AIBU to think this is ridiculous?

I'd be quite happy about it ,in fact I had a similar idea years ago about a deli with calorie values on everything .Couldn't get change of use for the premises I wanted so idea dumped.Lots of folk are totally unaware of calorie values so having it beside each dish is a great way to educate .Nowadays eating out is more the norm so if you are regularly consuming hundreds of calories more than you think you will have weight/health problems .

I think it is a great idea. If I am trying to eat carefully I will look on line before I go for the menu and nutritional information, which some restaurants provide, and this helps me to choose wisely.

I think it's a good idea. If you are not worried about your weight then you won't pay any attention to how many calories a dish might contain. If you have spent months on a diet, however, you will be pretty miffed if you spoil all your hard work by putting on a few lbs just for the sake of eating out.

We now have vegan and gluten free choices in restaurants so why not calorie content information?

I hope the poor so and so who has to work it all out has some decent software though.

I think most informed people who visit restaurants recognise that the food they order will exceed government guidelines on calories, fat etc. (Depending on where they go). If i go to a 'posh' restaurant it is usually for a treat. I dont want to be confronted with a guilt laden menu, i want to eat what i fancy and not what has the lowest calorie content.
Being overweight is not always a result of a poor diet but its an easy excuse.

I think it is a good idea, should make people more aware of what they are eating. Having said that it will not put me of my pudding after tomorrow’s lunch out. Waffles, cream and ice cream with toffee sauce. Drooling already.

See, I used to really enjoy the odd fudgey chocolate dessert from my local supermarket. It was an occasional treat but one day I looked at the calories and fat content and now I can't bring myself to buy it. Ignorance is bliss in my mind!
I can understand the need for everyday sandwich shops where people buy from regularly and need to monitor their salt intake or whatever but does it have to extend to restaurants? That's a step too far for me. How will they fit it on the specials board anyway ?

You can’t reduce cooking or good food to lists of numbers can you? I find it ironic that the more we obsess about healthy eating , low fat, low carb, calorie counting etc, the fatter we become !
I know I am overweight
I know I (and indeed we as a nation ) eat more than I need
But
Good food is something we should be grateful for.
My guiding principle is not to waste calories ie.make them worthwhile - not junk food but real food, good food!
PS if you want to really depress yourself, apparently two glasses of wine with a meal is like eating a double cheeseburger on top of your meal??
Hmm.

Not sure I would eat at a restaurant that put calories on the menu, life is too short to worry about the occasional treat. Might be different if you had to eat out every day I suppose.

I don't think this has been thought through at all, it would be an impossible task for smaller businesses, and high end restaurants to work out the exact calories in each portion. The small ones would go out of business. Jacket potatoes come in all sizes, and you going to have to weigh each one, and how would you put a generic weight on a menu?
The only sort of place it would work for is large chains like Wetherspoons, where it is all prepacked and reheated.

I sincerely hope common sense takes over. If you order a sticky toffee pudding, you know it is going to take you over the recommended daily allowance, that is your choice, and if you wish to eat it and live on soup and salad the next day that is also up to you.

Don't eat out a lot and if I do I don't worry about the calories. Am careful at home but going out for a meal is special and to be enjoyed, so wouldn't be worrying.

I'm trying to lose weight by sensible eating. I eat out quite a lot, so a calorie count on the menu would be helpful. I'm happy to choose lower cal food (or at least avoid the highest) when I'm aware which to go for. So it's a 'Yes, please' from me.

I think it's a bad idea.Not many of us eat out constantly, therefore it's a treat, and a treat that would be spoiled by looking at calorie numbers.
If you have to eat out [business lunch etc] and want to stick to a low calorie meal go for a salad and a piece of chicken and ask for no dressings and a glass of mineral water.

am starting to think the British have lost any enjoyment of good food altogether, the guilt brigade are out in force, and it's a shame, many countries celebrate food and life in general, we are becoming a nation of gloomy doom sayers.

Lemon if there was a like button I'd have ticked it for your post!

I would welcome the idea. I've only just started counting calories etc., and am ready to learn. Can't they just have 2 menus - one with nutrition info and one without - just as posh restaurants used to have menus with and without prices.

I want to enjoy a meal out once in a while and do not want to have to calculate the calorific value of every mouthful. It's fine to keep an eye on calories or carbs at home, but it feels disrespectful towards the chef if you make your choice from the menu solely based on the calorie content. There's a pub where I sometimes eat with a friend which does gorgeous fruit crumbles and I don't want to know how many calories are in them. I just want to eat and savour.

Hellosunshine

if you want to really depress yourself, apparently two glasses of wine with a meal is like eating a double cheeseburger on top of your meal

Maw drinking a couple of glasses of wine with a meal, especially if it’s red and contains lots of anti-oxidants, has a positive health outcome, like living longer. It’s relaxing, and enjoyment can be had from savouring the bouquet and the delicious nuances of berry flavours, vanilla and spices. My mouth’s watering at the thought, even though it’s only 5 am here in the USA.

The thought of a cheeseburger though, with its soft, pappy bread bun, its additive-filled beef from unproven sources, its glutinous, flavourless ‘cheese’, makes me feel sick.
So sup up and enjoy that wine

I think some chains do this already but I would think, in a restaurant where everything is freshly cooked to order, it could be difficult.

As a former Chef/owner of both a Restaurant and a catering company the thought of working out the calorific count of every item used in a dish would give me nightmares.
I hope the people who want this will not mind paying more for their food as it would probably take a seperate member of staff all week to work them out. Days of only set menus to come if this becomes mandatory I think.

I'd appreciate being able to see calories on a menu. I've just come back from five days away and have put on 4lb in that short time of eating out, even though I was also walking more than usual! I didn't think I was making poor choices but obviously I'd consumed much more than I thought.

The thing is everyone surely knows that we have a dreadful obesity crisis in this country, so anything which might give people the help they so clearly need to lose weight is ok by me.

In my experience portions in restaurants and pubs have got so much larger over the last few years, so if people could see in black and white just how many calories there were in a meal, it might just persuade them to chose a healthier alternative, or to not completely finish the meal.

Obesity related illnesses are such a huge drain on the NHS, and the awful thing is that it is totally within the grasp of each and every one of us to chose to be either fat or slim.

Lets take a Mustard and Honey Salad Dressing,
first measure exactly the amount used on each salad, and ensure the chefs plating up know exactly how much to use.
Then work out the exact portions of Honey, oil etc in each portion. Then work out the said calorific value of each item. Give said chef time off when he/she has a nervous breakdown, paying sick leave and using expensive agency staff to cover
Dressings and sauces often contain the hidden calories in a dish, there are lots of things which you can ask to not have on your plate if you want to keep a dish low calorie
You don't have to eat the Frites, I hate food waste so just ask for my food without them
I have worked in places where I was on my own in the kitchen, quite common actually, and no way would I have had time to work out calorific values, are people not able to judge for themselves that if a dish contains cream it will be higher than one without
I cannot see that taking off here on the continent yet the levels of obesity are lower than the UK

Labelling manufactured foods with a calorie value is much easier as the foods are made to a standard recipe and portions sizes are rigorously controlled. Clearly this can't be done in a restaurant with a wide range of dishes (though, even there portion size is controlled).

Perhaps a compromise would be a system something like the 'chili' system used by many establishments to indicate how 'hot' a dish is. then dishes could be marked as having a high, medium or low calorie content.

I noticed that a pub we ate at recently had some menu items claiming to be 'syn free' (shuddering at the stupid spelling of 'sin'). Would that meet with posters' approval?