to expect a restaurant meal to not leave me starving

[moogster1a]

went to a very nice city centre restaurant yesterday and the food was wonderful ( monkfish and braised ox cheeks to start followed by venison and then lovely pud ). Couldn't fault the standard but the portions were tiny.
Main course was 3 tiny cubes of meat with various berries, smears and the chef spit/ foam that comes with everything. All very nice but no potatoes, veg. etc. I'm honestly wondering if they forgot to bring them or the poshness of the place means you have to have a supermodel's appetite.
AIBU to not be eyeing up the Greggs next door after spending £60 per head.
I was thinking of emailing them to let them know their portions are mean.

Less is more. : o

They either forgot the veg or you forgot to order it. Email them anyway. They'll either have a good chuckle at your expense or you'll get a grovelling apology and some vouchers. Nothing to lose imo

That sounds very familiar, hmmmm wonders on the restaurant choice ????

Yanbu i had a lamb dinner once and it was 3tiny cubes aswell with nrly raw veg and way too much mashed potato(which i hate).i was livid and i payed no where near as much as you

Was it Manchester COOKIELOVE? tempting Greggs next door?

This happened to us once, one of DH's fellow postgrads decided to raise the tone by persuading a bunch of us postgrads/researchers to go out to some posh & expensive Italian restaurant. We all ate nicely and enjoyed the atmosphere.

After the meal was over DH & I legged it to a F&Chip shop for a proper meal. After 5 minutes, in walks someone else from the party, equally unsatisfied by the portion sizes in the Italian place. :)

No, i like a good old name and shame.

My restaurant you had to book three years in advance to get in, and when you finally were given the privilege of spending shed loads of money you received very poor service and meh food. The only thing i half like the idea on the menu was steak, and i don't like steak. It was rather poncey, would never go again.

Went home and had a sandwich after that night out.

YANBU I've noticed the 'posher' and more expensive a restaurant is, the smaller the portions are. Whenever I've been anywhere like that (not through choice i.e work do's etc), I ALWAYS have to get a white pudding supper on the way home!
I prefer all you can eat buffets, carveries and the local pubs restaurant area, when I book a meal. There cheep, and your plate is over-flowing, and it's good old home cooking, not tiny cubes with poncy names.

serves yuo right for poncing about in posh restaurants

next time go to the chippy

This is why British women are fatter than French, Italian and Spanish.

"This is why British women are fatter than French, Italian and Spanish."

- well I'm a size 8 and I'd have gone to Greggs after a meal that tiny as well

that's crap krissi

our climate is different for a start

still, nothing like a half-baked sweeping generalisation to brighten up a dull Sunday morning

you should have seen my plate last week when I went for a carvery Sunday lunch - it was piled to the rafters - was bloody gorgeous - and a proper meal.

Eh? Does our climate mean we have to lay down blubber for Winter??
And really Krissi, you must never have seen a Spanish or Italian middle aged woman

It sounds like the sort of place where you're meant to order side dishes separately...

it's like the wonderful stereotypes of 3rd world women being really slim.

Those people have obviously never tried to squeeze on the public transport - the combi's - minibuses designed for 13 or so people - with 20+ crammed in - with a load of rather large Zimbabwean women [women]

YABU - I'd go to FKC not Greggs.

yes people do need, and tend culturally to eat, more fat and carbs in colder climates

KFC. D'oh!

Riven is right - when nouvelle cuisine's popularity increased the portion sizes decreased!

I'd complain... this happened to us once. We'd been to this Italian restaurant before; about 6 months before (it was in Covent Garden) and really enjoyed it. We'd previously been on a weekday night, this time we went on a Saturday night and the portions were literally halved and were on much much smaller plates- absolutely tiny! The first time I had brushettas topped with buffalo mozzarella (amazing!), that time we got 2 brushetta's each, with 2 good sized slices of mozzarella on each brushetta - it was also warmed through so was slightly melted. The 2nd time, it was a (tiny!) one brushetta, with a thin slice of mozzarella on - COLD. I complained there and then. The head waitress was extremely rude and said the portion sizes had not changed in the 8 years she'd worked there and that they would NEVER melt the cheese... SO RUDE! She was basically insinuating I was lying!

So then the main (risotto) came and it was again cold through on small plates, rather than the bowl/plate things. I left most of it.

Then the bill came and hand written at the bottom was an £8 service charge - basically 20% !! I was fuming after the way I'd been spoken to, so we asked for the gratuity to be taken off so we can lay our own tip and the waitress refused and said it wasn't possible to remove the gratuity! So again, this head waitress came over, all guns blazing and said it was difficult to remove the gratuity (it was hand written, not itemised, and you legally can give whatever tip you want!) but she would remove it on "this occasion".

I wish I'd written a letter of complaint to be honest, but wouldn't want to have to go back to that restaurant!

PS - we headed straight to the Tesco Metro afterwards and got a Krispy Kreme each. We were starving

I'm also wondering if it was in manchester...