I don't like going out for dinner.

sx_turbo said:
Edit: Toby carvery or any such like tbh, why on earth do people rave about a Toby as if it's some amazing thing, it is (and in my experience any carvery type place) are frankly abysmal,
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Agreed but...... I remember 2007/2008 I used to work in Borehamwood just on the outskirts on North London, there was a toby carvery up the road, and if you went at lunch it was something like £4.50, now at the price you can't complain, used to have that and a cheeky lunchtime pint of carlsberg for about £6.50.

I don't even want to know how much it is now.

sx_turbo said:
tbh I think it's the world outside just generally getting *******
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Yup I think it is.
 
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BUDFORCE said:
Agreed but...... I remember 2007/2008 I used to work in Borehamwood just on the outskirts on North London, there was a toby carvery up the road, and if you went at lunch it was something like £4.50, now at the price you can't complain, used to have that and a cheeky lunchtime pint of carlsberg for about £6.50.

I don't even want to know how much it is now.



Yup I think it is.
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£500.58
 
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BUDFORCE said:
Agreed but...... I remember 2007/2008 I used to work in Borehamwood just on the outskirts on North London, there was a toby carvery up the road, and if you went at lunch it was something like £4.50, now at the price you can't complain, used to have that and a cheeky lunchtime pint of carlsberg for about £6.50.

I don't even want to know how much it is now.



Yup I think it is.
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At that price it's probably ok, I'm not sure what the costs are these days as I've refused to eat in them for a few years now.
 
One thing i couldn’t do is to eat out on Christmas Day. Why? For an extortionate price for a meal before alcohol. I’m having to share a restaurant several families. Then if the restaurant isn’t walking distance away - double rate on taxi.

Portions aren’t large and you don’t have cold cuts to fall back on BD.
 
robinbanks said:
I've gotten to the point, that unless it’s fancy or I'm meeting someone I much prefer a cook frozen ready meal than most dinning chains meals. Then again I have to have gluten free options so my choices and quality are limited eating out.
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We go to an Italian restaurant who will use gluten free pizza base and pasta for most of their dishes. Plus dairy free cheese. There’s only two of the restaurants
 
sx_turbo said:
Edit: Toby carvery or any such like tbh, why on earth do people rave about a Toby as if it's some amazing thing, it is (and in my experience any carvery type place) are frankly abysmal, the meat is usually dry or you get very little of it, the roast potatoes taste like they've been re-heated they have no seasoning, the eg is over cooked and the service is always always shockingly bad. This is a meal I definitely rather cook at home even with all the mess and washing up.
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There used to be one near my grandparents which was decent enough - nothing to rave about but generous portions and satisfactory quality, though the service could have been better.
 
If you can cook at home well then going out is usually a disappointment. What is even more disappointing is eating somewhere reasonably expensive that people rate highly and still finding it’s bang average.

Turns out people who can’t cook are often really **** judges of food and shouldn’t be writing reviews of restaurants.
 
The older I get and better I become in the kitchen, the less keen I am on going out for food. I love the process of cooking, especially for family and friends. The only exception is Indian or Turkish cuisine, both of which I find exceptionally difficult to make authentic, home cooked versions of. Plus, a good Indian isn't going to set me back hundreds.

Went out for my GFs birthday in September to Tattu in Birmingham. Had the set meal and cost me about £300 all in. All things considered I though it was average at best and I quietly said to myself that I would never spend that much at a restaurant again. For that sort of money you could really go all out at home and cook some food that you'd rarely get the chance to have a go at.
 
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cheesefest said:
One thing i couldn’t do is to eat out on Christmas Day. Why? For an extortionate price for a meal before alcohol. I’m having to share a restaurant several families. Then if the restaurant isn’t walking distance away - double rate on taxi.

Portions aren’t large and you don’t have cold cuts to fall back on BD.
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I guess it depends on how much you usually spend on Christmas dinner in general. If you're throwing hundreds at a Turkey/Ham/Rib of Beef combo then I suppose it works out cheaper to dine out.
 
Going out to eat is usually reserved as a break from the kitchen or seeing family or friends but am tinged with disappointment on the quality as some places are more concerned with speed and you'll always hear someone in the group saying it not seasoned right or could make it better which then leads to why did one pick going out there...

Places like Camden market or Borough market do some so called unique things but then you think they charge so much for it and the ingredients are probably cheap and dolled up with sauces and sugars to pass them off as something so amazing to the tiktok crowd.
 
My eating out in the UK has reduced a lot in the past 5-7 years.

Only go out now if it’s a local Italian, Indian, Thai or seafood.

The Indian and Thai restaurants as they use a lot of ingredients which I cannot match at home. Wish Leicester has more Thai restaurants. In the past, when I have done 3-4 nights short breaks around various towns and cities within 20-30 miles radius, staying at Premier Inns or Holiday Inn Expresses (planning my break based on the cheapest accommodation on each day) - at least one evening meal I have a Thai.

I know Bella Pasta is a microwave job as friends worked in 3 of them over the years.

When go abroad, there are very few restaurants that do microwave jobs and majority make everything from scratch. One restaurant I went to, you had to walk through the kitchen to visit the loos (that wouldn’t be allowed here). It was tiny! I asked the waiter is that the only kitchen in the restaurant which had 15-18 tables for 40-50 people. He said yes. He said the dishwashers were in the cellar.
 
ArcticHeron said:
I guess it depends on how much you usually spend on Christmas dinner in general. If you're throwing hundreds at a Turkey/Ham/Rib of Beef combo then I suppose it works out cheaper to dine out.
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A family friend’s mum ‘treated’ 8 of them dined out for Christmas dinner and cost of the meal £75 a head plus about 3 bottles of wine and about 6 beers. About £700! Plus there was a family with 2 kids running around. Some kids need their bums glued to a chair

Whereas the family friend who does dinner at home. She buys a Norfolk Black turkey crown for about £75. NB has so much flavour and more succulent than a standard turkey. Probably spends another £100 on other foods and drinks. Plus has meat for cold cuts. Whereas no leftovers when eating out.
 
cheesefest said:
A family friend’s mum ‘treated’ 8 of them dined out for Christmas dinner and cost of the meal £75 a head plus about 3 bottles of wine and about 6 beers. About £700! Plus there was a family with 2 kids running around. Some kids need their bums glued to a chair

Whereas the family friend who does dinner at home. She buys a Norfolk Black turkey crown for about £75. NB has so much flavour and more succulent than a standard turkey. Probably spends another £100 on other foods and drinks. Plus has meat for cold cuts. Whereas no leftovers when eating out.
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Hours spent cooking for 8 people and cleaning vs rocking up to a restaurant and putting your feet up. Sometimes the money is worth spending. Accept the lower quality (not everyone even notices) for the lower stress.
 
I like going out for dinner but unless the meal is very good (it often isn't), I end up feeling like I could have eaten better food for a week for what I just paid for 1 meal and it sours it somewhat :p. I'd definitely enjoy it more if money wasn't an issue
 
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