Restaurant portion sizes are huge

[Paq]

Does anyone else find this? Went to a pub/restaurant last night and the portion sizes were insane. I managed a third of my salad, brought the rest home and shared it with DH for lunch today. DD got through half her curry and 6'1" hollow legged DH just about managed to finish his risotto but then felt overstuffed all night.

If people want to eat a smaller portion they can. Nobody is stopping you, or grass, or anyone else from eating less.

But the less calorific/smaller portion option in pubs and restaurants as a whole is lacking. That is the point. The OP, I and others want more options of this category on a typical menu - without having to go through the rigmarole of ordering off menu, carrying food home in our handbag or negotiate sharing meals with the others we are dining with. We could have our own tiny portion of chips, for example, without pinching some of your's! (a commonly heard complaint).

Alternatively you could simply choose to eat places that serve smaller portions instead of going to places with larger portions and then moaning that it's not to your preferences (whilst trying to use the obesity card to detract from your bizarre attitudes towards other people's food intake).

This thread has entertained me no end. There's such a range of eateries, and menus, and ordering styles (eg several small plates, sides vs starters, many places that you pick your sides to go with the main etc), and portion sizes vary establishment to establishment.

In under 5 minutes, I've just had a look at Pizza Express and Nandos and there's a range of meals that are all under your magic 600 calorie requirement. My local cafe has a range of salads and healthy lunches too.

Yet apparently it's so difficult to find anywhere that serves small enough and healthy enough portions?

As others have said, the oh no I can't find anywhere that serves portions small enough for little old me, I'd never be able to eat anything on offer, I'm forced off menu everywhere because I don’t want to eat for a 6 foot tall man is either bollocks or part of an obsessive attitude to food.

I feel your pain @NotMeNoNo, I had similar a few years ago and put on a tonne of weight.

Here's today's offering. A light bites nachos and a side of cheesy chips.

@LolaSmiles we are holidaying rurally with one eating establishment within walking distance. If you are one of the estimated 1m people in the UK living in a so-called food desert it's an ongoing problem.

I think portions are often too small.

Nobody insists that you eat everything on your plate, but it would make sense for eateries to offer smaller and larger portions (many do, and many will happily give an adult a child's portion if that's all they want - those who don't should be boycotted for wasting food).

There are plenty of eateries and plenty of choice.

And there is no such thing as a "massive" salad. Well there is, but I eat them very happily (plus everyone else's salads if they don't want them).

www.google.co.uk/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/society/2018/oct/12/more-than-a-million-uk-residents-live-in-food-deserts-says-study

The default shouldn't be a massive portion that is more than twice recommended calorie intake for an adult. I don't want to constantly overpay and leave half of my portion of food on the plate, because majority of people are gluttons and need to stuff themselves until they can't move from the chair. If you're still hungry after eating the normal, healthy portion then order another appetiser, main or dessert.

paq
There's a big difference between:
A) the single eatery in a rural community does larger portions than I'd choose, but oh well because nobody is forcing me to shovel food in my face, and I understand that there's a huge range of people in life that won't all do things my way
And
B) portions need to be smaller because I say so, I almost always have to order off menu, nowhere does portions small enough for me, it's almost impossible to eat out, but what about obesity, but what about people who've got food issues from childhood, but what about people who feel they have to clear their plate, when I see a portion when out it would take me days to eat it all. We have an obesity problem because when people eat out the portions are bigger than I would choose. Look at this, I could never eat all of that, everywhere does mountains of food, mountains I tell you, it's almost impossible being as healthy and nutritionally aware as me because nowhere does the right calories for me, small enough portions for me, my preferred vegetable options. (Bonus points available for any references to overindulgence, needing to actively compensate for calories in a meal out, accusations of other people who eat more being gluttons, eating until stuffed).

Those light bites in your photos would be something I'd order if I arrived at a village pub after a day hiking, or I might get a couple between the family if we were having a less active day. If I wasn't particularly hungry then I'd not be ordering food in a pub, and if I did order and a pub served one of those bowls to me then it's not difficult to eat what I want to, and no more.

igelkott2021
Have you seen the massive salad thread? It's great.

It could easily have become one of those 3 lettuce leaves and I'm stuffed, I can only eat a quarter of a chicken breast threads, but it's full of really tasty suggestions that would be filling. Dare I say it many wouldn't meet approval from this thread though as there's lots of dressings, rich foods, fatty foods, potatoes, chickpeas and it might come in more than 600 calories.

@Paq

I feel your pain *@NotMeNoNo*, I had similar a few years ago and put on a tonne of weight.

Here's today's offering. A light bites nachos and a side of cheesy chips.

Well that is a light bite nachos as usually they are on a huge saucer bowl not a soup bowl. Same with the chips and cheese, it's not enormous if it's all you're having. Not a terribly healthy choice though OP or something you'll be able to take home, and you appear to eat out a lot for someone who disapproves of the portions.

Not a terribly healthy choice though OP or something you'll be able to take home, and you appear to eat out a lot for someone who disapproves of the portions.

Not my order and I'm in the middle of a two week holiday.

@IDreamOfLogCabins

I did get a massive salad in a restaurant once and only managed a third of it, so took the rest with me. This was in the USA though. I'd never seen anything like it before or since!

Been to the US many times and the portion sizes in the regular restaurants are mahoosive. It’s almost sickening. They have a chain The Cheesecake Factory which served me a spaghetti dish for one person, that was definitely a whole pack of spaghetti....was delicious but not a chance I could finish it!! Meant I missed out on a piece of cheesecake too as was as full as Mr Creosote! 🤢

Mind you next morning I wished I’d got a doggy bag!!

@Paq

I feel your pain *@NotMeNoNo*, I had similar a few years ago and put on a tonne of weight.

Here's today's offering. A light bites nachos and a side of cheesy chips.

This thread has taken me ages to catch up with.

Completely missing the point but those nachos are crap, who serves them in that style bowl? Not enough toppings, the bottom ones will be all dry 🤣

We have quite a few pubs locally that do a 600cal or less menu that I usually order from. I'm sure most chain type places do the same?

Small steak and salad, lasagne and salad, gammon and eggs with salad. You get the picture! Fab for me as a diabetic because chips and bread increase my blood sugar too much.

I am off out for lunch today. Not taking any Tupperware. Wish me luck.

Completely missing the point but those nachos are crap, who serves them in that style bowl? Not enough toppings, the bottom ones will be all dry 🤣

There were additional layers of toppings throughout the bowl

Nachos shouldn’t be in a bowl like that I agree.

My local pub, where I enjoy the music and the company, only serves huge portions of carb rich food. I have given up eating there as even the starters and salads are not healthy. Lots of people love it for the very reason I hate it, so it is a problem. I just wish they would offer a few small dishes to provide people like me with options. I do see a huge amount of food left on plates as people can't finish the food and it is a huge waste. I was brought up to clear my plate so feel uncomfortable eating in places like this but it is also an environmental issue we should be tackling.

I was brought up to clear my plate so feel uncomfortable eating in places like this but it is also an environmental issue we should be tackling

I agree with your second point, hence why I said above that you should be able to order a smaller portion, whether that's the kids' version or just a smaller adult size which is still larger than a kids' portion. I went out for fish and chips with my mum recently and she had the kids' portion - the fish size was actually almost normal but she only had a few chips. They also did a standard adult portion, which I had, and a big adult portion. Maybe all restaurants should do the same.

I see no reason to restrict kids' portions to the under 7s or under 12s or whatever arbitrary age eateries come up with.

Maybe they should also allow people to have a starter as a main course (again, some places do, but others don't want to charge the lower price).

I used to work with older people who liked getting out for lunch, and every pub-restaurant I rang up was happy to do a half-portion of most meals for half-price for any of the group that wanted it. (They didn't want "children's meals"! Although I'm quite partial to a fish finger myself.)

Spoons was a bit different because most of their stuff seems to come pre-portioned from their suppliers, but their menu is pretty vast anyway, so a lot to pick from.

Now that I'm a bit of a gimmer myself, I'd have no problem asking for a smaller meal, if I fancied it. And I really don't think the obesity crisis is the fault of restaurants. The addictive additives in processed food sit predominantly in supermarkets and fast-food outlets.

@Planttrees

My local pub, where I enjoy the music and the company, only serves huge portions of carb rich food. I have given up eating there as even the starters and salads are not healthy. Lots of people love it for the very reason I hate it, so it is a problem. I just wish they would offer a few small dishes to provide people like me with options. I do see a huge amount of food left on plates as people can't finish the food and it is a huge waste. I was brought up to clear my plate so feel uncomfortable eating in places like this but it is also an environmental issue we should be tackling.

lol

@Deadringer

A salad for one that provided 3 meals. What was it served on, a tractor wheel?

This brought up to clear plate issue,are posters saying that they feel compelled to do so as an adult?
Surely as an adult one can politely decline, and push plate away when full
Does anyone plough on like mr creosote , and valiantly eat these humungas gargantuan portions, the so big it fed three rugby players portion? Genuinely are adults unable to say, that’s enough, no more

I think I’m one of the people who mentioned the ‘clean plate’ thing, @EspressoDoubleShot - and I have learned that it is OK for me not to clear my plate, but it took me longer than it probably should have, and the guilt took ages to fade.

I used to apologise if I couldn’t finish my food - and I know how stupid that sounds.

Yep…. Normal portion of salad