Have takeaways gone massively downhill?

[LaJacondeFumantLaPipe]

We have never been huge users of takeaways, deliveroo etc, but when we did order them, I quite enjoyed them.

But we ordered one last weekend as a treat after a really busy week and really busy weekend. It was so disappointing. The meat was awful quality - so fatty and gristly. The sauces were watery and bland and.... I have a horrible feeling that I found a fingernail in mine 🤢.

Thinking back to the one I had before that (from a different place and a different cuisine completely), it was also just horrible.

On both occasions it was really expensive, which just adds insult to injury.

Have takeaways gone downhill or is it my imagination or just bad luck where I live?

Definitely in both restaurants and takeaways. I don't bother eating out or ordering in anymore unless it is a restaurant I know is good and this is now reserved for once every three months as it is £75 a go (takeaway!) for 4 of us.

I would honestly prefer to pay more to maintain the same old good quality than to pay the same as 3 years ago for lower quality. Places are loosing customers by keeping their costs low by reducing quality instead of maintaining a customer base who may shop less often due to higher cost but stick with them.

To be honest I'm finding it a struggle to get a bag of potatoes that aren't bruised, already sprouting and bad quality. So I'm not surprised chip shops in particular might be struggling with quality.

Our local Chinese and Indians are all wonderful, but everything else is very sub par quality and high cost. Chip shops near me are nowhere near as good as up north though.

Yes, there is a dark kitchen on my street that just churns out stuff for just eat and deliveroo 24/7.

I definitely agree OP. Like you I'm a rare user of takeaways, I've only had 3 so far this year and they're getting worse and a lot more expensive for what you get.
I appreciate that business costs and food costs have risen considerably in recent years but I feel we are now paying double but getting half as much food compared to 5 or 6 years ago.

I grew up near Belfast and I remember the takeaways there being amazing! You aren't in that well known seaside town with the pedal swans by any chance? I grew up there and moved away 20+ years ago, but will maybe order a takeaway next time I am visiting!

Yes. I believe that the cost of everything is basically driving them to have to either put up costs beyond what people will pay or downgrade ingredients, portions etc. so they’re going to shit if they’re decent value or they cost the same as a meal out.

Saying that Indian/Bangladeshi is still pretty good round here. Lots of their ingredients can be bought in bulk I think and lots of cheaper pulses etc

Depends on the take away. i live in an area with lots of offerings. most are cheap horrible places. There is only a few places I will order from.

I have an Indian take away beside me where it is packed with meat. Proper meat pieces ab lots of fresh veg. It’s a bit more expensive but worth it.

Chinese which is great and decent portions. Enough for lunch.

pizza place that does proper Italian pizzas and vegan cheese for my lactose needs

plus a bonus find was a Jamaican place that does amazing jerk chicken and proper Caribbean sides.

however with delivery fees, I find it’s only worth it for more than one person.

Yep you’re right! We got an Indian last night and I ate half of my curry and a bit of rice and was ill all night and have been ill all day from it!

My husband prefers m & s jalfrezi to any other from restuarants, loads of good quality chicken breast

You are definitely not alone in this. We invested in a Thermomix for this reason and spend a bit extra on some nice ingredients at the weekend but also use it all week. Far nicer and cheaper than takeaways now. I don’t miss them, was so fed up with the disappointment. I do however miss the ease of someone else doing it all…

The idea of a takeaway is far better than the reality. And they're SO expensive now.

We compromise with ready meals from Waitrose or M&S, it works out cheaper, better food & you can mix & match cuisine if people want different things.

Two shops you used once before have gone downhill. It's not an enormous sample to judge every food business in the UK.

Prices of ingredients and wages have gone up though. And if the shop decides to cut corners in a misguided way to minimise price increases for customers or to seek more profit then it will lead to it being worse.

I do not understand what a thermomix does. There’s a shop for it on my road and nobody ever goes in or comes out and it seems they just sell over complicated cooking systems

Its just not worth it anymore is it 😒

We have one locally as well I also have zero clue 😅

The shops also in a rather deprived area which makes it even harder to understand since from what I’ve seen it is rather expensive for some kind of cooking gadget.

No, if anything I find there is vastly more choice of takeaway these days and the food is a very good standard, and delivered hot and fresh. We only even got Deliveroo in my area around the pandemic time and so the number of opportunities for takeaways from proper restaurants with decent food opened up vastly. We have one once a week and don't have anything like the choice we'd have in a less rural area but it is pretty good.

That's horrible - hope you feel better soon

Had a lovely meal from our local Chinese takeaway last night.

We have many many fantastic options where I live.
bloody expensive though.

We've got lovely takeaways here. But I live in a reasonable sized city so there's loads of competition to keep restaurants on their toes!

I’d never heard of one either until last year, I think they’re sold via reps but got ours second hand. Definitely worth watching some videos, they’re probably not for everyone but we use ours almost every day. I am an awful cook and find it all very boring so it’s been a game changer for me. I had no idea top chefs use them in their kitchens either. No idea how I got to my 40’s having never heard of one considering they almost seem to have a cult following

Yup, the only takeaway we've used that has kept the quality standard is our village fish & chip shop. We're almost always dis-satisfied from the other local takeaways we've used and also mostly dissatisfied when we're away on UK short breaks etc., whether takeaways or restaurants. Standards have definitely declined, not just the food quality, but also servers, greeters etc seem disinterested making the whole experience worse. We've started doing something we never used to do on holiday and that's go to the local Waitrose or M&S and buy our own to cook in the holiday cottage, or buy something like a cooked chicken or similar hot cooked food from a supermarket that has a "hot" counter at mealtimes. At least then we're not paying for the so-called "experience" of dining out or for someone to serve and/or deliver it, so we can spend the money saved on higher quality foods.

That’s essentially what it is tbh, they’re out of most people’s budgets I would think. I wouldn’t have bought a new one. They chop, sauté, weigh, cook. But they do it really well and all in one pot. Big screen on the front which tells you step by step what to do if you subscribe to the app, it’s pretty cheap compared to the unit itself. They are really bulky and take up quite a bit of worktop space, plus if you have all the gadgets already separately it might seem a waste of money. It’s quite honestly the best thing I have ever purchased though

Certainly it isn't an enormous sample, which is why I asked on here and included a poll.

As I said, I could see reasons why they might have done. Despite the small sample. I'd say most of the takeaways I use have remained the same overall. Maybe a slight decline. But mostly just price increases.