Food and Restaurants - is it all just getting a bit crap?

[VixHex]

Sort of inspired by the McDonalds thread, as it crystallised some of my food-related thinking of late.

We ate with the DC at a Pizza Express a few weeks ago - it was so cold, everyone had their coats on. The bathrooms and tap water were absolutely freezing.

The food tasted okay, but both there, and at a couple of local places and with some supermarket stuff, there is a noticeable dialling down of flavour/texture/whatever. Not everything, but enough things to see a pattern.

I understand everywhere needs to cut costs. It's brutal for restaurants, but I'd probably rather pay slightly more and really enjoy being there. Sitting in a coat, waiting to go to the loo at home rather than wash my hands in freezing cold water and eating underpowered food... it's only Pizza Express I know, but it still should be more enjoyable that that?

I feel sorry for the whole industry. Do they go down this route of slashing everything in order to survive, or put up prices and hope that people still come?

After three really underwhelming meals out with the kids in recent weeks, we're not going to bother again for a good while. It's too bloody expensive to not enjoy it properly, but then places close because people like us are giving up on them.

It's crap really, isn't it?

The last restaurant I ate in was Mowgli …. absolutely delicious. Small plates of Indian food, like Indian tapas 😋

Depends where. We eat a lot (DH always too tired to cook and I refuse to cook 3 meals a day every day). I’d say 80% of the places we eat have got either much worse or much more expensive in the last year.

Bizarrely a pub near me continues to offer huge amounts of amazing food at very reasonable prices. I can’t work out how they’re doing it! Hope they haven’t misunderstood energy bills or something.

But interesting you mention Pizza Express because the last 3 times we went there were awful, mostly due to under-staffing. I’m giving up. I only continued to try because they’re good at gluten free. But on the last occasion we waited 45 minutes for our food and then everyone who ate pepperoni got food poisoning. What’s the point.

I agree there is noticeable trimming back of standards and nudging up of prices. I am more cautious about agreeing to meals out, after some underwhelming experiences. I tend to stick to places I know will be worth the cost.

Did you report the food poisoning to them ?

Mid market chains always suffer during recessions or priods of high costs. People can trade down for casual dining and they are not speical enough for people to save up and go as a treat.

@FrenchandSaunders in Liverpool?? Now I'm not a fan of Indian but will make an exception for Mowgli- totally delicious- who knew that treacle fries were amazing!!!

I've just been for a meal at an independent for brunch
Absolutely delicious, £30 for 2 of us

Went out for Sunday lunch last weekend, pub that we've been to many times. Prices were up, quality was down the pan.
We'll not be going back.

But other places are thriving and doing great food. I still enjoy eating out, and takeaways but am not giving second chances to places that are poor unless there's a big change.

We hardly ever eat at chain restaurants anymore. Our favourites are an independent pub, a local Italian, and a Turkish meze place which is technically a chain - but of two. We've always had good meals at them.

In contrast we did recently walk out of a Yo Sushi as the service was so bad.

I've had so many disappointing restaurant experiences over the last few years, across all budgets, that it forced me to really get into cooking my own stuff, and now I'm addicted to new recipes!

Agree about the temperature. Dh went to 3 pubs and was frozen wearing his coat.

@IsaiditwasLighthearted comments are comments. I've made one. The handwringing is this from the OP:

After three really underwhelming meals out with the kids in recent weeks, we're not going to bother again for a good while. It's too bloody expensive to not enjoy it properly, but then places close because people like us are giving up on them.

Who are "people like us"? What is "giving up on them?" What duty are we supposed to feel towards our fellow citizens above ourselves? Is there a sliding scale where some people are more worthy of my descent into penury than others because I used to like the pizza but it's not any good any more?

If I'm not enjoying something or it's not delivering some benefit, I don't feel obligated to spend my money on it. Most definitely if I can't afford it. Like most sensible people I would prefer to spend my money elsewhere or stuff it under the mattress in the meantime. I don't think the OP should wring her hands over this. Do you?

We really are turning into a sad, cold, insular little country aren't we?
And to think the Tories used to attack Jeremy Corbyn by saying he wanted to take us back to the 70s when they've pretty much done that exact thing.
I don't think I'd really considered the effect of the energy prices on restaurants (duh), and there's also the issues with imported food.
WE live in London too and we don't eat our anywhere as often as we used to pre-pandemic I have noticed smaller portions in a few places.

It must depend which branch you go to, and what kind of day they’re having. I took the kids for pizza express the other day (school hols) and it was warm, clean, friendly staff, hot food, good service, plus the app now means you get discounts and don’t have to wait around for the bill when you’re done.

We ended up at Zizzi's today - flavour combinations were odd but the food was plentiful and you get the feelgood from pre-pandemic.
I would love to support the independents but the good ones in our area have closed down and we are left with pretentious, overpriced food with the same staffing issues as the chains with an extra dose of snootiness.

Was in the UK in March and found that unless it's fish and chips or an Indian takeaway it's just not worth it. Cheaper to eat at home!!

Yes, really cold and not relaxing at all. Paying so much more for underwhelming food that I could probably do at home for less. I feel for hospitality I really do, several family members work/ have worked in it but now it has to be a special occasion rather than spontaneous and we need to be sure of the venue. No more ad hoc visits just to try a place out 😥

As a vegan I often prefer the food in chains. They 'keep up' more.

There are two lovely independent Italian restaurants in my nearest town, warm and welcoming and I'd love to support them more, but who wants to pay not much less than a meat dish for a bowl of pasta with tomato sauce? I'd honestly rather eat a pot noodle in the comfort of my own home than eat that in one of those.

There's a great BYOB Indian near me that I love that always seems busy, went there recently, and I've been to the Ivy and Zizzis in the past few weeks..
I can't say I was cold in any of those, but the service in Zizzis was abysmal. They just seemed to forget about us-and I was on the verge of going and getting my own glass of wine from the bar as it had been sitting there that long, although someone picked it up before I did. I totally would have too!

We didn't seem to have one member of staff waiting our table, just whoever. I didn't like that, I don't like intrusive waiting staff but surely a bit of attention is part of the restaurant experience? They do a fantastic vegan pizza otherwise I'd not go there again. Chains are often less personal I suppose.
I hope it is not going downhill. I like eating out! Just feels a bit more special doesn't it, even in a mid-range sort of place.

Just remembered actually, I WAS cold in a restaurant in a big city recently. Impromptu visit, pub sort of restaurant, lovely place though.

The food was fantastic for the price, but I was bloody freezing!
I did note that it was a huge building with very high ceilings, on a very cold day though. Would have cost them a fortune to heat it. I really hope prices go down on energy :(

We live somewhere with no chains and haven't had a bad meal in years. Food is tasty, service is good, the restaurants/pubs are all well-heated - more by fires these days than central heating, though.

Prices have gone up, but that's the same with everything.

Independents are definitely the way to go.

We haven't eaten out as much since Covid.

I do feel that a lot of restaurants have gone downhill but I can't work out whether it's a true reflection or whether my expectations are much higher. We are pretty good cooks and there isn't much that we can't make better and cheaper at home. Of course it is about the experience of eating out but I have ended up feeling ripped off paging £££ for rubbish food that all arrived at different times with bits of the order missing.

I find a lot of places to be cold, dirty, poor and slow service, overpriced.

People will say that independents are better but I don't always find this to be the case. We did have some delicious tapas in an independent recently. You can usually get a great curry if you go to the right place.

We went to an Italian and it was shocking, lovely restaurant and atmosphere, but the food was a joke.

I have been Labour voter since 1983 who despises the Tories and reluctantly decided in 2019 to vote Liberal Democrat to get rid of the peevish little antisemite fucker Jeremy Corbyn because I wanted a Labour Government rather than spending my life in glorious opposition.

But I don't see what that has to do with getting a nice pizza.

I haven't noticed cold restaurants or a deterioration of quality where I am not that I've been to a chain. Everywhere has had to increase prices and a couple have minimum price per person now to stop people sharing mains

"Chain" restaurants are always dire IMO.