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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Against chain restraunts

66 replies

Amy34555 · 10/09/2025 21:48

My husband got invited out with his boss and family's obviously. I'm sorry but last iguanas is not somewhere to be taken by a boss. Never heard of it. Quick search on Google.th first thing that came up was Iceland new range. If something is in Iceland I'm very sorry but no

OP posts:
Original poster
Amy34555 · 10/09/2025 23:16

Maybe we should be gratefull for a free meal, look a gift horse in the mouth like the comments say, I'm not a big fan of bowing to the boss. Out of ours, no, before ppl start it's not very wise to say no, it's not the 1970s so me and my family have to be extra nice cos the boss is paying. So fake

OP posts:
Magnificentkitteh · 10/09/2025 23:19

I think it's you that is living in the 1970s. Why do you have to be fake? Enjoy a meal out, Have a a chat with someone who your husband spends a good portion of the day with and who has extended an invitation to you. If he's that awful you can't appreciate that for what it is, look for a new job. Otherwise I don't see the problem.

TY78910 · 10/09/2025 23:20

I associate las iguanas with 2 for 1 cocktails. Maybe that’s what the boss is going for…

I also would not turn my nose up to a free meal. Pizza express sell ready made food in supermarkets, so do Franco Manca or Zizzi. I’d still be happy with a meal in those chains.

Financial · 10/09/2025 23:21

I don’t think this boss can win tbh.
He’s not asking you to bow down to him.
Perhaps he chose the chain to make you feel more relaxed and it’s probably more suitable for families.
If he took you somewhere ‘posher’ you would say he was showing off.

stop drinking OP, and definitely don’t drink when you go out with the boss

JulianFawcettMP · 10/09/2025 23:24

They serve alcohol there and we know you like a drink so I'm sure you will get through it.

kittenkipping · 10/09/2025 23:40

“bowing to the boss” ? No. Accepting a deal meal with Grace and gratitude is manners- not bowing or servitude. There’s quite the marked difference. “Maybe” you should be grateful? No. Even if you decline (I hope politely) you SHOULD be grateful for a free meal. Of course you should! You don’t have to be extra nice , though of course , like a work Christmas party , you should be professional. Polite. If you aren’t it will be office gossip.

When you say “so fake” are you familiar with the concept of having to adjust your behaviour according to situation? You may behave in front of your parents a different way to the way you do with your friends. Neither positions are fake. Equally in work or school or court - we should all be a certain version of ourselves. That doesn’t mean we have to be “fake” it means that we adjust our behaviour based upon the circumstance. I really dislike some of my work colleagues. They are right wing bigoted privileged idiots if I were to be honest. It would be deeply inappropriate for me to make that opinion clear in work. So they think I like them well enough. I certainly work with them without any issue. My personal trainer is hot as all hell, I’d love to jump his bones, but he is my employee, and as such to come onto or proposition him would be deeply inappropriate, and so I don’t, I am not being fake. I am simply behaving appropriately to the circumstances.

NewPinkJacket · 10/09/2025 23:43

Amy34555 · 10/09/2025 23:16

Maybe we should be gratefull for a free meal, look a gift horse in the mouth like the comments say, I'm not a big fan of bowing to the boss. Out of ours, no, before ppl start it's not very wise to say no, it's not the 1970s so me and my family have to be extra nice cos the boss is paying. So fake

Rubbish.

You don't even work for this boss so I'm quite sure they'll cope if you say you can't get a babysitter or you're unwell.

Might also be better for your husband's career prospects.

JimPanzee · 10/09/2025 23:53

Amy34555 · 10/09/2025 23:16

Maybe we should be gratefull for a free meal, look a gift horse in the mouth like the comments say, I'm not a big fan of bowing to the boss. Out of ours, no, before ppl start it's not very wise to say no, it's not the 1970s so me and my family have to be extra nice cos the boss is paying. So fake

Out of your what?
And what is the point about the boss's family in OP? I don't get it despite you saying it's obvious 🤨
If it's a casual meal then I'm sure it was fine, maybe they'd splurge a bit more for Christmas or something.

PixieTales · 11/09/2025 00:03

You sound a bit weird tbh and like you have a couple of chips on your shoulder….ifs a free meal at the end of the day.

MrsAvocet · 11/09/2025 00:15

Allthefruit · 10/09/2025 23:04

We often use chains because by and large they are much better at allergy management than independents

Absolutely agree. There are only 2 places where I can be absolutely certain that my multi allergic son will be able to get both a safe main course and dessert. One is our local pub and the other is Zizzi. The pub because we know the staff and trust them, Zizzi because it is identical wherever you are, we know the menu and I have never yet been in a branch where they have failed to follow their allergy policy. It may not be haute cuisine but it's perfectly edible and safe. We have had far more problems over the years in independent restaurants, some quite expensive, than we have in chains.
I'd say a chain is often a safer bet if you're eating with a colleague or someone else you don't know well enough to know about their dietary needs or preferences.

LlamaNoDrama · 11/09/2025 00:19

Loads of brands have an Iceland range. I assume you'll never eat cathedral cheese either then?

Tinyyetsatisfying · 11/09/2025 00:22

Interestingly I am the opposite and I prefer chains as I feel you know what you’re getting. Wagamamas is my fav. But we also frequent Beefeater and Frankie & Bennie’s when we’re out with the dc.

PlusBarrette · 11/09/2025 00:26

Not sure if this is a troll, a reverse or if OP really is that stuck up.

DiscoBob · 11/09/2025 00:35

Were you invited? Maybe the boss likes it? I haven't tried it personally but I don't care where other people's bosses choose to treat them to a meal.

If it was me I'd be grateful for the free food. It may not be Michelin stars but it's only one meal.

Why not just suggest somewhere you like and go there with him on another occasion?

CosmicScouser · 11/09/2025 00:44

Well, I think that everyone is piling on you here OP and being a bit harsh.

The vibe that I'm getting is that you don't wanna spend your precious free time at a mediocre chain restaurant, but you can't voice that because it's the boss' "treat" and so youre gonna have to suck it up and go along with it. I totally get that.

I feel the same about chain restaurants. I've never been to Las Iguanas and I likely never will, certainly not for a social evening. Thats my personal stance on chain restaurants.

I'm not posh but I spent 5 years working in restaurants as a waitress, and I have qualifications in wine etc. And to me there is just a totally clear difference between chain restaurants and independents. They are not comparable.

Depending on the vibe of the workplace, I'd go as far as to say that it's not really a suitable choice. Although bear in mind I've never been.

Now that I have read this thread, maybe I will go to Las Iguanas to feel a bit more 'current'. But only on my own, maybe while I'm waiting to go on to meet friends for a drink. Or if I get hungry whilst out shopping - that's what chain restaurants are for, if you ask me. A quick pit stop.

Hallywally · 11/09/2025 19:57

Gosh you’re so miserable and unpleasant. You’ll be doing his boss a favour if you don’t go.

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