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.

@SillySallySassySausage

OP I've never taken my children anywhere that offers pizzas and chips to children. I'd go somewhere different

😂😂
At the risk of getting myself banned, fuck the fuck off and when you get there, fuck off all over again!

If you don't like the food served at a restaurant, go to a different one.

Well that's what I do. I didn't think it was an outrageous and bizarre suggestion

I sort of understand what your saying, but I think people go to these places precisely because they want the calorie dense carb-fest. If you don’t like it then go to a real restaurant.

I’m slim and I make sure I keep within the appropriate calorie range. However, sometimes I want to eat lots of fatty food. I don’t do it everyday. I don’t care if my 3 year old eats too many calories when we go out for pizza because he doesn’t eat like that everyday. It’s all about balance. They probably should offer more choice but if that’s not what the majority of customers are after then why would they.

I have a small appetite. I find a huge portion placed in front of me daunting and does detract a bit from the enjoyment.

Why do so many people on Mumsnet find this unacceptable?

It isn't the portion sizes. Its the fact that much of what they serve is high fat, high carbs. A standard cooked breakfast (not a large one) is upward of 900 calories easily. A Sausage and Egg McMuffin breakfast at McDonalds is bordering on 700 calories without a drink.

In terms of the actual wastage, I only find its people that are chicken legged, lettuce eaters that can't finish a standard meal at a restaurant. They have to cater for every type of person because you don't generally order based on how much you eat. If a big bloke orders the same as a tiny person and they cut the portion sizes, he would be pissed and hungry. Better to over-do it and leave people happy they came than to under-do it and they not come back.

Autism and "just eat somewhere else" aren't really compatible. We can't share as we all have different likes with our food and there's is only a handful of places we feel comfortable. This is only an issue when we go out which isn't all that often I suppose.
I'd forgotten that mumsnet takes the piss out of threads like this Maybe I should have posted on the neurodiverse board instead.

@amicissimma

I don't think people find it unacceptable. They just think its a whiny, whingy thing to complain about. Daunted by food? Thank goodness you aren't making a 3000 mile trip on foot!

It's not up to the restaurant to police my appetite or portion control.
You could ask for a starter size portion or have the full portion and take the rest home to feed you and you family for the next week if it's too big for you.

Oh, I love a pub sandwich and a bowl of chips – a classic combo. Yes, I could slap together a sandwich with crisps and a salad garnish and squirt of grim salad dressing myself at home, but it never tastes the same as a massive pub one, and I can’t magic up the pub bowl of chips. However, most pubs I go to have a lunchtime sandwich menu, they've not gone anywhere.

@CounsellorTroi

I wish places would offer a burger without the bun. A bunned burger and chips is too much of a carb fest.

I often do this, just ask. Even McDonald's did me a bun less Big Mac with extra lettuce #bigmacsalad

Wagamama’s and itsu are better options for cheaper food but healthier - have teen girls so they very into this

Tbh I am not surprised that restaurants which have “meat challenges” on their menus have large portions. I don’t think this restaurant is especially representative of most places you might go to eat.

I regret opening this thread. All it’s made me done is want a really fucking massive portion of jack Daniels chicken and fries at TGIF.

My son is autistic @AlternativelyWired. We never stay in hotels because he has massive issues with eating out. So we only ever go self catering.

But that has nothing to do with a lot of popular places only serving high calorie foods.

There are plenty of places which serve sandwiches with crisps on the side round here but they don't serve anything he'll eat so we don't go to them.

We just don't eat out.

Bill’s does a burger without a bun, swapping the chips for salad and tzatziki. All it makes me want is to add salad and tzatziki to my burger and chips. A bunless burger isn’t a burger, anyway, it’s a meat patty. The bun is inherent to the burgerity.

Everyone has different appetites, I'm overweight but can rarely finish say burger and chips in a restaurant, one of my friends is slim and can finish it and have pudding. I just ask to swap my chips for salad. There's often a lighter option on menus. If we have pizza DP often finishes mine if not fair enough. Just eat what you want. I get food waste is a problem but I wouldn't think the biggest culprit is waste from plates in restaurants. There would be more complaints if restaurants gave meagre portions.

@AlternativelyWired

Autism and "just eat somewhere else" aren't really compatible. We can't share as we all have different likes with our food and there's is only a handful of places we feel comfortable. This is only an issue when we go out which isn't all that often I suppose. I'd forgotten that mumsnet takes the piss out of threads like this Maybe I should have posted on the neurodiverse board instead.

But this post was literally nothing to do with autism so not Sure why you are repeatedly mentioning it now? My daughter has asd but she has a big appetite!

@AlternativelyWired no one is taking the piss out of the thread, it's the competitive undereaters that these threads invariably bring out.

If you've found places that are safe then I don't understand the issue. Eat what you want/can, and leave the rest. If it's the calories, then I've seen that some places have the option of a menu with no calories printed.

The portion sizes are what they are though. The restaurants have to cater to the general population, too little and people moan, too much and people moan. They can't win.

I bloody love eating out, and one of the best bits is when the portions are too big for me to eat in one go (gotta leave space for the desert!) as it means left overs! I bloody love left overs, and always take mine home. It's like 2 treats for the price of one! 😊😎

Totally understand why some portions will tend towards the large size as they have to cater for those who are larger. I mean, as a fairly petite woman I'd need a lot less than a very muscly big bloke.

It's perfectly common and absolutely fine to ask for your leftovers to go in a takeaway box. All places will do that .

So many people mention how in the USA portion sizes are huge but that is the norm there to take home what you don't eat.

Asking for a burger without the bun is easy and doesn't cause the kitchen any problems.

My DH would be able to eat a starter, large main with sides and still feel hungry. However, now he has lost weight and is more mindful of portion sizes he thinks a main in its own is often too big.

The problem is that a pub has to cater for both attitudes and it's much easier for someone to leave food on a plate if it is more than they want.

Portion sizes are massive but you don’t have to eat it all. It shouldn’t matter too much as long as you’re not eating out all the time. We ate out last night and had burger/chips. Today we’ll go back to eating healthily again which we do the majority of the time. There needs to be a balance.

They do it to be seen as giving value for money and get good reviews (from greedy people). You don’t have to eat the whole thing OP, just stop when you’re full.

Not a competitive under eater by any means but me and DD15 will share a pizza and a side at pizza express, you don’t have to eat the whole 1500 calorie pizza by yourself.

@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.

@Florenz

Are you trying to finish the hospitality industry off completely? You are paying for staffing and building rent, not the chips.

Yes portion sizes are too big, especially as so many people eat out often, but it’s what we’ve come to expect.

I know putting calorie counts on the menu is controversial, but it will help with this.

No single restaurant is ever going to be able to tailor it’s menu to every single food preference, including portion size. It’s a business at the end of the day and they make decisions based off what works in making the most profit.

It's perfectly common and absolutely fine to ask for your leftovers to go in a takeaway box. All places will do that

Absolutely @Dartmoorcheffy. I always take my leftovers home (and my mates' too if they don't want theirs!) and I've never had the slightest hint that it was an odd thing to do. Every restaurant has had boxes for just this thing too, so they've obviously been OK with it and prepared to be asked.