Lack of vegetables.

Thanks for the suggestions. Yes we do go to a Carvery when we have the opportunity. I don’t want to be a Moaning Minnie but we like our meals piping hot and often they are not quite hot enough.

On holiday earlier in the year we went to a little village pub on a Sunday evening and they were still serving a Sunday Lunch. We had one with pork and yummie crackling and roast beef it was absolutely fabulous. I can taste it now.

You should eat at a Toby Carvey where you can have as many vegetables as you can load on your plate and the meals are better value too.
I have eaten at one years ago, but there isn't one anywhere near where we live, so that could prove somewhat difficult.

nannyme, why bring the north south divide into the vegetable issue? We all eat lots of veggies here in the north and we no longer put the sprouts on in November to be sure they'll be ready for Christmas.

On a trip with a fellow-vegetarian she ate cereal for breakfast, a sandwich for lunch and pizza for dinner. Three days running. By the time we got home I was looking for signs of scurvy.

The trouble with some carveries is the veg has often sat for a while and is usually cooked to within an inch if its life.

In France, despite the beautiful veg in the shops and markets we have sometimes had a cherry tomato, cut daintily, and carefully, into 4 with one thin slice of carrot and a sliver of potato. All artfully arranged around the massive plate.

I enjoy eating out, and do like a bit of fine dining as a treat, but wish the veg wasn't rationed and dislike having to pay so much for a tiny bowl of veg as an extra.

You could try a Carvery. Because you serve yourself to vegetables you can have as much or as little as you wish. We always find this a great option when our GC visit as their likes and dislikes (and portion sizes) are so varied.

My son is vegan, and hates eating out as there is so little choice. They often don’t even understand what vegans don’t eat, either, and offer dishes with egg, cheese or milk in them.
He recently spent a week away, on a work course. The hotel not only understood his needs. They asked him, each day, what he would like to eat, then put it on the menu as a ‘special’. They got a special mention on Trip Adviser’
I also agree about the lack of vegetables with ‘regular’ meals. However one of our local restaurants does a wonderful carvery meal, which is on the menu every day. There is a choice of large, medium or small, and two or three choices of meat. You can pile up your plate with lots of different veg, potatoes, stuffing, Yorkshire pudding, and various gravies and sauces. All at an amazingly cheap price. The downside is that they don’t take bookings, and are always very busy. Well worth the wait, though.
They make most of their profits from their desserts, I think. They are expensive, but absolutely fantastic. If you are too full after your meal they will pack one in a box to take home! Who could resist!

You should eat at a Toby Carvey where you can have as many vegetables as you can load on your plate and the meals are better value too.

Be sure to order veggies even if not on the menu.

Be prepared to take your custom elsewhere if the restaurant cannot or will not fulfill your requirements.

This works up north and down south.

I beg to differ the pubs we eat in always offer vegetables, one in particular offers a choice of nine and all are beautifully cooked, I can’t vouch for the North but it’s fine down South

I always ask when ordering if the menu isn't clear. Often the establishment can add a veg if you request it. Last weekend I ate out at a major chain with my DS and DiL. I ordered a side of slaw as I knew my dish would not have enough veg otherwise. The portion was huge and it was very frustrating to find that DiL's choice of dish had a smaller portion included which she didn't want. She said "You could have had mine if I'd known" I hate waste but struggled to finish my own so DS ate some of hers but had to leave some. Such a shame that menus are not always clear.

I rarely eat out unless it's cod and chips in a pukka chippy.
Most hotels, restaurants, pubs and large cafes, source their pre-prepped veg ( and other goods) wholesale and frozen. Not for me thanks. Veg are usually VERY al dentè, carrots not glazed and honey glazed parsnips and roasted vegetables, rarely offered.
When I look at the plate and figure out the basic cost against how appetising it looks, I know I'd rather cook it at home. Coffee and cake at a push and fish n chips but that's all *no matter who's paying*

The most remarkable Sunday lunch I ever had was in a cafe in West Wales. When the plates came, they were covered in meat. Then the veg came - and came and came! Carrots, peas, cauliflower cheese, broccoli, cabbage, parsnips, red cabbage plus two kinds of potatoes. All hot and absolutely delicious. There were only two of us, and there was enough for a regiment. The place was full, and taking bookings for the following Sunday as people were going out!

There is a proliferation of vegan restaurants in my area (Southampton), and very good they are too!
I suspect that’s where all the vegetables have gone to!

In Portugal things are improving and they do serve more veg with a main course but often the Portuguese don't eat them. But they are use to starting a meal with vegetable soup and the fruit is so much better than in UK.

Maybe the reason for limited veg in the UK is that people want freshly cooked veg so easier to microwave frozen veg.

Some pubs in the south do, some you have to order as an extra. We used to go to a lovely pub in Kent and we had all our veggies in a separate bowl so you could have what you wanted. Usually carrots, cabbage and peas.

In France the usual offering of veg with a meal in an ordinary, rather than posh, restaurant is disgusting tinned beans. In the more upmarket ones you rarely get vegetables at all.

Think your best option is to look out for the pubs that have a carvery, they have a selection of vegetables included and you can serve yourself apart from the meat which is plated for you. Also some of the gastro pubs give a better selection of vegetables.

My biggest gripe when going out to eat is the lack of variety in salad choices. I love salads and there are so many ways of making them, but the only choice seems to be Caesar salad topped with either salmon or chicken!

I agree about the veg too, I’d rather pile my plate with veg than lots of stodge ?

In the NWest veg is always served with any meal. Bistro Pierre chain serves carrots, broccoli, red cabbage, which I love.

I wouldn’t mind salad which is a lettuce leaf with tomato and cucumber clearly defined, but usually these days they are a chopped up mixture of all sorts, rarely lettuce, mainly those various green leaves, some of which I find very bitter. A mixed salad may easily hide green peppers which I am allergic to, or tomatoes which my stomach does not tolerate raw. On the other hand I love red and yellow peppers. I suppose I should remember to ask for it without dressing, as most dressings act like a laxative on me. (TMI)

We live in Scotland. The privately owned pubs around us serve home cooked meals and always ask if you want salad or veg with it.

So many pubs near us now only seem to serve food that can come straight out of the freezer, hence the widespread use of peas with everything. Our nearest pub does lovely veg with its Sunday lunch, but any other day of the week you won’t do better than peas and chips. They will do salad, but it’s very much the single slice of tomato and cucumber resting on a leaf variety.

We’re in the Midlands, so no, I don’t think it’s a southern thing.

Although lack of veg may sometimes be a problem when eating out, often DH is relieved when he can have peas or salad, as the veg is not sufficiently cooked for him to be able to eat it. Rock hard carrots and cauliflower are not my thing either. I quite like al dente, but not rock hard. DH has a swallowing problem so at home I have to overcook everything.

I love salads and veg but hate potatoes in any form including chips. So when in a pub and having say a steak and chips I ask for a salad to replace the chips. Some places are really good and give me a good salad and at others I have been known to send it back as a leaf of lettuce and half a tomatoes is not a salad in my book.