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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
grasstreeleaf · 01/08/2021 09:47

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 wasn't talking about occasionally. I was talking about the habit forming part of eating out. And how is wanting to be able to buy smaller portioned meal with side salad, veg side wrong?

KarenofSparta · 01/08/2021 09:48

OP - never ever visit the US, you simply won't cope 🤣.

Tbf I could never finish a meal there, not even breakfast.

grasstreeleaf · 01/08/2021 09:50

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

The food that is a treat to me is exceptionally delicious but not served in oversized portions so I can enjoy a delicious drink with it too. Smile

Starfleck · 01/08/2021 09:52

@grasstreeleaf

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 wasn't talking about occasionally. I was talking about the habit forming part of eating out. And how is wanting to be able to buy smaller portioned meal with side salad, veg side wrong?

I've never been anywhere where they won't switch the side out for veg or salad, especially if its chips. A lot of places do offer smaller plates if asked too, some even have it on the menu usually under something like smaller appetites.
Sparklingbrook · 01/08/2021 09:53

@grasstreeleaf

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

The food that is a treat to me is exceptionally delicious but not served in oversized portions so I can enjoy a delicious drink with it too. Smile

And you called me 'perfect' Grin Grin Hilarious.
Original poster
Paq · 01/08/2021 09:56

@RampantIvy

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.

Yes, I have seen this and love it. Although in this particular pub the "lighter bites nachos" would still be enough to sink me (couple at the table next door shared a bowl and failed to get through it).
OP posts:
MaMelon · 01/08/2021 09:58

@KarenofSparta

OP - never ever visit the US, you simply won't cope 🤣.

Tbf I could never finish a meal there, not even breakfast.

We tend to share meals or order starters as mains when we go.

More than anything we should be doing as much as we can to avoid food waste - so ordering meals we know are too big only for the food to go in the big is something to be avoided.

grasstreeleaf · 01/08/2021 09:58

And you called me 'perfect' * * Hilarious.

I'm a foodie. I like delicious food. But I'm also concerned over health and fitness. So I like having both.

Original poster
Paq · 01/08/2021 09:59

@KarenofSparta

OP - never ever visit the US, you simply won't cope 🤣.

Tbf I could never finish a meal there, not even breakfast.

I've been to America loads and completely agree. I remember struggling to finish a shared sandwich and shared slice of cheesecake in the Cheesecake Factory. I tend to order appetisers or expect to bring food home. My sister lives there and she has never finished a meal in a restaurant!
OP posts:
MaMelon · 01/08/2021 09:59

Food/bin

grasstreeleaf · 01/08/2021 09:59

I've never been anywhere where they won't switch the side out for veg or salad, especially if its chips. A lot of places do offer smaller plates if asked too, some even have it on the menu usually under something like smaller appetites.

A lot of places still don't.

Sparklingbrook · 01/08/2021 10:00

@grasstreeleaf

And you called me 'perfect' * * Hilarious.

I'm a foodie. I like delicious food. But I'm also concerned over health and fitness. So I like having both.

Perfect!
Mrsjayy · 01/08/2021 10:03

Massive salad you say 😂

grasstreeleaf · 01/08/2021 10:04

@Sparklingbrook...why thank you. Too kind.Smile

Sparklingbrook · 01/08/2021 10:05

@grasstreeleaf

@Sparklingbrook...why thank you. Too kind.Smile
I know. Smile
grasstreeleaf · 01/08/2021 10:06

😇

Sparklingbrook · 01/08/2021 10:07

I think I’m going to have to go and read the massive salad thread now.
If it’s going to be the new MN thing. 😂

Coogee · 01/08/2021 10:07

If I go out for a meal and can’t eat it all, I ask for a doggy bag. I don’t over eat and there no food waste.

KarenofSparta · 01/08/2021 10:12

That's interesting Paq.

Would you say the UK is going the same way as the US portion-wise? I haven't been for a meal for so long I couldn't say.

KarenofSparta · 01/08/2021 10:17

Yes MaMelon, soon caught on to ordering starters for mains and/or sharing, when we went back (albeit the the opposite coast) we were used to it but the amount of food that actually must be wasted when there's such a rich/poor divide is actually sickening (in all senses).

FrauleinSchweiger · 01/08/2021 10:18

Crikey a lot of people seem to be v defensive on here.

OP I totally agree with you and it honestly puts me off eating out sometimes. I appreciate that restaurants are catering for a wide range of people and appetites but even so the portions are often way too big. My family laugh at me because often it looks as though I haven't eaten anything but in reality I have eaten until I am full.

And before you all pile in No I am not obsessive or Pro-Ana - how offensive to those genuinely suffering from eating disorders. I don't need that much food and agree that it's shocking about the food waste that must be produced. And no there aren't always options for smaller portions, believe me, because I have tried. I always go for the child's portion if available. And that's not a stealth boast it's just that as a woman in her 50s who is not very active I don't want or need to eat the same as an 18 year old man.

I really wish restaurants would offer small plates options because I am sure that quite a few people would appreciate it.

UntilYourNextHairBrainedScheme · 01/08/2021 10:20

The language choices many people use around eating out is funny/ interesting isn't it... "struggled" to finish, "just about managed" ...

Its not a chore to be completed, plates don't have to be cleared. I wonder if the issue for most of us isn't mindset - the portion isn't a challenge or a task to be completed, its something available to eat as much or as little as you want of.

I've lost a lot of weight in the last year, but I honestly have never genuinely struggled to eat a meal unless it's something that I've disliked the taste and texture of but felt obligated to eat out of politeness (tuna sashimi at a formal welcome meal in Japan stands out in my memory - a very special meal but I guess my tastes aren't very sophisticated!).

Somethingvague · 01/08/2021 10:22

My stepdad does this. At the end of a meal when asked how it was, will complain the portion was too big. It's so embarrassing. When you go to theirs for dinner, he serves the most meagre of portions.

RampantIvy · 01/08/2021 10:24

I think people like to get their money's worth. If they have paid, say £15, for a plate of food, they would feel cheated if they had only eaten half of it.

but I honestly have never genuinely struggled to eat a meal

Meal portions round here are generous, even in "naice" places. When we get an Indian takeaway it lasts us for two meals - 2 mains, one rice and one naan. The portions really are huge.

tiredmama2020 · 01/08/2021 10:28

@Paq Once ordered a chicken & bacon salad in a restaurant in my town (out for an occasion - wasn’t overly hungry and their other food portions are huge so took the salad thinking it would be a much lighter option). Arrived at the table...HUGE bowl of mixed chopped salad with two full grilled chicken breasts and four crispy rashers of bacon on top 😬 I didn’t know where to begin 🤣🤣

Definitely wasn’t taking it home with me though! Never wanted to see it again 🤣

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