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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To prefer eating in to going out for dinner/lunch?

114 replies

Purplepansies · 12/04/2014 15:48

I really do not enjoy going out to eat any more.I find it tedious waiting to be served,it is a gamble as to whether the food will be good/bad/mediocre,it costs a lot for a family of four and always makes me think what else we could have spent the money on, and yet its one of those things that everyone else seems to really enjoy.
I have two teens who really don't enjoy it either and there is endless faffing with things like "I'll have the beef but I don't want the gravy on it,I'll have the chicken but no sauce,I'll have the burger but plain with nothing on it".
Am I the only one who is like this?I far prefer cooking something myself at home ,eating it where and when I want and not handing over large amounts of cash for average food.
I have no problem getting a takeaway now and again its just the sitting down that drives me nuts.
I am being unreasonable aren't I?

OP posts:

elahrairahforprimeminister · 12/04/2014 15:51

I totally agree.

The worst bit for me is when they ask "is everything okay with your food"?

The food was great. Then YOU interrupted both the meal and our conversation for a little ego boost..!

Am joking. I know they have to ask for no reason.

But yes, I'd rather be at home.

Canus · 12/04/2014 15:53

I dislike eating out as a 'thing to do'.

If we are at the seaside, or going to the cinema etc. I'm happy to hit a reastaurant (or McDonalds!) to avoid the need to go home.

I do not like going out to a restaurant as a way of spending an evening in itself.

EverythingIsAwesome · 12/04/2014 15:53

I can see why it is not enjoyable for fussy eaters.

Original poster

Purplepansies · 12/04/2014 15:56

That is exactly what I mean canus...as a thing to do!It seems like most people view it as a real treat for a special occasion,a way of celebrating a wedding anniversary,birthday whatever.I love going out to a pub for a few drinks to celebrate but a meal out-nah!

OP posts:

CoffeeTea103 · 12/04/2014 16:14

Yabu, I think it's just that you sound too fussy that's why it is not enjoyable for you.

MrsSteptoe · 12/04/2014 16:22

I LOVE eating out but we can't afford it, so the enjoyment of eating out is always spoiled by knowing that it's cost us the best part of our weekly food budget. If I could afford it, we'd eat at moderate restaurants three nights a week and a really good one once a month.

yourlittlesecret · 12/04/2014 16:27

My DC love going out to eat at a restaurant. Mostly I don't unless we are on holiday.
I like the occasion, I like the sitting round and conversation, but the food is so often disappointing. I can almost always cook better myself.

JonSnowKnowsNothing · 12/04/2014 16:30

I get a bit sick of wasting the best part of a tenner on bog standard pub grub, so try not to waste my money on that any more. However, there's a pub a few miles from me where the food is just so delicious (game, fish, all local produce) that I'd rather go infrequently and splash out when I'm there.
OTOH, I do love cooking - just got nobody to cook for!

squoosh · 12/04/2014 16:30

The idea of only ever eating at home is grim.

HappyGirlNow · 12/04/2014 16:35

YABU to hand over large amounts of cash for average food. Go to good restaurants/pubs..

PortofinoRevisited · 12/04/2014 16:35

i really like it. Though I go less often to nicer places I think.

PollyIndia · 12/04/2014 16:38

It isn't a gamble if you go to nice places. I guess I am lucky though as I live in east London where you can eat out really well in lovely pubs, cafes and restaurants, without spending a fortune.
I also like cooking though - it's nice being able to mix it up.

Rafflesway · 12/04/2014 16:46

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

thornrose · 12/04/2014 16:48

I don't like eating "homely" food out that I could cook better myself at home, I don't see the point.

Great food that's a bit special, I love.

Preciousbane · 12/04/2014 16:50

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Latara · 12/04/2014 16:54

I love going out to eat; in my town there's a wide selection of restaurants and cafes to choose from - tonight I'm going out for Thai.
I would get down if I had to eat in all the time.

expatinscotland · 12/04/2014 16:56

YANBU

sadsaddersaddest · 12/04/2014 16:56

YANBU.
I want to see the ingredients that were used to make my meal. I cannot eat meat in a restaurant.
We only eat out if we are forced to (for instance if we were delayed on a day out and didn't pack a meal) and 95% of the time the food is awful compared to our homemade meals. And with 3 DCs, it costs about 1/3 of our weekly food bill.

Slapntickleothewenches · 12/04/2014 17:00

I prefer to eat out if we are having foreign food. Otherwise I have absolutely no desire to eat out. I can almost always cook better and with better quality ingredients.
I begrudge handing over what can add upto vast amounts of money that could've been spent so many other ways.
I am quite happy to sit in a pub spending money on beer instead though :o

MammaTJ · 12/04/2014 17:01

I quite like to go out for a carvery with my family. We go to a place that still has the normal menu, so fussy DS will be happy with his crap meal too.

I love going to our local, which is a pub with a massive play area, to eat. They do cheap cheesy chips, and the DC share a portion. It is a means to an end really, they stop moaning about being hungry and we get to stay there without spending too much.

I would love to go out for a meal with DP, because he is fussy but can generally find something on a menu to suit his bland tastes and I can usually find something nice to eat.

BUT, I am a way better cook than any in any of the places we eat, so YANBU!

Sparklingbrook · 12/04/2014 17:02

I can see it from all sides. My DB came up from down sarf today and wanted to have lunch with us and Mum and Dad.

Neither Mum nor myself wanted to spend time in the kitchen, while DB was here so we went out and had a lovely pub meal.

The main problem in general is the ££££s though. Family of 4, and the DC eat adult sizes so it's just not cheap, and the price of soft drinks is robbery.

Sicaq · 12/04/2014 17:03

Totally agree, especially when it comes to pub food - £10 for something I could have made better at home for £1.50? I cannot help but think what else I could have bought with the cash I just spent one one plate.

Mind you, I think the same when I see colleagues spending £8 a day buying hot lunches at work. Ouch ... their choice, but I would wince at doing that.

Sicaq · 12/04/2014 17:04

Then again, I do quite like going to the all-you-can-eat Chinese buffet places.

Sparklingbrook · 12/04/2014 17:05

I do that Sicaq, when it's £6 for dessert, I always wonder what I could have bought dessert-wise in Asda for £6.

JohnnyBarthes · 12/04/2014 17:05

YANBU if you don't enjoy it, but it seems a shame to only eat your own cooking.

I'm an OK cook but I can't, for example, cook a steak as well as a chef can in a professional kitchen because you can't get the heat on a standard domestic stove. I can't make sashimi (knife skillz are seriously lacking) and I can't be arsed to make puddings generally.

The three of us had an amazing dinner in St Ives not so long ago for my birthday - three different seafood starters, three different seafood main courses and two different puddings between us. Trying each other's food is part of the pleasure and there is no way I'm cooking 8 different dishes at home

Re checking you're enjoying your food - waiters do this to give you the opportunity to tell them if something is wrong or missing - it has nothing to do with ego stroking

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