To eat in or eat out?

[Char65]

I've always been a SAHM but my husband has retired, we were talking to friends the other night and they said now they have no children at home (we have one son in his 20s) they eat out every night. We like eating out occasionally but I prefer cooking meals at home, with fresh organic produce and making them from scratch (I enjoy cooking its a bit of a hobby). Anyway, we had a bit of a debate about it as if eating at home was not as good as eating out, I know its all opinion but what do others think? personally I often prefer a home cooked meal (blowing my own trumpet here😃) but know where all the ingredients have come from and the kitchen is clean etc. and don't have to leave the house.

Where are they eating?

I'd hate to eat out all the time, anything you do too much becomes a bit of a chore, and when I have the time I enjoy a lovely evening cooking and chatting, but a really good restaurant meal once in a while is lovely.

You'd have to have a massive budget to do the kind of meals I'm talking about every day though.

I know they go to an Indian restaurant a lot where they pretty much have their own table and know the manager well but they also like to try different cuisines of which there's an infinite choice in London - I think that is the appeal to them (as well as not cooking at home!) they're part of some diners/social media group where they give opinions and occasionally meet up.

I rarely eat out now. The standard of food in the restaurants near me has dropped dramatically and the prices of increased massively. I can cook much better at home.

I love to eat out but wouldn't do so every day - it's a bit like being on holiday and always eating out, after a while you can't wait to get home to your own bed and kitchen!

I see you have one child and were a SAHM - maybe your friends had many more children and spent a lifetime of cooking for everyone, everyday, as well as doing a day's work.

There are many threads on MN about the day in day out drudge of thinking up meals for everyone!

We actually had 4 children 2 DD and 2 DS, the youngest is still at home (in his 20s) but he tends to do his own thing though he does cook for himself which he likes (I don't as messes up the kitchen 😆). The boys were Ok on the whole (various things they didn't like but not too bad) but one of our DDs became a vegetarian and I would often find myself cooking 2 or 3 different meals for 6 people - DH liking a 'proper meal' which I like too and the boys preferring something simpler (burger and chips etc) and the other daughter having a 'relaxed' attitude to meal times/when she ate and not seeing the point in sitting down at the table for a regular meal, so fun times!😆Totally agree that thinking up evening meals was a real chore!

Yes this would be a problem long term.

Eating out for us will be a 'high end' restaurant or Indian. I'm a competent cook and don't see the point in going out to eat the sort of food that I can easily make at home, but I don't enjoy making curries.

The only time we go out for Sunday lunch is to go with the flow when we're meeting up with friends or family who like that sort of eating out - and then I sit there silently calculating how much the entire lunch would have cost me to cook at home whilst tackling the chewy roast potatoes that almost invariably accompany a Sunday pub lunch.

Eating out is so much fucking effort. I don't want to spend an extra 90 minutes dressing up and commuting. And as DP says, we eat better at home most of the time.

I use to absolutely love eating out , I can cook and I love not having to stand cooking half the evening and just get a nice meal handed to me but where I am prices are ridiculously high and tiny portions that we end up in McDonald's after. It's very rare to find a decent restaurant now.

We prefer home cooked meals the majority of the time and I enjoy cooking. We only eat out if we're in a rush and don't have time to cook.

I hate cooking so am delighted when we eat out!

II eat out occasionally but only really when socialising with friends. I prefer to eat in as I get at least as much pleasure from the cooking as the eating. I won't claim that my efforts are better than a good restaurant, I just enjoy cooking. I can also make 3 or 4 good meals for the price of a single restaurant visit. Each to their own though.

I hate eating out. Every time I do I’m disappointed. It’s never as good as my cooking, and the ingredients are shit (I use organic from scratch too). Overpriced and all dripping in seed oils.

I prefer eating out. But I live in central London so there are gazillions of places within a few mins walk. I'm a good cook but I find it boring so tend to only cook 'properly' occasionally. I'd rather have a relaxing evening in a restaurant where I have multiple choices of food than be at home with a mountain of washing up and knowing exactly what the menu is in advance.

I used to live in Hong Kong and it's very common there for people to eat out for all 3 meals per day. Which is why most kitchens are tiny. It's also cheaper to eat out than cook at home there. Perhaps I brought my bad habits back to London with me. 😜

Yes, our friends live in London and they say there's so much choice they are never short of a restaurant to try. We used to live in New York and there was a big 'eating out' culture there too with loads of invites to go out for meals and for lunches which at the time I loved so it is a cultural thing but on balance I do prefer the home cooked options, certainly as get older.