Restaurant prices are just ludicrous

[Mummyhokey]

I know that this is hardly breaking news, but seriously what the actual fuck is going on with prices in restaurants?

Went out to a High Street chain restaurant last night for DD’s birthday. So whilst the food was cooked fresh on site there was absolutely no local chef input into the menu etc. There were also only two waiting staff working a busy place so the service was slow even though they were doing their best.

The cost of the meals was, in my opinion, completely unrealistic in terms of what we were getting. Little change from £20 for a basic burger or chicken dish. Another fiver for a side order. So for the four of us, £100 gets us one course each. Drinks on top, £3.95 for a glass of watered down Diet Coke. Twice that for a beer. £6 for a slice of cake for dessert.

This seems typical now for restaurants. It’s just totally unaffordable for most families to do this more than very occasionally, surely? I get that utilities and wages have gone up, as have the cost of ingredients. But have they gone up by that much? The increases seem outrageous. That slice of cake works out at about £50 for the entire cake. I could buy the ingredients for that burger for well under a fiver.

And then the 12.5% optional service charge added to the bill so that the options are ‘Pay it’ or ‘Ask for it to be removed and feel like a dick for doing so’.

No offence to hospitality business owners or the people working in them, but this just can’t be sustainable surely?

Never have a pudding when we eat out they are very dear.
I'll buy some strawberries or similar and we will have some when we get home.

I understand why the prices are so high, because costs have gone through the roof. However, combined with the huge drop in quality, it just means we don’t eat out any more. I can only think of one restaurant close to me that now actually serves nice food (and that costs upwards of 70 pp excluding drinks).

I don’t know why I can’t edit my post but I think Autocorrect changed the name of the pub with no customers on X….

It is the Wonston Arms Pub Landlord

I think the issue here is using mid-price chains, which have below par food and service - so you don’t feel you have hit a good deal

I love eating out so use all the tricks I can
Sign up for emails to get an offer, then unsubscribe
check out the offers and go on days when I can use those
Independent restaurants
Groupon - you can get some amazing deals on there! Currently there is a Turkish feast for 2 with a soft drink for £28. I couldn’t buy all the ingredients and cook it myself for that! If you want chain food they are doing 2 courses for 2 people at Frankie & Benny’s for £20! £15.96 if you have a promo code. All Bar One - 3 tapas and a bottle of wine for £31. They have deals on Brewdog, Slug & Lettuce, Toby Carvery etc.

Apps like Fork, Open Table, First Table etc all show offers

Do a bit of research and you will find something better value

Expensive or not, plenty of people are willing to pay it. I live near a major city with hundreds of restaurants, and if you go out on a Friday or Saturday without pre-booking, then you’ll have a very hard time getting a table anywhere. Clearly people can afford it.

I'm still getting over the fact that both my DC have graduated from the kids menu to the adult menu. £££££

Eating out has risen exponentially in the last 5 years. I used to be able to get my favourite Japanese takeaway for £15. Now it’s £25+

Before I'd even got to your post, this thread had made me think that I wanted to go to Pizza Hut and I've just asked DH if we can go tomorrow.

It's obvious to me while they're still trading. I'm yet to find a better American style pizza anywhere.

as in our city you book slots and they all want to close at 10!

We did a city break recently - wanted to eat out last night somewhere nice so had to put a deposit down - £50 - okay - we chose location booked online later than wanted as booked so took last 8 pm slot. Just as we are about to leave booking was cancelled with claim their kichen wasn't open that late - they refunded deposit. So why take a booking.

We couldn't find anywhere so late - in end we walked into center stumbled acorss a whethespoons with last free table - saved some money and it was fine not what we planned. Walked back a scenic and circuitous route - and passed all these expensive restaurants that hadn't let us book with at most one or two tables with people.

Different city has a big industruy conference - DH say after 7-8 pm they given up last few years trying to go out for meals as any sized group gets turned away in city so they stick to the hotels staying at.

I assume it's staffing - though since covid eating out got harder and more expensive at least for us. We can't always pre-book but when we do we've been shoved into too small locations and treated like an inconvience. IL say there walking group that warns pubs before walks - often find they are't as welcoming despite fact most will be buying drinks and food.

Outcome for us is fewer places we even try and eat out at - and due to money we do it less than before. Last week we did a picnic instead of a pub lunch. Eating out and takeout were rare in my childhood - think it's just going that way again.

My DS on the odd occasion (we only went out for birthdays!) Ordered a steak from the adult menu from the age of 8...DD is 18 and would still order from the kids menu given half the chance so it evened out. Sometimes, she used to get her younger brother to order the kids meal because she was embarrassed to, and then they would swap!

I hate eating out these days - the food is so often extremely underwhelming and 90% of the time I could (and do!) make better food at home. It’s only worth it for me now if I am on holiday or we are going to a proper, slightly posher restaurant. I CBA with paying £18.50 for a dry burger at a gastro pub and then ordering a desert they have bought in.

Add to that the general sub par experience of going out for group dinners of 8+ people where you don’t get to speak to everyone and run the risk of getting sat down the boring end of the table and stingy people being miserly about the bill and itemising everything they had down to the last 10p, it’s just not that fun a lot of the time.

I will go out to dinner on holiday, or to a nice place with my husband which feels like an event. Other than that I would much much rather receive a dinner party invitation or host people at home.

It's £30 for a large stuffed crust margherita pizza and they don't even take your order anymore you have to do it via your phone. I mean yes it's nice but no pizza is worth £30 imo.

Costs have gone up massively, it’s not surprising really that prices do.

Sounds pretty typical. We went out for a family lunch last weekend, 5 adults, 1 child. Nice venue (steakhouse type place) in the West Country. 6 mains and desserts, 5 of us on soft drinks and it was close to £200 including service.

But it meant none of us had to shop, prep, cook, or wash up and we could focus on spending the best part of 3 hours on family time.

Right. I only eat out now if it’s a. Delicious and b. I can’t get it at home. Which is hard if you’re a reasonable cook.

Japanese is always worth it as I don’t have time to fiddle around with nigiri and rolls.

I just made lunch for 4 which was a mix of monkfish, scallops and fresh prawns with salsa verde and fresh vegetables. That would be £50 pp in a restaurant but the seafood cost £18 in total - ie £4.50 each.

We don't bother going out for a meal anymore. It's not much fun when you're worrying about the cost. We just go out for coffee and a scone or cake.

We used to eat out all the time. Not so much anymore. It’s ridiculous.
5 of us went to a pizza place the other week - pizzas / pastas, 3 desserts, a couple of beers and a bottle of wine. £200. It’s completely insane!

Surely it would be worth making it cheaper and having more regular customers?

There are 5 of us so it is between £150 to £200 to eat out in a restaurant. Staff wages have gone up and so has electricity and everything else but if restaurants charge more than people can afford then they'll make no money at all.

No, because they have to charge that amount to cover their costs. Serving the same meal for less results in a loss, and the more of them you sell, the bigger your loss gets.

And that is why pubs are closing, and restaurants are struggling/closing. They are making no money at all.

Years ago, eating out was a special treat. I've just gone back to that, with pubs and restaurants.

Easier and cheaper to entertain people indoors.

We rarely eat out due to the cost and, more often than not, poor quality.

I'm surprised that many on this thread are blaming the restaurants. Restaurants don't want to price you out of visiting, they've had no choice.

They have hiked their prices because the cost of employing someone has increased since Labour hiked employee NI.

The Labour government told you that taxes for 'working people' weren't going to rise. That's true (so far), as they've slapped the tax onto employers instead.

This has added to food costs which were already increasing back to their historical norms. Food has been relatively cheap for the last 20 years.

For those of you enjoy receiving deliveries, too - just wait until Raynor's new employment bill comes into force - most delivery staff are on casual contracts.

So, if you believe promises of no tax rises for 'working people', well, the taxes for your NHS, schools, etc. then need to come from someone else.

Reeves, Starmer and Raynor - none of whom have any experience running a business - have decided that it's employers who should pay first.

Yeah, because we all wear top hats and twiddle our moustaches 🙄

Labout have no. i. dea.