To not want to go to an all you can eat buffet?

[wizarddry]

I've only ever been to once once about 10 years ago. Have they got better? There's just something about the piles of food on people's places and the thought that if they do that many types of food then none of them can be done well. Are my preconceptions wrong? What is your strategy for tackling them? If I say I'll go is it acceptable for me to just have one plate of food or will my hosts be annoyed at me?

Reasonable places imo, have as much or little as you like.
My only rule is eat what goes on that plate unless it is a particularly unpleasant bit of food, I find it disgusting how much some people waste at these places.

YANBU if you have good reason to think the food will be rubbish.
YABU to be queasy at seeing plates full of food. Just eat how much you want to eat!

Whether I went would depend whether I wanted to see the other people that were going. I wouldn't feel obliged to eat more than I wanted and I wouldn't take notice of what anyone else was eating.
If the main reason I was going out was because I wanted nice food I probably wouldn't go. If the main reason for going was to meet up with friends then I would go.

Why would the hosts be offended if you eat one plate and no more? You’re not obliged to be a big fat pig just because it’s ’all you can eat’.

Buffet type places are not my favourite as I loathe to see gluttony, which you always see.

I just don't want there to be pressure to eat more just because its all included

Love them for the fussy eaters in my family. Everyone manages to find something they like. The gluttons get to be gluttons. It’s very easy to put together a healthy plate.

I make myself little portions of each “course” - starter, main, salad, cheese to extend the time eating, without actually eating a huge amount.

id like to try them but not too fussed overall

Just eat what you want! Think of it as "all inclusive" rather than "all you can eat".

I mean, when food is served "family style" i.e. a Sunday roast at someone's house most people manage. So just think of it like that?

Also there is a huge range of buffets. So pointless really to ask what they are like as they aren't all the same... the brunch buffet at The Ned is going to be different to a Pizza Hut lunchtime deal, which will be different again from a trendy sushi place. But even at a cheap and cheerful one, you can't really go wrong on the salads, veggies and potatoes. Enjoy!

I never go to all you can eat. I never ever eat more than I always do so it’s completely pointless.
I’ve also only been once possibly 20 years ago and I’ve never fancied trying again.
it’s a weird and gross custom to me

I don’t care what others are eating or how “greedy” they are being, but I’m a bit concerned at the levels of hygiene and food safety in some of them. And yes, I know all food in restaurants is handled by someone but I like to keep it to a minimum. I do check hygiene ratings for restaurants as well.

Too many grubby people touching food or serving tongs with unclean hands or talking over it at length in buffets. I used to love them when I was younger in my early 20s and didn’t think too deeply about this kind of thing 😂 me and my friends wouldn’t eat then we would go and fill our plates high to get our moneys worth although looking back I realise it was super cheap.

ETA: I used to go to one that was super popular in my city then I started to prefer the slightly more expensive and less busy one as it seemed cleaner and less chaotic .

It's the potential hygiene issues that put me off these places tbh

We've just been to one and the food was really good,we've gone many times in the past for birthdays.

The one we go to the food is constantly replaced,there's something for everyone and they have lots of different salads and tons of different vegeatble dishes,they also have chefs cooking lots of dishes to order.

I never pile my plate up and I don't usually notice how much anyone else is eating.

I don't consider myself a germaphobe but buffets are a different category of gross. No.

Not the healthiest mindset to be in really, OP. The idea isn't 'woman versus food', but that you can choose exactly what you want, in the portion you want. Serve yourself a meal like one you would have at home or in any other establishment. There is choice and you are the one in control. Of course your mates won't be offended if you don't force platters of food down your gullet just because they suggested that particular restaurant!

We have one locally that serves predominantly Chinese food, it’s lovely, clean fresh and really nice, I don’t go to ‘eat all I want’ I just like the buffet style. Having small bits of different things. I usually have a ‘starter’ salad type course, main and sometimes a dessert. It’s lovely. Not that cheap. But if you don’t want to go op don’t. No point if you won’t enjoy it.

Never understood the appeal of all you can eat

We go to one maybe once a year, one of these ones that have foods from all regions of the world ( supposedly )

We are very selective, other wise its expensive for tat

Because they are filled with cheap fillers, no doubt about it

I will happily get up and have 5 or 6 small plates , but Im choosey

So I might start with cold "starters" - prawns,salmon, and salad

Then I hit the cook to order speciality stations , so a piece of steak from one ( we are talking tiny portions here ), fish from another - etc.

Sushi if there is that, then onto the bits I like from the chinese/indian

I only put on small portions of food, not a huge mish mash and I eat the plateful. I avoid the rice, the breads ( wraps, pizzas , garlic breads etc ), the stuff like spring rolls, chips, etc. Never usually get as far as dessert unless the fruit looks good and not too mashed up

When the kids were young and fussy, they were a god send, they could eat what they wanted, we ate what we wanted and no one got stressed - well apart from the one time when the manager came and said that DS could have no more duck and pancakes ( he was obsessed and would eat it morning noon and night and had probably been up 10 or more times ) DD would just eat chicken and mushroom curry and chicken nuggets

I think as long as you go along not wanting to get your moneys worth, you will be grand. Cos to get your moneys worth you are going to eat more calories in one meal to last a week. Just go pick the bits you like, change plates as often as you like and dont think just cos you have chicken tikka on a plate you have to take rice or bread, eat the tikka and enjoy it and then go back and have prawns in garlic and ginger if thats what you fancy

I dont think feeling queasy about a full plate of food is unreasonable

I could be ready to eat the rear leg of a donkey, but if someone put a full plate of food in front of me, that's it - appetite gone

Some of us, whilst having pretty healthy appetites, just find seeing a pile of food totally off putting , and some ( like myself ) have differing ideas about what foods belong on a plate together

I have been to carveries where you can eat whatever you like as long as it fits on the one plate and have seriously seen people put roast, pie, fish in batter and sausages on their plate, and then piled the veg on top - to get their monies worth, just being behind them in the queue and tummy has been turning

If you are (unnecessarily) worried about getting your money’s worth OP because you don’t want to stuff your face…

The buffet business model is that 95% of the food on offer is cheap and cheerful, poor quality stuff that they want you to fill up on eg spaghetti Bolognaise, pizza, garlic bread, chips, curry, Chinese food, and UPF beige stuff because you are exited at the variety and want to try everything. You can pile your plate high several times with the cheap stuff and still never “get your money’s worth”. Ironically, it’s the people who head for the freshly cooked stuff ;who get their money’s worth as they tend to be the high value items, seafood, steak, salmon etc They are usually tucked away after all the beige offerings so people have already loaded up on the cheap freezer food and having to wait for it to be cooked deters many people from choosing them. Not only are they usually the most expensive, best quality, tastiest items, you don’t risk getting a side of salmonella with them 😂

So if your host is miffed that your aren’t eating your body weight in pasta and chips, you can always point out that quality over quantity is the way to beat the buffet and get the best deal 😂

I can't get past the hygiene of such places.
Multiple people hanging over the food talking, coughing, touching, using their fingers (with unwashed hands) not the serving tools, letting their kids touch food & put it back because they've changed their mind

I won't go to one

I agree with a poster up thread about The Grove. Genuinely some of the best food I’ve ever eaten!

What’s my strategy? I’m liking that plate higher than you’ve ever seen before and having the most eclectic and weird combos of food you’ve ever seen.

There's a Chinese one near me, but last time we went they had about 2 veggie options so it was pretty pointless for us. I don't really like buffet if we go out for food. I hate all the getting up and down, rather than just sitting and eating.