To think that restaurant food in Britain is fairly poor quality?

[partinor]

I live in a city that is supposed to have some of the best restaurants in Britain. I also am a good cook. Unless I spend £50 plus per meal, I usually end up eating a meal that is fine, but I could have easily made a meal as good or better myself fairly quickly.

Too many restaurants seem to basically buy in a combination of frozen ready made meals, and prop this up with fairly easy to make fresh food such as a fish cooked in a very easy to make sauce.

If I go out to eat I want something that is better than I can make fairly easily at home. I am beginning to think Britain must be a nation of poor cooks as I have been to so many places people rave about and I just think meh, that is fine, but no better than I made in 20 minutes after work last night.

I will carry on eating out with friends, just for the socialising.
Aibu.

I don't know where you live but I'm near Richmond, lots of good restaurants here

You're going to the wrong places if you're being served frozen ready meals.

I think if you are an excellent home cook then it is always more difficult to go out for dinner because you have your own way of doing most dishes.

But U.K. food culture is the best it has ever been. Restaurants in the village (and there are a few) are excellent. Even as a good home cooks.

Maybe you're just going to bad restaurants?

If your going to places like Toby carvery, Pizza Hut and harvester type places then no it isn’t great

However many great restaurants are available but with food you do get what you pay for!

Mornings Most restaurants rely on frozen ready meals. If you go anywhere that has more than about 5 choices in the menu, some will be frozen.

I would not go anywhere near places like Pizza Hut etc. Maybe I just have higher standards for food than others?

You need to choose better places then. Look up sticky walnut in Cheshire. Actually any of Gary Ushers restaurants. Decent little bistros. 3 courses around £25 bloody bargain.
You need independent places. Are you on Twitter? Follow some chefs and see who they’re talking about. Parker’s Arms. Drapers Arms. There’s loads depending where you are. Waitrose good food guide is good.

Where in the country are you?

I agree with the OP... Pretty much any restaurant that isn't "fine dining" seems to serve up poor to average food, all of which I could cook better myself at home. I have been cooking for 27 years though and I do my research and source good ingredients.

I can't cook and have no interest in learning so pretty much any restaurant is ok by me.

I agree OP. I'd really rather go and have basic pub grub than eat at the majority of restaurants. At least it doesn't pretend to be anything other than what it is.

One of the most disappointing meals I've had in a restaurant was in a Michelin starred one. If I hadn't known what I was supposed to be eating I really wouldn't have had a clue. Bland and under seasoned, it was dreadful.

Absolutely disagree with that.
Not ALL restaurants do this. Chains usually do, but most independents do work with fresh ingredients and you can find some amazing dishes.

I had a meal for my birthday recently at £54 a head for 3 meals at a place mentioned in the Michelin guide and that has a long history of providing good food. That was a good meal.

I also sometimes eat at a Thai place that is fairly cheap and does food from fresh in an open plan kitchen. Food is nice and seems a fair price.

Everywhere else I have been the food has been fine. But nothing special.

The reason is, to employ quality chefs and buy in quality ingredients pushes the sale price of food higher than the average diner is prepared to pay. The majority of diners would prefer poor quality food and pay less for it.

If you go to a more premium gastro pub, high end bistro or restaurant the food will be better but pricier.

There are some cracking restaurants serving amazing food in the UK but they are seen as expensive to those who don’t understand what it takes to put that quality of food into a restaurant table.

I agree too OP. People rave about certain restaurants and I go and think... yeah it was ok. We never eat in chains/harvesters or anything, these are ‘good’ restaurants.
I don’t think it helps that DH is a really, really good cook!

I live in London and am spoilt for choice but often when we leave London, I feel it is quite mediocre and expensive. Competition improves standards, high footfall means food is always fresh and if a place isn't up to scratch it closes. Also cultural diversity means there is a wide variety of different types of food. It must be super tough in small villages.

Maybe I just have higher standards for food than others? No more likely you just go to the wrong restaurants.

Even in the village I live in we have a couple of lovely little independent restaurants, limited menu to just a few dishes and these change seasonally and it’s all cooked fresh. In the nearest city you can get the fine dining experience which is well worth paying for

We do live in the sticks though. We’ve lived in a few major European cities and the choice and quality was much better than here.

I think it depends on your prefereces and cooking tbh although I am loathe to agree with op

I used to be really happy going out for meals but over the years have got much better at cooking and maybe fussier having had a few incredible meals out and now I find most places a bit meh

It's not about ingredients or poshness it's about good cooking.

So one pub near us obviously has a really good chef teh ingredients are always fresh and freshly prepared and it's just nice. I get really annoyed when thing are not cooked well like I've been to carluccios near us 4 times and each time the cooking has been just shit, horrible sauces etc. It always surprises me!

OTOH I do like things that are what they say on the tin so happy to eat GBK or Leon or pizza express, they do what they do and that's what they do and in my opinion they do it pretty well.

So it's not about price it's about just,caring about the food and doing a decent job of cooking it.

Not everyone is capable of being a good cook just like not everyone is good at music or sports or painting or whatever no matter how hard they try.

I'm always praised for my cooking so I sort of get what you mean, but for me I eat out mainly for the experience i.e.to socialise, take the night off, not have to wash up etc. If I want top notch food as well then I know I have to be prepared to pay more for it.

@JuniperBeer I love Sticky Walnut, Burnt Truffle in Heswall is amazing too!

I agree OP many restaurants and pubs sell Brakes processed food.
If you are a decent cook of course you are going to struggle to find somewhere that out shines your cooking at a reasonable price. Our local restaurants are mostly chains and they're food is dull and predicatble and we pretty much just go for the social aspect when meeting friends.

I find the ethnic restaurants are better for cooking something better than you can make at home.

notajourno Yes which is why I have found you do have to pay a lot to have a lovely meal. Maybe eating out needs to go back to being an occasional special treat?

I do a picnic if we are going out for the day too, unless the weather is crap, as I can easily make a much nicer picnic than the food we could buy eating out. It is easy for example to cook a ham and make proper ham sandwiches, home made biscuits/cakes and some fruit. Much better than what most places offer.

The best restaurant we had near us, nicer than the one that is in the Michelin guide, was a vegetarian cafe type place where everything was home made. Amazing food, a tiny place. But sadly the chef/owner died.

Caruccios is dreadful. I've yet to find a restaurant in England that does a passable mushroom risotto.

Maybe I just have higher standards for food than others?
haha. No love, you're eating in not very good places.
I don't bother with mediocre, bought in food restaurants because I can cook better myself, but believe me, there are plenty of michelin starred and other independent places serving amazing food.
Whereabouts are you and which restaurants have you been going to?