Food you can cook better than a restaurant

[Saracarbonera]

I love eating out but there are a few dishes that I have stopped ordering when out because I think I do them better myself at home. These dishes are fajitas, spicy prawns, roast potatoes. On the other hand I love arrabiata and have yet to get to grips with this dish, it is always better in restaurants, I can't get the hang of it.
Have you any dishes that you are always disappointed with in restaurants because your homemade version is better?

Risotto, unless I'm in Italy! Which is a shame as I'm vegetarian, and risotto is so often the default veggie option, and they are never as good as one I could cook at home. The chefs who add cream to it should be shot.

Chips - never as good in a restaurant

Imgrr Best eggs benedict I've ever eaten was at Heston's restaurant in Heathrow airport. Worth giving them a try if you fly from there and reasonably priced too.

When I'm at a restaurant, I tend to eat food I wouldn't cook at home, whether it be something the family wouldn't eat, or something that's a faff. I quite often eat game, if it's on the menu, as it's probably not something I'd try at home. Also, DH doesn't really like fish, so I don't cook it all that often at home.

Except for pub food, when I tend to go for ham, egg and chips, which I can easily cook at home, but pub food can be quite disappointing (and see people's experiences, above!) and you can't really go wrong with ham, egg and chips. (And it bizarrely feels like a treat if I eat it in a pub, whereas, on the rare occaisions would ever have it at home, it would be a quickly thrown together meal, if we had got in later than expected, or possibly a Christmas leftovers meal.)

Most puds, Cheesecake, pies.

Lasagne, risotto.

Most desserts, especially baked cheesecake or tiramisù.

Why do so many restaurants buy in mass-produced cakes when their customers are looking forward to a pleasurable experience right to the end?

Steak
Paella (unless in Spain)
Roast dinner - love going out for it so don't have to cook but always end up annoyed because I know mine would be better, especially the potatoes.

Like other posters I tend to eat things I can't cook at home because either I can't get the ingredients, they are too much of a faff or I don't have the equipment.

I find that Chinese food is better from a Chinese than my own because I don't have a wok burner to reach the really high temperatures for stir frying. I don't have a deep fat fryer either, so simple things like fish and chips taste better at our local pub (who make the best fish and chips ever).

Lasagne
Roast beef/lamb dinner
Sticky toffee pudding
Steak and rice

Like a lot of pp .
roast dinners
yorkshire pudding
christmas pudding
soup
and particularly vegetables - (disclaimer I have an allotment, so no one can compete on freshness and flavour...)
We don't go out often at all now . So we save up to go to places who cook things I know I couldn't or wouldn't want to cook.

Having worked in a pub and seen the mass catering catalogues that come through it opened my eyes that many many pubs and restaurants actually just reheat stuff rather than cooking it from scratch. The key is if they do a variety of cuisines - Italian and Indian and Greek and English all on one menu. Plus if the puddings are these really artistic looking things.

In the pub I worked at plus two restaurants since, they get in: soup by the barrel, all sauces are boil in the bag, all puddings pre-made, diced potato and bacon mix pre-prepared, any flavoured meat pre-packed (ie a trio of fish pieces).

In one pub they offered a Sunday roast of which the beef came in a sachet already with gravy on it. If someone asked for beef without gravy they'd just rinse it off!

I know there are many restaurants where things are made fresh but the majority of pubs and mid-range restaurants just don't.

So for me, I'll only order things done on an industrial sized grill because you can't achieve that level of heat at home. So I'd order grilled meat, that's better in a restaurant than home. But agree with everything here - all pasta dishes, salads, soups and puddings are better made by me

Roast potatoes. Mine are much better.
Agree with crumble and lemon meringue pie but that is because I make my pie really tart I hate it sweet and sickly.
Our local makes the best fajitas...prawn, chicken, steak, veggie come sizzling to the table and loads of it. Yum.
Our local Chinese carry out makes Singapore Noodles as good as in Singapore. They are Malay /Chinese people and she was thrilled when I told them that. She lived a hop, skip and jump from Singapore. I get them to cook me other authentic dishes too. She shouts to the chef and tells him
I'm with SanityClause (love the name) I usually have something I don't make at home. Luckily our local has a fantastic chef so I eat there at least twice a month.
Sticky toffee you can risk it in the Lakes as home to Sticky Toffee. Can't eat it now but never had a bad one and DH often has it. Usually good in Yorkshire too but they know how to make stick to the ribs puddings in the Dales!

Amalfimamma can you please post your blog address?

It's a double edged sword this: DP will often say how what I've made is so much better than what we'd be served in a restaurant. But that means we never go out and I'm always bloody cooking!

I don't mind really. Saves a bloody fortune.

Out: battered fish, I never deep fry anything at home. Steak, we can all get it to our individual preference and that is a faff at home. Japanese food.

Yeh, basically anything vegetarian. Especially risotto - it is always undercooked and disgusting. We call it "vegetarian afterthought".

If we're having a special meal out we always go to vegetarian places (Bistro 1847 in Birmingham is a favourite). It never feels special otherwise, having to choose between super-mild chilli, crunchy risotto or (worst of all) mushroom stroganoff. In fairness I don't cook stroganoff myself, I hate it. But if I do flatter myself my chilli and risotto are pretty good.

Lol thanks Amalfimamma two recipes for the price of one.
I agree with the others, I'd also like to a see a thread with more of your recipes.

Pubs and restaurants just aren't set up to deal with roast dinners - you can't do potatoes to order, and thy don't sit well. Same with meat etc. Also, the price it would cost to do it properly is far than anyone will actually pay.

Thanks everyone.

WiltingTulip this is the blog irishitaliankitchen.blogspot.it/ and I promise I'll get back on it and will start a thread

I have to add another, broccoli! There is nothing worse than over cooked broccoli or broccoli that is tepid and has been hanging about.

Chicken in any form. I seem to find it dry in restaurants, and after years of cooking like a beast, mine's the best.

Gammon ham, mine is always succulent, I find it way too salty and dry in restaurants.

I cook my roast potatoes in goose fat, and they are way superior than any restaurant.

We go to a restaurant once a week I'd say, and take away once a week as we both work full time, so it's a nightmare.

Trifle. I make really good trifles. All sorts not just bog standard

95% of roast dinners. Every now and again we have a superb one but it's rare and it's all down to the gravy, mine is famous throughout the land

Steak, I cook a good steak, crusty on the outside and pink/red in the middle and I put it all down to induction hob

Pretty much all pasta, a lot of restaurants especially chain ones buy their sauces in, much prefer home made. As a veggie most the food I eat out I could probably cook better at home, the only dishes I can't recreate as tasty at home are Chinese ones they just don't taste the same!

Soup

Lasagne (my mamma's and nonna's are still better than mine though)
Tiramisu (same)
Chilli con carne
Victoria sponge
Spicy sweet potato wedges

I'm rubbish at cooking Indian food though, even when I make it with fresh ingredients mines still meh

saracorbonera - I really like the barilla arrabiata