I'm not going to a restaurant again.

[ssd]

Me and dh just been out for dinner. Cheap and cheerful place, food not brilliant but half price so can't complain. Social distancing in place, took contact details at door, hand sanitiser at entrance and exit, paid contact less. Our table has plenty space around it.

Still felt too dodgy. Didn't enjoy it.
Won't be doing that again for a while.

@Heffalooomia

I am finding increasingly that in situations where I am indoors and there is a high density of people I instinctively feel unsafe and want to leave

Again, the reality in is you are incredibly unlikely to be unsafe. You need to work on your own anxiety.

@SirSamuelVimesBlackboardMonito

Evidence please for this assertion.

using the toilet would be an issue for me

Well I don't want to catch covid or spread it for the sake of a meal out when I won't go badly fed at home. You could call it overly cautious but I feel the same as Heffalooomia, it's the sort of "anxiety" that I don't plan to work on as it keeps me from doing imo unneccesary things. I'm ok in the shops because I don't want to go hungry and I can't get a delivery slot!

Met a friend for lunch out - felt great. Loved it.

@Augustseemsbetter Fucking hell, that sounds grim.

Again, the reality in is you are incredibly unlikely to be unsafe. You need to work on your own anxiety.

So not trust their own instincts then ?

My, what a funny old place MN is. Posters being almost harangued to trust their instincts on every thread ... right up until they are told to "work on their anxiety".

Don’t think I could stop adult children going out but they are tending to sit outside as the weather is so nice and the tables are randomly dotted around the pub garden and their is a strict one way system.

The pubs I have visited I have also sat outside. But if you want to sit indoors then the tables are more than 2 metres apart.
A couple of the pubs I have been in there is only 1 or 2 tables in each “section”

From what people have said I think it depends on the establishment on how crammed in people are.

I couldn’t imagine even if there was someone with Covid on the next table there would be a greater chance that you wouldn’t get it than you would as the tables are so far apart

Not grim if you find it hard to get a good meal out anyway!

I just thought it a bit cheeky of the poster advising someone to work on their anxiety! Everyone should do what they feel comfortable with regarding eating out which after all is meant to be a pleasure.

Like I said iI am happy to sit outside and have a coffee.

Like I said iI am happy to sit outside and have a coffee

But then why don’t you want your adult dc to sit outside and have a drink.

I encouraged them to go. Was it not clear that it's the moving from pub to pub combined with sitting indoors that I asked them to draw a line at.

Not to mention that as a group of young adults they aren't in the same household anyway!

Only reason I haven't been out is the fact that until this weekend just gone we had the kids - and now it would require me getting dressed out of pyjamas which does not fit on my schedule this week at all.

I'm perfectly happy with the risks - the risks to my mental health of bunkering down indefinitely are far greater.

I mentioned the proposed multiple pub evening as there was a link given above to a story in NE England. The Aberdeen story involves quite a few pubs too but I am not sure of the details there. My guess is plenty of folk moving pub to pub there, as is the habit. I mentionedbit as I think the authorities do need to spell a lot of "common sense" out. To the less anxious.

There is no such thing as safe or unsafe. There is only reasoned, logical assessment and mitigation of risk. We've been out loads. Bloody love it!

Went out on Monday, queue for Wagamamas and local kebab house was over an hour. Queue was not socially distanced so went home. Went to pizza hut yesterday - couldn't fault it. Book a table, collect your own menu and cutlery and order and pay from your phone. Service was really good (surprisingly) and got a massive meal for 4 for £15! Can't complain!

Can't complain!

I bet I could

We went recently and it felt fine. No one anywhere near us

In my area an estimated 41 people per 100,000 have covid. I am more than happy to go out to a restaurant that has sensible social distancing systems in place. I feel genuinely sorry for those of you who are now missing out on pleasure in life because of high anxiety. This has been a shitty year and it's horrible that now we have the opportunity to go out and enjoy ourselves a bit a lot of people are still too on edge.

I've been out to eat a handful of times now and had a really lovely time! So great to have a change of scene and eat delicious food that none of us have cooked! My 3 young children have enjoyed it all too and I'm glad for them that they're watching their parents and people around them act 'normally'. Dread to think how children of highly anxious parents are going to cope with the return to school.

@YouSetTheTone

In my area an estimated 41 people per 100,000 have covid. I am more than happy to go out to a restaurant that has sensible social distancing systems in place. I feel genuinely sorry for those of you who are now missing out on pleasure in life because of high anxiety. This has been a shitty year and it's horrible that now we have the opportunity to go out and enjoy ourselves a bit a lot of people are still too on edge.

I've been out to eat a handful of times now and had a really lovely time! So great to have a change of scene and eat delicious food that none of us have cooked! My 3 young children have enjoyed it all too and I'm glad for them that they're watching their parents and people around them act 'normally'. Dread to think how children of highly anxious parents are going to cope with the return to school.

Isn’t the threshold for containment 50 cases per 100,000?

Enjoy yourselves before your forthcoming local lockdown.

@Redolent I doubt that very much as the shade of pink my area is on the Covid map would mean vast swathes of the country are about to go into lockdown
Maybe my maths is bad - the numbers are 413 per million which I translated to 41 per 100,000. Sorry if I got that wrong.

I haven't found anything that says 50 per 100,000 results in 'containment'. Please do share a source for this as I'd be interested to see it.

We went out as a family yesterday for the first time since Feb to a restaurant. We booked but had to still queue for over 30 minutes. It was all fine.

I think with young kids it was a bit of a faff and dispite booking for 7.30 we left after 10pm.

I am definitely going out next week but without the kids. I feel safe enough. Not sure if everything will shut up again and I need to enjoy as much life as safely possible in case it all stops again. It's been a hard year

Just going by this thread, it sounds as if things are working well.

The anxious are staying in and the more confident are going out and spending. Neither lot need to be bothered by the presence of the others judging them for doing Covid wrong.

@amicissimma

Just going by this thread, it sounds as if things are working well.

The anxious are staying in and the more confident are going out and spending. Neither lot need to be bothered by the presence of the others judging them for doing Covid wrong.

Exactly this. Absolutely no need for judgement on either side.

Ate inside a restaurant and loved it so much I have booked to go back another two times.

Wish they had opened sooner as that is one thing I have really missed.