Going to a restaurant to order food then hardly eat any of it - why?

[doorss]

I just don't get this. People come into a restaurant and order food. Its one of those restaurants you pay in advance. Food arrives, they just eat about a quarter of the dish - maximum. Then all leave with everyone in the group leaving loads of food left.

Why do people do this? If not hungry, don't eat. If pushing for time, don't eat. It's disgusting that people leave that amount of food. A bloody waste

But I find restaurant main courses are HUGE and I can rarely eat a full one. Does this mean I am not allowed to eat out? To be fair, I very rarely do eat out because it's expensive, the portions are huge, and I only eat about half ... but sometimes it's good to go out to eat for social reasons.

I've done this occasionally. Sometimes I'm not feeling very hungry, but expect to find whatever I order tempting enough for me to demolish it. Sometimes it is, but usually I should've listened to my appetite. Or often it's just not good food so I won't force myself to eat it. These things happen.

I try not to over-order but if I do, I leave food. I'd rather waste food than waste my body (by damaging it from over-eating). My body isn't a food waste bin.

Because they didn't like it, over-estimated their appetite, there were only huge plates on the menu but they didn't want much, they had eaten a bit too much earlier in the day...all sorts of legitimate reasons.

If someone else has chosen the portion size for your food you definitely don't have to eat it all!

Even when I was overweight I rarely ate everything on my plate in a pub.

It's not me wasting the food as I haven't decided the portion.

I would expect to pay in advance at a cafe. Nandos i would class as fast food tbh

I've got a very small appetite.I always ask for a very small potion, although I'm happy to pay full price. If the staff ignore me, then food will be left.

I still enjoy going out with friends/family, and as I've paid for it, it's nothing to do with anyone else. 🤷‍♀️

Do you mean paying with the booking? Or at point they order?

If they have had to pay a few days before they may not know how hungry they are going to be?

Do you see this happening a lot? It’s not really anything I’ve ever noticed, but I don’t tend to really pay attention to what other people are doing in that scenario.

Portions are generally too large in most places these days, so I can understand leaving food if you can’t finish it. Presumably next time those people are in that restaurant they’ll order something else, now they know what the portion sizes are!

Quite a few restaurants require you to order at the bar and pay on advance.

I think people leave food as prices have been put up, and restaurants overload the plate with chips or cheap foods to make it look worth the price.

Dine and dash is the term for people ordering food, eating it and leave without paying. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c1531xzz7nyo is an example of a restaurant that demands advance payment of food and drink due to dine dashers

I often have a starter and a bit of bread on the side as they are sometimes more interesting than the main courses and much more like the portions I'd serve myself with at home.

Tend to prefer places now that do "small plates" and "big plates" so people can eat according to their appetite.

I always ask for a doggy bag/takeaway box if I can't finish my meal, most restaurants are happy to oblige.

Payment on ordering the food

I did book a table for 4 at one restaurant and they required £10 a head as a deposit, as got sick of no shows. Booking tables then not bothering to contact restaurant that their plans are changed and no longer want the table. The £40 was knocked off at the end of the bill.

Id imagine food isn't v good, or portions too big, or its eg self service international buffet where people get carried away and take a bit of each dish

Different taste

It’s a shame more people can’t distinguish between themselves and a food waste bin. If you’re full up you’re allowed to stop eating.

The food is wasted if you leave it, also wasted if you force down food you don’t want. Either way, no one else can eat it.

I've got this weird aspect of my social anxiety which means I can be ravenous looking at a menu but by the time I've been served my stomach has completely locked up and I feel like I'm choking just trying to chew and swallow. When it happens I usually apologise to companion/s for not being as hungry as I thought I was, and I ask the waiter to box it up for me. It would probably exacerbate my anxiety yet further to imagine that people might be looking on and judging me or speculating on why I'm ordering food and not eating it!

It’s a shame more people can’t distinguish between themselves and a food waste bin. If you’re full up you’re allowed to stop eating.

The food is wasted if you leave it, also wasted if you force down food you don’t want. Either way, no one else can eat it.

It's no more wasteful to throw away food than to eat food you don't need and won't enjoy. It's a bloody bizarre mindset some people have that's entirely illogical.

It's like criticising someone if the letter they wrote only fills half the page and demanding they make the letter longer so they don't "waste paper".

The food, like the paper, is wasted whether it's eaten or not.

Restaurants should tart offering half porions imho or something. Some portions are ridiculous rbf. I loath food waste. Problem is that if restaurant make portions smaller people will moan like fuck.

People in buffets leaving near full plates give me absolute rage and should be charged extra.

Food waste is crass.

Exactly.

And it's not going to make those who live in poverty any richer.

Nor will it make the starving any less hungry.

If people are so offended at what others do with their food due to poverty and hunger, they probably shouldn't be in a restaurant in the first place, supporting such a massively wasteful industry.

Are they female and trying to make a point about their teeny tiny appetite?

If it keeps a restaurant going then it’s surely a good thing? Lots of people can’t afford eating out so the restaurants need customers. Is it the sort of place where you can get a doggie bag?

All sorts of reasons then. The portion was bigger than they thought, they want the main component of the meal, but not all the bulk and carbs that come with it, they don't want to ruin the vibe for their companions by just ordering a starter, the food isn't to their taste.

Either way they've paid for it. From a business pov you are much better off with the mark up on mains with the wastage, rather than people just ordering a £8 starter because they aren't that hungry.

Yes we need to do this more often. It's very common in the US but Brits seem more reluctant.

I do it but ask to take the rest home with me in a box. I don’t live in the UK but it’s quite common here