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Original poster

Restaurant portion sizes are huge

800 replies

Paq · 31/07/2021 22:05

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.

OP posts:
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9
Sparklingbrook · 01/08/2021 09:13

@grasstreeleaf

I don’t understand how you would develop an appetite for enormous meals just because you go to a restaurant every now and again.

It's a well recognised and documented phenomenon.

I know what a correct portion size is when cooking at home and don’t assume the larger restaurants portion sizes are correct. 

Well, aren't you just perfect..meanwhile in the real world people go astray occasionally...

I don't know what you are getting at. I'm not 'perfect' but most intelligent people know how much food they need to eat and also know restaurant portions can be needlessly large. That's all I'm saying.
burnoutbabe · 01/08/2021 09:13

@starbrightstarlight8888

I agree op. I've literally never finished a meal in a restaurant and I've never been able to eat a starter, main and dessert. I just can't eat much all in one go, I've always been like that. I'm a slow eater so wonder if it's to do with that.
For the last 18 months I have had an issue with my jaw that means it's harder to eat /chew. I therefore eat slower. It also means I feel full before I finish eating. So I lost a stone and a half. So slower eating meaning eating less as feeling full is definitely a thing. Going out for brunch later with friends and I probably will leave 50% of the courses. (Not pudding!!) Luckily I think they do sone lighter bites so I can pick them. None of my friends mind but it seems a waste of food. Of course I could just have one course but then I'd sit there with no food whilst others eat and I do fancy 2 different things.
ThreeWitches · 01/08/2021 09:15

@grasstreeleaf

Oooh a competitive under-eating thread

Not from me. I just want to pay for and eat an appropriate amount for food for my calorific needs as a woman not a 6ft plus muscular male.

Was I talking to you?
rookiemere · 01/08/2021 09:20

I'm still stuck on taking home a salad to finish the next day, particularly as the houmous and guacamole would make it all soggy and the guac would go black if it has been freshly made.

Sparklingbrook · 01/08/2021 09:22

@rookiemere

I'm still stuck on taking home a salad to finish the next day, particularly as the houmous and guacamole would make it all soggy and the guac would go black if it has been freshly made.
Me too. It would be the one slimy salad and depending how long it was between coming out of the fridge at the restaurant and going in/coming out of the fridge at home a bit of a health hazard.
Original poster
Paq · 01/08/2021 09:22

@hedgehogger1 no croutons. I think it was the hummus and guacamole that made it so filling.

I'm in no way a competitive under eater, I've put on a stone in the last year which I'm slowly getting rid of.

OP posts:
grasstreeleaf · 01/08/2021 09:22

Was I talking to you

🤷‍♀️ I'm on this thread.

Sparklingbrook · 01/08/2021 09:24

At the moment with everything that's gone on I'm just happy to be able to actually sit in a restaurant eating whatever comes out of the kitchen with my family/friends.

LolaSmiles · 01/08/2021 09:25

So you're happy with food waste? Over half the population won't have the food requirements a restaurant or pub portion is tailored to. We have an obesity problem in this country too which contributes to diseases which the NHS pays the price for in workload. All I think should happen is a choice of a smaller adjusted portion to account for those people who don't need to be eating as many calories.

I'm more concerned about domestic food waste and supermarkets doing large packs of veg 2 for 1 so a family ends up with 2kg of carrots than I am people leaving a couple of potatoes when they occasionally eat out.
People don't get obese because restaurants have generous portions. Most people don't eat out regularly.

Ultimately you want places to offer smaller portions because that suits you. If you want a smaller portion then you can either order a meal and eat what you want to, order a starter, order a starter and a side, choose to go to places that have smaller portions, or go to somewhere that serves a light bite menu. There's a range of options out there.

I still think I must be going to the wrong sort of restaurants though. I don't think I've been anywhere where more than 50% of the plates are going back half eaten.

This thread could become the new Mumsnet chicken. Like PPs said, there's a weird competitive undereating on here.

grasstreeleaf · 01/08/2021 09:25

I don't know what you are getting at. I'm not 'perfect' but most intelligent people know how much food they need to eat and also know restaurant portions can be needlessly large. That's all I'm saying.

So you admit restaurant portions are too large! Hallelujah!

All I'm asking for is the choice of having a smaller portion. Less food waste. Less chance of getting used to a larger portion (for some). If you were brought up to finish your plate it can become ingrained and you feel guilty for not. Something which I've overcome but not everyone has completely.

grasstreeleaf · 01/08/2021 09:30

I'm more concerned about domestic food waste and supermarkets doing large packs of veg 2 for 1 so a family ends up with 2kg of carrots than I am people leaving a couple of potatoes when they occasionally eat out.

At home it is possible to batch cook and freeze an over supply.

People don't get obese because restaurants have generous portions. Most people don't eat out regularly.

A lot of the working population have done in at least the very recent past.

I still think I must be going to the wrong sort of restaurants though. I don't think I've been anywhere where more than 50% of the plates are going back half eaten.

Because people habitually over eat in restaurants.

If you want a smaller portion then you can either order a meal and eat what you want to, order a starter, order a starter and a side, choose to go to places that have smaller portions, or go to somewhere that serves a light bite menu.

I do but it would be nice to have more choice. I don't know why you are arguing for less.

grasstreeleaf · 01/08/2021 09:31

This thread could become the new Mumsnet chicken. Like PPs said, there's a weird competitive undereating on here.

Rubbish! I'm just sick of portions being too big, which many have admitted they are when eating out.

LolaSmiles · 01/08/2021 09:32

It's not the job of restaurants to help some people overcome their food hangups though grass.

RampantIvy · 01/08/2021 09:32

We used to have a pub that offered the same meal in two different sized portions. I thought it was a fabulous idea. It meant that you could have one as a starter, or have two starter sized meals if you couldn't decide, or just one if you had a small appetite.

This idea never seemed to catch on anywhere else.

I don't think this is a competitive undereating style thread. By and large, portions when eating out are far more generous than anything most people would serve up at home.

LynetteScavo · 01/08/2021 09:32

@grasstreeleaf Oh I was very, very peeved about the lasagne for many reasons.

I don't find portions are too big in that I can't eat them, they're too big for the amount of calories to be eaten daily. So is a portion of fish and chips from the local chippy. (Actually they're huge and much larger than a restaurant) But I don't go to restaurants daily because that's not the food I want to eat daily - I'd be eating the size of meal I wanted, but it would have more calories than I needed. I'd rather eat the same amount but healthier (usually vegan food). I eat vast amounts of kale and tofu at home because I really like. The think is restaurants don't send out a size of a meal based on the calories, but on the size of a plate.

I've just remembered I did have a huge salad the other day in a restaurant GrinGrinGrin I had it as a main meal, it was vegan with no carbs. It took ages to eat but had hardly any calories. It was huge but I wouldn't say too big!

I did have a huge Creme brûlée in Bistro Pierre once. Massive.

grasstreeleaf · 01/08/2021 09:35

The think is restaurants don't send out a size of a meal based on the calories, but on the size of a plate.

I know. When I say smaller portions I mean filling the rest of the plate with salad or non starchy veg,

Sparklingbrook · 01/08/2021 09:37

@LolaSmiles

It's not the job of restaurants to help some people overcome their food hangups though grass.
Exactly. Or be responsible for people getting home and instantly cooking themselves huge meals from then on because they had a big meal while there.That makes no sense.
grasstreeleaf · 01/08/2021 09:39

It's not the job of restaurants to help some people overcome their food hangups though grass.

It's not a hang up to want to buy an appropriate portion with which you don't have to leave food, essentially wasting it. And seeking to over eat is disordered eating.

LolaSmiles · 01/08/2021 09:39

I know. When I say smaller portions I mean filling the rest of the plate with salad or non starchy veg
That's not going to help with food waste then is it as it's not a smaller portion.

Sparklingbrook · 01/08/2021 09:42

When i stay in a hotel I tend to have a full English breakfast. I would never have that at home-I have fruit and yoghurt generally. I wouldn't come home and start cooking myself a full English every day because I couldn't help myself.

Staying in a hotel is a treat as is going out to eat. Not an everyday thing.

PurpleDaisies · 01/08/2021 09:42

And seeking to over eat is disordered eating.

Seeking to eat one bigger, treat type meal out on a background of a generally healthy diet is not disordered eating. Not every single meal you have needs to be perfect to still be healthy overall.

LolaSmiles · 01/08/2021 09:42

It's not a hang up to want to buy an appropriate portion with which you don't have to leave food, essentially wasting it. And seeking to over eat is disordered eating
It is a hang up when the argument becomes but what about people who feel they have to clear their plate?

It also sounds like a hangup when people eating generous portions when they occasionally eat out is considered to be seeking to over eat and disordered eating.

Sparklingbrook · 01/08/2021 09:43

It also sounds like a hangup when people eating generous portions when they occasionally eat out is considered to be seeking to over eat and disordered eating

I agree.

grasstreeleaf · 01/08/2021 09:43

That's not going to help with food waste then is it as it's not a smaller portion.

It's a smaller calorific load. Our appetites are essentially mainly satiated by fats and protein. Non starchy veg and salad leaves don't particularly satiate but they are nutritious and take time to eat (so they fulfil the needs of the habits we have formed around mealtimes).

maddiemookins16mum · 01/08/2021 09:44

I’ve just had a rasher of bacon and one slice of those small half size loafs if bread. That will keep me full until Tuesday afternoon.

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