Eating out and the cost for small amounts!

[margie1]

Hi I just need to get this off my chest......why do I/we have to pay the full amount/cost at restaurants etc when I only have a small portion? less than half of what other people are served on their plates yet i have to pay the same. I feel cheated or is it just me ?

Margie

[Buzzboy]

Sorry - it's just you. We pay for the table, the time taken to prepare the meal, the service, heating/lighting, business rates, staff costs etc etc - all of which costs the same regardless of how much we eat. The cost of the ingredients is only a small part of the cost to the restuarant. Seems to me that the more expensive the retaurant the smaller the portions anyway!!

[margie1 in reply to Buzzboy]

Thanks Buzzboy it just seems unfair to me but i understand what your saying

marg

[racy]

Hi Margie 1. If you contact the Oesophagal Patients Association they can send you a headed card which says thst due to a medical condition you are unable to eat normal portions so would they please serve you a childs portion. I use mine all the time and have never had a problem, and i dont pay full price. Hope this helps.

[margie1 in reply to racy]

thanks Racy i do explain to them but doesnt make any difference so i have rang and they are sending me a booklet with some headed cards so big thank you for that hopefully they will think differently if they see it written down

[yorkshirerose]

Hi Mage

I have been quite lucky in finding a pub that when I explained why most of my meal was still on the plate they told me next time I went to ask for a childs portion. Next time we went I looked but didnt fancy chicken dippers or fish fingers so just went ahead and ordered scampi, knowing I would managesome of that. When my plate arrived it was a third of the size of everyone else with a small portion of scampi and chips. All childrens dishes were £5.95, and that is all they charged me, although I couldn't manage the icecream :-). We will definitely be going back.

But always worth asking if they will give you a smaller portion, I have always found restaurants and coffee shops to be helpful, but it also helps to have a husband that has a stomach like a waste disposal, what I can't eat he happily does.

Love

Edwina xxxx

[margie1 in reply to yorkshirerose]

Thanks Edwina i do explain why i cant eat a large portion and i don't like sausage etc off the kiddies menu but they still charge me full price...seems a shame it has to go in the bin hopefully things will change

Love marg xxx

[yorkshirerose in reply to margie1]

Thats a real shame Marg. I often just have something from the starter menu, which is usually enough for me anyway, but as you say hopefully things will change. Hope you are doing ok

Love Edwina xxx

[Hidden]

I think the problem is that so many restaurants / pubs have set buttons on their ordering/menus without the flexibility we would want to see. The phone number for the restaurant cards is 0121 704 9860. No harm in asking for a discount, but I can see that it would fit into their systems more easily to treat it as a child's menu, and that sorts out the price as well. They should be geared up towards special dietary needs. Some are; but many are not!

[margie1 in reply to Hidden]

Thanks Alan I am now making it my mission to get these changes ...well i will try lol

Marg

[lizthebob in reply to margie1]

I have got into the habit of sharing a meal with my partner and to mu surprise have never found this an issue with the restaurant. In fact, in some places if for a snack we share something like a panini, they bring it already on two plates with the salad or whatever garnish on both so sometimes we actually get extra for the price of one.

[margie1 in reply to lizthebob]

i like your thinking liz may give this a try thank you

marg

[Hidden]

You can get a card from OPA saying please give child portions resulting in lower bill. I use mine all the time.Phone up and they will send you one and problem solved

[margie1 in reply to Hidden]

thank you Griff

[david001]

Hi Margie

Following on from what racy and Alan have said, the cards the OPA provide are very useful esp in the first yr post op. Thereafter try the children's meals or I used to order starters. I'm afraid, you'll never be able to go to the "All you can eat" buffets and get value for money again lol

[spanner16]

I've found the same thing - the cards are brilliant especially in places where they say that the children's menu is for under 12s etc but once I've shown the card they usually accept it no bother.

I think it's once they know you're not being tight you have an actual reason for NEEDING a smaller portion then they are usually quite accommodating. I'm not a year out since my op yet so I'm still finding it hard not being 'normal' in social situations so the card is great here too coz you don't need to tell everyone your life story, a simple flash of the card and they understand!

Other than that I've ordered starters as a main course which restaurants are generally ok with, like mentioned above I also just want a small portion of a big person's meal, i don't want chicken nuggets or fish fingers etc.

I've also shared dishes with my boyfriend so for example we'll order a sandwich to share and then he'll get a side of chips say to help fill him up more - he says he likes this approach too because it means that he's not eating his meal AND finishing mine too!!

I've also found that Italian restaurants are the best places to go - I've not been to one where asking for a half portion of pasta is a problem.

[Hon-Moonraker]

Margie,

I started trying to order off the children's menu and asking for smaller portions, but it got embarrassing especially when on one occasion I was given a menu with a scene on the back that I could colour in. Since that time I either order a full size meal and just eat as much as I feel able or just have a starter served when everyone else has their main.