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I just want a meal out

99 replies

MoonCheesy · 15/01/2021 20:30

It's only just half way through January and obviously lockdown but I so so so want a meal out. I'm fed up of my house, I'm fed up of cooking and I'm fed up of 2021 already.

I want a decent steak or a delicious Thai meal or even just breakfast pancakes will do.

OP posts:
Iheartmysmart · 16/01/2021 08:50

I really miss mooching around in the evening, stopping at a few pubs for a drink then finding somewhere to eat. Even during the brief period last year when places were open, you couldn’t just pop in somewhere, it had to be booked in advance. I guess I miss spontaneity most.

Waxonwaxoff0 · 16/01/2021 09:00

I agree. I like a takeaway but the only takeaways round here are Chinese/Indian/chippy which gets repetitive. I want to go out for a nice meal. We usually go out for a meal once a month at least.

Roselilly36 · 16/01/2021 09:05

I totally agree, a meal in a lovely restaurant with my DH & DS’ would just be wonderful. Then to walk away leaving the washing up, bliss.

wonderup · 16/01/2021 09:05

And this is why I have been one of many who have helped Deliveroo get into profit.

I've also done some subscriptions like Gousto as then we don't need to think about shopping/planning.

orangejuicer · 16/01/2021 09:07

spud13 is clearly missing the point. OP is sad because she is not going out. She is staying in, like most of us. OP is not the selfish person you are looking for.

I miss getting slowly tipsy over a delicious Italian meal with friends. Not drunk, just a little bit merry with all my functions intact. And gossip!

wonderup · 16/01/2021 09:07

As another poster it may be worth checking out local places. Ones near me are going pre prepared meals, recipe kits etc.

wonderup · 16/01/2021 09:09

Meanwhile I'm holding people's hand as they die from covid and you want a meal out FFS, this is what is so disheartening about the current situation. Talk about a first world problem!!!!

🥱 So what? A family member died in the Summer from Covid. I still miss meals out & normality. It's not either/or.

Hobnobswantshernameback · 16/01/2021 09:10

Oh fuck off spud seriously comments like that are attention seeking bollocks
Some of us have also worked seeing patients since the beginning of this and see no need to dismiss other people's perfectly reasonable struggles
Most of us working in the nhs miss normal and pleasant things just as much as everyone else
I miss getting dressed up
I miss reading a menu and sipping a glass of wine
I miss people watching
I miss being served a tasty meal
I miss eating with friends
I miss going home and not having to clean up the dishes
I'm with you OP
all hospitality shut here in wales since early December
I miss the boost that a meal out could be after a tough week
Every week is tough at the moment and there seems to be no boost anymore Sad

LickEmbysmiling · 16/01/2021 09:10

I know you moon, small perk of winter was going to a cosy pub for lunch or snacks.

However, unfortunately not a single restaurant I went too had windows open, not even a little bit abs when I asked they thought it was a heat issue rather than a cornora one re the air we breathe.

InTheNightWeWillWish · 16/01/2021 09:10

I miss meals out. Takeaway just isn’t the same. It’s the atmosphere. Being able to talk to someone other than your household. The opportunity to eat something different to what DH is eating. I miss dates with DH. We’re both working from home so around each other all the time. But I want a date with him, spend some time away from the house, away from routine. I’m mostly missing the spontaneity of eating out though. We have eaten out a few times since the pandemic started but it’s a faff, you need to ring and book a table, get your face mask (this isn’t anti-mask but just another thing to remember before leaving the house). I miss talking the dog for a long walk and then seeing which pub had space for us and a dog. Or deciding to have lunch out and you just pick a place that has space.

mumsiedarlingrevolta · 16/01/2021 09:12

Oh me too Op.

Miss going for a dog walk at the weekend and popping in to pub.

Miss someone bringing food to my table which I have not bought and prepared.

We do get a takeaway once a week but even that is feeling a bit meh.

I saw a meme going round which I relate to so much-

Motherhood:I would die for you but I really don't want to make you dinner

which sums me right up

EssentiallyDelighted · 16/01/2021 09:16

I'm not interested in take-out cook yourself kits, you might as well cook from scratch at home. I am missing the experience of going out with family and/or friends, not having to cook, not having to wash up, all choosing different things, tasting each others food. Restaurant takeaways may be slightly better but we live in a small town which only has a couple of restaurants and a few pubs, nearly all of which are a good 10 mins drive, the food doesn't transport well and you are still eating it at your kitchen table.

megletthesecond · 16/01/2021 09:17

Same. My dc's won't even make me a cup of tea. (Lone parent).
I've been putting together next weeks shopping order and I'm going to do a week of ready meals. I just can't prepare or tidy up anymore.

MoonCheesy · 16/01/2021 09:17

@mumsiedarlingrevolta love that quote, thank you for the laugh. I might scribe it onto the walls in the kitchen Wink

OP posts:
alienspiderbee · 16/01/2021 09:19

The one place that did takeaway I could eat (I'm coeliac) is now closed for refurbishment so I can't even get takeaway!

insancerre · 16/01/2021 09:20

Me too
Last night we had a takeaway from a local Italian restaurant
It was delicious and I had a tiramisu too
It was a lovely treat

BlackDogBlues · 16/01/2021 09:24

Restaurant local to us delivered goats cheese soufflé, haddock in a crust with a sauce, little roastie potatoes and broccoli and choc soufflé last weekend, with a wine chosen to go with it. Had to put in oven but that was it. We dressed up and put candles on.

It’s not the same...but it was a change.

supercee · 16/01/2021 09:28

God yes. My friend and I were talking about what we missed the most and mine was having a nice meal in a restaurant with a bottle of nice wine. I don't miss the pub.

I'm single/childless so don't have making lots of meals to bother about thankfully and I'm quite introverted but I really miss eating out. I love eating out.

Chemenger · 16/01/2021 09:30

@Spud13

Meanwhile I'm holding people's hand as they die from covid and you want a meal out FFS, this is what is so disheartening about the current situation. Talk about a first world problem!!!!
So nobody is even allowed to think About anything fun, or even just pleasantly normal until the pandemic is past? As far as I know wanting to eat out isn’t spreading the virus. I can’t understand this attitude.
burnoutbabe · 16/01/2021 09:35

Lucky enough to live in London so I have been enjoying takeouts via Deliveroo since lockdown started.
Try the delivery companies, they are doing wider areas than you think as businesses struggle to survive.

EmmaStone · 16/01/2021 09:38

Yup OP, I'm with you, and we've been lucky enough to have largely been in lower tiers before lockdowns, so have been able to occasionally eat out (although we tended to go places where we could sit outside).

During the first lockdown, we had a few themed meals (based around trips we had cancelled), so Spanish week as DD was supposed to have had a school language trip, trying out some new ideas - churros were a massive hit! Italy week, US week. They key was thinking about what we definitely would have eaten when there and recreating it at home - was good trying new techniques.

During this lockdown, I'm so over cooking all the time, so last week we tried a couple of Mindful Chef meals, this week we're trying Gousto. My kids are teens, so I've asked them to choose 2 meals they'll both eat (DS is fussy), and asked them to cook as well. Last night honestly felt like such a treat when Inpoured my selfish a drink and read my book. I did the clearing away and washing up, that seemed only fair, but seeing as most days I have to do both, it felt a real treat.

And yes to local restaurants doing takeaways, our local pub is doing fab meals, and lots of places are doing it. Often cheaper than normal menu prices too.

BogRollBOGOF · 16/01/2021 09:40

My family is of an age group and disposition where our idea of eating out is fairly modest, but yes, I miss the change of scenery and not having to think for others and deal with the aftermath.

We last ate out at Halloween at a nearby country pub that reopened in August after its refurbishments from a couple of years of closure were significantly delayed. It brightened up a walk no end.

The decent summer meant we ate al-fresco, and tried to avoid indoor spaces, but in the autumn we did head in a few times. I wany the hospitality sector to survive.

schmockdown · 16/01/2021 09:45

Oh me too. We had a week away in August in the U.K. and had three meals out, didn't book in advance so couldn't get any more in.

I am sick of fucking cooking and eating in my house. We've had take away but it's not the same as being out, reading a menu, someone bringing you drinks etc

SmellyPooHead · 16/01/2021 09:51

Me too OP
I miss the spontaneity of just deciding we don't fancy cooking & just going out, having a choice of food, no washing up & getting to dress up
I'm fed up with trying to remember who likes broccoli, who hates peas and trying to accommodate everyone so nothing gets wasted
I just want to go out and choose what I eat rather than have it all planned

BamboozledandBefuddled · 16/01/2021 09:55

@Iheartmysmart

I really miss mooching around in the evening, stopping at a few pubs for a drink then finding somewhere to eat. Even during the brief period last year when places were open, you couldn’t just pop in somewhere, it had to be booked in advance. I guess I miss spontaneity most.
Yes, I hate the whole 'We'll eat out at 6.30 at XXX pub, two weeks on Tuesday'. We used to go out most Sundays - drive out into the countryside, meander around and stop somewhere we liked the look of for a meal. And once 'Covid safe' ramped up in pubs, I won't pretend I enjoyed eating out - it was literally just going out to avoid cooking/washing up.
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