Restaurant rip-off, high prices and small portions
Occasionally, I enjoy a meal out with friends and family, however, if it is a MEAL you're paying for, then surely, a meal is what you should get. My gripe is that there seems to be a wide variation in not the standard of food as such in British restaurants, but the value and quantity of food.
Recently, I was invited by friends to dine at what used to be a village pub but is now a restaurant with hyped up prices, but I did not choose the venue so I went along with it. I selected fish pie from a specials board and a soup starter. Although the soup was OK I would not say it was of special note, however the fish pie was a joke.
Imagine an ordinary bowl-shaped coffee cup, with flaked fish at the bottom and the remainder topped up with mashed potato. THAT was my fish pie and it came with just a small ramekin with a few leaves of kale on a very large plate. This tasty, but minuscule morsel was £12 worth according to the specials board, but not to me. I wouldn't have paid half, in fact, it was so small it was more like a child's portion. Another friend ordered the same and half way through eating it, the waitress came round and asked if everything was OK. My friend said 'Lovely, what there is of it ...'
I avoid going back to these restaurants...
My sentiments exactly, but as we were with a group, none of us wanted to make a fuss, so we did what us Brits do best, put up and shut up. The chef / restaurant owner in this case had got away with it again, another ripped off customer. In fact, my share of the bill which did include a glass of red wine came to £27. I left feeling aggrieved and hungry.
This has happened to me time and time again, and I avoid going back to these restaurants because they're just not good value for money. But I ask; why do we all accept this silly ˜less is more' nonsense? It's King's new clothes alright, but people are blind to it and accept this rip-off practise; the just eat the food, pay the bill and say nothing. If I dine out I need a meal to satisfy my hunger, not a piece of art, decoratively laid out on a plate so I can take pictures of it. Wake up England, make a fuss, you are being ripped off, the King really IS naked!
By: Stavanger9
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Cherry Minton - 6-Aug-10 18:51
Why did you book a table from someone who was being rude to you?
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We have lunches with groups of 10 or more at least once or twice a week and we were prepared to give Zest regular business, but because of their attitude over the phone and in the restaurant, they have now lost themselves a whole lot of business.
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Very unimpressed - 10-Jun-10 15:20
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Name or nickname - 25-May-10 10:36
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theytake a yourcash - 14-Feb-10 23:57
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scoffilicious - 31-Jan-10 20:27
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There are some "all you can eat" buffet restaurants that at first thought, you might think would serve cheap , poor quality , bad tasting, badly cooked food ( I agree there are many ) but some restaurants do freshly cooked dishes as you order. Maybe for £15 or so a head, with a few drinks ( which is what they usually profit on ) totalling £20-£30 , you will be walking out rubbing your jolly belly like santa claus.
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They can all take a running jump down my bottomless pocket.
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Scum Scamsters - 3-Sep-09 05:10
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Beware also of some of the con tricks of the trade.Watch out for being served soft drinks that are filled half to three quarters full of ice.This is yet another classic rip-off.This is a cynical attempt to boost their profits by watering down the drinks.
Then theres the Pizza Hut buffet menu.Fetch your own food,plates,& cutlery,ect,& help yourself.Ok,fine.Thats exactly what I paid for.But it defies belief that they had the damn cheek to present the bill with"Service charge not included-Thankyou" underlined in ball point pen then expected a tip for the privelage.It could only happen here in Britain.These are just a few typical examples from my own personal experience.
Its all too easy to fall into the trap of saying nothing.As a result it just leaves you feeling deeply aggrieved & resentful afterwards.Complain at the right time.Don't be ripped off.And NEVER make the mistake of sending food back if you can avoid doing so.These establishments will soon lose buisness.Remember what happened to the Little Chef chain.Complain & complain & then complain again.Vote with your feet.Don't put up with poor food & bad service!Stand up for your rights!
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Disgruntled Diner - 25-Aug-09 00:46
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GRUMPYOLDWOMAN - 13-Aug-09 23:48
Great article Stavanger9, I totally agree with you!
The quality and value for money that we are presented with in these so called "restaurants" beggars belief!
On average, I would say that out of every ten restaurant meals I have had, eight of them have been inadequate, despite paying roughly £12 to £15 for a main course.
Maybe I have high expectations, but if I visit a restaurant in the UK and pay those kind of prices, I want to enjoy food that I wouldn't or couldn't easily cook at home.
Italian restaurants have been both my best and worst experiences.
The best was a restaurant where I had boar steak served on a bed of garlic mashed potato. It was so good, that even now, ten years later, I still remember the meal. There were small bowls of tasty olives on the table when we arrived, the waiters/waitresses were polite and competent. The music was authentic and just at the right volume, the dishes arrived in order and at the same time for everyone at the table. Fantastic.
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And the worst, at comparable prices have been other Italian restaurants. From flavourless dishes, accompanied by a side of boiled carrot, to pasta twists in Ragu, they've been dire.
Following closely on the awfulness scale have been Greek restaurants. Mostly, they haven't a clue as to what a Greek salad should look or taste like, let alone how to cook lamb, but the worst thing about these places has been the attitude of the staff/owners. Customers have appeared to be an inconvenience and how dare we expect clean cutlery?
Then there's the frozen chip. Why do we put up with it? In a greasy spoon or a motorway service I'd expect no less, let's get real, but in a restaurant calling itself a Bistro? Unbelievable!
Something that astonishes me is when I read on a menu "an extra service charge of 10% will be added for parties of 8 (or 10) or more"!
Er, excuse me? Ever heard of a quantity discount? If I, and my party amount to a large group, we're going to be putting a lot of money through the restaurant's tills. And somehow, they think they're going to be able to charge a premium? Unbelievable! What planet are these people on?
As far as I know, customers have a legal right to refuse to pay for substandard food and service.
Come on Britain's consumers, let's start demanding good food, decent service and decent prices of our eateries!
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