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?

We went to pizza express the other weekend and for us and 2 kids it was over £100 - no alcohol. Shocking really.

Being on a very tight budget, meals out in pubs are as rare as hens teeth

We did think this last Saturday that we would eat whilst in the pub, until we saw the menu ( and prices ) , there was seriously nothing less then £20 a head for bog standard cook on a grill or through the pans meal

If we eat out now its a lunch special ( live in a tourist area and out of season prices are reasonable at lunchtime - 2 course and a small glass of wine £20/£25 a head with beautiful views ) . But for bog standard we are hungry lets eat whilst we are out are now a local cafe or a McD's

Really good income but we rarely eat out because it seems pretty frivolous.

We gave up eating at chain restaurants a few years ago, because the food was poor value and I really object to paying £9 for a glass of Château Crappy. When you can produce a really good dinner for 4, for the cost of one cover at an average restaurant, it really isn't justifiable. We still eat out, but only at good independent restaurants, and we and our friends cook for each other.

Reading all of these, the restaurant/pub food industry is in big trouble. I am sorry for those affected.

Last time I went out for a meal was a treat for a friends birthday. The food was nice nothing amazing, price I was ok with. More the service was quite crap, waiting ages to get our drinks brought over, table all wonky and shoogly so kept rocking about (got a beer mat to stabilise it) once they put our food down they didn't even have salt and pepper on the table! Kind of annoying when you have to constantly ask for the basic things to go with your food

See I am SE and have relatives in NW. Can't say I actually noticed any price difference. Although we did go to the Curry Mile

OH used to have a mixed grill which was about £17 back in the day. It's now £32. Seriously?

We never eat out in the evening now but go out for lunch at the local golf club a couple of times a month where you can get a main course for £9 to £13.

The cost of eating shit food in an average pub is usually as much as good food in a smaller place (I'm veggie and so specialist veggie places tend to need to be good to keep going and there are usually less of them).

I wouldn't consider weatherspoons to be eating out but it is my Go To for a cheap know-what-you're-getting meal.

My point is, Supermarket Meal Deals are up to £5, Spoons is £8, an unknown pub might be £12 and a good veggie place £15: £8 and under is so cheap I don't really care if its good quality so it's a convenience choice, whereas £15 is a careful choice to spend money. The unknown £12 pub is more than I care to gamble when for a few quid more I'll be getting great food.

We do eat out regularly, more than once a week probably
Always at independents as they need the support.

I agree, we enjoy eating out and trying new food but for a family of 5 it’s hard to justify the cost. The last few meals we’ve had out have been disappointing and it ends up costing about £130.

At a recent pub lunch, DS’s ‘chicken burger’ was two pieces of dry over-cooked chicken stuck in a bun with some lettuce. It was chewy!
We were on the south coast and there was no fresh fish on the menu, only scampi or battered cod (probably frozen).

DH and I both cook very nice food at home, so it’s hard to justify paying a lot of money for something mediocre.
It’s a shame as we do miss going out for a nice meal.

Wish we could lean into the Italian style of going out locally for one drink and a chat/ walk around, then back home for dinner. We just need the outside tables. And the weather. And the affordable aperos!

Completely agree, eating out is just so expensive. Yesterday me, DH and DD who is 8 went to a very average fish and chip cafe by the coast. 2 adult fish and chips, mushy peas, a kids fish and chips and a fizzy drink or bottle of water each was £48!! Was just saying to DH that a chippy tea when we were kids was so much more affordable.

Veggie sausages (the ones with frozen mixed veg in breadcrumbs that the business has probably bought for 10p each) are also what piss me off about veggie food in a lot of places these days, usually in the breakfast section. At least get some meat substitute.

Yes, I definitely eat out a lot less these days. It’s not so much that I can’t afford it, it’s that I don’t like walking out of a normal chain restaurant feeling like I’ve been mugged.

As a former hospitality manager, I fully understand that the costs of running restaurants have gone through the roof, and that if the number of customers falls, prices have to increase further to cover fixed costs, but that’s not the point. Value for money is the issue, or the lack of it.

I was looking at trying somewhere new for a special occasion and even though it was on the pricy side I was prepared to pay - until I saw the booking was only for 90 minutes. Im not paying over the odds to be hassled out the door so they can cram more people in.

I'll always drop money on a brilliant currey or Thai

Yes. The prices have gone up and the portion sizes have gone down. I go out once a month if I can afford it. I like the social aspect and it gives me a break from washing up. I agree with other posters saying that a better meal can be cooked at home for a fraction of the price. It's definitely encouraged me to cook a variety of restaurant-type food at home. In fact, I've been enjoying foods such as lasagne or spaghetti bolognese with garlic bread, mac and cheese, curry and naan bread, barbecue chicken. Last week I bought a pizza base and we put our own cheese and toppings on. It's a nice way to get the kids involved and reminds me of when I was their age and helped my mother in the kitchen. Great times 💕 🏡

I think it often depends on how you feel about eating out. I have never bothered that much about casual eating out. For us, we eat out 20/25 times a year but it is always a pre-booked/planned lunch or dinner. I might not even be bothered about that particular food but I like the social side/getting out of scruffs (and the wine) I am willing to pay for that!

I think one problem pub's have is not actually catering to vegetarians (and other groups). There will often be a token item on the menu, and if you're lucky, it isn't a generic bought in burger.

I get that maybe it doesn't sell as well, but a lot of families and friends have vegetarians in the group and choose venues with a choice so by not having a choice of good veggie food, they lose the custom of the group.

Many people have things like a gluten intolerance (so not a full allergy) and will choose gluten free food, even with the caveat that it cannot be guaranteed in a kitchen handling many foods. So perhaps a few really well made meal options that cover a range of diets would help draw customers in.

I also realised while looking at set lunch menus of expensive places that the dishes very rarely include potatoes as they once would have. This is so they can upsell you chips or mash etc to augment the tiny portions they serve.

Yes, agree. We're a big family - 5 adult DD's, partners, etc and we've regularly all met up for Sunday lunches, family birthdays, achievments like promotions etc. DH and I have always been more than happy to treat our lovely family but we've had to cut down massively on this kind of spending since the COL crisis. We were regularly spending in excess of £1k a month on eating out what with these family dinners and DH and I going out regularly ourselves for dinner. It's over £75 now for DH and I to have 2 courses and one drink at our local gastro. Ridiculous, so we've started going to the Toby carvery midweek for a roast if we fancy going out but find we're actually quite happy to stay in. Whole family meals are always in the region of £4-500 so now they will be for high days and holidays not just for no particular reason any more.

And the roast potatoes are never right!

To be fair to the cooks, there seems to be something very specific about roast potatoes that means they will never stay nice once you've taken them out of the oven. Certainly all of the ways used in commercial kitchens to keep warm all seem to result in them going soft on the outside and acquiring a slightly stale taste in a matter of minutes.

I only make a roast about twice a year and I always serve all the roast potatoes in one go because even keeping them in the just-turned-off oven doesn't really work.

I agree that £20 for an average pub main course is a bit pricey. Some pubs do meal deals through the week which are better value for money.

Last week the new refurbished pub charged £15 for a chicken burger and £6 for a small cup of fries.

£21 I could feed a family of 5!

We don’t go out now very often.

Shame really, used to be a nice night out.