AIBU to think this is ridiculous?

No.

Major chains might find it a useful marketing tool to detail calorie count but I too think it's ridiculous for the average restaurant/café to have to do so.

Restaurants that cook to order using fresh ingredients or whatever was best at market that day would find it a burden I think. Chains and fast-food places have very size-specific portions and so it would be easy for them.

I'm afraid customers need to take a bit of responsibility for what they eat!

Sorry, forgot to add - it's likely to be a lot of guesswork and hardly accurate.

What then - prosecute the restaurant owner?

I hope the kitchen has scales to measure each item of each part of the serving, as each plateful will have a different calorie value depending on the size of the portion!

They could go partway toward the idea by using the traffic light system - a red, amber or green font colour for a rough estimate of how calorific your choice is. But surely everyone who is watching their weight knows that a dessert dripping with a sauce full of butter and syrup is not for them?

Come on now. I am sure most people are aware it is less calorific to order a plain steak instead of a chicken and ham or steak pie. When I visit a restaurant I dont need to be told which is high or low in calories or carbs or fat. Surely our experience as home cooks gives us that much knowledge. A sounds rather like more nanny state telling people what they should or shouldn't eat.

Some eateries already do this. Can’t see the harm myself. Though in my experience it’s always those who really shouldn’t who go for all the extras, so don’t see it would do any good either.

I am with lemongrove on this. We are starting to become a very po faced nation of killjoys. Eating out is a treat, well it is for me, and I am happy to take full adult responsibility for what I eat and drink. I HATE going out with people who dither over whether or not they should be 'naughty'. Just order what you want, or don't, but please stop sucking the joy out it. A recent WI meeting ended up like this with half the people on my table being all puritanical sbout the fish and chip supper. "Oh I can't eat all those chips" and "Oh no wine for me, I never drink in the week". As this was our once a year fish and chips with glass of wine event, one wonders why they attended! Sorry for rant but ?

I'm going out tomorrow and I don't care how many calories!!
(Sunday may be different)

I am happy to take full adult responsibility for what I eat and drink
Gill But how can you, if you don’t know what you’re eating?
Restaurants provide information for people who are gluten intolerant, have a nut allergy, are lactose intolerant or just want meat-free meals so why shouldn’t people who want to control their calorie intake/sugar intake have that information too?

I do agree with you though about tedious people who make a song and dance about not eating chips or drinking wine. It’s a form of virtue signalling and designed to project their own guilt about food onto others.
By all means have your dietary foibles but don’t foist them on others.
Food should be enjoyed.
I don’t really care what other people eat but I object to being labelled a kill-joy because I like to know that a cake in Starbucks, for example, contains 60grams of sugar - because if it does, I won’t eat it.
I don’t see why my having that knowledge hurts anyone else or impacts on their enjoyment.

Given that a standard piece of homemade Victoria sponge cake (an 8th of the whole) weighs about 70g (I just weighed one), I'm wondering what a cake that contains 60g of sugar must weigh and thinking it must be quite a big cake or piece thereof. One can see that. I think portion size is usually a good indicator of calorie content. Not precise, obviously, but enough to know whether one is being unwisely indulgent on the calorie or sugar front.

If people want to know how many calories there are in every bit of food they eat out, that doesn't bother me. I just don't feel the need. I know if I'm eating too much. I think everyone does really.

I'm all in favour. Wouldn't spoil my enjoyment of a treat.

You can always just ignore them. I would.

When I go out for a meal, I shall have my cake and eat it.
I intend to have a large portion of chips as well.

Hate the idea. Fed up with being 'advised' about how to live my life!

I am heartily sick of being told how to eat healthily. People who don't know what's good or bad for them by now must be living with their heads in the sand. I find it unbelievable the number of young people who smoke cigarettes, when for years we've known the dangers. There are some people who just don't want to take responsibility for their own safety and well being - it's always somebody else who's to blame.

I think it is a great idea. We were in America last year where they did this and I was horrified to see that some of the starters contained more calories than the total days required amount. At least you can try and avert this if you can see the calories.

Eating out is not the norm for myself, it's a huge treat.

I think the 'traffic light' labelling they have on many foods would be useful, and much easier for food establishments to administer.

What a load of waffle - does anybody really set out to read about calories etc before ordering a meal. Everything in moderation. Eat what you fancy within reason. Use your own common sense not the word of jumped up goody goodies who have nothing better to do than tell people how to live their lives, Get off this silly band wagon and bring back cookery lessons in school so at least the next generation of children will know how to feed themselves properly.

I have eaten in restaurants where there is a calorie breakdown on the menu and found it highly informative. Simply adding things like mango chutney (which, to be honest wasn't really essential) almost doubled the calorie count.
It certainly made me adjust my order. Let's hope this is brought in soon.

I am with those who bemoan the kill joy attitudes to food.
Good food should be a pleasure not a sin! I feel that food especially sugar in any form??‍♀️is now being vilified and that this mantra is sucking the joy out of meal times

You'd have to eat a lot of mango chutney for it to double the calorie count of anything much other than lettuce! Chutney is basically a kind of jam. You don't need a lot of either.

Baggs I just made a chocolate sponge cake 8" in diameter and acccording to the recipe it would feed 10 and be over 400 cals per portion.The vast majority of people would want a bigger slice than that and wouldn't have a clue about the calorie count.In fact I told my OH just as he helped himself to a slice and he was horrified and he's supposed to be losing a wee bit of weight before his annual heart check up .
Jenpax I love food and spend most of my time in the kitchen ,I love feeding people too so I'm not being a killjoy for anyone .Just for me I'd like to know what the calorie count on a plate of food in a restaurant is,couldn't care less about anyone elses.

Calorie counting is not really my ay of reducing my weight or eatinf a balanced diet.I need to lose weight atm so will do so i n a,way I know works for me. Maybe restaurants can have 2 menu prints..one with one without...

Everyone knows cake is high in calories, pa. Anyone who pretends to be surprised is... well... pretending.