British Folks ...
 

It’s a long story but a friend sent me a text, and I’m curious if it’s true.

“Taking food home from a restaurant. You scavenge your next meal from the leftovers of your current one? Ask a British restaurant for a box to take your meal home, and you’ll get a look that says you’re difficult and a penny-pinching arse”

In the USA, it’s common for people to take home leftovers. I had a favorite Chinese restaurant that charged you a quarter for the takeout container. It was a dollar before they closed.

If you pay for your meal, you’re difficult for taking home your leftover food?

My friend was in the UK but moved back to the USA. She can’t remember the policy there.

We dont normally take home uneaten food. In part because we get normal sized portions as opposed to 'American sized' portions, but if we wanted to take it we could... But its not something that we would do regularly.

But on the flipside, if you wanted to take it home, you wouldn't be looked at as a 'penny pinching scavenger' either...

When I lived stateside I couldn't BELIVE how much food was brought to the table... So considering I could eat my fill, and still have a 'normal' sized portion left over, then yeah, Id get a box myself...

Generally it's not true. Maybe in a really upmarket restaurant they would look at you funny, but not in an average one.

no problems taking food home from a restaurant in Europe, this goes for the UK...

as CS says, the difference is, usually in the UK, the portions are generally smaller, so it´s generally not needed. You can normally manage what´s on your plate.

It sounded strange but the food portions here are big. I always have a takeout box or did when I ate at a restaurant.

People are used to having big portions of food. But a local restaurant charges $15.99 for a burger and fries. The burger is one pound of beef and no fillers, they claim. Cooked it’s probably twelve ounces of beef. I can’t imagine eating the whole thing with fries and a bun.

I texted her back and said that it might be the custom for that restaurant but not in general. She saw it online and she believed that it affected the whole country. I knew that y’all would know what the truth was!

Many, many years ago I went to a restaurant with my folks often though it was forty minutes away. Seconds were free and you could take the leftovers home. The ride through the country area was scenic and the pond was beautiful. You’d literally get two meals for the price of one. I haven’t thought of that in years.

We call it a doggy bag here.

yeah shouldn't be difficult if you want to take something back..

lol yep!!!
dinner box too!!

You wanna see the looks i get when i ask if i can take other customers leftovers home with me....

Usually I have a good appetite and there is nothing left to take with me :)

Yep because people used to say that it was for their dog!

You ask? I just eat off of other people's plates while they are still dining... :2 cents:

Not into that as i like to take them home and eat in the nude

After my parents split when I was a kid and my mum started dating again I would be furious that she was taken to nice resturants and I couldn't go - She used to order extra and bring it home for me in a 'doggy bag' - The guys future depended on that bag of leftovers - If I didn't like it he was not going to get to second base - I made sure of it...

You mean you actually wear clothes to the restaurant in the first place? How Very Posh...

How do you know they didn't do it in the car on the way home?

I was 9 - I didn't know that was a thing:winkwink:...

When I lived in London I was also told that nice restaurants look down on taking home leftovers. I never have leftovers so it wasn't really an issue, but it was something I did hear from a couple of people there.

I thought about that earlier when I read this thread - I think that in most cases the 'nicer' the restaurant the smaller the portions - The more you pay the smaller the portions get - Would that work in the US?..

OK, I really have not 'Cherry Picked' these images. I simply typed 'Chicken Fried Steak and Sides' into google for the first picture. Here it is:

https://i.imgur.com/0wxV8nX.jpg

Thats taken from a steak house in the USA - Link Below.

https://www.zomato.com/san-antonio/l...midtown/photos

I typed the same again into google, but this time added 'UK' to the search term... One of the first pics of the UK version...

https://i.imgur.com/3YATpva.jpg

Taken from: https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/chicken-fried-steak

Now I'm not trying to say one is better than the other, or more healthier etc... But just look at the difference in size of the portions, for the USA and the UK versions of the same meal....

They speak for themselves.

Well yes, but even at the most expensive restaurants they would be glad to bring you a nice takeaway box, or they will take your plates back to the kitchen and have the leftovers packed up and brought back to you in nice boxes in a nice bag, maybe even with more sauce / sides and cutlery and stuff.

No one likes wasted food.

I doubt some Michelin 5 star restaurant is going to give you a doggy bag.