Is it acceptable to order a kids meal as an adult ?

[ThePunnyPeachDuck]

DH went out for lunch with his father to a pub his mate runs
He proudly came home and told me he ordered a junior pork meal and only drank tap water—because, you know, it was free.
I just stared at him and asked if he was being serious, because that is some next-level CF energy right there. He shrugged and said the kids meal was massive and why pay adult prices when you can get a solid meal for half the cost?
And to top it off, he actually phoned his friend afterwards to check if it was okay. As if the guy running the pub is going to say, "Actually mate, could you not fleece me next time?"
This isn’t about money—they’re both doing fine. So AIBU to think DH was being a proper cheeky f*?

Where we are for Easter the kids meals said 12 and under but my almost 16 year old ordered one and no one said anything. She orders kids as she’s autistic and prefers the options. But I’ve ordered kids for myself on many occasions as I’m not a big eater. So kids fish n chips instead of an adults - same fish and same chips so not a blander version for example - and many places will let me. A lot of places used to serve a smaller adult portion before lock down but seem to have stopped now. But if there are smaller portions then I’d opt for that instead. On the flip side my nephews are kids and have never eaten a kids meal in their life. They’re always given adult portions. They’re big lads. My niece won’t order kids portions as well but as a family her parents will finish off what she gets or just allow a huge wastage. There was one time she had been ill and insisted on getting an adult portion of something because she was adamant the kids version wouldn’t be the same - less/plainer ingredients - so we asked the waiter who said it came from the same pot as the adults and was just a smaller portion. So she caved in that one time.

I went to a pub recently where they offer small portions of all the mains. I think it probably works for them financially as people are more likely to have another course or even two.

I always order a kids meal.so.erjr rñ

I order kids fish and chips as I normally find the adults size too much (I could eat it, but trying to watch the waist line!). I was also thrilled today when I heard Five guys are now doing kids meals 🤣

A few years back at a service station type place:

Adults £8 = 2 bacon, 2 eggs, 1 sausage, 1 hash brown, shrooms, beans/toms.
Kids £4 = 1 bacon, 1 egg, 1 sausage, 1 hash brown, shrooms, beans/toms

I was hungry, so I got 2 kids breakfasts (and so did several others in the queue behind me).

if it doesnt say anything about age then you can but i think hes being tight doing that in a mates pub

I went to my local Hungry Horse restaurant the other day with a friend. We both had adult mains and he had an adult dessert, but I had a kid's dessert as it was something I particularly fancied. We didn't pay for drinks as we had a jug of tap water between us, but I did buy the server a drink. I also used my Friends & Family discount code. Nobody seems to mind over there, and I would probably do the same anywhere if I only wanted a small meal/dessert.

I remember going out for dinner with my grandparents and my grandma would order a 'ladies portion'.

If the staff felt it wasn’t acceptable, they would have just refused the order though.

A kid’s meal is merely food but a smaller portion. There’s nothing inherently wrong with ordering one. There’s loads of reasons why an adult may want a smaller portion - health, finances, diet etc. It’s not weird to ask for one. Restaurants can refuse the order so I don’t agree that they are being fleeced.

I’m so glad to have the normal appetite of a slim healthy active woman. Imagine feeling that a main course in a normal restaurant is a ’huge meal’ that needs to be ‘faced’ or that could ‘overwhelm’ me.

I wouldn’t worry OP if they start losing money the kids menu will just disappear.

the kids food is often the plainer stuff burger and chips sausage and chips and sometimes that sounds nicer than all the fancy stuff they insist on putting in a burger and charging for it if you don’t want jt

For me personally I have an eating disorder (ARFID), and the children’s meals are the safest/blandest food I can eat sometimes. I will order two though because the portions are never big enough (of course!)

I think there are times when this is just about OK, but your DH was being top CF for the way he approached it.

I have a friend that eats like a sparrow. She goes to a place that does great roasts, and always asks if she can have child's roast (veggie only). Chef doesn't mind at all, and the rest of us will have normal size.

Other places they really don't like it, which is fair enough.

Most of Europe think we're a bit nuts for having a kids menu at all though. It would be better if places just did smaller versions for 'smaller appetites' , so that adults who didn't want to eat too much either could have that option, whether sick, older, trying to eat les etc. I would really welcome that.

Depends, ordering a kids meal for an older person for instance when also ordering multiple other things is fair enough but not for a working age adult with no mitigating reasons to be frugal. We do order dsd a children’s dessert often but she has ld’s and always wants pudding but needs to loose weight hence smaller dessert portion! No restaurant has minded as we are ordering 2 full size ones too as well as 3 adult meals

I know people who do this because the portion size suits them better. 🤷

Yes, I wish those were standard everywhere as I find them about the right size for me. Usually have enough room for a dessert after one of those, so the restaurant ends up making roughly the same amount from me as if I’d had a standard sized main.

As a restaurant owner I had to put an age limit on children’s meals. If I had one now I’d also charge for tap water something like 50p as I paid for water, paid for ice machine and bought lemons. There’s no end of cheeky fuckers that do this. Women are the worst for continually calling you over to refill their jug of water even though they can see that you are rushed of your feet.

I don't see the issue if they don't put an age limit on it. Most places say kids meals are for under 12's

Sorry, I don't get this.
What was the benifit of ordering 2 kids meals?

This.

If the restaurant / pub is willing to let you order a kids menu then I don't see the problem.

And who says that kids meals are loss leaders anyway? I don't think that's generally true is it?

I don’t think adults should be allowed to order a child’s meal, especially when most food places offer lighter options for those who don’t want a full main meal.

I don't know if anyone else has mentioned it but there's a great scene on this by Ricky Gervais in afterlife.

It's not a concession, they're not giving you money off a full meal, it's less food, so you're paying less. I have no idea what's so cheeky about it.
If he didn't go for a meal and decided to order just a drink instead, would that be cheeky?

When I take my kids to Pizza hut, I always get a kids meal. It's £8.99 and you get a small pizza, chips, unlimited drink, unlimited salad and a dessert. It's plenty of food for me, and I have a good appetite. Why would I want to pay more when they are offering what I want for less? £27 for me and both of them. Bargain.

It's looks like you get the same amount of food as an adult meal for the same price, but you get an extra hashbrown and an extra sausage

And an extra sausage!