To not expect to be served a ready-meal when I eat out?

[WeBuiltThisBuffetOnSausageRoll]

We bought some gift vouchers for family members for a big chain 'restaurant' place named after two Italian gentlemen that they love and go to frequently. All fine.

But it got me thinking as we personally can't stand that place. When we went there with them once, the food was terrible - chewy, tasteless and thoroughly unappetising, the same as it was when we went some time ago - I suppose we were hoping it might have changed in the meantime, but it was actually worse. It wasn't cheap either.

We've experienced this at a number of other places too. Looking online, it appears that it's become the norm at a lot of restaurants to have dishes prepared centrally (often from a generic third-party wholesaler) that they then keep in the freezer and just heat up - often in a microwave - when they're ordered.

We don't have ready meals at home unless it's a real emergency - in such cases, we'd rather have something simple and basic like beans on toast or a sandwich than a microwave meal, which we invariably regret immediately afterwards anyway.

We're not snobbish in any way - we've had many a satisfying meal at greasy spoon/transport cafes and pubs where they've had a chef who actually cooks rather than just microwaving. We don't like and couldn't afford and would probably be turned away at first glance from 'gourmet' restaurants owned by a celebrity chef and with a waiting list, but we're happy to pay a fair price for a good meal.

The worst ones are carveries, where 80% of customers are eating pretty much the same thing all day, with a steady stream of demand, and yet some still use frozen roast potatoes and Yorkshire puddings.

It seems like a lot of people don't mind it, and some obviously enjoy it, which is great if you do - maybe the atmosphere and theme/surroundings is what matters most to some folk - but I really wish there was some clear way of knowing in advance whether a cafe/pub/restaurant serves food prepared and cooked on the premises or just shoves an unpleasant ready-meal in the microwave for you. Maybe something like CAMRA accreditation but for food rather than just beer?

I'm in the minority then, I love F&B's! Nice atmosphere, good lighting, music just at the right level and they do cocktails. It hardly compares to Macdonalds (which I can't stand)! Mind you I don't really eat out for the food, I know that sounds weird but I'm late 30's and i'm on slimming world and don't much like pubs and bars anymore!

You don't have to read the beer mats though do you!?

I have seen a Brakes Lorry delivering to my local two Italian Guys restaurant ...

I guess in F and B you had the long wait for food too. No tip was left when a party of 7 of us ate there.I certainly wasnt going to and neither did anyone else.The place was near enough empty and when we went to ask for the dessert menu the guy stood cleaning menus a few meters away told us he couldn't give us a menu the guy serving has to. Another wait and he was only serving a couple.
I don't personally believe in tipping unless you know it's shared out equally between staff front and back.
If you're paying that much you should not be getting microwaved meals but in Wetherspoons it's that cheap you can't really complain. Unfortunately it's an industry standard now for chain restaurants. I like Nando's but after that long pointless wait in F and B I'm not keen on them anymore. Not so keen on Wetherspoons either these days.

I’ve never had a problem with the speed of service. In fact it’s somewhere my son chooses because it is quick. Maybe it’s different in different areas.

No but considering there were six on my table and that there wasn't much text and what there was was in large letters. It was very difficult to avoid them. That and the fact that they'd been scattered across every single table in the place so there was no avoiding them. I don't care which side or which debate is involved. I don't expect restaurants in any form to give me unasked a side of politics with my meal.
.

I've not read the full thread but I get the gist. I hate F&B/TGI Friday's etc with a passion because they have ideas above themselves; they present themselves as a restaurant and charge restaurant prices for ready meals. I'd far rather go to Wetherspoons because it's cheap and you can get a decent ale.

Does anyone know about places like Busaba and Byron? I think their food has really gone down hill in recent years so wouldn't be surprised.

Anyone know about Cote Brasserie?

No, Raspberry you’re not forced at gun point to read them. They are eye catching, deliberately so by design.

It’s a bit much, to be so political, in a chain where the target market are Sun readers.

IPromise, in Cardiff is v popular with the office worker lunch crowd. Take from that what you will re odds on cooking fresh.

YANBU, I would rather eat in McD’s, at least they cook my customised burger from scratch . Last time I went to F&B it was awful, both burnt and cold.... the service was good though.

In a Pizza Hut we went to recently, they ran out of garlic bread. Clearly it’s bought in otherwise they could pop out and buy more.

We are 30-50 miles from the nearest Beefeater, Hungry Horse etc but surrounded by lovely pubs who cook decent food from scratch.

When I worked in a pub they would batch cook S&K Pie, Shepherds Pie, Chilli etc and freeze them , then they were reheated when ordered. It was all home made and fresh. Nothing stayed in the freezer for too long as they would put it on special.

I rarely eat out as I am a carer...but when I am on my respite holidays I always enjoy having a superb meal in the best restaurant near me..and I will pay around £50 for a lunch and more for dinner...I have never been disappointed, but I do my research before I book..most Michelin star places are excellent . I once had a meal in a Bella Italia which was dreadful so if I am away for any reason and am not on my holiday budget I will make a snack and take water...can't stand motorway food. My kids used to like McDonald's in the 90's for a rare treat as I always cooked from scratch so fast food was a novelty. Agree that the middle ground eateries in the UK are pedalling rubbish.

"We're not snobbish in any way"

Ha ha ha ha
Why is beans on toast healthier than a ready meal? You can have healthy ready meals.

When did I say that beans on toast was healthier than a ready meal? I was just making the point that I’d rather have something basic that I could easily do myself in next to no time rather than have something with pretensions to a big fancy meal that it could never hope to live up to taste-wise.

@scaredandindebt

The more recent time, I had steak and previously I’d had the burger, IIRC. Big mistake, I know - steak (along with pie) is one of the menu choices most likely to be terrible in an establishment that doesn't prepare its own food.

Don’t like it then don’t go there. I’m sure other people would dislike your choice in restaurants.

As I said clearly, I am not trying to close these places down or stop people who want to go to them from doing so at all. We happily bought our family a voucher for F&B's because the present is for them and not us and we knew that THEY would like it.

What I object to is places that make out that they provide amazing lovingly-prepared meals when they know full well that they serve terrible quality microwave meals – yet their prices are the same as or more than restaurants with a proper chef.

Places like McDonalds and Wetherspoons use similar methods, but they never pretend to be otherwise and are accordingly cheap, so I have no problem with them.

If I wanted a cheap flat-packed chipboard-veneer cabinet and paid £30 at Argos for one, that would be absolutely fine. However, if somebody strongly led me to believe that they were a master carpenter and could make me a bespoke, solid walnut, tongue-and-groove cabinet for £600 – and then took my money, nipped down to Argos, screwed one of their standard range cupboards together and proudly brought it to me as their own loving creation – THAT’S the kind of thing that massively annoys me.

OP I'm not saying this because I work for them but the burgers and the steaks should 100% NOT be microwaved! My branch cooks them from fresh on the grill so I would be making a complaint if I were you because that is not right 😞

You're going to the wrong places! I don't know where you live but in Bristol there are hundreds of independent, fairly priced restaurants where you get a superb meal.

There are also crappy chains and places that cater to the people without very high food standards but they are easily avoided..?

Price is no indicator of quality.

I always complain if the food is meh
Should have asked for your money back if you weren’t satisfied
I’m not a fan of F and Bs either. It’s very overpriced

@Iloveautumnleaves I'm more than happy to say we are in south Herts/north London border, if you're anywhere near there, let me know.

"When did I say that beans on toast was healthier than a ready meal? I was just making the point that I’d rather have something basic that I could easily do myself in next to no time rather than have something with pretensions to a big fancy meal that it could never hope to live up to taste-wise."

No, you said you didn't want any ready meals at all.
Plenty of ready meals are delicious by the way.

"I don't know where you live but in Bristol there are hundreds of independent, fairly priced restaurants where you get a superb meal."

I've ended up in Weatherspoons in Bristol because that was all I could afford in the area.

The best places to eat out are independent restaurants that have a small menu. Everything should fit in 1-2pages, anymore than that then it's ready prepared meals that just need heating up.

I would rather eat in McDonald's or KFC than waste my money in places like pizza express, it does not cost £10-15 to make a pizza or pasta!!

And ready made meals are not healthier than beans on toast. Even the "healthy" meals have hidden calories. All made in factories with chemicals and what not to last longer in supermarkets shelves.

@scaredandindebt

I take your point there, they likely weren't microwaved or otherwise heated up - which actually makes it even more baffling to me. I can only assume it must be down to extreme poor quality as to why the basic hunks of meat taste so bad and are so fatty and chewy.

As I said, I'm not criticising McDonalds here, as it's very clear what they offer - with prices to match; but I genuinely wonder what they, like the abovementioned chain restaurants, do or where they source them from to make them so bad quality.

McDs are constantly advertising that their burgers are pure British and Irish beef with a little salt and pepper to season - and I'm sure they're telling the truth about that - so just how to do they make them taste so mediocre when compared with those from decent mid-priced restaurants? Maybe it's the way they process them first or the high-speed cooking process?

"And ready made meals are not healthier than beans on toast. "

They can be. Completely depends on the meal.

"All made in factories with chemicals and what not to last longer in supermarkets shelves."

Exactly like supermarket bread then.

thunderpunt. Regrettably I’m a good bit south of you, but I’ll try to remember to PM you when I’m heading north.