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?

Agree, we used to eat out a lot.
But recently I have been so annoyed with the price hikes and rubbish food that I am refusing to eat out
For my birthday I would usually eat out, but decided this year to do a full three courses at home, restaurant style and it was delicious and really fun.
Even made the kids sandwiches this week to take to the trampoline park, whereas usually I would buy them the food deal aftwrwards.

The last two pub meals I've had have actually been awful. So bad I left most of it in both and paid around £17.50.

I've not eaten at a pub since.

At least I you go to a restaurant and pay that you're more likely to get something good, as they just focus on the food.

When a pub roast was a tenner, and a pint was £3.50 you'd accept that it was a bit thrown together, not as good as a home cooked dinner. Now it's £20 and the pint is £6 so I'm expecting it to be decent and am really disappointed if it's not. And it so often isn't.

YANBU.

We had a 2 course meal in a pub the other week. For a family of 4, it came to £135.

It was a special occasions, no other time could I justify that!

Food was pretty average too. (Pub garden and view from the pub was stunning though!)

Other than special occasions I rarely eat in pubs now :( If I'm really hungry I'll get chips / cheesy chips (for about £4/£5!)

Tomorrow we're taking the DC out to a place with half term activities. We're taking a picnic rather than use their cafe, to save money.

There are few places that are worth it these days. Those that are worth it I can justify, but only every few months because they’re mega expensive and a real treat.

Most places, especially chains, I’ve simply stopped going to. There was an option of a family get together meal post theatre just after Christmas and we refused to join them on the grounds that it would cost the four of us almost £150 for mediocre food, shit service, grubby loos and a noisy, echoey dining hall atmosphere. I know I sound old but I’d rather eat at home thanks!

Over the last five years or so, DH and I have stopped takeaways or going out to eat on a weekend as we used to before. Instead I’ll buy a basket of loveliness from Waitrose for a fraction of the price and have top up things for the week included!

We stopped regularly eating out a while ago, except for the odd chippy take away. While I know that proprietors must cover costs and make a profit, we live in an area with above average prices for distinctly average food (touristy location) and it cannot really be justified.

We've had cooked breakfasts in Wetherspoons, and I don't think that we could have made it ourselves at home for cheaper

Costs have gone up and quality seems to have gone down.

Met up with my parents recently and did a fair bit of eating out (lunch or dinner) and we agreed it was generally disappointing. Only good meals were from a pop-up type place that I would love to mention, but I don't think MN would allow.

When I met DH, 15 years ago, a lunch for two in a nice bar was about £25. These days there’s no change from £50. PP are right, we eat better, more exciting and more nutritious food at home, it’s just a bit of a habit when we’re at a loose end to go out for an hour or two. Now that I think about it, we should just stop.

I get a coffee and little cake once a week at work and it’s £8, but the cake is divine ( I can bake pretty well, but then I eat the whole thing…).

I agree, way too expensive and quality often isn’t the best.

A place I used to love going to now charges £18 for mac and cheese..... emphasis on the "used to" ......

Absolutely agree with this. It's the prices plus lack of service which makes going out to eat more like an expensive chore than a pleasurable treat. Too many instances where I've been sitting there thinking frankly I'd rather be at home, so yes, not going out to eat anywhere near as often as before.

We have never been able to go every week, but usually just birthdays and special occasions. I now just have lunch at home, but a coffee and cake when out shopping with DD. Our good friend is a wonderful cook and his roasts are legendary. We sometimes have Steak and cake ,as DD not keen on eating out as well.Cost of 2 teas (no cake) ladt week 4.40. In the village. Museum
T

I agree with so many comments on this thread but then who are the people regularly eating out as if I go to my local big city, restaurants etc still seem really busy!?
We used to eat out fairly often, at least once if not twice a week. Now it seems we go only when on holiday or very special occasions.

We eat out a lot and I agree it’s not good value , a lot of meat dishes are circa £25 now . It’s only because most of our socialising involves meals . I do get that running , staffing and food costs have escalated for pubs . I guess everyone has a choice to make .

We rarely eat out because we had other priorities, but when we do it's almost rage inducing. We've two DC & DH is a huge eater, so a meal out can cost half our grocery bill.

I also find the food has declined. Went to our local a couple of months ago, looking forward to a nice grilled Barra & it was now unaffordable. The cheaper fish I did get was cold & limp & veggies obviously from a prechopped bag. I could buy similar ar the supermarket next door.

I feel it's all become so expensive when actually,we eat three meals a day. If I could eat once per week like a snake I could probably do so in a pub. As it is, I'm hungry again so quickly I feel ripped off. [But I am pregnant]

Tiny portion in the chip shop yesterday, I was starving.

Yes too expensive for ordinary food.

I think prices are a "postcode lottery" when it comes to eating out.

Here in the NW a curry plus drink at Wetherspoons is £12.26
Fish & chips, mushy peas, tartare sauce plus drink is £12.48

At a "posh" pub the same fish meal on "Fish Friday" plus drink is £14.95

There is a specialist fish restaurant in the area 1 course 16.95, 2 courses 19.95, the portions are a good size but drinks extra. Doesn't open every day.

It's not so much the expense, as the food no longer seeming worth it. It's the same old rubbish in so many places, with the menu padded out by ten varieties of burgers, and meat-substitute alternatives, to disguise how few options there are. Nothing home-made - just reheated stuff - why pay £12 + for a lasagne you could buy at Tesco for a third of that price? Paying £4 for a small soft drink to accompany the meal when it's a standard lemonade or coke. I understand they have overheads and staff need to be fairly paid, but when the food isn't different or better than what you could buy ready-made in the supermarket, it's a waste of money.

Yes! I was out with the kids all day yesterday and DH wasn't going to be back from work in time to make dinner so he texted to ask me to pick up McD's on the way home. I started ordering in the app and it was going to be almost £30 for two happy meals and two adults meals! And everyone would have been hungry again by bedtime 🥴 So I spent £12 on ready meals instead, to which we added some frozen peas, and there's enough leftover for DH to take for lunch today.
On Friday I went to the local pub after school with some of the school mums and it was £9.50 for a HALF of shandy and two fruit shoots 😵‍💫
It's just not worth it anymore. And don't get me started on the ice cream van... 😂😭

All true.

Go out after making some food at home if you want the experience.
Order a drink, soup, toasted sandwich and a coffee etc but never spend more than you can afford.

DH and I treated ourselves to a meal out for our anniversary recently and whilst it was nice and I did order a seafood main I wouldn't cook at home it was so expensive compared to relatively recently. And I wasn't drinking- so not lots of alchohol. My zero gin and tonic alone was £9.
We used to eat out at least once a week. Not any more.If we want a treat we go out for breakfast/ brunch.But even that at our favourite cafe has almost doubled in price since we first discovered it.

We only eat out if we can get a discount or free starter. Even then we avoid having lots of drinks or extras

A great meal in a quality restaurant is a real treat

Ready meal from a chain, not so much