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?

@Maverickess no it wasn’t our choice, I should have made that clearer.

We rarely eat out but I have noticed the quality can be very poor. Smaller than expected portions and not great service. I had to ask for a cleaner cup recently and had to ask the waiter to swap the replacement too. Perhaps they are not heating the dishwashers enough.

In our town there is no cafe or tea room which doesn't accept dogs and as I think that allowing dogs in such places is disgusting I never go. Much nicer and cheaper to do a lovely afternoon tea at home or at a friend's house. The same goes for pizzas or whatever. The cafes and restaurants are losing out but I guess they get all the doggy people instead.

It's all so expensive too.

I brought a massive box of choc ices today for a fiver - if I'd have gone to the ice-cream shop it'd have been at least £3 per ice cream!! And the kids don't care either way

Surprisingly paying more money does not make it better.
We go to a Turkish and Thai independent places with great food and service that are still pretty cheap. We went to a much more expensive place recently. The portions were absolutely tiny and the service was shit.

Yep, I bought a box of cakes from our favourite little (independent!) baker down the road to take to a friends. We've bought there for years - they're usually lovely.

Now, it's really obvious that they've stopped using real butter, there's an artificial, synthetic feel to the cakes - they used to taste so beautifully homemade. But the prices have gone up by about 40%.

It's the same point really - it's just not as good, and I don't want to waste my money buying something that I don't really enjoy anymore. I'll just go back to making my own.

If I'm paying a little more, I don't object to that as long as it taste as good as it used to!

By contrast, the patisserie nearby has also booted their prices right up, but their products are still absolutely wonderful - I'll keep supporting them as long as I can. There is a line though, I guess.

I have seen people on here claim that it is impossible to tell whether butter is used in baking or not. I have always disagreed. I rarely buy cake in cafes because most of it is not that great.