day out and go to a local cafe or pub or whatever for lunch. Now we take packed lunches, because as you say it’s £100 for 4 people to have fairly mediocre food now and we can’t spend that on lunch 2 or 3 or 4 times a month.

I know it’s a super tough time for the hospitality industry but it’s a change we’ve had to make.

you do understand that people are all different right? As a small eater myself, half a pizza might be ok for me but for a min meal 3/4 would be plenty. My over 6ft son and husband (both extremely sporty and fit) could devour one, and dough balls and a pudding and still snack later. You are competitively under eating. I’d be very worried about a teenage boy not getting enough calories if you think 500 for a main meal wouldn’t leave them hungry!