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Original poster

Portion sizes in restaurants getting small!!!

169 replies

SantaOnFanta · 03/01/2023 21:52

Am I just getting greedy lol or are portion sizes in restaurants really going down??

A pasta dinner no more than 7 mouthfuls.

A roast pork dinner which consisted of six small strips built up like a Jenga and one plate of veg to share with husband with his meal. £17.

Two burgers and one side of chips and drinks £53!

Anyone else noticing this?

OP posts:
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roses2 · 03/01/2023 21:55

Yep - even take away is now £50 for two for decent quality. I’ve bought a few recipe books and cook a lot more. Takeaway is a rare treat once every few months.

fajitaaaa · 03/01/2023 22:00

I think the problem is more their portion sizes were getting far too large for years!

Eudaimonia5 · 03/01/2023 22:03

Yes! I ordered a lasagne in a restaurant a few weeks ago. Normally it would be served with garlic bread and/or salad. It came and the lasagne portion was tiny, no garlic bread and the salad wasn't even worth putting on the plate, it was just a few sprigs of grated carrot and two tiny lettuce leaves.

More recently, I ordered a pizza in Wetherspoons. When it came, the base was so thin, it didn't even constitute a pizza. There was the tiniest amount of tomato sauce and an even tinier sprinkle of cheese on it. I'd have been embarrassed to serve that.

Also, takeaway pizzas. The big brands like Domino's, Papa John's and Pizza Hut are now suddenly charging a delivery fee. I ordered a pizza from Pizza Hut and again, hardly any toppings on it. Much better than the Wetherspoons attempt but still not up to their usual standard.

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RedToothBrush · 03/01/2023 22:06

Portion sizes were too big.

It's good to see them being sensibly sized.

Dryandirriatble · 03/01/2023 22:11

Maybe but they're still too big really. I have a hearty appetite, but l can rarely finish a starter and a main, although that's often because starters are the size of a small meal.

Is it since they've had to start publishing the calorie count?

middleager · 03/01/2023 22:19

I've stopped eating out as much, mainly because of the quality of food and posibly as I am getting pickier.

Standards in general seem to have slipped in standard pubs/restaurants and I am rarely happy with the food served or the service. I'm not prepared to waste my hard earned money on substandard food.

I'm cooking more at home, as it's nicer, more economical and I can control portion sizes.

Umbrio · 03/01/2023 22:22

Yes definitely! Two of us went for tapas the other day and it was £81 and we were barely full. We both said we won't he doing that again anytime soon.

ThePoshUns · 03/01/2023 22:28

I would say the opposite. I always end up asking for a doggy bag when I go out for a meal.

gogohmm · 03/01/2023 22:31

Depends where you go! It's burger chips and a pint for £10 at our local, good quality too.

AtleastitsnotMonday · 03/01/2023 22:36

Completely unrelated, But this reminds in a kind of opposite way of a holiday in Nice where my dp ordered Lasagne and was brought out a lasagne dish bigger than I would make for 4 at home. We spent half the evening trying to give it away! The thing that had us perplexed was the price, it was in line with all the other (single serve) dishes.

LetsDoThis2023 · 03/01/2023 22:38

Yes. Very. I'm really fed up of eating out.

Piemam · 03/01/2023 22:38

Oh, @SantaOnFanta ! I'd thought it was just me being a fat whacker! But the prices are still high aren't they? What surprises me is that the kids' portions I've seen recently are huge in comparison, which makes no sense.

Tilllly · 03/01/2023 22:44

Harvester are ok
Esp with salad bar

Spectre8 · 03/01/2023 22:46

I feel like the quality has gone down. Had dominoes recently with friends and definitely lacking toppings compared to before.

I've just really cut back eating out and no more takeaways. To be honest buying ready meals are more tastier.

Original poster
SantaOnFanta · 03/01/2023 23:41

@Piemam maybe I'll start ordering kids meals from now on!!!

Seems to be an issue all over.... All my experiences were from all over the UK.

OP posts:
Original poster
SantaOnFanta · 03/01/2023 23:43

@Dryandirriatble That's interesting, thinking about it the pasta meal that was 7 mouthfuls had a calorie count next to it... Is this what it's about then???

My sil actually sent a meal back as it wasn't enough food lol

OP posts:
RafaistheKingofClay · 03/01/2023 23:56

Could be the cost of ingredients too. Might be easier to make the portions smaller and charge the same or slightly increased price than keep the portion sizes the same and raise the price a lot.

Not that not that eating 3 courses when I normally have 1-2 saved me much money the other week.

Crikeyalmighty · 03/01/2023 23:59

I recently thought the same after a meal at Bills. I always used to like this chain but the meal I ordered for around £17 was like an M&S ready meal single serving at say £4.50. Im finding it hard to justify that to be honest when just 2 mains, a couple of simple starters or a desert plus a drink and service are coming in around £80. If im feeling lazy I can have an absolute blow out from M&S including a reasonable bottle of wine for £25 for two - I know the reasons why meals out are pricey but im not bothered enough about it to justify that extra expense these days. Prefer having a regular coffee and a tea cake kind of habit

Velda · 04/01/2023 00:04

Prices of ingredients are going up and so is the cost of opening the restaurant. So they can either put meal prices up or make portions smaller. They know everyone is struggling with the cost of living and putting prices up won’t work, so they are reducing portion sizes.

AutisticLegoLover · 04/01/2023 00:25

I tend to order from the children's menu if that's where the pizza and chips are hiding. Ds who is 7 has an adult portion of macaroni cheese because it's his all time favourite. That's at our favourite really cheap Greene King chain at the seaside.

TGI Fridays used to be the ultimate treat for me. Their vegetable fajitas were to die for. Over the years they have deteriorated to the point I wouldn't bother. I make better at home. I miss the days of going there and eating amazing food and drinking cocktails.

Our local Italian was a good value/relatively cheap meal at happy hour. Pizza or pasta with chips or salad was £6.95. Now it's £8.95 and they've changed the chips so it's not as good. Drinks are about £3 each for a soft drink. What used to cost £25 for 4 of us cost £45 last time. We used to share pizza so we'd only buy 3 meals plus garlic bread. We don't go any more because I can't afford it even avoiding the drinks and opting for a jug of water on the table. They have had a rough year according to their Facebook page and I'd love to go there as often as we did but it's not possible.

ZenNudist · 04/01/2023 00:36

TGIs is awful. Real disappointment. Should be such a great treat but just really stodgy greasy food and the cocktails are just sweet not alcoholic at all. Prices are a rip off. Won't go there any more.

We do eat out a lot but not usually at chains due to low quality/ high prices.

justasking111 · 04/01/2023 00:37

Talking about this the other day with restaurant owner food cost 25% so if ingredients and cooking are £4 meal will be £16. On top of that you have wages, heating, rent, rates.

Most places are bumping up the drinks to cover increased overheads rather than food

icanwearwhatiwant · 04/01/2023 00:44

I haven't noticed with meals out, no but then I have a small appetite and meals are usually too big for me.
The last two I've had have been plentiful and delicious.
I did notice when I opened a bag of monster munch earlier that there were only 6-8 crisps in each bag.
Reducing size/quality rather than increasing price significantly does make sense i suppose.

MissTrip82 · 04/01/2023 01:29

ThePoshUns · 03/01/2023 22:28

I would say the opposite. I always end up asking for a doggy bag when I go out for a meal.

Really? You’re can’t finish a single course at any restaurant?

How extraordinary.

ComtesseDeSpair · 04/01/2023 01:39

A lot of formerly good places have dropped in quality and portion size to the extent that Wetherspoons has now actually become one of the places we know we’ll get something decent. I’ve had better steaks and curries there in the past couple of months than I’ve had in pricey gastropubs and our local upmarket Indian.

We went to a nice but not fancy place in Balham just before Christmas which was dismal. DH’s salmon and prawn fresh ravioli main was literally three two-inch square ravioli with a faint drizzle of tartare sauce, for £31. The chef should have been ashamed.