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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Eating in a restaurant/ pub is not worth the money

201 replies

HoppingKangaroo · 04/10/2022 10:08

Not eaten in a restaurant or pub this year. Went for a pub meal the other day. The cheapest meal was 14 pounds. The food was just okay and not really worth the cost. I can make something just as nice at home. AIBU to think with how expensive pubs and restaurants are now it is not worth the cost? Especially if you can make something almost or just as nice at home.

OP posts:
SallyWD · 04/10/2022 10:57

I do all the cooking and my children are fussy eaters so sometimes I'm cooking 3 different meals! For me going out is about having a break from cooking, having a treat. If I go to the Indian restaurant, yes I could make all the dishes and side dishes we have there (I'm a good cook!) but it would take hours to buy all the ingredients then cook each dish.

tellmewhentheLangshiplandscoz · 04/10/2022 10:57

Quitelikeit · 04/10/2022 10:11

This depends on where you go and what you fancy!!!

I can’t cook food the way the chef does at my local so I enjoy going there

but certainly there are some places such as Wetherspoons where the food isn’t the greatest but then that is reflected in their pricing!

This.

Also I rarely eat out now unless it's an offer of some sort or early bird kind of thing.

DarkMatternix · 04/10/2022 10:57

Our local pub used to do excellent food, a fairly limited menu but that's because they were actually cooking the food. I'm coeliac and it was never an issue as they knew exactly what was in every dish.

Now they've been taken over by a chain, the menu is greatly expanded but I'm almost certain it's premade, bought in and heated up. It's a real loss. We tried it once after the change in ownership and have never been back.

LizTrussthirdeye · 04/10/2022 10:58

Does depend on the restaurant but we have certainly noticed the quality has dropped recently - my DH is a fantastic cook so we’ve just been eating at home recently instead

tellmewhentheLangshiplandscoz · 04/10/2022 11:00

ReeseWitherfork · 04/10/2022 10:13

Theres a nice non-chain pub near me that does food quite reasonably. More like a tenner a meal. And they do an £8 roast. No idea how the food is cooked but it’s definitely enjoyable. I could probably cook the same for a lot cheaper but it’s worth it for me not to have to cook and clean up. Especially in the summer when we can walk the dog down, sit in the garden, and our son plays in their little park thing. Ticks a lot of boxes!

This too! Agree it's lovely to think of eating out as an activity in itself. Not just the food

poorbuthappy · 04/10/2022 11:01

We used to go out for Sunday lunch a lot. 1 day it cost us over £100 for 5 without alcohol. And we all agreed that we could have done better at home. So we stopped. 🤣. But we still love going out for breakfast. It seems to be a lot better value for us as a family. The only caveat is IKEA. 2 courses plus drinks £35. Meatballs....😁

Ticktackticktock · 04/10/2022 11:03

PloddyPop · 04/10/2022 10:46

I agree @BarbaraofSeville , so many people leaned to cook properly in lockdown and are weighing up whether it's worth going out or not
I think twice about it when I see the prices
Sad really

I agree this is a big part of it. People were learning to cook their favourites from home - from nandos to some really fancy dishes. Social media/YouTube etc where full of posts like ‘never going back to Nando’s’ ‘my girlfriend was missing XYZ from [Michelin star restaurant] so I learnt to make it as a surprise’. And even smaller stuff than that like how to make Big Mac sauce and getting a coffee setup at home. When hospitality opened up again, lots of people didn’t start going again, or at least as much. Some of the people I know haven’t been out to eat since before the first lockdown.

dreamingbohemian · 04/10/2022 11:04

The pubs round us are no longer good value sadly. 15 quid for a burger, almost 7 quid for a pint! We've been going to restaurants more lately as the prices are similar but much better quality.

Babdoc · 04/10/2022 11:06

You are definitely eating at the wrong restaurants, OP!
One of my pleasures in visiting my DDs in Edinburgh is the huge range of excellent restaurants with cuisines from all over the world. I cook a lot of Indian and Indonesian food, and even make my own sushi (though not to Japanese chef standard, obv) but I am always inpressed by the fabulous food and great menu choices available in the city. The prices are well worth it for the quality of food alone, but the lovely buzz and atmosphere add to the occasion.

ILoveJoeBrowns · 04/10/2022 11:06

Hi OP
I agree, I think some places are just WAY over priced for what you get food wise. Whenever I eat out, I try to order something I can't make for myself at home (that will usually taste better).
However, at the same time, I also think that I'm not just paying for the food - I'm paying for someone else to source the ingredients (excluding those where they are just frozen foods reheated), prepare the meal, serve it to me, take my dirty dishes away from me and wash them for me as well. I'm also paying for the experience/atmosphere in the restaurant as well.

EmeraldShamrock1 · 04/10/2022 11:08

It is a pleasure when money is no an issue.

For the average earning person restaurants are not worth spending half the week food shop budget for one meal.

tellmewhentheLangshiplandscoz · 04/10/2022 11:09

dreamingbohemian · 04/10/2022 11:04

The pubs round us are no longer good value sadly. 15 quid for a burger, almost 7 quid for a pint! We've been going to restaurants more lately as the prices are similar but much better quality.

I have noticed in many smart pubs in our town the menus seem to be full of huge gourmet burgers and loaded fries - or poutine if they are trying to be uber posh - and whilst occasionally great to eat they do seem expensive for what they are. Plus highly unoriginal.

GasPanic · 04/10/2022 11:10

You can do better stuff at home than quite a few places.

If I am after volume though Toby carvery takes some beating.

Always get a days worth of food there and roll back into the car.

ShakeItOff40 · 04/10/2022 11:13

Oh god I love going out to eat.

One of my favourite activities is to walk with the dog to one of our favourite pubs, have a drink and lunch, then walk back. Honestly, it's basically the only reason I stick with some of my shitty clients, when I think my head might explode, I think of them paying for my lovely glass of wine, as I chat to DH and (sometimes, depending if they come or not) the kids, with my dog napping on my feet, while somebody cooks, and asks if I want another drink. I'm easily pleased. 😆

Subbaxeo · 04/10/2022 11:13

It depends-my local used to have an imaginative menu but now just does fish and chips, steak and burgers. They can’t get the staff and prices have rocketed. I still enjoy eating out but now only have what I can’t make at home-eg a local cafe has started doing pizzas with a wood fired oven and they’re wonderful. We had lunch in our local city and I wouldn’t have been able to make it at home-3 courses for delicious food at £23 was a steal. So am much more choosy where I eat now.

updownleftrightstart · 04/10/2022 11:15

Depending on the prices I'd agree, but we went for a pub meal the other day and DH and I ate for £9 for the both of us (BOGOF on certain meals) while kids meals were £3.
For the convenience of us all being able to choose exactly what we wanted to eat, and not have to deal with any of the cooking or cleaning up, it was definitely worth it

Shoxfordian · 04/10/2022 11:15

Yeah I love going out to eat as well; probably eat out once or twice most weeks.

I can cook some good stuff at home but it’s nice choosing something and having something I’m less confident making on my own

Sparklingbrook · 04/10/2022 11:17

The majority of time I go to restaurants is work get togethers.
Its not just about the food for me, it’s about the company and the —gossip— conversation. And there’s no way I’m cooking for that lot 😄

That said we’ve found a handful of local places where the food prices are fine and the food is great. You just have to do your homework.

OneTC · 04/10/2022 11:19

Because we've moved away from the idea that hospitality is ever going to be a career and that "I can do better than this at home" and that "can't fault spoons/Toby/hungry horse" mentality the reality is is extremely hard to offer a good product in the UK , because the incentive is to make it cheap and shit and people will like it because it's cheap, which has been a very very big driving force in the UK hospitality scene since long before plague happened. We get nice things for a while, then they upscale and chainify if successful

Shmithecat2 · 04/10/2022 11:20

WimpoleHat · 04/10/2022 10:13

It’s a totally different experience though. Someone else buys the food, cooks it and clears it up. Everyone can choose what to eat and have something different. You can all just sit and chat without stress etc. I feel I’m paying for that just as much as the food itself.

This. I'm quite happy to pay a premium for not having to do all the work myself.

the80sweregreat · 04/10/2022 11:21

Some gastro pubs are nice.
It depends on where you go.
The prices are insanely expensive, so it's a rare treat

Rabbitbabbit · 04/10/2022 11:24

I only go if it's a social thing, then to me it's worth it as you're sort of paying for the atmosphere and for the service as well as just the food. Personally I wouldn't and don't go just for the food, if me and DH are hungry and can't be bothered to cook we would always get a takeaway and eat it at home rather than just sit somewhere else and pay a percentage more. It does depend where you go as well though, some places here you can tell the food is super fresh and its absolutely delicious, other places not so much.

LadyPene · 04/10/2022 11:25

I'm married to a chef. Eating out isn't as nice as what he will cook us at home. However that's not why we go out. Eating out gives us a break from shopping, cooking, cleaning and the chance to spend some time as a family outside the house and hopefully teach the kids some of the etiquette of dining out. You pay for all of that experience, as well as (hopefully) nice food.

LadyPene · 04/10/2022 11:25

I'm married to a chef. Eating out isn't as nice as what he will cook us at home. However that's not why we go out. Eating out gives us a break from shopping, cooking, cleaning and the chance to spend some time as a family outside the house and hopefully teach the kids some of the etiquette of dining out. You pay for all of that experience, as well as (hopefully) nice food.

LindaEllen · 04/10/2022 11:25

Of course you could cook at home for cheaper.. when you're buying food from a pub you're paying for the staff serving you, the staff cooking the food, the cleaners, the building inc heating and lighting, the repairs, the accountant.. many things that are involved with running a business.

The point of going out is that you don't have to cook, and that's what I pay for.