Finding it increasingly difficult to justify eating out at pubs etc

[JupiterJa]

This is something I’ve always enjoyed doing, but I just find the financial outlay to be hard to justify now. A fairly average meal is now usually between £17-£20 (say a burger, or fish and chips) with a pint or glass of wine usually over £6. I just don’t feel the experience warrants the outlay now, especially midweek, so these trips are becoming rarer and rarer.

Not so long ago £15 would comfortably cover everything and I felt that was good value.

Does anyone else find themselves making less frequent visits now?

Yes. No way I can justify the cost for fairly meh food, especially because DHs cooking is fantastic. It's a shame though because I miss the experience of eating out

Yes, as well as the cost meals going up we’ve definitely noticed that the quality and level of service has absolutely dived over the past few years. Also a lot of the restaurants we used to go to frequently are looking grubby and in need of refurbishment, while charging top whack for their food. The overall experience is no longer worth the money.

We have one really lovely local independent restaurant that we eat out at often and the main reason I think it’s so consistently good is that the owners are there all the time, she is front of house, he is head chef. They close the place when they go on holiday.

Yes. Especially for an average place. It’s not worth it.

Agreed. DH and I were just looking at the menu for a local village pub and couldn’t believe it when we saw sausage, mash and peas priced at £17.50! Who the fuck is paying that for bangers and mash, literally the most basic meal that even the most inept cooks can make at home?! There were also starters priced at £12 when I swear I was paying that for decent main only a few years ago…

Yes! DH and I used to eat out at least twice a week. Once in the week and then again on a Sunday. Occasionally we would have a takeaway on a weekend night too or visit a pub again.
We have actually stopped going just over the past month. We were finding we were spending at least £45 on a standard pub meal each and one or two drinks each. A few times the bill came to nearer £70, as we had a starter and I had a cup of tea!

Also we only tend to pop out for an hour hour and a half or so which makes it a very pricey hour!
We calculated we were spending, most months, over £500 which is bonkers really. Clearly lots of other people are thinking the same!

We do have a good disposable income and enjoy eating out (and not cooking) but have decided that we're going to book some more short breaks and holidays with the cash instead.

I agree we're over £100 for a family of four for a pub meal with no alcohol. It's too much. We can only go every 2-3months now and I'm not sure it's worth it.

Agreed, and it makes me sad because our DC will have a narrower upbringing than I would like. The local farm to us has a new company running their cafe and a brownie or slice of loaf cake was £5!

We used to eat out a lot, but stopped completely a while back.
It wasn’t just the meals cost a fortune, the quality had really altered in a lot of places we used to eat out at. It was more like eating a very extremely overpriced ready meal!

Absolutely! I refuse to pay £17 for fish and chips which is tiny compared to a chippy and usually less good, especially when it's £6 for a drink and the atmosphere is a bit shit.

Yes strong agree. Add in my kids often don't eat much. Waste of money and time.

Yes we've never been big fans anyway, but would really pain me to go now. We just get the supermarket takeaway boxes/meal deals as a "treat"!

Agree!

My DH is a really good cook as well, so I just end up thinking he could’ve done this better and for a fraction of the cost.

It’s all gone up massively, hasn’t it? I used to be able to go out more when I was young and short on money than I am now as an adult with a decent, professional job.

Even cafes are expensive these days, not just restaurants.

We rarely go out for dinner these days unless there is a really good special offer like 50% off mains etc. Also like others have said I don’t enjoy it anymore. Prices have gone up but standard’s seem to have really dropped over the last couple of years.

Obviously restaurants have had to put up their prices due their own increase in bills and wages etc, they haven’t had a choice.

We do enjoy a takeaway and can usually get really good deals for them online, added bonus is I get to sit indoors in my pjs.

Garden centre cafes are the worst! Call themselves restaurants so they can charge £15 for a toasted sandwich or £12.50 for avo on toast, I noticed last week.

Also Sunday roasts out are a ridiculous price! I swear I could feed a family of four, for the cost of one! And the roast potatoes are never right!

We’ve barely eaten out since the end of 2022. It’s just not worth it, especially as DS is 16 and has eaten an adults meal for years.

Agree! It’s just not worth it at all.

We go to a pub/restaurant if I’m fed up of cooking all week. Even with discount vouchers/ special offers it mounts up. Some places are charging £9 for a glass of wine. I can get a decent bottle of plonk in Aldi for £6.

I’m with you in this.

Yep. My staff canteen (so not even glamorous) charges £7.40 for a crappy egg mayo sandwich in a cardboard packet and an Americano. It was only £5 last year. I’ve taken to roasting a whole chicken at the weekend for delicious sandwiches at a fraction of the cost. A chicken, a nice multigrain loaf, and some salad comes in at less than £10 for the week. Much better than sweaty egg.

I was thinking the exact same thing yesterday. As pp’s have said, the quality has gone down while the cost has gone up and it’s not enjoyable when you feel like you’ve paid over the odds for something you could make at home for half the price.

I try to find a discount code for meals out these days. No code, no sale!

Absolutely agree. I'd still like to eat out occasionally even at a higher price which includes staff and other costs but the quality is absolutely awful.

That and the price of even soft drinks makes it too expensive

Yep, prices have definitely increased and cafes are charging what were pub prices, and pubs now charge restaurant prices.
I’m always amazed at the cost of a jacket potato, especially when the fillings are added on top. I know they have overheads and you aren’t just paying for the jacket potato, but I do feel ripped off at some places now, even with being sympathetic to their rising costs.

We eat out far less frequently than we used to, but when we do eat out it’s at a really nice place. I resent paying £20 for something we can cook better at home, but will happily spend more for a really good meal/experience. We just do it every couple of months instead of every week.