To think most kids menus are awful

[ditziness]

Is it just me that always ends up getting ds a starter rather than anything off the kids menu? Why are they usually just chips, chips, chips, goujons, Chios and fishfingers?

Surely a veg soup, a pasta dish, an omlette, bangers and mash and peas, a spag bol, lasagne, would all be healthier and more balanced and still popular?

rookiemater yes it is! That's exactly how we sell it to ds1! Believe me, a giant chicken nugget, some white rice and a bit of shredded veg is a huge step forward for him (see the post above). Luckily ds2 and ds3 will hoover up anything so for us it makes the difference between being able to go out as a meal for a family, or having the 40 euro bread roll experience!

In one place in France last week DD had crudites starter, moules frites and then childs profiteroles all for the grand total of 7euros - fantastic.

Are half portions really financially unviable? In that case are starters financially unviable too?

paws at the 40 euro roll. Hope it was one of those artisan-baked ones but if it was he probably wouldn't have eaten it because it tasted funny

I'm with him on oysters. You can replicate the experience much more cheaply whenever you have a bad cold and do a big sniff.

Ds had his first oyster the other day. I ordered him the seafood starter at a French place we go to ( their kids menu consists of cicken or fish and chips. Period.) He loves smoked salmon and mussels, and shared my potatos and veg. He ate the oyster with a surprised look on his face and made no comment. Rather him than me!

sometimes i just get ds a plate of chips and then he has some of mine. he does not eat chips at home so i do not mind him having them when we are out. we eat out often and most places will do smaller portions if you ask

he loves wagamamas

Oh good point ditziness - I don't know, as I said I'm not in the trade, but I guess most people would have a starter and a main or at least add a side order to it.

You could I suppose say that having a kids menu at reduced prices is a loss leader - it brings the parents in. And in order to do that, they need to make the prices cheap enough to attract the parents - hence "kids eat free" or cheapo kids meals.

We watched a child order a Steak Tartare last month in France. He was about 10 yo.

I get annoyed with the kids menus because we would be happy to go for a half-portion (or they take a full portion to share) but if they see the nuggets and chips then they nag for that.

We were in Sartis in Glasgow recently and they did small portions of the regular pasta dishes.

oh well my kids dont eat normal food
are fussy buggers

Maybe we could do a list of places that are good?

this of course makes me and them subhuman in the oyster eating world

I think it's a swings and roundabouts thing, ditziness, where the cheaper ingredients subsidise the more expensive things so you get an overall price per head.

The restaurant has the the same labour and fixed costs regardless of the food you order, so I think it's reasonable.

I'm not a restaurateur though, I just guess that's the case. If I'm being naive, someone please fill me in

I long since gave up looking at things and thinking that the raw ingredients in a beef stew cost far less than a piece of fillet steak because I'd always eat at home because I mainly like cheap stuff.

Unlike those people who go out in a group and order the most expensive thing whether they like it or not knowing that we're going to split the bill.

People have only ever done that to me once or twice before being culled. I'd barbecue their bodies but I think they'd be stringy.

bet your social life is active then..

I hate being charged £3.95 for fish fingers and chips when it will have only cost them pence to buy and not exactly a lot of man power to cook.

One local place does lovely home made sole gougons (sp) for £2.95 which is much tastier and better value for money.

Annodyne, hey don't worry! I have no desire to worry about what your kids eat or make any assumptions as to why! I'm not blinkered enough to think that all kids are the same. Some are fussy, some sleep well, some potty train early, some are talking in sentences by two. I'm nit judging you, just pondering kids menus!

I can't stand oysters either!

no was talking to limitedperiodonly.
i cannto believ people deliverately order £ if they are out with real friends,

DH runs and italian restaurant - no kids menu but I just htinkg that when they order something for the kid they get a full portion and get charged almost nothing.

I hate it when there is pasta with tom sauce for kids as that's one of ds's staples and it drives me mad.

I tend to order just for me and give him some of mine. If that can be done.

Italian food at that place that does pizzas (pizza express) is gross - really gross - I'd never eat there if you paid me. Not Italian- not american - so forget it. Seriously gross with all pizza's tiny and undercooked hence bad tummy for all. Pizza hut is actually better as you get substantial food (althoug not authentic) that is actually cooked.
But I rarelty eat at Italian restaurants and I'd only take ds to proper italian restaurants and just get him to eat some of my stuff.

I also hate the word goujon, and ds won't eat them. He also randomly won't eat broccoli, bananas, toast or blueberries. He'd exist on weetabix, cheese, apples and chocolate if he did the shopping!

sorry are you saying pizza express gives you food poisoning?

id be careful doing that online

i love pizza express

pizza hut is rank

You cannot seriously think pizza hut is better than pizza express!

My mum and I went to an All Bar One yesterday and had half a lager and lime and a 250ml glass of wine for roughly £8 and a portion of chips for £2.45 - £3 inc tip. We spent about an hour there.

Those chips would have cost less than 10p to buy and cook. They would have subsidised the alcohol but there is duty to pay plus staff and venue costs. I believe they're open from around 11.30am to midnight. Maybe more.

I don't want to be ripped off and I'm not a big fan of chains but I thought it was a reasonable price to pay for a nice sit down with a cool drink on a hot day.

Maybe it was unclear annOdyne. These people aren't my real friends but, like nits, they do exist wherever people gather.

I just eradicate them. Don't you? btw I have a nice social life

I hate Pizza Express's shirt button pizzas and I don't eat a lot. It is very cheap food that is very expensive and has a veneer of class.

At least Pizza Hut give you a lot to eat. You can argue the toss about whether we want to save Venice or not.

Maybe it depends on area, but where we are (West of Scotland) it seems that most kids genuinely will only eat the staple chicken nuggets, some pasta etc etc. I despair. (Restaurant manager.)

Halving the main portions is a bit of a nuisance- we prep everything in the morning into portion sizes so we end up with half this and half that. Also the computer ordering system isn't set up to that so we have to manually enter the price then head into the chaos of the kitchen and match up the printed order with the child's meal. I am personally quite happy to do that though.