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?

It's not eating out meals per se, but I really miss going for tea/coffee and cake on the regular. Yesterday I bought 3 x cakes and 2 x coffees and 1 x apple juice and it was £18. £18!!!!! The cakes were lovely, but I was absolutely aghast

@ChopstickNovice I think you got off lightly, actually. That's what, say £3.50 per cake, £2.50 per coffee and same for the juice. A complete bargain these days! I'd expect to pay an extra pound minimum on all of those, so £24 upwards.

@DuesToTheDirt yep , I was thinking that’s quite cheap!!

@DuesToTheDirt @Crikeyalmighty I had better adjust my expectations!

@ChopstickNovice yep - we used to live in Copenhagen for 2 years from 2020 to 2022 which is known as being expensive and when we came back I do remember saying to H that the UK post Brexit/covid now had scandi style prices without the quality or wages to match .

Does Waitrose also cook it for you?
Supply, prep and cook the veg & potatoes?
Bring it out to you on a plate?
Come and take the empty plate away and wash and put away the pots, plates, cutlery etc?
Give you a warm room to sit in to eat it?

With the likely mortgage and rates cost for somewhere like Bath, £16 will barely be covering the running costs. We all celebrated when minimum wage went up, but of course every other person above minimum expected a similar increase. The cost of ingredients and gas electric have gone through the roof. This is just cause and effect.

Yep, can’t really afford it myself either. Coffee and cake is so expensive, even a meal or a takeaway!

Maybe this is one way forward for some businesses - a pared down menu of 'back to basics' but freshly made.

I’ve been WFH most days since 2020 and sometimes I think my weekly shop is too expensive but then I remember how much I save now not only from making lunche at home, but from not buying stuff from Gail’s and Pret etc on my commute . (my waistline is grateful too! )

I usually bake my own stuff but I ordered a Cinammon bun tray bake that serves 4 to come with this weeks Tesco delivery. It’s £3.80 and I was debating buying it then realised even one cinnamon bun in cafe Nero it would be about that price so it was a bargain.

And my local Nero is always full of barking and/or wet dogs, long queues and dirty tables if you can even find one.

I’ve noticed cafes/restaurants always seem to be quite cold here in winter too compared to when I go out to eat in other European countries. It doesn’t feel very cosy! Unless I’m meeting up with a friend which is maybe once a month I avoid eating out here. It’s just not worth it for me.

I do feel sorry for business owners who do their best and are struggling to make ends meet though.

Yep 5 of us so everything’s expensive to feed us all . More than happy to go there ( and cheap alcohol too 😁)

@Inawhyl I really agree on that -when we lived in Copenhagen the cafes were warm, well lit, just a nice vibe- even a chain like espresso house which is their version of Starbucks ( in Sweden too) had leather sofas, potted palms, throw over furry blankets nice lighting and usually clean tables, loos and floors. Ok a large ( and I mean a large) coffee was £4.75 to £5.20 but it was a much nicer experience - average wages are higher so it kind of balances out too

So where does the profit come in for that £16 for the pie and chips? The £4 they may be charging for a cup of tea? Because they have to be making money, surely, otherwise why would they still be open?

Yeah I’ve heard good things about the Copenhagen coffee shops and bakeries.

Actually wouldn’t mind paying a bit more for nice coffee/food in pleasant surroundings, with clean toilet facilities which is why I love eating out when I travel!

Well my pie example wasn't in Bath, and I don't remember the price. But the chips were no doubt oven chips, and there was no other veg, so no they didn't prep anything, just heated them up.

Washing up is no big deal for me, and restaurants aren't always warm.

Yes, I apppreciate that costs have shot up and they need to make a profit, but for many of us it's really not worth while to pay these prices for food that the restaurant has bought in. I'd rather pay a bit more and have something home made.

Why do you think so many are shutting the doors.

When I worked in hospitality, the practice was a roughly 70% gross margin depending on location. Obviously more expensive addresses required a larger margin. This was the part that covered operating costs.

Using that as a guideline, it means the ingredients cost would be around £4.50 ish for the above pie and chips. Probably not far away from right.

It was you that mentioned Bath and Waitrose pies.

I really don’t want to eat out anymore as the quality in pubs is not great, there is not always a lot of choice but I do love a draft pint.

I just feel so disappointed when we go out as it always costs over a hundred for 2 of us if we also have some drinks and the quality is not there

If I eat out these days it’s a curry as I can’t make better myself

Er, no.

I mentioned pies, unspecified supermarket and location.

Crikeyalmighty followed up with a similar experience, specifying Waitrose pies and Bath.

One I know actually adds service charge.Two white coffees, two cakes, (one dry, one with synthetic cream) and the cost was just short of £18.
Oh, and I had to clear the table myself of used cups and saucers.

I definitely would have that over 25 around here

@DuesToTheDirt. Yep - thing is the pub that does this ( and it’s a really popular one) makes a big thing about its pies - which are indeed well known ‘decent’ pie range down here . I do know why pubs have to mark up considerably regards costs , thing is though when times are tight and especially if I had a family with me I can’t help but think that£100 meal with drinks and service for 4 would cost me £22 to £28 at most to make at home using the same foods.

Not RTFT but we just don't bother with pub meals any more. They're invariably owned by one of the large breweries and nothing is home made, just heated up from frozen.

We have some excellent local restaurants in our village which although not cheap are very good quality with great fresh food - Indian, Chinese, Turkish, Italian, Argentinian steak.

By contrast we've just come back from our local nature reserve which has a cafe. To be fair they do use fresh local ingredients but their prices were ridiculous. £11 for a toastie and £17 for a burger. And they closed at 4.30 after which there was nowhere open to even get ice cream so we just bought some from Tesco on the way home at a fraction of the price.

Today on Exmouth seafront:
4 portions of take away fish & chips (albeit very nice quality) plus 3 cans of fizzy drink: £59

Yep everything's going up.

I quite like a cooked breakfast out. The ones in my local places are about £12/£13 for a full veggie fry, maybe a pound or 2 more for meat option. Given the cost of buying all the separate ingredients and faff of cooking them, I think it represents good value.