How much $$ do you AVERAGE per restaurant meal?
 

What are you comfortable with?

I like to cook and know what things cost am am able to replicate most dishes to some extent~ so I am not willing to spend $50 on a meal unless it's really special :eek:

I know this will vary greatly depending on region (but that's half the fun :D)


For breakfast I expect to spend around $8 or less (plus I hate breakfast)

Lunch ~ $12 or less

Dinner ~ no more than $18 for an entree although I tend to keep it closer to $12

I also don't typically purchase beverages with meals other than a single beer or glass of wine if we are at a waterfront location (just seems warranted when dining with dolphins :D)

As much as I love appetizers, they are generally overpriced and undersized and arrive to your table laden with calories :eek:

I make an exception for soup, however because studies have shown that starting a meal with a NON CREAM BASED soup will cut your over all calorie per meal consumption by 30%!

How much do you average per meal and where do you live (if it isn't in your avatar ;) ) How often do you typically dine out?

We don't eat out very often. I live in a rural area of East Tennessee, but we are in a tourist area with the Great Smoky Mountains, Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge within a 30 minute drive.
Typically only eat out about 5-6 times per year:eek: The most we have ever spent on a meal for the two of us is about $75.00 at a really nice place in Gatlinburg and if you are ever in the area you have to eat at The Peddler it is soooo good. Typically only spend about $30-40 for the two of us and that is at like Ruby Tuesday or Cracker Barrel because those are the only places in our town other than fast food :(

What about local places ....like BBQ :hide2:?

IF you liked BBQ....what would you have to spend or what would you be willing to spend per person?

We never eat out for breakfast or dinner. We are lunch people. :D We like to go to Olive Garden, Applebees, Red Lobster, Panera Bread, the hospital on Friday's for their outstanding home made clam chowder, and we have a local Mexican place we love that's family owned and operated and cook authentic Mexican foods from scratch. We don't spend a lot of money on lunches and we clip the coupons for Red Lobster and Olive Garden from the local paper, and we have a card from Applebees that when we fill, we get a free meal. Every little bit helps. ;)

We do have a BBQ place that is supposed to be really good....but I don't like BBQ. I think a meal there averages about 20-25

We really do not eat out that often. But when we do, it is dinner -usually before a Broadway show or something fancy like that. Then the entrees are expensive $18-$30. Plus drinks, etc. We hardly ever eat out for lunch or breakfast, unless we are on vacation.

For 2 people, right??? BBQ is usually really really cheap :eek:

I think it is per person...but I believe it is all you can eat, baby back ribs??? The owners are customers of our bank and gave us all a free meal at their grand opening and that is the only time we ate there.

We don't eat out that often either but when we do go we LOVE Outback! So for 2 of us about $35.00 :D

wow....UPTOWN BBQ :D

Sounds delicious!!!! :drool:

I actually hate dining at chain restaurants bc I feel the food is too calorie/fat/salt laden, and they are expensive. I prefer small mom and pop type places. Typically for late breakfast or early lunch bf and I will eat at either my fave mexican place, gourmet fast food place, for a seafood place, all about $14 to $16 for the both of us.

We haven't gone out to dinner in ages. However, we do sometimes get take out at a sit down type place to avoid paying tips. :D For example the bbq place charges I think $22 for a rack of baby backs, a la carte. (Plus they've been routinely getting drier and drier with less and less meat.) But I can make cheater ribs at home in about three hours and for ribs about 3.99/lb or less if on sale, so for about $10-15 make ribs at home, why would I want to order out? Plus it makes the house smell good for hours. :D

There is one exception, my fave restaurant in the world, is a sushi place in my hometown. We can easily spent $40+ before tax and tip, but that is once in a long while. We didn't even go there for my bday last year. LOL Another thing though, is I can make my own sushi too, so it's really more for the ambiance, and not the food, although, I don't know how to make ankimo (monkfish liver) but I could order it from Catalina Offshore Products if I really wanted to. :D

Oh and steaks! I can grill up my own at home, so why do I need to pay $32 for a rib eye at Stubricks? Although they ARE really good there.

My steaks NEVER taste as good as a restaurant.....even when I bathe them in BUTTER like they do :eek:

I tend to eat out alot (I admit I'm a horrible cook). Assuming we are just talking meal cost & not tip....

Breakfast out is right around $10...and I blame that on how much they upcharge on orange juice...ridiculous!!!

I'm not really a fan of lunch, but when I do eat lunch out, it's either at a local diner where a burger (plain), fries & pop is $11, or I like subway...plain bread, ham, cheese, lettuce and NOTHING ELSE (I hate dressings & sauces) plus drink & a cookie is $8.

Dinner out is about $15-25...up to $30 if I get an alcoholic beverage (or two) :D

The worst steaks I have ever had were from Black Angus. I actually sent one back before. I did send one back at Claim Jumper once too, but bc I ordered med rare, and it came out med well. :thumbdown

I love to ear out! I also am a fairly good cook. I like to have dinner at my house and have friends over.

When we do eat out is is for dinner ..(sometimes mid day). Some event or special dinners can be as much as 50.00 with drinks per person.. Not too often!
I would say 50.00 for both of us is most common.

Good morning! :)

Oh dear, I can feel a bit of a ramble coming on!! :D

Ok, we're in Surrey and about 12 miles from central London so I suppose our prices are slightly above average for the UK.

We only ever eat breakfast out when we're on holiday and that averages about £8 for a 'full English'.

I love eating lunch out. I take my mum out for lunch once a week - usually to a pizza/pasta-y place which averages out at £15 per head including starter and a 'soft' drink.

Andy and I often go out for Sunday lunch, usually to a 'typical English pub' a couple of miles away. Beams, log fires, squashy leather - you know what I mean!! :) It has the best Sunday roast I've ever eaten (and I've had thousands!) - the main is approx. £12 but is so gorgeous and filling that you really don't need starters etc. It's also very dog-friendly so we can take Harry and while away the hours with (their!) newspapers and a glass of vino next to the fire. Heaven!

As for dinner - well, we went to one of Jamie Olivers restaurants the other night and we were actually very pleasantly surprised, both at the price and the quality. Usually these 'chef-y' restaurants are a real rip-off. However, this worked out at £40 a head for starter, main meal and desert including a bottle of wine :D All beautifuly cooked with wonderful, fresh ingredients.

Going into central London however is quite a different story! :eek: x

In today's exchange rates £8 = $12.26

Those rates are pretty high for my area but not so much for larger cities like Miami or Chicago or NYC

But I would pay them in a SECOND to be at that pub with Sugar right now :love: :dribble:

:D Take a look at www.thehareandhounds-claygate.co.uk if you can and you can be virtually there!! :D Cheers!!! :martini:

Also, these probably aren't 'the norm' price-wise - but I'd far rather pay a little more and really enjoy every delicious mouthful!! x

That really made my mouth water! The Sunday lunch, fish and chips,bangers and mash, Moroccan lamb burgers and curry night.....even the KIDS menu :D:D:D

Owen's Fish Camp
 

This place is nowhere near glamourous but the FOOD is to die for OMG :eek:

and the prices aren't bad either ;)

Owens Fish Camp Restaurant


http://owensfishcamp.com/MainMenu.pdf

Lunch with Kaji eating something new? I'm so there!!!! I'm trying hard to try new things, which is not something I'm known for. But hey, if my Kaji man is welcome, I'm more than willing to give it a shot. I've always wanted to visit that part of the world anyway. :)

Depends- If I am just running out from work to grab lunch I would rather not spend more than $8-10 because that can really add up.

However, for a really nice dinner with drinks, I am fine spending $50 per person.

I live in NY.

It is typical for us to spend
10 $ on breakfast (per person)
12 $ on lunch (per person)
$25 on dinner (per person)

.... usually dinner will include a beer, glass of wine or mixed drink

We have spent 125-150 on meals for the 2 of us on occasions but don't do it very often. Most of our meals are right here at home.

Favorites:

Cracker Barrel
Cosi's
Panera Bread
Malones
Ruth Chris
Outback (love the seasoning on their steaks)
Any authenic Mexican food.... abslutely LOVE enchiladas!

I'll be in the Coulsdon/Croydon area this summer....that pub is just a hop,skip & a jump away!

Kind of a fancy menu for a pub, but Sunday roast dinner sounds yummy.

Brilliant!! :D :friendsh: x

Woo hoo! Only 10ish miles away from where you'll be?! :)

It sounds fancy - but truly isn't. I think most places here try to make their menus sound more elaborate than they really are....but even their omelettes are fab! Just let me know if you fancy meeting up for a drink! :cheers: x

We dont eat out at sit down type of restaurants often. Maybe once every 2 or 3 months so when we do we usually treat ourselves to the the full meal with appetizers and desserts. We never go out to eat for convenience it is more a planned treat

I am so pleased to read this! One of my goals (lol if you can have goals concerning people you have never met :rolleyes::D) is to inspire people to try something new :thumbup:

How did I miss this thread before? I love eating out, but try not to very often. Usually eat breakfast at home, take lunch to work, and cook dinner.

If I eat out it's usually around $8-12 for lunch or brunch, and $18-25 for dinner...more if drinks are included. I'm not averse to spending more if it's a special occasion. There are several places that I can rack up a very hefty bill rather quickly. :p

I live in Charlotte, NC.