A very disappointing lunch. Should pubs and restaurants be more honest.

I know. It was basically egg on toast twice. I told him I'd do them for him for £40, and throw in a sausage.

😲 well, eggs have gone up in price!

I don't know. He just said it was 'a hipster cafe'.

Doodledog

My son and his wife had breakfast in a London cafe recently and the bill for French toast and eggs Benedict plus 2 coffees was £63. My husband needed sedation when I told him .

Was it Café la Ritz?

I think it should be stated clearly, whether it's freshly prepared or not. There's a possibility of too many additives in food that's bought in.
And I wish restaurants had more simple dishes.

I too prefer lunch or afternoon coffee now. Too much effort in the evening.

My son and his wife had breakfast in a London cafe recently and the bill for French toast and eggs Benedict plus 2 coffees was £63. My husband needed sedation when I told him .

Get too tired in the evenings atm anyway.
I know the feeling.
Everything's more of an effort since I had Covid, I need to buck up.

When we lived in Suffolk we used to go to a pub, which was also a small brewery, on a Friday night because after a week's work non of us felt like cooking. On the menu was sausage and mash, fish pie and corned beef hash. Maybe a burger or two. The beer was excellent and the food was good and the price was also good. If I'm going out to eat I either want to go somewhere where the food is much better than my cooking, or somewhere cheap and cheerful.

Some French chefs are trying to remove themselves from the Guide Michelin. Notably Sebastien Bras of Le Suquet in Cannes who held 3 starts for 16 years. He just got fed up with the pressure of trying to maintain the standards.

Callistemon21

Wyllow3

There are such good ready meals at the high end of ready meals and they are better than many pubs or even take outs.

But it's good to go out - and even out out sometimes 🙂
Especially if you're meeting up with friends or family.

Oh, I agree. There's a very comfy bistro place down the road, so I choose to meet up with people for excellent coffee and cake from time to time. Get too tired in the evenings atm anyway.

We have just had a really grim lunch and it wasn’t cheap.
When I questioned the manager he confessed that only 1 dish was cooked from scratch on the premises the rest was bought in.

Actually, it shouldn't mean that the food will necessarily be grim.
Even if the more complicated meat dishes are pre-prepared sous vide they can still be delicious, perhaps better. There's no excuse for not serving freshly cooked vegetables, though.

Wyllow3

There are such good ready meals at the high end of ready meals and they are better than many pubs or even take outs.

But it's good to go out - and even out out sometimes 🙂
Especially if you're meeting up with friends or family.

There are such good ready meals at the high end of ready meals and they are better than many pubs or even take outs.

Fleurpepper

Callistemon ''But we're British!! 😁
We're used to bad food 😁''

doing Britain down again! I totally disagree. British food can be fabulous. But we desserve honesty and clear labelling- provenance of meats, as Joseanne says, and if bought in and re-heated of cooked in house.

We know so many great pubs with very reasonable food all cooked in house, at a decent price too. We also go to a Michelin starred one from time to time- but yes, a bit more pricey. The price should not decide how and where the food is cooked- honest and clear labelling should.

Oh, not me! Why would you think that?
I'm not the one to do the British down

It was tongue-in-cheek.
Im surprised you didn't get it!

We are finding eating out both disappointing and expensive at the moment. A one course Lunch in a chain restaurant recently was mediocre and cost £40 for two including two non alcoholic beers. There seems to be nothing midway between chain and eye wateringly expensive in our area any more.

Sago

It was a “ gastro pub” we visited.
I don’t wish to give them a bad review, these places are struggling as it is.
Also as someone who makes all my own bread, butter, soups etc then I am probably not that easy to please!
I wasn’t expecting 5* dining just some good food.
My point is that the menu should make it clear that the food may be freshly cooked but it’s not freshly made!

I cook as you, I know I'm hard to please. I typically refuse to eat other than our own food - until I give in, then prices, service, food make me unhappy!

Yes, menus could easily reveal source.

There is a cafe in Kendal which we go to every time we're up there. It serves sandwiches, quiche, jacket potato, soup and one (veggie) 'special' which is different every day. Obviously you can mix and match from the menu, but that's it. The food is lovely, and all home made. Presumably the unused veg from today's special is tomorrow's soup, which will help to keep prices down. That's the way to do it, I think.

Much prefer a decent family pub where I know the simple food is freshly cooked on site- then a fancy Gastro pub w ith ridiculous prices.

It was a “ gastro pub” we visited.
I don’t wish to give them a bad review, these places are struggling as it is.
Also as someone who makes all my own bread, butter, soups etc then I am probably not that easy to please!
I wasn’t expecting 5* dining just some good food.
My point is that the menu should make it clear that the food may be freshly cooked but it’s not freshly made!

NotSpaghetti

What is decent price Fleurpepper please?

Well we may all have a different answer here. But this is not the point. Labelling on Menus should be clear so that we can make choices. Home-cooked should be just that. I also agree with Joseanne that provenance of meat and fish should be clear.

I want to buy British.

Palmtree But the specials board usually has dishes on it that the pub/restaurant doesn't have on its usual restaurant menu, but are bought in specially for the day, or are chef's specials.

Likewise with soup, of course it is made with older veg etc, that is the whole point of the dish, although my experience suggests that if, the outlet is selling ready prepared meals - and that is most of them, the soup comes in ready prepared, and probably freeze dried so that all it needs is water and a simmer to rehydrate it.

I had always been led to believe that food on the 'Specials' list was food the restaurant might want to get rid of quicker as it was nearing its sell by date. I was always told to avoid the soup option too as all the older veg etc would be used up in that. Its therefore interesting to see that others here have been told the complete opposite. I wonder if there are any chefs out there who can confirm one way or other.
It is a shame you didnt get to enjoy your meal. It might be worth posting about your experience on Tripadvisor as constructive criticism may improve things in future.

And now, another blow. In a recent survey of French restaurants, more than a third fessed up that they serve industrially prepared, and often frozen, food. Fast-food outlets, mind you, weren't even included in that poll, which was conducted by Synhorcat, a French restaurant trade group

The home of haute cuisine 😲 Indeed not!

NotSpaghetti

What is decent price Fleurpepper please?

I attempted to ask the same, and gave my example.

Best if everyone is looking to the same numbers.

With ordinary pubs and restaurants I just assume everything is bought in and reheated.

I am surprised that anyone thinks differently

However if I went to anywhere describing itself as a gastropub, or a high mid priced restaurant (main course hovering around £20 or more, i would be extremely put out if it wasn't home cooked.

Many pre-prepped food is excellent. Think Prezzo or any of the Lounger Group.

annsixty It is a common sight to see Brakes lorrys and another one which is numbers which I cannot remember in pub and restaurant car parks.

Eddie Stobart, my children love to count the numbers.