To ask how often you go out for dinner

[spicylasagne]

Interested to see what is standard

We are on average incomes and go out 3 or 4 times a month I’d say. More than we ever used to!

We don’t go anywhere fancy unless it’s a really special occasion, so no set menus and usually just a main course occasionally a starter. We stick to Pizza Express, Wagamama, Nando’s, pub restaurants etc as we like these places and often find there’s a blue light deal to be had or can use Clubcard vouchers etc.

We went for a meal on Sunday evening and the waiter commented that it’s the busiest Sunday they have had since eat out to help out, and that this January is seeing much more trade than in other years which is strange given the cost of living crisis.

wow, there is a lot of disposable income on this thread. DH and I both earn good salaries but rarely go out for dinner - last times were in a October for our 10th wedding anniversary (to a very smart place) and then just before New Years as we were at my MIL’s and she babysat for us. We just don’t seem to have the spare money - the v special October meal was £170 and the December more normal one was about £110 (fondue place but had starters, nice bottle of wine etc). Before October meal out it was months earlier maybe in the spring. Nowhere round us seems especially cheap and add the cost of a babysitter on top then £££

Overall I think it probably works out cheaper than if we cooked 6 out of 7 different dinners fresh every day from scratch.

No way is eating out cheaper (or healthier) than cooking at home!!!

About once a week for dinner and most Fridays we go out for lunch.

having said that, we haven’t been out once this month due to dry Jan.

I don't think that eating out is cheaper than cooking at home. Not for myself, anyway.

Less than once per month if we're not away on holiday. When we do go out, it tends not to be to a chain. We're more likely to eat dinner at a friend's house, or have people round to ours for a meal.

We live in a village, so need to travel a bit for a choice of places. If we lived in a city we'd probably eat out more. I also sometimes have dinner where I work (and very often have lunch there) which is restaurant quality and free!

Once or twice a week usually but occasionally 3 times a week.

Perhaps it doesn’t. We don’t have to worry about money so have never really thought about it, anyway. But the other week we cooked grilled sea bass with potato gratin and a Mediterranean vegetable ratatouille. Cost of ingredients was £26 and there weren’t a lot of leftovers bar some potato. Our local Italian does the same dish for £14 each so there isn’t much in it. I don’t enjoy cooking so more than happy to pay the extra to avoid it.

Dinner once per month but lots more lunches - especially at this time of year when it’s too cold to picnic we’ll often have a pub lunch after a cycle or walk.

I went out yesterday for a friends bday. My boys, now 12 and 13 aren’t having kids meals anymore. Mr12 decided he wanted the rib fillet with mushroom gravy 😳 and mr13 got an adult sized burger and chips. Only my youngest got a kids meal. Dh didn’t go with me and I was thinking would be a cheap night 😂. Couldn’t exactly tell him no he can’t have a steak and veggies he has to have chicken nuggets off the kids menu. And couldn’t say rib fillet was too much as that what I wanted 😂. It was the same price as the rump steak but a 200g one. So it wasn’t the most expensive steak at least.

"What do you all spend when eating out?"

2 of us lunch at the garden centre is around £28

Pub meal with the kids nearer £60

Meal out with friends my share is usually around £25

Breakfast for 2 £15-20

We very rarely have meals out without children, so are more likely to have lunch in restaurants. Although we have dinner at 5.30 or 6 in local restaurants once or twice a month. We have a lot of excellent restaurants locally. Every Saturday we take MiL for lunch. On Sundays, we mostly have a roast and don't want to have much for lunch. Sometimes we will go to a chain place if we are shopping or whatever though, usually Wagamamma, Nandos or Pizza Express.

We went to an amazing 2* Michelin restaurant in London: 4 of us £1000. That’s Restaurant Story but L’Enclume remains in my memory. Just superb. Elsewhere can be cheaper! I would rather do that once every few months than a whole host of frozen meals served up at local “gastro” pubs that are nothing of the kind. If I can cook it better, or buy it from M&S, it’s not a place worth going to. We go with friends to such places to be friendly. Some places we won’t go back to. Utterly awful. So every year my resolution is “less often but better”.

Luckily we have a few great local restaurants which are reliable but I’m more excited by going somewhere very very special. We always try and go to great restaurants on holiday as it’s part of the holiday. DDs are older now and older one has good taste in restaurants! We sometimes take her recommendations!

Out with friends around twice a month. Somewhere nice, it’s local to me. It’s pricey but no overly so.

Out with DM once a week, I actually get fed up of it. We go to the same place, I have to eat the same meal- vegan and I don’t like the cheese substitutes, not a fan of rice, I can’t stand the fish less fish they have either (I like supermarket versions).

Once or twice a week.

Usually a couple times a week, once with DH and once with a friend/family

We go out for lunch quite a bit but even on holidays we eat mainly at lunch we are feeling old so like to be in on evenings and just snack in the evenings

About once or twice a month. Used to be most weekends plus at least once lunch out every week, but we’ve cut back drastically over the last few months- it’s just too bloody expensive. Even the cheapest places you can’t really get away with less than £70 for two, and anywhere a bit more special £150 is more like it. Can’t justify that so often with everything else rocketing as well. I miss it, and I feel desperately sorry for people in the restaurant industry, who’ve come through the lockdown nightmare only to be faced with cost of living crap. They must feel totally fucked over.

Rarely ... there are very few decent restaurants where we live and we can cook much better food at home. It's not so much the cost but just knowing that you are being served a 'pre prepared' meal that has just been warmed up by someone who has no idea what good customer service is. I used to work in the restaurant trade and have very high expectations. .

Only a couple of times a month, but it tends to be slightly more expensive ones, and bill is usually about 100 - 120 for the two of us. Other weekends we get takeaway . When we go out it’s starters, main, wine etc

Around 10 times a month. We love a night out with drinks and dinner. Usually go out for lunch once or twice a week too.

I probably go out twice a month with my partner, but usually for things I can't/can't be bothered to cook myself. I've found that learning to cook over lockdown means I enjoy my own food a lot more and I prefer home cooked unless we're going to a pretty decent restaurant.

Apart from that, I eat out once a week for work and then ad hoc as I see friends. Even then, sometimes we cook for each other instead of eating out. So i'd say probably 8-10 meals a month.

Almost never! We will if on holiday or visiting people but that is it.

Once in a blue moon

Probably once every 8 weeks and mainly with Tesco vouchers.

But I'm just not that bothered about eating out, going out drinking and a late night takeaway is much better for us (we do drinks at least twice a week and have a weekly takeaway)

We have 4 kids (3 teenagers) so pizza express etc is around £120. So it's a rare treat.