We stopped dining out thanks to the pandemic and haven’t resumed. Takeout is once or twice a month, almost always with an eye to having multiple meals from the leftovers. (Pre-pandemic we dined out weekly and also enjoyed takeout, while budgeting ourselves for the majority of meals being made by us.)
While I have noticed price increases at restaurants, I am unsure how much that guides our ordering. I’m sure there’s a subliminal component.
Can’t say that our dining habits changed at all since the before times, but then, neither has our budget. I generally make dinner 4-6 nights/week, the other nights are takeout, delivery, or an actual restaurant visit.
But we are currently living in a fairly reasonably priced city (which is all relative, of course), and the abundance of BYOB options sure cuts down on money spent on restaurant meals.
indeed. there’s two aspects of “to dine out or not to dine out”
the obvious and often fallaciously cited “restaurant prices are so high” . . .
the less obvious, but more true (imho)
price high or price normal or price low . . . there is no discretionary money remaining to ‘dine out’ - - - the cost of ‘everything else’ has eliminated the mere thought of ‘dining out’
I’ve always been a cook at home person. I don’t do fast food (except my 2x a year craving for French fries, but those are just a car Scooby Snack to tide me over until dinner). McDonald’s and Olive Garden are just not my cuppa tea. Ever. (Except for those fries.)
I think I’ve gotten take-out in my current home less than 10 times over 13+ years - and several of them were a portion of a week where I had extremely limited electricity in August 2023. I go out very rarely, but even if I didn’t, I think I’d have scaled way back due to pricing.
When I DO go out to eat, I don’t think as much about prices because it’s a treat for me. I mean no, I’m not going to buy an $80-$100 bottle of wine. But overall, I don’t mind spending a bit more, specifically because I don’t go out all that often.
That entirely depends on one’s personal priorities. Dining out brings me and my partner tremendous joy, but neither of us needs the newest tech gadget or brand-name clothing or whatever else people choose to spend their money on 
it may not be a personal priority - given the higher costs of everything-and-then some, rather a lot of people have zero.zero dollars available for cheap/moderate/expensive ‘dining out…’
been there in the ‘dead broke’ situation - ‘choices’ become simply not available…
ps: mine is an iPhone 8 - so spending on the latest . . . is not a thing . . .
it doesn’t do G5, but given my ‘needs’ - hard to justify mega-bucks for a G5 phone . . .
the battery condition/life is seriously “not good” - which is the only reason I am, still, waffling on getting a new one . . .
Wot she said.
Our weekly restaurant night is important to us. We like to try new places but the mainstay of our eating out is maybe 15 or so places that we visit with some regularity. Costs vary. Some weeks, like this week, it’ll be well under £90 for the two of us. One or two of the places on the list, that we might only visit once a year, will cost in excess of three times that. We have no intention of leaving any money for the next generation after we snuff it.
We don’t have a next generation to worry about 
I love going out to dinner, and I equally love cooking at home. But I’ve almost entirely given up ordering in (which I used to do at least a few times a month), because prices have skyrocketed.
This article is a great example of one that doesn’t support its thesis: Out-dining is down due to inflation.
Let me offer a partial–not complete–explanation of why dining out has dropped: Overall, across the markets assessed, (a) the food isn’t that good; and (b) it’s not a good value for what’s being served. Put another way, restaurant food at most levels has become more about convenience than quality or talent. There are exceptions, of course.
I find this all quite realistic.
This article references one perspective but I just read another article on Bloomberg which I can’t unfortunately provide a link to as you need a subscription to a terminal to read it which argues otherwise. In summary it says there is a rotation going on from the plodding fast casual dining chains and they are not reacting well to what is happening in the market, e.g. Red Lobster and Darden. Other dining options are actually doing well. Yes if you are income constrained you are cutting back. However, much of the ecomomy is still doing well and performing strongly and other restaurants are doing fine. This includes large chains like Chipotle (I am still kicking myself for missing the huge run up from the food poisoning issue) and small independents and delivery options like Uber Eats. There is continued strong demand for dining and delivery according to the BBG story. I give an in depth economic analysis by a financial markets writer more weight than a short story from a general market source. My experience would say that there is tremendous demand for dining out at a pleasant spot that serves good food with attentive service. Confirmation of that comes from trying to get a reservation even weeks out for such a place. If you’re missing on any of those criteria, well then you’re SOL.
Agreed. The math on inflation in the AP article just isn’t mathing for me - it completely ignores that inflation is sticky and cumulative, i.e. just because the rate of inflation on groceries is down year-over-year doesn’t mean that last year’s high inflation isn’t still making people feel everything at the store is too expensive. For instance, say a grocery item that cost $10 in Jan 2022 went up to $11.20 in Jan 2023 (12% YOY, basically in line with the AP graph). By Jan 2024, maybe that item cost $11.42 (an 2% annual increase). Loosely following the restaurant inflation line, an item that cost $10 in Jan 2022 might have cost $10.80 in Jan 2023 (8% YOY) and then $11.33 in Jan 2024 (another 5% YOY). In other words, restaurants are just catching up with groceries.
IMO, the 1.1% YOY drop in McD’s sales is simply proof of this - they have raised prices as high as the market will bear and now need to adjust slightly in the opposite direction to keep pace with consumers’ internal price-to-value barometer.
Math might be off…but the sticker shock is not, and that’s what most people are reacting to. In the Bay Area, a lot seems to be labor costs have come reality. I think it was 2021, I went to a long time local Chinese restaurant, New Gold Medal…always consistent and good. Stir fried beef dish, pea shoots and a fish…cost $102…not including tip. I know it was the fresh fish that pushed the price up with supply chain issues and labor…but man, that was eye opening. Add in low staffing and the QR code menus and meh…staying at home is easier. The biggest thing i notice is the time I save not going out.
Isn’t going out the reason to have a great time - at least for us it is. So not going out is pretty much the opposite of saving time for us
Yes, and I had my time dining out….a very nice run. 45+ from the Chron’sTop 100 in the 90s and 00s. Several 3 star Michelin places, bunch of other Michelin places. I lived in SF for 20 years…and rarely ate at home. Since 2018 I’ve lost 50 lbs and I’m not going back. I have no regrets and would do it again but things change, like the pandemic and semi-retirement.
I notice you post on a lot of places and I say, keep going…keep having a great time. It’s nice to see your posts and knowing someone is having fun.
It might be unintentional but it sounds a bit like you think that eating out is more for younger people.
More like healthier people who can handle it but you have a point. I was diagnosed as a diabetic and decided to lose the wight instead of medication. The Pete Wells article about ending his review career struck a cord. I get what he was getting regarding health and his reasoning. Like I said, I had my run.
Granted it’s anecdotal, but all of my restaurants have seen YoY growth in both revenue and operating profit.
We are in our 70s and eat out usually once a week. Everywhere we go - from the local Indian to the city’s Michelin starred place - we are usually the oldest people in the room. And with a significant age gap - we are usually old enough to be the parents, if not grandparents, of most other diners. If our generation is eating out, then I don’t know where they are going
Possibly, but it sounds to me like you’re fortunate. For instance, where I am the rate of inflation is somewhere around 9% whereas our pay rises were 2.5%. Those are real terms pay cuts and I am definitely needing to cut back all around to make things work for me (although sure, saving for retirement is a priority for me).
I am fortunate enough I can still live well (especially as know energy costs-- or rather, being unable to heat one’s home-- will result in many deaths this winter). But yes, I’ve cut back on the frequency of dining out and even buying certain food products that I enjoyed, but whose increase in cost makes them less likely to go into my cart.
