A restaurant opened near us recently so we decided to try it for breakfast. The menu listed omelets and mini-omelets - same food but less and at a slightly reduced price. I thought it was a great idea and I wish more places would do that. Sometimes I can’t or don’t want to take my leftovers to go, and I really hate food waste. A smaller portion would be an ideal solution for me. Not to mention the times I’m hungry, but not that hungry…
I can see where doing an entire menu with two size options would be a bit much, but surely it wouldn’t be ridiculously impractical to do it with some items. I’ve never worked in any food service job, so maybe I’m missing something. Is a smaller service option doable? Would it interest you?
I wouldn’t be opposed. I suspect that it might be appealing to older guests, who both (a) don’t necessarily have big appetites, and (b) may want to save a little money.
On the other hand, if your restaurant meal is too big to finish, taking the leftovers home is also often an option.
If people want them, more power to them. But I prefer bigger portions so I have leftovers.
Also how does this affect the restaurant overhead? Like making smaller portions would probably require the same amount of labor on the part of the cook and wait staff, but it would provide less revenue. Making an omelet with 2 eggs vs 4 eggs will probably both require the same amount of labor.
When I lived in Turkey 30 years ago this was normal and expected practice. A single “portion” of any entree was about half of what people would normally eat. When you ordered your dinner, you would specify the number of “portions”; usually 2.
I put portion in quotes, because the Turkish word literally means “piece” not “portion”. Nevertheless the connotation is the same, even if you order a dish that comes in small pieces.
I really appreciate that CPK offers half-sizes of their salads. The normal size is HUGE.
Sometimes you want to order something that doesn’t travel well or re-heat well. Anything with a cream sauce would be one example. I’ll occasionally order a second or third choice because I know I’ll be taking some home, and the leftovers from some orders will be nearly inedible a day later.
My peeve is a restaurant that charges a fee to split a meal. I was charged $4 for an empty plate so we could divide the meal (with no assistance from the wait staff). How does this cost the place anything but washing another plate and silverware?
Doesn’t the management realize that this cost generally comes out of the tip and gives the place a bad reputation among seniors? This was not a high class dining experience, just a Greek Coney Island in Detroit.
Taking up a table with one order for 2 people, instead of 2 orders for 2 people. Space and wait staff are an overhead expense. Even if it wasn’t busy when you were there, I can see why they would want to have this as a policy all the time.
This is where I come in. I can afford whatever, but I don’t like restaurant leftovers, and I hate leaving food on the plate (thanks Mom and Dad) which is one reason I might tend to overeat sometimes. If it’s a special occasion, I might also be wanting to eat less food for dinner so I can feel okay about eating dessert.
“I will get takeout and then split the order into two or three portions.” This is me, although I usually do it it while dining in. I simply eat what I want, and when they bring me the bill I ask for a leftover container. I don’t see any real reason to offer smaller portion sizes, but if that’s what their customers want, so be it. I will continue ordering the normal size and split it since it will save me from having to cook a meal at home.
I’d like it. One of the reasons I rarely dine out is the portions are too big and I don’t feel like taking leftovers home, or it’s something where the quality is significantly reduced if reheating at home (fried stuff in particular.) Asian food is an exception, as those leftovers are often fine, but there’s exceptions there too, depending on the dish. Rice noodles tend to get gloppy and stick to each other if held for any amount of time, for example.
A place opened up near us called Pequeños Tapas & Wine Bar. We went there for dinner one evening, and was surprised at how small the portions were. Our fault, because we had no idea what Tapas meant.
Sometimes not - for example if you stop to eat on a road trip, you probably don’t want to let a container of leftover pasta sit in your car for several hours.
I certainly wouldn’t expect a half portion to be half price for that reason. But I wouldn’t consider $9 for a smaller share of a $12 item to be unreasonable. Of course, not everyone is as reasonable as I am, so I can see headaches from patrons arguing over prices. Then again, water is usually provided for free and I’m guessing it takes as much time and effort as a $3.50 soft drink, so someone has accounted for that.
I assume there’s a reason that most places won’t let adults order from the kids’ menu, but it was frustrating when we used to take my late MIL out to eat. She had a tiny appetite and was not a fan of leftovers. If she could have had the kiddie plate of chicken, it would have been perfect, but it wasn’t an option since she was over 10. Some places do offer senior menus, but I don’t encounter many. Maybe it’s just the places I frequent.
I do think about whether something I’m ordering will split easily into multiple portions, or if it won’t reheat well, and if not, I’ll order something else for takeout.
