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Some Great Tips for What Not to Order from a Restaurant Menu, Do You Have Any ?

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Some things you should not order from a restaurant menu are common sense

If you are ordering seafood and the restaurant is not on the coast but inland for example, you don't know how far the food has travelled to get there and if it was chilled

Grilled chicken is also mentioned because of the fine line between it being cooked properly or not

The article also mentions not to order alfredo, one i didn't know about , as outside of Italy it will probably be from a bag , so not a fresh sauce

One not to do i did suspect , but never had confirmed was to order the chef's special

This expert confirms what i thought, that it's probably only his special because he has too much of it , for example an excess of chicken or some other ingredients he needs to use up, or is about to go off

Now that eating out is so expensive we need to stay savvy about restaurant practices and try to get the best value

Do you have any other tips of what not to order , or something you think is poor value ?

www.ladbible.com/lifestyle/food-and-drink/chef-warning-restaurant-menu-avoid-specials-food-233586-20240822

telmel
2 months ago
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MelissaLee1

Pasta and salad I can make myself for next to nothing.I would pay for a nice decent steak but not a roast dinner or £6 for an ice cream!

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telmel

MelissaLee1 I can never understand why desserts are so expensive in a restaurant M

Usually its a dollop of ice cream , a squirt of cream and some biscuit and they charge you £6 or more in some places, the actual value is closer to £1

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Lynibis

A little bit off subject but one of the easiest things to cook at home has always been a fail for me in cafe/restaurants. The humble jacket potato. I have stopped choosing them now as they are always al dente and mostly inedible.

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telmel

Lynibis I remember the spud you like franchise years ago L , when potatoes were cheap

You got a baked potato with various fillings like baked beans or chilli beans etc and you got charged a few pounds for it

I must admit they were nice on a cold winters day though

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Lynibis

telmel I absolutely love jacket spuds. I would eat them every day given the chance, but home cooked!

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telmel

Lynibis Very easy to make in the microwave L , i bought a bag from temu that you put them in and they seem to be fluffier than just in the microwave alone and cook faster

A lot cheaper to cook than in the days your only choice was to put one in the oven

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janphoenix51

I find that on the odd occasion I order Poached Eggs on Toast at Morrisons they are how I like them, cooked just right with a runny yolk rest of time either snotty or like bullets!!

I'm rubbish at doing my own so usually wait til my partner makes them & they are usually perfect...

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telmel

janphoenix51 One of my favourites J

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martinlufc5637

telmel a meal out for us is too expensive now, your talking over £70+ without drinks for 6 of us

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martinlufc5637

Spaghetti Bolognese is my favourite, I have ordered it from all our local restaurants and all where crap, before COVID from one restaurant it was £6, same restaurant it's now £13.50, I'd rather stay home and cook my own

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telmel

martinlufc5637 That annoys me M, they make the cheapest meals with the cheapest ingredients but charge people a premium , what a rip off

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jam45

telmel Don't order a souffle. It might be part baked and chilled for the catering trade, also the sponge cake mixture - just add egg and water instructions. Prawns are usually frozen. These are some of the foods I remembered when working as a catering assistant in various catering establishments. Most of them purchase the cheapest food they can buy and make various meals out of them.

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telmel

jam45 Thanks for the tip off J

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jam45

telmel Please to help.

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JLouM

Specials aren’t always excess. Sometimes for instance like soup of the day is bought In because hey soon it’s Autumn and everyone fancies soup, so of course the eatery will maximise profit if they can. Nothing wrong with it and have to be strict on use by dates. The only thing I would avoid and I don’t like personally anyway is bread pudding as stale bread is used.

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telmel

JLouM One of my favourites J, my gran and mum used to make it when they were alive

It never seems the same from a restaurant though , always too liquidy

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Deansmum

JLouM One place my friend and I go to for lunch always has soup of the day on the menu. We ask what it is and 90% of the time its tomato which I can't eat.

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janphoenix51

Deansmum ...Yes exactly that, my partner, our daughter & I love a nice homemade soup with a some nice chunky bread & butter but when we ask in place we are eating it's bloody tomato!!

We love a Country Veg Soup or a Leek & Potato Soup but no....Tomato..ugggh!

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janphoenix51

JLouM ...Is that Bread Pudding or Bread & Butter Pudding, I hate Bread Pudding but love a good Bread & Butter Pudding.

Our daughter wants a Lemon Curd Bread & Butter Pudding next week from me, she will pick the currants out she says as she doesn't like them & it's her birthday!! X

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telmel

Tell me about it M , even things like fish and chips that used to be cheap are so expensive

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thepaxman

Soup for me depending on how much they're charging for it just because it's a basic thing and for me shouldn't cost any more than a couple of pound imo

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hspexy

Stick to table water and not order drinks - the prices are inflated and may cost as much as a dish! (I’d rather pay for a dish)

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JLouM

hspexy I order a drink and also ask for water. I then dilute my drink as usually too strong and sweet anyway and it lasts twice as long so don’t need to buy another. I’m not keen on just plain water unless I’m really thirsty.

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hspexy

JLouM for me, a drink isn’t necessary as I can always have a drink elsewhere after. Most places don’t serve the kind of drinks I like, or rather they charge too much, so a freebie water is fine

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eyeballkerry

I have seen some working kitchens in my time and it really puts you off visiting a restaurants. I seen smokers go back in kitchen after smoking and not wash their hands then handle food. Even if they didn’t wash their hands this puts me right off.

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Jinky67

eyeballkerry I worked in kitchens for years and the things I've seen would horrify most people🤣

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eyeballkerry

Jinky67 This is exactly why I do not eat out very often. There is a restaurant in Lanzarote and you can watch the meats being cooked which I find reassuring.

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Jerseydrew

I don't eat often just cos it's expensive. Being veggie I'm often stuck with things like veggie burgers. I don't eat them at home for this reason so it's a treat when j get them

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