Anyone Else Soured on Dining Out?

[CaptTom]

We went to a restaurant the other day. One we used to really like. We've been going out with friends and relatives, or grabbing a quick bite somewhere out of convenience, but I think this was our first proper "dining out" since the pandemic shutdowns.

I hated it. With all the staffing shortages, service was terrible. But the server tried her best so we still gave a good tip. The long delays were made worse by the new, classy-looking but uncomfortable chairs they'd bought. My back was aching by the time we finally left. It was more a test of endurance than an enjoyable evening.

I could have gotten take out and eaten it in the comfort of my own home. I think that's going to be our preference from now on.

Anyone else?

 

[njhowie]

We've haven't dined out much over the past 5 to 10 years...maybe twice a month on average before the shutdowns. Over the past couple months, we have begun venturing out a bit, and have been quite happy. We liked Applebee's and the combo/value 2-fer offering. The portions were good size, the price was right, and we added a couple of drinks which were very good. We also went to a Chinese/Japanese buffet in the next town over that we had never been to before, were extraordinarily happy with it, and will definitely be going back. We have a similar one in our town, but a good amount higher priced. We've also been to a couple other local places, and have likewise been very happy with them. All staff has been extremely attentive, continue implementing higher health/safety standards, and I feel our experiences have been better than pre-pandemic.

 

[COcheesehead]

We have. For us it used to be about the experience and cost was second, but now waitstaffs are poorly trained, management at some of the places we used to go could give a rip and now cost does enter the picture when even a simple meal is $75-$100 by us.
Nope, we stay home. We made cedar planked salmon last night, fresh green beans and a nice dry Riesling all for about a third of what we pay in a restaurant.

 

[Rianne]

We enjoy going out for breakfast. For the most part, our meals are at home. We like buying our fresh vegetables or from the garden in the backyard. We're eating less meat. I make a great salad, 10x better than any restaurant for a fraction of the cost. And I know the veggies are fresh.

 

[HawkeyeNFO]

Eating out, in general, is not so good in the US (except for in New Orleans). Service is a crapshoot, and the general quality of food isn't very good.

Our American mass-produced food industry is the primary culprit. Diversity of ingredients, diversity of flavors, and protecting the integrity and quality of our food all are afterthoughts to getting the price down.

 

[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.

 

[pacergal]

Generally, we pick up and eat at home, but for the past few months we have restarted eating out once month with family.
We go to places that have outside dining only, which is limited around here, except during summer.
Service has varied, food has been OK, cost is crazy. Yesterday two burgers, two non alcoholic drinks $50.
I go out to be with family, so the restaurant is tolerated.
I would prefer to have everyone come to our house and we fix a meal or pot luck it, but they all want to get "out of the house".

 

[Letj]

Eating out, in general, is not so good in the US (except for in New Orleans). Service is a crapshoot, and the general quality of food isn't very good.

Our American mass-produced food industry is the primary culprit. Diversity of ingredients, diversity of flavors, and protecting the integrity and quality of our food all are afterthoughts to getting the price down.

Couldn’t have said it better. I am in Mexico now and it’s a world of a difference in terms of food quality and service.

 

[Dawg52]

I've noticed a decline in service as well but there are some places that still do a good job. I try to stick to those. I've always done a lot of takeout so that really hasn't increased in my case.

 

[OldShooter]

We're doing it less just because of the price increases, though we can well afford it. Even lunch, no alcohol, is $35. Really, a meal in a restaurant should not be a BTD experience.

Another factor is the expanding "fast food" ordering system where you order at a counter instead of being seated and ordering from a menu. A close variant is where they want you to figure out their iPad system to enter an order yourself. Both of those, right out of the box, make the dining experience unpleasant.

 

[Dash man]

We eat out on occasion, but not too often. I’ve not seen any drop off in service quality, but there are more limited menu items and everything is more expensive. We eat much more at home because of health reasons, but the occasional night out is fun.

 

[Car-Guy]

Our eating out habits haven't changed in years even thru the pandemic for the most part... Still eat out a lot. Some drive thru and some dine-in... About the only thing I've noticed "recently" is the price increases. ~$25 for two to eat at McDonald's is nuts but what are you going to do. (Rhetorical)

 

[audreyh1]

Staffing shortages after Covid in hospitality IMO will mean worse experiences probably for years to come. I’ve read the same in reviews for once popular resort hotels - substandard cleaning, room service non-existent or very poor, limited dining options.

Unfortunately I think this is a new reality.

P.S. we rarely dine out due to much healthier food at home and only ate out once at a restaurant (outdoors) since Covid started and yes, the favorites were gone from their menu. We’ve only ordered takeout 3 times.

But we are planning on some long road trips and hoping for room service to be a good strategy and read several upscale hotel reviews and unfortunately things are way subpar compared to pre-Covid.

In general we’ll have to go for lodging with kitchens. Not a problem overall, but there are some locations with resort hotels that would have been nice.

 

[Rustic23]

We live 35 miles from town, and over an hour from a city with restaurant choices. So when you add the gas bill to the food bill, well, we have cut back trips, and therefore eat out less frequent. We make doctor appointments in the afternoon, and add a stop at a restaurant afterwards. After church, it is food shopping time. Bought a Foodie Grill and we have never prepared so many interesting, some not so interesting, meals.

 

[scrabbler1]

We've haven't dined out much over the past 5 to 10 years...maybe twice a month on average before the shutdowns. Over the past couple months, we have begun venturing out a bit, and have been quite happy. We liked Applebee's and the combo/value 2-fer offering. The portions were good size, the price was right, and we added a couple of drinks which were very good. We also went to a Chinese/Japanese buffet in the next town over that we had never been to before, were extraordinarily happy with it, and will definitely be going back. We have a similar one in our town, but a good amount higher priced. We've also been to a couple other local places, and have likewise been very happy with them. All staff has been extremely attentive, continue implementing higher health/safety standards, and I feel our experiences have been better than pre-pandemic.

My ladyfriend and I eat out at Applebee's every few months, and we find it a pleasant dining experience. We also buy our meals off the 2-for-$2x menu which means it costs me around $40 with tax and tip, and she gets some leftovers for another meal, all a good deal. One of the managers there knows us from previous visits over the years, so he makes sure we are treated well if there any problems.

My dad and I eat out every few months when I go see him. We go to a diner or to Ben's Deli, both a little pricier, even for lunch (between $45 and $50).

Not having to wear a mask any more at these places has been a big help in making our dining experiences better and more like what they were prior to early 2020.

 

[daylatedollarshort]

For the money, especially with high restaurant prices these days, we usually get more fun out of plays and concerts. We still get inexpensive carry out, like dim sum and Chinese. We spend more on restaurants when we go out with friends because that is what some of them like, or when our kids are in town, because they enjoy it. But if we are going to spend $70 on a night out for just the two of us, I'd rather attend a symphony orchestra concert and eat something healthy at home.

 

[ShokWaveRider]

Couldn’t have said it better. I am in Mexico now and it’s a world of a difference in terms of food quality and service.

Well said, we rarely eat out anymore unless we have to. We do take out from our favorite Chinese. We live in a resort town, and one would expect good eats, but it is very rare, at least in our experience. Service could be excellent, but if the food is sub-par or not worth it, service becomes moot.

We love Mexico and agree with your observation.

 

[Marita40]

Rarely these days, at least nothing "fine dining." Prices are just too high. If eating out at all, I prefer low key mom and pop type breakfast places, delis, cafes and the like.

There are also some really great food trucks in my area.

 

[Sunset]

We don't eat in restaurants due to Covid still circulating, even if there is no mask mandates.

Even picking up food to take home, I've noticed a drop in service.
At one restaurant, I just ring up my bill and pay it and leave with the food. Last time I even tipped myself

Last night I picked up a pizza as we were tired from cutting down a tree and when I picked up the pizza, I was surprised to find only 1 person working at the Papa John's at 7pm.
No wonder the pizza order had said it would take 30 minutes from the online site.

 

[MichaelB]

According to BLS data, while the overall economy has recovered to pre-covid employment levels, employment in bars, restaurants and hotels is still 1 million jobs below the pre-Covid level (14.4 vs 13.3 million, 01/19 vs 04/22). Anecdotal reports claim turnover has been very high and many of the recent hires in this sector are new, and therefore less trained.

I think the data and anecdotal reports confirm the views in this thread that service levels have declined in some restaurants and hotels, which are at the same time getting pricier.

We cut back on dine in restaurants during the pandemic period, are just starting to go back, but aren’t really motivated yet to continue. It’s clear this part of the economy is still adjusting, and we’ll watch that from the sidelines.

 

[W2R]

Eating out, in general, is not so good in the US (except for in New Orleans). Service is a crapshoot, and the general quality of food isn't very good.

It's still good here in New Orleans, from what we have seen. There has been some turnover in staffing at our favorite restaurants, but the new employees are trained and expected to maintain reasonable standards.

Before the pandemic, we used to eat lunch out every day. Now, we tend to get take-out and only eat in a restaurant perhaps once a week. We stay at home a lot more in general than we used to, perhaps due to new habits, perhaps due to Covid fears, or perhaps due to growing old.

When we do eat lunch out (as we did on Saturday), we still enjoy the same experience and service as before.

Also the quality of food is as good, although some dishes have been modified out of necessity because the original ingredients are harder for the restaurant to obtain. For example, at a favorite Italian restaurant one particular pasta dish is now $2 more expensive with the original pasta, $1 more expensive with an alternative pasta, and the original price if gnocchi is substituted for pasta. The new pricing seemed weird although the gnocchi wasn't terrible.

Once we could not get a shrimp dish because they were out of shrimp , and that is the first time we ever heard of such shortages at a restaurant here in New Orleans. The shortages of pasta, shrimp, and so on, do not affect all dishes obviously.

In summary, I don't think Frank and I are soured on dining out. I think adjustments in our habits simply take time. Also the various food shortages that people see in grocery stores, are beginning to affect restaurant supply as well.

As I type this, Frank is picking up some red beans and rice as take-out for us from a nearby restaurant. What would Mondays in New Orleans be without the traditional red beans and rice?

 

[Koolau]

I've noticed most of these issues mentioned in the past year. We used to eat out at least 5 times a week - not fine dining, but at our favorite haunts. These days, we never eat out more than twice a week and usually less than that - primarily with friends.

What I've noticed most is lack of service - they try, but are typically understaffed. Second I've noticed prices are up - way up in many cases. 25% at least.

I still enjoy occasionally eating out, but it's not the same. I wonder if we have shifted a paradigm and it will never return to "the way it used to be." Too bad, 'cause eating out used to be a real pleasure. It's okay occasionally, but I've lost a lot of the interest in eating out. YMMV

 

[aja8888]

We used to eat out frequently at smaller venues. But now we only go 1/2 the time due to all the places are packed every night. Even on Monday nights there is frequently a wait time. It's like Yogi said, "no one goes there anymore because it's too crowded".

Must be a Houston thing or too much "helicopter money" was dropped here and the populous is still getting rid of it.

 

[Car-Guy]

We used to eat out frequently at smaller venues. But now we only go 1/2 the time due to all the places are packed every night. Even on Monday nights there is frequently a wait time. It's like Yogi said, "no one goes there anymore because it's too crowded".

Must be a Houston thing or too much "helicopter money" was dropped here and the populous is still getting rid of it.

Anytime we travel into Houston we try to time our "dine-in" lunch/dinner between the hours of 2 and 4pm... Seems to be the best times to be seated quickly and get okay service.... Seems it's always been that way even when we lived there.

By the way, the one good thing about Houston/Woodlands are the restaurants. Man, what a selection. My favorite is Chuy's but there's a lot of good ones. "Almost" worth the drive.

 

[Big_Hitter]

By the way, the one good thing about Houston/Woodlands are the restaurants. Man, what a selection. My favorite is Chuy's. "Almost" worth the drive.

no doubt - we are still staying away from restaurants, but for special occasions