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Original poster

Anyone else get food order disappointment when they go out for a meal?

58 replies

Monr0e · 04/12/2021 17:19

I get this all the time! I don't eat out very often so when I do it's a treat. So when I order something and it doesn't live up to expectations I have massive order regret and it stays with me for days Grin

Today I went out with a group of friends I hadn't seen for a while. Took ages to pick my meal and when it came even though it was nice, I couldn't stop wishing I'd ordered one of the other options. I'm still thinking about it now, it's like a wasted meal choice, especially as I know it will be months before I'm out again for another meal.

I'm seriously considering getting a takeaway tonight to make up for my disappointment.

OP posts:
Original poster
Monr0e · 04/12/2021 18:48

I also think for me, it's about now wasting money. Because it is a rare treat for me, I feel its worthwhile when I've really enjoyed something. We never ate out when I was little because we couldn't afford it and I still feel a bit guilty when I spend money on treats rather than necessities.

Ooh, it's like therapy this

OP posts:
Hen2018 · 04/12/2021 18:48

I like a cup of tea and a piece of cake when I go out.

So few cafes can bake! I’ve had a series of dry, boring and uninspiring cakes recently. Yesterday’s was a mince pie that was 99% pastry.

EinsteinaGogo · 04/12/2021 19:15

@Bluntness100

No, I don’t get this, for me, the food is secondary it’s about the experience of going out with my companions. I can’t imagine obsessing over what I ordered and then thinking about it for days after unless it was shit.

Your obsessive thoughts indicate to me an issue with food.

Or it could be that OP doesn't have the budget to go out for a treat very often, and it's very disappointing when the food doesn't live up to expectation.

BarbaraofSeville · 04/12/2021 19:18

I don't understand people saying the food is secondary. Why pay restaurant prices if you're not bothered about the food and why not pick somewhere that you like and you can meet up with friends?

I also see it as a wasted eating opportunity if I'm eating something I don't particularly want or enjoy. Luckily my city has lots of great restaurants so it's easy to pick somewhere you know you like.

But I agree that there's a lot of places that aren't very good and to be honest shouldn't be in the business of selling food because they can't meet basic quality standards such as the use of vegetable spread on scones, sandwiches etc when there's no dairy allergy or vegan requirement. Makes me really reluctant to eat anywhere I don't know. And it's not a cost issue, I mainly go to street food bars where you can eat for £5-10.

Lampzade · 04/12/2021 19:19

Me too

pastabest · 04/12/2021 19:26

never!

I seem to have a knack of always picking the dish that everyone else looks at and goes 'ooh wish I had got that now'.

I also usually heavily favour stuff on the specials board though as well so not sure if that plays a factor.

DH is the opposite. He always has regret but he never ever listens when I say ooh you should try X.

Original poster
Monr0e · 04/12/2021 19:35

@user1471554720

I get the same. It can be lessened by asking the server if it is a reasonable sized portion. I usually order a piece of chicken as it is usually a reasonable sized portion. Then I ask if it comes with potatoes/chips. A meal can be prohibitively dear if you have to order the carbohydrate as a 'side' and just get chicken by itself on a plate.

As you like eating out, could you try and go a bit more often, even if it is for a nice lunch with a friend or an earlybird with dh. I don't know if this is possible with your routine.

When my dcs were young, between paying for childcare and working fulltime I would only get out for meals about twice a year. I often nearly cried if the wine or dessert wasn't nice or if it was very dear and the food only ok.

I got around this by taking a day off work a few times a year, going to a larger town for a day out. Then I would order Italian. They would do lunch deals in the larger town and the restaurants were nice. I would order wine and dessert after the pasta meal. At least I would feel I was getting out. Friends were rarely available for a lunch and eves out meant getting a babysitter and driving home 15 miles.

This sounds lovely, I hope you enjoy your lunch dates
OP posts:
Original poster
Monr0e · 04/12/2021 19:36

@Hen2018

I like a cup of tea and a piece of cake when I go out.

So few cafes can bake! I’ve had a series of dry, boring and uninspiring cakes recently. Yesterday’s was a mince pie that was 99% pastry.

I've stopped buying cake when out for this reason.
OP posts:
Original poster
Monr0e · 04/12/2021 19:37

Pastabest, I'll run the menu past you next time, you can tell me what to order

OP posts:
RaskolnikovsGarret · 04/12/2021 19:48

I’m the opposite. I order a great meal and everyone wishes they had ordered what I ordered. Smile My husband now orders whatever I’m ordering which is a little bit irritating.

Cheeseandlobster · 04/12/2021 19:56

@Bluntness100

No, I don’t get this, for me, the food is secondary it’s about the experience of going out with my companions. I can’t imagine obsessing over what I ordered and then thinking about it for days after unless it was shit.

Your obsessive thoughts indicate to me an issue with food.

Bluntness you talked a lot of sense on the sadly deleted Alice Evans thread. But I have to disagree with you on this.

Of course the company is essential but some people just really enjoy their food and if you view it as a treat and don't get to do it a lot, then it is bitterly disappointing when you don't enjoy what you ordered. It doesn't indicate food issues. I would be just as disappointed with a crap hotel room or bad massage. It's about expectations reality

Cheeseandlobster · 04/12/2021 19:57
  • expectations v reality
ArblemarchTFruitbat · 04/12/2021 20:11

Avoid anything 'pulled'. 'Pulled' is shorthand for 'disguised poor quality'.

FOJN · 04/12/2021 20:14

I rarely go out to eat these days. I will join friends for a meal and enjoy the company but I have very low expectations of the food. I'm also vegetarian and the options are usually quite uninspiring or badly executed and I resent paying a professional to prepare something knowing, that even as an amateur, I could do better at home.

I did have a very nice, freshly baked, custard cream blondie a few weeks ago though so not all bad.

Flamingolingo · 04/12/2021 20:17

From your menu choice I’m wondering if you went to Turtle Bay. If you did then it’s one place that I do often get order regret, I think because it’s quite expensive for food that is only of adequate quality. I’m not fussy, don’t need fine dining, but would rather pay less for something like Nando’s where the food quality is similar.

weegiemum · 04/12/2021 20:18

Dh almost always wants what iv3 ordered. Years ago I stopped him from helping himself to my food, and I now also pick things I know he won't eat!

We don't eat out a lot, and we have 2 really great lunch/family meal out places locally and one seriously posho place in our city where we know if we go we'll like it. We do try other places but they have great varied menus so we can go back over and over.

MarshaBradyo · 04/12/2021 20:19

Not usually but I stick to stuff I don’t usually eat at home

user1471554720 · 04/12/2021 20:37

Monr0e

We were the same, I never ate out as a child and very rarely as a teenager. We would get a carvery lunch a few times a year if we were on a day out, but certainly never going to a restaurant for an evening. I was well into my 20s and working a good few years before I went to a restaurant.

The poster who said the food is secondary is coming at this from a point of privilege. She can afford to eat out regularly and will just shrug off a bad experience. I rarely drink so the food is important. Maybe the armchair diagnoser will think I have a problem with alcohol as I don't really drink.

I am the sane with going to the theatre/musicals. I enjoy them and I know the actors need to cover their costs, but I think the price is very dear considering the amount of disposable money I have. I always feel slightly disappointed coming out of a theatre knowing that X price was gone in 2 hours. Therefore I rarely go to events.

Cheeseandlobster · 04/12/2021 21:01

@user1471554720

Monr0e

We were the same, I never ate out as a child and very rarely as a teenager. We would get a carvery lunch a few times a year if we were on a day out, but certainly never going to a restaurant for an evening. I was well into my 20s and working a good few years before I went to a restaurant.

The poster who said the food is secondary is coming at this from a point of privilege. She can afford to eat out regularly and will just shrug off a bad experience. I rarely drink so the food is important. Maybe the armchair diagnoser will think I have a problem with alcohol as I don't really drink.

I am the sane with going to the theatre/musicals. I enjoy them and I know the actors need to cover their costs, but I think the price is very dear considering the amount of disposable money I have. I always feel slightly disappointed coming out of a theatre knowing that X price was gone in 2 hours. Therefore I rarely go to events.

This is the point I was trying to make in a far less articulate way. I too never went out to eat as a child or young adult so I want to enjoy it when I go out now.

@Flamingolingo Yes!! I went to Turtle Bay recently and was bitterly disappointed. The food was nice but small and seemed like a ping meal sadly. Do you know if they are actually ping meals?

Cheeseandlobster · 04/12/2021 21:03

@user1471554720 as in your post was more articulate not mine

Bluntness100 · 04/12/2021 21:14

Of course the company is essential but some people just really enjoy their food and if you view it as a treat and don't get to do it a lot, then it is bitterly disappointing when you don't enjoy what you ordered. It doesn't indicate food issues. I would be just as disappointed with a crap hotel room or bad massage. It's about expectations reality

Sure I don’t disagree, and if the op hadn’t enjoyed her meal I’d not have written what I did, but she did enjoy her meal and said it was nice, she is just thinking something else might have been nicer. Which is very different.

Flamingolingo · 04/12/2021 22:34

@Cheeseandlobster I don’t know. We used to go there often in ye olden days before it was a large chain (back when they only had a couple of venues). The menu hasn’t changed all that much but the price has risen and the quality overall has gone down. I was served actual raw chicken in one branch a couple of years ago (chef took the wrong tray out the oven) Envy < not envy.

It wouldn’t surprise me if aspects of the dishes are produced centrally now and just finished off in the restaurant.

Original poster
Monr0e · 04/12/2021 22:35

Flamingolingo, got it in one 🔮

And yes, it was nice enough, but I can have nice enough at home, when you're paying, what is for me, a large amount of money, I want a bit more than what I do at home.

This was only ever meant as lighthearted though, and I still wish I'd ordered the Honey bunny yardbird. But I won't be losing any sleep over it I promise

OP posts:
Flamingolingo · 04/12/2021 22:39

I’ll tell you what though, I love their chilli squid, and the sweetcorn fritters. Had both of those shortly before going into Labour with DC2.

We took DC2 there recently as it’s his favourite place, largely because of the chilli squid, but half the menu was out and I was mega disappointed, especially when the bill came.

Original poster
Monr0e · 04/12/2021 22:40

@user1471554720

Monr0e

We were the same, I never ate out as a child and very rarely as a teenager. We would get a carvery lunch a few times a year if we were on a day out, but certainly never going to a restaurant for an evening. I was well into my 20s and working a good few years before I went to a restaurant.

The poster who said the food is secondary is coming at this from a point of privilege. She can afford to eat out regularly and will just shrug off a bad experience. I rarely drink so the food is important. Maybe the armchair diagnoser will think I have a problem with alcohol as I don't really drink.

I am the sane with going to the theatre/musicals. I enjoy them and I know the actors need to cover their costs, but I think the price is very dear considering the amount of disposable money I have. I always feel slightly disappointed coming out of a theatre knowing that X price was gone in 2 hours. Therefore I rarely go to events.

And although I said, and meant, lighthearted, you obviously understand exactly what I mean.

I love going to the theatre, but very rarely go. I really wanted to go watch the lion the witch and the wardrobe at the lowry this year, but cannot justify over £200 for a 2 hour show.

OP posts: