To wonder why so many of UK mid range restaurants are poor value chains

[Dr1ftw00d]

Spent a few weeks in the US over the summer and noticed how easy it is to get individual, decently cooked, good quality food and portions often in long time restaurants.

Near where I live mid range equals a chain. Microwaved stuff with no individuality and often poorly cooked.

Why is this?

Actually re mid range it’s more anything bar fine dining. Cheap eating out is non existent round here.

If I don’t want to get glutened..I’m better at sticking to a chain...a one on the meerkat deal is even better
Usually Zizzi or Bella Italian

Sounds like you're just unlucky in where you live. I live in east London and we have an outstanding selection of independent restaurants and cafes. With excellent service too. We're spoiled for choice.

Some people like chains though. I don't get it myself. You see so many threads on MN and TripAdvisor with people coming to London and asking where to eat, or saying they've been and this is where they ate and it's almost always some bloody awful chain restaurant. Maybe if you like in the middle of nowhere, eating at a well known chain restaurant is exciting for you but it seems such a waste when there's such an amazing selection of independents in London.

@Dr1ftw00d I think you must just be unlucky with location. I can get a pretty decent lunch in the city centre for £6.00 or less, including a pint, if I'm doing cheap and cheerful!

I dont believe what you are saying is true of London! For your average town I agree though. Nandos always has a queue out of the door but decent restaurants are closing down all over the place. It's definitely the ridiculous rents and rates being charged.

Depends what you want. My old area in London was great for mid priced independents. (West End is shit so if out, I’d just come home and eat).

Where I live now is pretty dire on that front and I think the chains are better 🤔 but I live in a place where eating out is a big thing, people dress up and want to be seen and customer service is their thing - not the food.

Loved eating out in the US - but a shame that there was a tendency to put cheese on almost everything - why is that?

It really depends where you live in the USA, there are a lot of suburban areas with very little but chain restaurants. Portion sizes are crazy, it is hard to keep weight off. Fresh vegetables can be hard to find and there are huge amounts of salt on everything.

I am sure there are also great food areas but it isn't all like that.

I agree OP. Where I live 10 years ago there were a range of independents. They are now all chains. We rarely eat out these days.

You can't lump countries together in such a simple generalisation! I live in South London and can eat almost anything I fancy within reason within a small distance, there's a huge diversity of restaurants and cafes, some with really excellent quality inexpensive food. Dread what effect bastard Brexit will have on supply chains for some though.

I don’t recognise your problem really. Where I live (small city in Yorkshire) there’s an abundance of excellent independent restaurants of all kinds (Italian, Indian, Japanese, Brazilian, Tapas etc) that I would class as mid-range in price (ie a two course meal for two with drinks would be around £50-60.

Also, my experience of the US is different to yours, but that’s probably because I’ve only been to rural Kentucky. There, the only independents were a milkshake and burger place, and a diner. Everything else was chains and fast food. I’m sure the big cities are completely different.

Small town in central Scotland and I can think of more independents than chains here. McDonalds actually moved out.

Have NC for this (who'd have thought it on a thread about restaurants) but didn't want it to be outing in combination with previous posts.

I live in Liverpool. Going by a PP's description of mid-range as two course meal for two with drinks for £50-60, there are tons of really decent indies. We're in the really fortunate position that generally, the population support them as well, and one of our indie exports has actually gone on to become a very well-thought-of franchise, albeit maybe not a household name (Mowgli if anyone's heard of it? couple of branches round the UK now.) Of course, lots come and go (most restaurants fail within the first six months of opening I think?) but - and I apologise if this sounds cold - I can genuinely not think of a single one which I was gutted to lose. So I honestly do think it depends where you're looking in the UK OP.

On the other hand, I regularly commute to a smaller historic city in the SE and the choice of mid-range indies is absolutely crap, so I see what you mean. There is the usual Byron/Cote/Bills and what have you but the number of good independent restaurants is seriously thin on the ground; I sometimes take clients out there and its actually a little bit embarrassing when they've come from London or what have you. I can think of one solid mid-range independent restaurant in the whole city. As a PP said, I think it might have something to do with property prices; I imagine rent etc. is way more expensive there than in Liverpool.

Whoops NC fail - ah well

It depends on where you are in the US. Near the urban core of most cities, you will find tons of unique restaurants. The suburbs are dominated by chain restaurants. There are rare gems, but lots and lots of chains.

If I could live on TGI Fridays, 7Bone and Nandos then I would. Happiest with my first choice, second is new to me and I'll probably get bored, third... It's the frigging sauce, I'm addicted to the sauce.

It's take away I've got a genuine issue with. Despite my favourite ever in the world Chinese take away being here, we had take away night once a week. This overdid it for me despite the choice of pizza or Chinese or Indian.

My first thought re Us vs UK was the wages, too. That's only going by everything I read online and I know that's not the best way to decide things but when all walks of life say the same, it's easier to believe.

I've never been to the states. I've never seen it for myself.

Wow on the island of Ireland, the food situation is completely different. I love all the unique one-off restaurants in the south but even in Northern Ireland we have some pretty good offerings. I think it's because fewer big chains could be arsed with buying out small businesses over here so indie restaurants are still everywhere with unique menus.

It's a matter of taste whether or not you like food in America, but I agree with you OP that far to many British chain restaurants serve pre-prepared food that is basically warmed and served. My experience in the States (lived there for awhile and have a lot of family there) is that it's easier to get freshly made grab-and-go food at chains like Panera or Au Bon Pain. Pricewise they are similar to Pret.

Their supermarkets also have huge salad bars and hot take-away departments with a lot of variety compared to UK supermarkets.

But looking for somewhere to take teens in London too.

Try Bodeans, or Big Easy. They each have a few locations in London. They’d probably also like The Diner - I don’t think the food is anything amazing but the milkshakes are awesome :)

As a Brit in the US I find the food here to be cheap and high quality, much better than the UK, it’s so fresh and the range of vegetables is amazing

"But why isn’t this the case in the USA?"

They don't pay their staff a wage for a start, hence tipping culture.

It's so easy to find good cheap places to eat in London.

They don't pay their staff a wage for a start, hence tipping culture.

It's nothing to do with tipping. It's easier to get fresh affordable food in Spain and France compared to the UK also.

My first huge aibu!
You liked the food in the US? Their antibiotic-filled, fatty, mostly fried food served by underpaid staff? After traveling there for years from East to West Coast and plenty in between, many times I couldn’t wait to come to Europe to have decent food in normal quantities.
NYC (or other mega urban areas) is not your typical US place.
There are plenty of places in London, and many independent restaurants. If you hate tripadvisor just open your google maps in your area, type “restaurants -pizza hut -whatever chain you don’t like” and you’d find plenty of choices. You can even filter them by star rating etc. London is massive, YABU if you can’t find something.

I don't get this at all, either in the South West or London especially. Loads of well priced independent restaurants and gastronomic pubs all over London, I hardly ever eat at chains when I go out

Try Toby carvery OP