AIBU to expect classic dishes to be served in a classical style in a restaurant?

Wow! I didn’t realise just how many like minded souls there are out there. I take all the points about ‘served with a twist’, or ‘designer food’, but then the title of the dish must be different. Cesar salad is Cesar salad, anything else, including Balsamic, turns it into lettuce with a dressing, croutons and other bits - not a Cesar salad! Similarly, scrambled eggs is or should be what it says! Rant over - feeling much mich better to know that I am not alone.

I think this, or any addition, comes under the modern culinary trait of 'artistic licence'. In other words, if you go to any restaurant it's their interpretation of any classic which will be presented to you. I suppose you can't blame them in that there's a lot of competition out there but I do agree it can be very disappointing.

Anchovies are an ingredient in the Caesar sauce and are very often included in Caesar salads but as they can be an acquired taste eaten as they are you think they might have warned you on the menu

Grannyactivist: very recently on a TV programme one of the presenters rang several different takeaways to order a meal and specified a particular ingredient (possibly nuts) that must not be included. When the takeaways were tested the allergy ingredient was either in them all or perhaps one was safe. The others could have had dangerous consequences.

IMHO though Balsamic Vinegar can be delicious in the right dish, there is no way that BV on scrambled eggs would ever be a good combination. BV would overpower the delicacy of the egg flavour and ruin the dish. Each!

Not! Not 'noir'.

Noir quite in the same league as balsamic vinegar,but I remember a few years ago my late DM and I were in a cafe. DM ordered a jacket potato with tuna and cheese. When it arrived she asked the waitress if she could have salt and pepper,as there was none on the table. The waitress informed her that salt and pepper had already been added! My DM was .

It may depend on where you are and where you're from. If I, as an Englishwoman, were to ask for a pasta dish in Rimini, I can hardly expect it to be the same as one served in London or Bristol.

or not bothering to wash the knife between slicing ordinary bread and gf bread kitty

GA made my point! Although not so drastic as her DGS's reaction, I have unfortunate consequences if served gluten and some restaurants assume that just means serving an alternative to the bread.

Many restaurants have an on-line presence where you can check menus, prices etc. before you go. You can also call ahead when someone has dietary restrictions. I usually order dressings, butter, sauces etc. 'on the side' whenever possible. With few exceptions, I have found most restaurants to be accommodating.

Oldgajin, a few prawns to someone who is allergic to them could be very serious, certainly I do not want to end up in hospital because the chef puts "a few mussels" on what should have been a plain fish dish.

SueDoko, if you want an anchovyless dressing, try Mary Berry's recipe for Caesar dressing...beware the Worcestershire sauce as it contains a smidgeon of anchovy. Bon Appetit!

My partner and I can't take anything too hot and chilli seems to be put in everything now. It is okay in something appropriate like a curry etc, but it even in oven chips nowadays. My partner's mouth can get very sore if he has too much, so we have to explain we a) do not like it and b) my partner is allergic to it. The restaurants are usually very good, and it does show you which restaurants cook their meals from scratch so they are quite happy to leave it out.

Trouble is many chefs now do classic dishes " with a twist". I really dislike that phrase. If they wish to create something new, well do so. As DH says ' Don't muck about with a classic recipe'

Ask for any dressing to be served separately. It's quite common now that people have realised that some salads are worse than pizzas calorie-wise due to the heavy hand with the oil.

Also, BV is indigestible but have you tried balsamic glaze? Yumsk!

YANBU but I expect the chef is trying to be 'modern' which doesn't always work. Leave it alone!

SueDoku - yes I must have been eating improper salads too!!

Much depends upon the restaurant and the chef. Then the menu. If a first time visit I always check with the waiter about the details; thereafter I am prepared and can specifically exclude item(s) I do not want. This comes after a lifetime experience!

The chef seems to change frequently in many good restaurants. When that happens it is back to treating the visit as a first.

There is a seemingly desperate attempt by so many where food is concerned to make it different. This happens in all types of food outlets. And magazines are showing new ways of doing favourite dishes but most of us want the old way.

So it is really up to us to make sure we get what we want.

Cold
I love a drop of soy sauce on ice cream!
and.....
Strawberries are improved dramatically by drizzling them with Balsamic!

If you or a family member have severe allergies to anything you would understand that these things are not just a matter of taste. My five year old grandson has an extremely severe allergy to sesame and has twice had to be blue lighted to hospital; he always has two Epipens with him. You would be shocked at the number of times that his mother's vigilance has exposed the laxity of certain cafés and restaurants. There are an estimated ten deaths a year in the UK from allergic reaction (anaphylaxis), mostly caused by peanut allergies.

oldgaijin I found this out the hard way when I ordered Caesar salad at a local gasto-pub. I've eaten this dish many times with great enjoyment - but this time I took a bite and found that I had a mouthful of anchovy, which was both unexpected - and disgusting...
I sent it back - being assured that 'There are always anchovies in a PROPER Caesar salad madam..!' so I can only conclude that I've been eating improper ones all these years..!

I did wonder if it meant a bit of bacon on the side, but that sounded rather like a bit on the side: not very Gransnet!

Has anyone seen the advert for soy sauce (below) that has been on TV recently?
www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9Y9LocIc94

I understood it at first - using soy sauce in bbqs, sauces even soup - but then they put soy sauce on a strawberry and cream dessert - why??

I don't think you are being unreasonable. The food should be presented as per the menu, with dressings, sides etc offered as an optional extra.