Eating out is just a waste of time and money

[Batshit1234]

Went out for dinner tonight. Husband, two teens. service was just shocking and everyone is home in bad form.
Had booked a table in a certain area ( you can pick your area)
table wasn’t ready - that’s ok so offered one in another area and took it.
Were left with one menu between 4 of us for ages.
Had to ask to order.
Ordered drinks and food after 45 minutes we didn’t even have the jug of juice.
Went to bar for two pints of water - think he went to Antarctica for the water and I walked away as seen food coming to table.
Food arrived with no drinks on table
No steak knife and I couldn’t cut my steak with the normal knife - I did try
Had to get up again and go and get someone to get me a steak knife
Son’s order was wrong had to go back they really did apologise.
Sat with dirty plates in front of us for 20 minutes
I was ready to bale at this point but kids seemed to want dessert.
Got dessert menu and ordered another glass of wine after 15 minutes no one came back with the wine or to take dessert order.
Got up again and said cancel the wine and can we just have the bill.
They ran over with the glass of wine and said it was on the house.
Bill was near 100Euro
I would have rather stood in the kitchen for two hours cooking than deal with this shite.

Why is service so shocking in restaurants. I do 99% of cooking at home and think I would just prefer to be in the house. My teen daughter was telling me to chill and I am trying to explain she would feel different if she had to pay for this carryon. We were there two hours and only got a main course. The dirty oil is repeating on me #raging Am I being unreasonable that this was shit!

You’re going to the wrong places! We eat out every other week and never had anything like you’ve described.

I know! I did dinner at home last Sunday evening for eight. Had my jazz playlist on, was a lovely stress free evening. Grocery shop for this was expensive as a lot of booze but was lovely evening and not stressful. It’s not really about the money to be honest, I would love to eat out if service was good. I was a waitress for years when I was younger and would always be watching my area, communicating if I was busy I will be with you in a minute etc. That seems lost now!

This is me manager mode🤣 just can’t understand how it is so hard. Even to give eye contact, a nod, yes I see you, know you need something. I was a waitress from 14 and right through I left uni. I know self praise is no praise but I was really good at it. So it just frustrates me when people don’t care.

€100 for 4 is pretty cheap for now, but at least service and quality is always pretty good here. I ate out yesterday and it was excellent though £55 for one course each plus a medium glass of wine each, independent family owned restaurant

@ThatCyanJoker

You can't buy anything in M&S (ready cooked) that's even close to a proper restaurant meal. If you think they are comparable then you are eating in the wrong places. Ready meals are universally rubbish whatever their price tag (even the much lauded on Mumsnet "Cook ones were barely average in quality) I scratch cook or eat out in places that serve cook food

You went to a terrible restaurant so all restaurants are terrible?

Service everywhere seems to be suffering at the moment, hospitality staffing crisis etc

My experience also OP, doesn't seem to matter where I go, or how expensive or cheap, the food and service are usually crap and overpriced, we've actually stopped eating out now because I can definitely make better quality food at home .

100 euros for 4 people and that included some wine ? and soft drinks ?
bargain

so what exactly type of restaurant was this ? a pub that served food or a Harvester or a Hungry Horse etc.

Google tells me that is approx £83 - I pay that for adult dd and I, without alcohol ! and think I have a bargain.

I agree OP, but only in certain situations.

My husband and I have stopped going to mediocre local restaurants, picking up a £250 bill (we have children) and feeling disappointed.

We save ourselves for a lovely trip to a Michelin restaurant or hotel in London, once every three months. Sometimes with the children, sometimes without. I'd rather pick up a £800 bill from a fantastic experience than a few disappointing "pub grub" visits.

I'm sure this will illicit "not everyone is as fortunate as you" responses, and they would be correct, however it works for us, and it's an idea to help your situation.

It was an independent pub. Drinks were 1 jug of juice and one glass of wine. I know 100 euros is not much for four people. My main at 25 Euro was the dearest. Teens had burgers. I feel I needed someone to pay me 100euro to sit through this!

We only tend to eat out at particular places nowadays. We happened to try somewhere new last weekend, waited ages for place our order, staff were nowhere to be seen. Despite the upsell on the meals to a meal deal, half the order didn't turn up, my main was served stone cold and I had to send it back. Dessert was raw (churros). People rave about this place but something was definitely amiss.
I went to a very upmarket restaurant a few weeks ago with a friend. We booked as a treat. We've been a few times so thought it was a gone conclusion it would be worth it. The food was great but the service was absolute pants. Had to ask twice for water for the table, no one was interested in asking if we wanted more drinks or desserts, and after asking for the bill twice, we simply went to the bar to pay. This place is ££££, the service did not reflect that at all.
We often just cook something whereas we used to eat out twice a week, and money isn't the only factor as to why.

Eating out is one of my main pleasures in life at the moment.

I would never sneak out of a place. Firstly you are stealing and you could end up in the local papers. Usually the staff often have the meal deducted from their pay. That would be really mean. Fair enough not to pay a tip but if people eat a meal then they should pay for it.

@Batshit1234 100 Euro for four people with steak, desserts and the like and wine. So you are not in the UK. My early feeling is that perhaps you get what you pay for?

If this were in the UK I would call over the manager at the time and point out the problems. I would then also speak to the servers and point out that the tip will be reduced or non-existent. Leave a review on e g Tripadvisor.

I have travelled in Europe and have never had a bad meal. Service is always included in the prices [not added as a "service" charge] and the staff are trained to a high standard and paid well for set hours without split shifts and zero hours contracts.

In UK many places simply do not train the staff or provide sufficient staff for instance getting extra in if needed. The basic pay rate [in common - of course with many jobs] is the lowest they can get away with [usually National Living Wage]

I eat out to meet up with friends. I wouldn't go out in the UK for the sole purpose of having a meal. Most places round where I live are mediocre. The one place where the food and service are ok has hard surfaces and the sound levels are so high you cannot hold a conversation.

I am happy to eat out abroad, it's usually a totally different experience.

You just went somewhere shit 🤷‍♀️. None of my dining experiences are like this.

I wouldn't have waited 45 mins for the jug of water to arrive, the writing was on the wall then. I'd have left and gone to another restaurant or to get some fish and chips.

People expect something for nothing nowadays.

A 4 person meal with steak, wine and desserts, for €100 and you are wondering why they struggle to get attentive staff?

One glass of wine one, 1 jug of juice. 25 Euro steak. 2 burgers and a vegetarian pasta dish. We didn’t even get to order dessert as they never came.

As I'm the person who has cooked for a family of 7 for 30 years, I love eating out! It's very rare to have an experience like yours I think, most of the time the staff are pleasant and I'm grateful for someone else cooking the food and clearing up, even if the food isn't amazing it's still a treat for me!

We only go to places we know we will have a nice time now, and one of those is now gone after a rubbish Christmas meal.
In Ireland, was that 100 for 4 mains and drinks, that's kind of good value now 😬

Saw your update, 22 euro a dish is now pretty normal where I am.
Local restaurants are now hiking starters and breakfast to 15+

I grew up in another European country where food is soooo much better than the U.K. . I get frustrated too in U.K. restaurants, some more than others . Especially when we go back home in the summer and we can eat a full meal including drink main , desert and coffee for less than 10 euros per person for lunch and tastes amazing . It’s not only the price it’s the service it often lacks , like starters are often brought at the same time as mains , mist portions are small , kids food is mostly bad etc

My father was a head chef who throughout my childhood worked in a series of top restaurants and West End hotels.

When I first started earning money I couldn't understand why he always said he would never, ever eat out unless there was no alternative (i.e when on holiday). I had gone along with society's belief that eating out was fun and glamorous. I eventually came to see that it really is one great big con.

I now have not eaten out for many years and am horrified at the prices and the low quality of the food in most restaurants. The markup is ridiculous. Most of it is cheap, wheat based carbs and very little is protein.

Even a takeaway bag of chips at my local chippy is now £4.50, which is absolutely ridiculous when you consider the price of potatoes.