Portion sizes in pubs and restaurants-why are they so big?

[AlternativelyWired]

Unless of course it's somewhere very fancy.
Inspired by the calories on menus threads I was wondering why portions are so big. One place we go to does a children's pizza, chips and peas. This is just short of 900 calories. It's a Chicago town style pizza with a large handful of chips and a portion of peas. Even the adult menu has very little that's below 800 calories. Starters to share (for two people) are over 1000 calories. Some of the meat 'challenges' are over 4000 calories each! Why?
Surely if portion sizes were smaller or rather, appropriate, this would be better than stating calorie values and would help avoid food waste. Food waste induces a lot of guilt in me, and the calories do too as a former anorexic, and although eating out is a treat that we don't do often, I don't want a huge plateful of food that I won't be able to finish. I think the meat challenges are obscene but that might be my eating disordered and veggie brain speaking.
Why are pizzas so big? And burgers? Over 1000 calories for a burger and that's without the chips.
Could places offer small portions? Although even the seniors menu is a larger than normal portion.
I don't particularly want to know the calories of the dishes on offer but I do want a choice of smaller portions rather than contributing to food waste.
And while I'm at it, what happened to sandwiches on menus? In the 80s and 90s everywhere we went had a sandwich section with egg mayonnaise, prawn mayonnaise, beef, ham, cheddar ploughman's and now sandwiches don't seem to exist except in cafés. A nice sandwich with a salad garnish and maybe a handful of crisps. My mum would be so happy if they came back. And omelettes.
Bring back proper plates, the ones we had in the 80s not the huge ones we have now.

@CheesusWept

I always ask the restaurant to box up the leftovers and then that does me and DD for dinners for the rest of the week.

I strongly suspect that CheesusWept is trying to wind us up.

@Steelesauce

Some of these comments are batshit. Most of us who enjoy the large portions probably won't eat much other then the meal out. My BMI is 21, I need 2300 calories to maintain my weight. So a big 1000+ calorie meal won't hurt me.

And as for these people taking home leftover kids pasta when their toddler has been at it, grim! Slobbered on, half eaten pasta, yuk.

@Steelesauce

You don’t need 2300 cals to maintain your weight. BmI 21 is not underweight. 2000 cals or 1800 would be fine for you

With you on the omelettes i just love them.

@Florenz

"Half a fish fillet? Half a Portobello mushroom? Half a Yorkshire pudding? A half size burger bun? Use some common sense!"

You can cut a fish, or a mushroom in half, or just buy smaller fish or smaller mushrooms. It's not complicated. Yorkshire puddings and burgers are even easier, can already get smaller hamburgers or smaller yorkshire puddings. Just give the customers the choice of a large one or a smaller one. It's quite reasonable.

It's completely unreasonable. And you're suggesting that restaurants should be mandated to do this, offering portions that are exactly half the size of the regular ones, at exactly half the price? You're not living in the real world.

@IheartJKRowling

Eating a large high calorie meal out occasionally will not make you fat.

If you are unable to understand that eating too much every day at home does make you fat, smaller restaurant portions are going to do nothing to make you moderate your calorie intake.

I'm sick of the blame culture regarding obesity, it's not the supermarkets fault, it's not the restaurants fault, it's not the fast food manufacturers fault, it's yours. You don't have to eat everything on your plate whether you are at home or eating out.

This ⬆️

@Florenz

Restaurants should be legally required to offer a half size portion of every dish they offer, at half the price of the full size one.

the thing is, they dont work out half price. a/ half portions are often more than a half b/ the cost of dishing it out etc are still the same. Where I am you can sometimes order a "half" portion for about 70% price. Or at some places you can choose a small or a big portion.

I find prices are usually inversely proportionate to portion size.

I agree if you go out to eat you don’t always want something you can make at home but I loved the 90s/2000s sandwich place offerings. Now just overpriced coffee shops food which is rarely more than average at best or a ‘proper meal’.

My tips for places with massively oversized portions are ask for salad instead of whatever carb side is proffered, don’t eat burger buns/chips or aim to take half home from the start.

@TheLette

Pizza AND chips? I am not surprised there are too many calories with that combo! I have never seen a restaurant offer this combo, it strikes me as too carb heavy and not enjoyable.

I agree with you. In what world do chips go with pizza? I have never seen this offered as a combination, although I suppose you could get a side order of chips to go with your pizza, if the restaurant you're eating at also does chips.

Sometimes it’s not convenient to have leftovers boxed up to take home. You might not be going straight home after. You don’t wanna carry a box of food around on your walk or round the shops or whatever

I know no one on mumsnet goes out beyond 9pm but what if you’re going out with your mates for a meal and then for a night out to some bars after? You’re not gonna want to cart a random box of food around with you are you?!

I agree with you. In what world do chips go with pizza? I have never seen this offered as a combination, although I suppose you could get a side order of chips to go with your pizza, if the restaurant you're eating at also does chips.

I was the same until I moved to the north, served pizza and the person I was with looked at me like I was crazy and asked where the chips were. They all seem to think of it as standard.

I've never seen it as an option on a menu though, it's usually just an extra side.

@LuckySantangelo35

I know no one on mumsnet goes out beyond 9pm but what if you’re going out with your mates for a meal and then for a night out to some bars after? You’re not gonna want to cart a random box of food around with you are you?!

Then you just leave it, surely? You don't HAVE to take it home.

@luckysantangelo35 actually by BMR is 2300. I am very active and muscular and need a lot of calories to maintain my weight. Quite rude of you to assume something about my body actually.

@aSofaNearYou

Yep I leave it. So it’s a waste of food.

Bottom line is - No one needs to eat these massive portions. It’s just gluttony.

You’re not gonna want to cart a random box of food around with you are you?!

If you specifically asked for it, there would be nothing random about it.

@ZebraScarf

When I eat at a pub I just sit in the beer garden and nibble at the grass. If I'm feeling really greedy I'll eat half a dandelion and take the other half home with me to eat later.

Comment of the thread.

@Zazdar

You’re not gonna want to cart a random box of food around with you are you?!

If you specifically asked for it, there would be nothing random about it.

@Zazdar No one is going take a box of food round the pubs/bars. Who can be arsed with that?

[quote LuckySantangelo35]@aSofaNearYou

Yep I leave it. So it’s a waste of food.

Bottom line is - No one needs to eat these massive portions. It’s just gluttony.[/quote]
Yes but people WANT to eat them. That's the bottom line. Nobody ever needs to eat anything unhealthy, they want to. You not wanting to waste a bit is not more important than everyone else feeling unsatisfied with the size of portion that would be ideal to you.

No one is going take a box of food round the pubs/bars. Who can be arsed with that?

Or they would have a bag of crisp, go to a few pubs then eat..

It’s not really that big of a hardship. I hate wasting food so I don’t eat much at bars/pubs unless I’m there to specifically eat a meal.

@Florenz

It's like chocolate, they banned the "King Size" bars so that if people want to eat a lot of chocolate, they have to buy two bars. Which people are less likely to do as they don't want to seem greedy.

nobody banned them. Some manufacturers agreed to stop making them as part of the anti obesity campaign. Cadburys (and others) still sell huge bars of chocolate. This is on Amazon www.amazon.co.uk/Personalised-Toblerone-bar-Christmas-Honey-Almond/dp/B07MMNG46Y/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?crid=38NXH5RJ3DR0T&keywords=toblerone&sprefix=toblerone%2Caps%2C72&th=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUExMUNNTTFUV1ZRR1Q1JmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwNzMxMTUwMzk1M1lXQlVZMjE2MyZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwOTE0MjE3NktEVVE3TFU5TFAwJndpZGdldE5hbWU9c3BfYXRmJmFjdGlvbj1jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ&tag=mumsnetforu03-21&qid=1650128567&sr=8-2-spons

Cadburys offer these www.cadburygiftsdirect.co.uk/our-product-range/shop-by-type/milk-chocolate.html?size=XX+Large

[quote LuckySantangelo35]@aSofaNearYou

Yep I leave it. So it’s a waste of food.

Bottom line is - No one needs to eat these massive portions. It’s just gluttony.[/quote]
St Lucky of Santangelo

I don't mind a huge portion
Usually go out as a treat so it's not major calories every day and if I go out early enough, I don't really eat anything else that day. Or very little at least so it's not an issue.

@AlternativelyWired

If portions were smaller then there'd be room for a first course and a pudding. Now that would be a treat to me, not just a main course. No one is suggesting tiny portions should be served, just that they should be smaller in a lot of places, not all. If people have bigger appetites then order a first course and a pudding too. I'm all fit sharing and asking for a second plate or bowl but with my family it's not often we can do that.

If portions were smaller then there'd be room for a first course and a pudding.

You're assuming everyone can afford to buy 3 courses.

No one is suggesting tiny portions should be served, just that they should be smaller in a lot of places, not all.

They're smaller in many places, you just need to search them out and probably avoid anywhere offering a 'meat challenge'.

If people have bigger appetites then order a first course and a pudding too.

Again, you're assuming they have the money to do this.

I,love my food but I don't have a big appetite and if I'm given a big plate of food I feel overwhelmed and kills what appetite I have. Sometimes I can take it home but that isn't always practical. I hate the interrogation I get at the end from the waiters when I have to reassure them that it was all delicious but just too much of it.

At one restaurant I went to a lot they knew me well and I could ask for a smaller portion - I still paid the menu price but there wasn't the embarrassment of explaining at the end and there wasn't any food waste. They also used to give me a complimentary glass of wine once in a while so everyone was happy!

Last weekend I went out with a friends family where three of the men are Royal Marines, I didn't have a problem leaving a half full plate there either as the three lads were happy to finish it for me. Sadly I live in a different country to them so this can only be an occasional solution.

@Florenz

It's like chocolate, they banned the "King Size" bars so that if people want to eat a lot of chocolate, they have to buy two bars. Which people are less likely to do as they don't want to seem greedy.

They're not banned at all.

You can still buy "large" Kit-Kat, Yorkie, Bounty, Mars, Snickers, Wispa, etc - i.e. 2 bars in one wrapper (in fact 3 in a wrapper for Bounty).

You can still also buy huge bars of Galaxy, Cadbury Dairy Milk, etc.

You can also buy the multipacks that barely cost more than a single, i.e. a 4 pack of Mars bars of Kitkats for £1 when the single pack costs 75p or so.