Eating Out becoming a Luxury?

Eating out is a luxury. It's pretty unusual to think it isn't. There was a time when the economy was doing great and people had cash on the hip for luxuries like eating out and annual holidays, new cars. But that's an anomaly, not the norm.

The norm is cooking at home, with ingredients that are relatively cheap, and bringing that food to work for lunch. Getting a meal deal sandwich if you're on the go is normal enough, but sitting down for a full cooked pub/restaurant dinner in the middle of the day IS a luxury. Going for a date night meal every week or 2 IS a luxury. Getting a take away every week or 2 IS a luxury.

Where did anyone get the idea that eating in a restaurant isn't a luxury?

It wasnt packed that day. There were maybe 20 people in it. That was a Friday at 3pm. Maybe its packed on a Saturday and Sunday alright.

• Much cheaper to eat at home.
• Much, much easier to eat at home.
• With work from home in many cases meaning you're not on the road for an hour plus commuting, time to prepare a decent meal at home.
• Lack of decent/affordable parking in towns centres.
• Increased prices seeing quality of food/service slip in some establishments.
• Ridiculous rent/expenses driving prices through the roof.
• Some streets/towns don't feel safe past a certain time, especially for women.
• The increased standard in quality of ready meals at local supermarkets/butchers. Some of the pop-in-the-over meals, particularly those of a spicy variety, are just lovely. Not restaurant lovely, but an adequate substitute when you consider the costs/inconvenience of going out.

Take your pick really. It's nice to have a meal out, it really is, but 100 quid plus (between taxi's, a few drinks, the meal) isn't worth it for a lot of people, especially with more important things requiring to be paid.

And cafe's charging €20 for a lasagne and chips that was twice the size and half the price five years ago? People would fell start feeling ripped off by that.

Yeah that's it. There are other things which are becoming luxuries. Pints are a luxury these days too.

It depends on how you proportion your money. If you're willing to spend money on a carvery every week, that's fine but you then have to be honest with yourself about where the money will be cut from your budget.

Ireland does focus on luxury more than the UK. Over there you could get a burger and a pint for £7 or 2 curries for £10 on a Tuesday in the chain pubs. Food was only grand so then focus would be on the event of eating out together rather than the foo quality. Ireland has much more focus on food quality and it's reflected in the price.

For a person paying for childcare and saving for a house, everything is a luxury. Pints, holidays, cars, clothes, cinema tickets, are all luxuries.

Just need to be realistic. Talking to my FIL and his parents had a house, 2 cars, 2 children and went on a holiday and they considered themselves working class. That would be squarely middle class nowadays. Living standards haven't risen for this generation as they did for previous generations. Eating out might not have been a luxury 20years ago in the boom, but it is now. That's just reality.

Yeah, my elderly father loves them they get them at half price as well. He is the type of fella who would not like fancy restaurants hates to see any part of a plate.

On relation to the OP I had to laugh, because. We went to a really fancy restaurant with the family and American relations, would rarely go to place like that. The type of place my auld fella hates. But we were struck by all the young people there, table after table. It was an expensive place.

Then it dawned on me that it is really women (on the whole) that are economic drivers of the fine dining and eating out economy. They drag the men to fancy places because of the "ambiance" or to be seen etc. Or the men have to impress the woman. So she can say she was at 'xyz place". It seems less about food, but the actual experience and to be seen at a place etc?

As people get older they look for value, and more concerned with carvery's rather than fine dining etc.

Its a 2 tier society.

Plenty of people are having a great life ... example, Ballynahinch Castle hotel.. its booked out months in advance, e350 per night minimum.

Ah the much missed Dollymount House... legendary :)

The Yacht still do a good one, I recommend the half portion unless you've really built up an appetite.

Full portion is massive but is now something like €17.95

When I was "young" and of going for pints age, we'd go out wednesday to saturday and I'd be up at 8Am to go in to work on the sunday! Couldnt be at that now.

Our kids are approaching the same age bracket in a couple of years but our 18 year old doesnt have the same interest in drinking to oblivion that a younger ELM had. Probably for the best. They spend their money on gaming and food out now

Somehow young people a gobshytes for NOT drinking too much.

Some suggestions that young people have abandoned hope of ever owning a house or having children so they spend their money on one-off experiences like restaurants or a holiday. Sad that they don't have the same opportunities for wage growth as previous generations but that's the world older people chose to give them.

Same here . Seemingly there’s summer hours when things are open and the rest of the year when they all close .