Anyone Else Soured on Dining Out?

[jollystomper]

My Quicken stats tell me:
- in 2020, after the pandemic, we ate in a restaurant once, in December.
- in 2021, we went to restaurants 20 times.
- So far in 2022, we have gone to restaurants (including on vacation and private graduation dinners) 33 times.

We have not soured on the experience. We are cautious and tend to go when there are less likely to be crowds. This weekend we went on a date night to a dinner theater, there were 25 customer there, well spread out (pre-pandemic they would get around 100). The most crowded was on Mothers' Day. DW wanted to go to an Asian buffet; we went later in the evening, it was somewhat crowded at first but, we arrived when many folks were finishing up, so it was so maybe half capacity and we had empty tables around us.

We have not noticed the quality of the food any different than before the pandemic. Prices of course are up. Help is less, and service is slower, but we are patient. I really do not blame the restaurants for this. Our worst experience was a lunch in a mall in San Antonio in June 2021. The sandwich place had one person working the register, preparing sandwiches, and bringing the food out to tables, and one person restocking the food. That was a long lunch .

We have felt very safe. We do notice a lot more cleaning occurring. In most of the restaurants, most of the food servers are masked. More restaurants are providing online ordering options (either via a tablet at the table or your smartphone) you have less interaction with them. The online options is one way some of them are addressing staff shortages.

I would say 90% of the restaurants we have gone to have "Help Wanted" signs in their window. At one restaurant, when the server found out we were both retired, she asked if we wanted part time work we should consider working at the restaurant (she was also honest and told us the workers got bonuses if someone they referred was hired). We cannot blame her for trying...

[athena53]

BF and I are probably dining out a little more although we've noticed the price increases of 20-25%. Our usual place is a local Mexican restaurant, owned by a couple in my neighborhood and they seem to have good continuity of staff. We go relatively early in the evening and it's rarely crowded. Every once in awhile BF gets a craving for biscuits and gravy so we go to Denny's for brunch (fortunately they have healthier options for me). They're understaffed but they have one VERY good waitress and when the food gets to the table it's piping hot so we know she's not letting it sit in the kitchen when it's ready.

On road trips we have avoided any place that looks crowded or not properly cleaned but have been able to find middle-of-the-range places that are acceptable, sometimes choosing takeout instead.

I've taken DS, DDIL and the 3 kids (8, 5 and almost 3) to a couple of good high-end Italian restaurants in the Kansas City area now that the youngest is a little more manageable. DDIL always brings card games and small toys to keep the kids amused and if the youngest gets restless one of us will take him for a walk around the place (keeping him by the hand so he doesn't interfere with anyone else's meal). Staff have been wonderful and kid-friendly and food has been excellent. But yeah, prices are up.

[Midpack]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aerides Not at all soured. I have never frequented big chains though, usually prefer places where the owner is on site most nights. We have continued going to our regular sushi place, sitting outside during most of the pandemic, but will go inside when the weather requires it. Though we did have a super cold snap in January, during peak Omicron, so we did take out that night and neither in nor out were a good idea. For me dining out has been far less about actual food and more the overall ambiance, service, and a break. A date night. Yes I can eat mostly as well at home, and do more than not, but that's far from the point for me.

+1. We go out for dinner three times a week, breakfast a couple times a month, and we did takeout three times a week during the pandemic - because we did not want local restaurants to fail. We still eat outside more often than not.

Like Aerides, we have never and still don’t go to big chain restaurants - they lost their appeal with us years and years ago. Our many regular restaurants have handled the labor shortage by shortening hours or day open, instead of letting service suffer too much. As long as they do their best to maintain food-service-atmosphere - we’ll support them. If any of them don't maintain repeatedly (three strikes?), they’ll drop from the rotation. Our pre-pandemic favorite pizza place didn’t take Covid seriously, we dropped them, and we’ll never go back. It wasn’t hard to replace them among our regulars.

And the OP sounds like someone who very rarely goes out - “I think this was our first proper "dining out" since the pandemic shutdowns.” You have one bad experience after several years and you’re “soured on dining out?” Seems a little unfair, but your choice.

[Dtail]

Mixed bag here.
We both had enough cooking over the years and thus will be trying some delivered cooked meals 2x weekly, pick up very healthy "Balanced Foods" meals 2x weekly and then figure out the other 3 days.
Overall, the quality of service here has gone down, although not drastically and prices are up.

[Katsmeow]

Well, it depends. During the pandemic, we went to takeout only for a long period of time. It was the first time we had really gotten food from a "real" restaurant and eaten it at home. And, we enjoyed doing it. We are still doing that usually once a week.

That said, I still enjoy restaurants. Unlike many here, I prefer chains because I want them to have nutritional info and most non-chains don't have it. I record everything I eat in MyNetDiary and it is a PITA to figure it out if you don't have nutritional info.

What I like about dining out are a couple of things. I don't enjoy cooking so I get to eat food from restaurants I would not otherwise have. Of course, in most cases, take out will give me this (some foods don't work well for take out).

But, I also enjoy DH and I being able to go somewhere and just have the opportunity to concentrate on talking to each other while someone else does all the work and there are no interruptions.

We usually go out once a week and I go out to lunch with a friend once a week.

Honestly, if I could afford it monetarily and healthwise I would eat out every day. I do feel that most restaurant meals have way too much sodium and eating out every day is probably not a good idea unless we are really careful.

On the other hand, we are planning to soon move and are leaning toward Las Vegas right now. One "pro" for Las Vegas was the many dining choices and I suspect we will eat out more once we get moved.

[Chuckanut]

I tend to eat out for one or more of three reasons:

1. Socializing with friends
2. Far away from home and no kitchen to cook a meal (ie. vacation)
3. Eat something that I could not or would not prepare at home. It might require special skills, special tools, or special ingredients that are expensive and not easily obtainable.

With the increase in dining costs, justifying any one of the above is getting tougher. Often there are substitutions: a picnic instead of lunch, invite friends to my place to eat, skip the unusual food I can't prepare myself. That said I still enjoy being served and not having to clean up afterwards.

Covid is on the rise out here West of the Rockies, so I will be avoiding more crowded indoor spots for a while, and that includes dining indoors. Thanks to unusually cool weather eating outdoors is still iffy unless you want to wear a coat and eat cool food.

[travelover]

I don't consider the pandemic to be over and have not been to a sit in restaurant since February 2020. I do miss the occasional meal out, but have made peace with takeout..

[Souschef]

This thread hit a nerve for me. I have eaten many times at a local restaurant that has a patio next to the tiedown area for light aircraft and a view of the runway (I'm a pilot)
The last time I was there I placed my order for a sandwich and a beer. The beer came right away, and I waited for my sandwich, and waited, and waited.
I finally got up and left. I have never done that before.

[sweetana3]

We are in a big city and are very careful about where or if we go out to eat. I check Yelp reviews and note whether recent reviews are trending up or down and if there are comments about service. There are excellent places out there from small to large.

First Watch is our #1 favorite consistent breakfast and lunch spot even if we travel.

I never eat fast food or cheap mass produced food. And it should be something I do not make at home.

We recently went to a 5 course gourmet meal with five different champagnes. Lovely meal over 3 hours but the chair was so uncomfortable that I will refuse to sit in them anymore and request different seating.

[skyking1]

I started to answer yes, but we have had good Thai food right in my sister's building a couple of times now. It is not crowded at all and the prices are fantastic, less than $14 per entree typically.
Hanging around a crowd of unmasked strangers is a complete downer now. Places without crowds are OK.

[GenXguy]

I eat out quite a bit for breakfast because my company has a restaurant in the building, and breakfast is pretty reasonable. I typically bring lunch, though. As far as dining at restaurants outside of work, I have dined out at a restaurant one time this year. I've also had take-out / delivery a few times.

[JoeWras]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Souschef This thread hit a nerve for me. I have eaten many times at a local restaurant that has a patio next to the tiedown area for light aircraft and a view of the runway (I'm a pilot) The last time I was there I placed my order for a sandwich and a beer. The beer came right away, and I waited for my sandwich, and waited, and waited. I finally got up and left. I have never done that before.

I never refused food before, until last month. At a local place, I was presented an inedible burger that was like chewing on leather. Seriously, my first ever refusal. I have an iron stomach and will eat anything. I've eaten a lot of bad restaurant food probably out of courtesy and not making waves.

This was so incredibly bad even I had to say no.

It's just a mess out there. The labor issues are having a terrible impact. I have little desire to go back to a restaurant any time soon.

[Teacher Terry]

I used to eat lunch out about twice a week. Now it’s once or twice a a month. The prices have really increased and menus are more limited. I don’t like takeout because the food is not hot enough when I get home.

[Ronstar]

We eat out about twice a week. Almost always within 20 miles of home. Used to go to Chicago and distant suburbs sometimes efor dinner, but quit going to cities during the pandemic. I don’t see us going long distance to dinner again. Not worth the hassle. Nearby restaurants have quality similar to city places and are certainly safer.

[friar1610]

We used to big pretty big on dining out, generally every weekend. When we moved to our current location (2013) the restaurant selection wasn’t as good as it had been in previous locations so we tapered back a bit. When COVID hit we stopped completely for a good long time and resorted to take-out on those occasions we* didn’t want to prepare meals at home. We have guardedly gone back to an occasional lunch out with friends/family and celebratory family dinners for birthdays, anniversaries, etc. We have not noticed any huge degradation in food or service quality on those few occasions we do eat out.

*I use the term “we” advisedly as I am pretty useless in the kitchen (except for washing dishes) but competent on the grill. (Of course, living in New England, grilling outdoors is much like kayaking - limited to about 7 or 8 months of the year.) So since my dear wife, a wonderful cook, bears most of the meal preparation responsibility, I feel that we have to get a take-out meal at least once weekly to give her a break since we’re not eating out nearly as much.

[Katsmeow]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Teacher Terry I used to eat lunch out about twice a week. Now it’s once or twice a a month. The prices have really increased and menus are more limited. I don’t like takeout because the food is not hot enough when I get home.

I almost always reheat after the food gets to the house (and don't order things that can't handle reheating). Or, order something that doesn't need to be warmer such as a salad.

[MarieIG]

I had soured a bit on dining out pre-pandemic.

When I was working, I was literally too tired to go out to eat after work. It was not unusual for me to get home after nine p.m. and to fling my aching back into a recliner while DH brought me diner. (DH is a very good cook.) I also worked most weekends. The last few times we went out pre-pandemic, I was disappointed in the food. If I was going to drag myself out the door, the food should at least be very good - and it wasn't.

DH and I had planned to go out to eat once a week once I retired, but with Covid, helping out with the grandchildren, and me trying to eat mostly organic, it hasn't turned out that way.

[RobbieB]

I love hitting the dining room!

Much better than eating in car or take out and bring home.

[Koolau]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RobbieB I love hitting the dining room! Much better than eating in car or take out and bring home.

Yeah, I kinda like being waited on - it's just difficult to find a restaurant with enough staff to pull it off right now. YMMV

[RobbieB]

Yup, same problem here, help wanted signs everywhere.