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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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:
Sparklingbrook · 12/04/2014 17:07

If something was wrong though I would say Johnny, I don't get why they have to ask. Always when I have a mouthful of food too.....

WitchWay · 12/04/2014 17:12

I like eating out but as a good cook I tend to eat things I wouldn't cook myself, otherwise I'm comparing flavours & wondering why we're spending the money. Often I choose things DH & DS don't like but I do. Risotto, for example.

loveandsmiles · 12/04/2014 17:12

We have 5DCs and it costs approx £80-£100 for a meal out! We all enjoy eating out but I do think 'oh gosh, I could have spent that money more wisely'. However, if money was no option we would definitely eat out more often, although I do prefer to eat food that I wouldn't usually eat at home as I grudge paying for food that I think I can cook as well myselfSmile

yourlittlesecret · 12/04/2014 17:14

When I choose from a menu I want to find something I can't do myself, so agree that foreign food is more appealing.
Steak is my absolute favourite and I can do it really well. I usually spend about £20 for fillet steak for 4 of us, and in a restaurant it would cost more than that per person for smaller portions.
I cannot do a good curry though.

Bunbaker · 12/04/2014 17:20

"I quite like to go out for a carvery with my family."

I don't because, quite frankly, I can make a better job of a roast dinner at home, and I can enjoy a glass or two of wine because I don't have to drive home. I would far rather go out for a special meal or for a meal that I can't cook at home because I don't have the equipment or can't get the ingredients. IMO a carvery isn't special, and the vegetables are always overcooked.

We have a fantastic Indian restaurant and an excellent pub where the food is amazing, but not cheap so we don't eat out that often. I won't pay good money to eat a mediocre meal and, sadly, we do have one or two pubs that serve "ping" meals, so I avoid them like the plague.

We do like to eat out on holiday, as that is part of the holiday experience for us. No AI holidays for us as we prefer to try the local restaurants.

JohnnyBarthes · 12/04/2014 17:22

It saves you having to flag a waiter down though, Sparkling. I was a waitress for years and years and honestly, if you don't check many people sit there suffering in silence and cursing you for not bringing the side order they think (rightly or wrongly) they ordered, or wait to complain about the fish still having a head when it's too late to put things right.

Objection · 12/04/2014 17:23

I love eating out, it's one of my favourite things to do.
The time spent nearly always ends up less than if I'd been cooking myself, it gives the opportunity to try new foods easily and is enjoyable at a social level.
Plus I'm rarely hungry after I've cooked for some reason.

YANBU to dislike it though, each to their own

Objection · 12/04/2014 17:24

And no washing up!

The only cost that grates me is drinks.
bastarding £4 for a coke. pah.

Lilaclily · 12/04/2014 17:25

Wine is so expensive when we eat out, £5 a glass in Zizzis, Ask etc & I like 3 Grin

squoosh · 12/04/2014 17:30

Restaurants without a drinks licence are good in that you bring your own wine and just get charged corkage. Big saving.

Bunbaker · 12/04/2014 17:34

Yes, the mark up on drinks is criminal. We like the bring your own restaurants as well because you can bring a much better quality wine than you would drink if you had to pay restaurant prices.

WorraLiberty · 12/04/2014 17:35

I like eating out every couple of months but no more than that really

Carveries have been spoiled for me because both me and DH cook a gorgeous roast dinner, so they never compare.

We've got a local turkish restaurant which is quite nice and we like the entertainment too.

FreakoidOrganisoid · 12/04/2014 17:35

I love eating out but not to eat shit food. My boyfriend hates eating out so we compromise and go less often but to somewhere good.

Ritzandchocolate · 12/04/2014 17:35

I can't cook so I love going out: it's the only time I get a decent meal Grin

JohnnyBarthes · 12/04/2014 17:36

£6.50 I paid the other day in London for a half of lager and a bottle of sparkling water Shock [provincial]

To be fair, it was a lovely setting.

whitewitchofnarnia · 12/04/2014 17:38

I don't like eating out as I quite like siting at home comfy in pjs , but I like it if we are meeting up with friends

LaurieFairyCake · 12/04/2014 17:42

I'd eat out every day if I could be fucked to get out my pyjamas.

Any meal where I don't have to cook or clean up after is amazing.

After 12 years of cooking family meals and having to cunting tidy up I'm looking forward to eating crisps with dips every night. When dd grows up I am never cooking again.

Seriously.

Sparklingbrook · 12/04/2014 17:44

LFC I hear you. Grin Once the DC have left home I'm with you on the crisps and dips.

WhoAteAllTheCremeEggs · 12/04/2014 17:49

I think the common feeling is the better you can cook the more you notice when the food is average out.
I used to love eating out until I had dc and made more effort in the kitchen for us, now I hate it I never think the food is as good as we have at home and I hate that dc only get the option of plain type things and convenience foods.
Also think anywhere that has a children's menu should have children's size forks you cant eat penne off a tea spoon ffs and adult ones are heavy.

Sicaq · 12/04/2014 17:49

I can't help it Sparklingbrook ... I see colleagues with their mid-morning muffin costing £2.70 and do a mental calculation of how many Asda muffins that would buy.

(10, I think).

Sparklingbrook · 12/04/2014 17:50

Can you imagine us two having a meal out Sicaq? we could squeeze all the joy out of it completely. Grin

Creamycoolerwithcream · 12/04/2014 17:51

I enjoy eating in and cooking Monday to Friday and eating out at the weekend. I wouldn't like to cook on holiday.

Bunbaker · 12/04/2014 17:53

"I'd eat out every day if I could be f***d to out my pyjamas."

Why can't you be bothered to get dressed?

Sparklingbrook · 12/04/2014 17:53

Oh and while I am moaning, how can a foot long Subway cost £5.69? It's a sandwich FGS.

DS1 (14) thinks they are the best thing ever. Hmm

Creamy we always go self catering but I never actually switch the oven on or cook anything. Blush Grin

ProfYaffle · 12/04/2014 17:53

I love eating out. We're lucky enough to have a handful of really good restaurants/pubs within walking distance. It's nice to have a night off and a few drinks. But, yes, I agree, being presented with food that's not as good as your own is beyond annoying. Bog standard carveries are generally awful.