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 used to go out every week 7 years ago. Now we hardly ever go out

It's a catalogue of events though not just 1 thing minimum wage has doubled in that time, NI increases, covid loans, brexit etc

When the energy prices rocketed businesses weren't protected like consumers, I had a broker trying to bully me into accepting a 3 year contract at £1 a unit. I laughed and said I take my chances as has 3 months left on my contract. I managed to get a 1 year deal at 60p and now it's back to normal but it wouldn't surprise me if some weren't sucked in with the incessant pressure. The government at the time told everyone they were helping, I got 2p refund.

I took my dd to a café in our local park for lunch last week. I had a salad and she had a bowl of carbonara. Two small sparkling waters and two coffees. The bill was almost £60! And we live in the north.

Agree, but then eating out generally tends to bore me anyway. I can only really be arsed with it if it's either for convenience or a really nice meal for a special occasion.

Completely agree with you, impromptu, mid-week meals out are off the menu now unless we’re passing a Wetherspoons!

Post Covid the quality went down, but prices crept up.

I’ve been to a couple of good value places recently, but they are far and few between. It shouldn’t have taken 5 years to get to this point after lockdown.

Totally agree. We'd often do it if we were tired after work or just needed to get out midweek. Very very rarely do it now and when I do, I usually regret it.

Wonder if loss of customers is worth the price increases

I’m super fussy where I eat now and usually only eat out if I’m traveling. I was in Derby recently and found a restaurant that had good reviews. It did end up being really nice and a great atmosphere too.

I find a lot of restaurants and cafes are too cold, don’t smell great, have not so clean tables etc it all just puts me off from the outset so I think I’m better off cooking which I enjoy anyway. When I eat out I’m also paying for the experience so if I don’t find it a nice experience - I’m out!

It's awful what this government has done to businesses. At a time where they need support, they hike employment costs.

@Butterflytowna chippy used to be the cheap takeaway option :(

I resent paying that for a pub meal. I'm in London and there are a few decent french restaurants nearby that charge similar prices - yesterday paid £25 head for a fab meal including wine. Why would I eat in the pub if there other nicer options at the same price point? I think they will be pricing themselves out of the market.

Totally agree. Husband higher earned. Kids now eat adult portions and will have starters as well. When I look back I’m kinda shocked by how often we used to eat out. It felt like such better value, we didn’t have to cook, was nice to get out of the house, etc. I just can’t justify it now. Also I agree with previous posters. Mid range and pubs I’ve really noticed the deterioration in quality of food.

We're another family who have stopped eating out much, a few people have said it's cheaper to cook at home but it always has been, that's not the point of eating out, it's the social aspect and the convenience of having someone else cook but nowadays it's just too expensive.
People will still go to a place that does good food though, we have 5 or 6 country pubs within a 10 minute drive from here and there's only one that is always busy, it's the one that consistently has good food and decent portion sizes. It's not the cheapest but you know that you won't be disappointed there.

You're not wrong, prices have shot up! 5 years ago a 3 course in a gastro pub would set you back £30 a head, including half a bottle of wine, now its more like £60! I work in a kitchen so can see the other side of it, the price of food has increased massively. I get that pubs have to make money and £15 for a sausage and mash doesn't really add much at all in the way of profits but I shrink a bit inside whenever I look at menus now. Even mcdonalds is very expensive for what it is these days

We’ve stopped eating out in the evenings, lunch’s I don’t mind the odd one as you can still get more value with nice sarnies.

I did think WTF the other day for an £18 veggie ravioli.. it’s pasta.

But Sunday dinners around here are £25 a pop, really nice but I can’t use a whole weeks food shop budget for the family on one meal, the last one we took my mum and DH and two DS, both had beers, wines puddings etc and the bill was £248. It was an occasion but it’s not happening again!!

Totally. The food's usually so underwhelming I end up thinking I could’ve done better and I’m barely qualified to boil an egg. £20 for limp fish and chips or a soggy burger in some sad-sack pub that smells of spilled ale and despair? I'm not in London though, I think out of London there's less competition and the food is more expensive and shitter when you eat out.

Yes, we only really eat out for special occasions now, or as part of a trip/holiday. And we will go somewhere decent where the cost is really worth it (as opposed to popping in somewhere easy for a quick dinner like Pizza Express. Those sort of places are not worth it now). It’s how I remember things being in the 80s- eating out/takeaways were a rare treat.

It does feel really expensive for meh food. I know not just paying for food but for labour and building costs etc but £15 + for a burger and chips is bonkers and sometimes not great meat. For same prices as one I can do five burgers at home made from steak mince, fries and a big salad. Home made pizza is much nicer too.

I haven’t really gone back to eating out since Covid!

i know costs have gone up but its ridiculous now wouldnt mind if it tasted good most of the time its fozen crap

In fact out for a very rare lunch today, treating daughter and grandson. Nowhere fancy. Pleasant enough food, not exceptional. 1 course each (child had a “mini picnic”, basically half a sandwich, few crisps, couple of cherry tomatoes/cucumber stick and a cookie), two coffees and a tap water. £45.
A party of 7 came in, 5 adults and 2 kids. Starters, main courses, wine and beers. . Must have cost at least £150. That’s just mad.

We had this exact conversation today about going out tonight. Usually we would just go out if we felt like it but tonight we just thought it going to be near 50 Euro for two of us and the food will be fine but just standard meal and we just didn't think it is worth it. We didn't go.

Yes agree.

I'm not in the UK, but it is the same here, and actually based on what kinds of priced people are posting I'd say it has gone up by a similar amount.

I just can't afford for us to eat out as a family. If we need something on the road I am popping in to a supermarket or something like that and picking up a prepared sandwich. Which I usually split between two people.

Yes. Family of four. If we “enjoyed ourselves” and bought some starters and/or dessert as well as main meal and drinks £120-150.
It is sad because restaurants will close and families will miss out. I would rather not eat out than go to chain pub for cheap food that I don’t like. Occasionally find an independent pub or Italian with proper home cooked food, love these. Don’t mind paying a decent price. Though as a kid, we NEVER ate out. Not even once. Closest we got to it was having sausage and chips at the beach (definitely not fish-that was too pricey), on holidays we had ice cream from a van. Even as a child, I squirmed when I knew we could buy a box of feast lollies in the supermarket for the price of one at the van. As I got older/ wealth conscious, I remember feeling very embarrassed passing around a 2L bottle of pop between my siblings to wash down the chips (cans were too expensive). God bless my mum and dad, only my dad worked (SAHM, few childcare options in those days for low earners) and dad earned not much above minimum wage. I earn above minimum wage and don’t feel that much better off than they were. Eek.

We've stopped eating in the kind of ordinary pubs and restaurants we used to go to because it's not worth spending £18-20 a head on a meal that we could buy from M&S for £12 for the two of us. We're both good cooks and sick of paying inflated prices for food that is nowhere near as good as we make at home.

What we now do is eat out once every 4-6 weeks at much classier restaurants where we eat food we couldn't make ourselves at home. We spend up to £100 each on a quality meal with good service in nice surroundings. And we have a takeaway once a month from the best Indian in the area. A takeaway costs around £30 for the two of us, but covers us for two or more days because the portion sizes are so large.

I'm astonished at the number of cafes that remain open. Yesterday morning I was out at 8am. There was a queue of people waiting at a nearby cafe, all stopping to pick up £4 takeaway coffee and a £3.50 almond croissant or a £4.50 bacon bap.

Totally agree, prices have increased so much. Last Wednesday I went out with a group of friends to a hotel restaurant. We chose a set menu £27 for 2 courses. The starter was pate, it was so small and served with only half a slice of toasted bread. Main course was sea bream with broccoli and green beans and a light butter sauce! Again very small portions, I had to add a side portion of new potatoes to make it a meal, as it didn’t come with any potatoes or chips, this cost me another £5
I was driving so I had Diet Coke, a small bottle cost me £4
On top was a service charge of 10% and gratuities also 10%
So my bill was very nearly £45
No wonder people don’t go out much!