This is perhaps an unpopular opinion for the restaurant industry as opposed to the average customer. I’ve noticed that a lot of family restaurants discourage /frown upon adults ordering kids meals; it seems fast food places are the only place where an adult could order a kids meals with no questions asked.
I have a 4 year old and we’ll order him the kids meal eating out (occasionally we’ll order starters from the regular menu) yes kids meals are cheaper but the quantity is smaller, and I think if an adult doesn’t have the appetite to eat a whole adult portion it should acceptable to just order from the kids menu. I often see my kids portion and personally it would be the perfect quantity for me but find myself having to order way too much for myself from the adults menu and wasting a lot of the meal. I think the only exception to this would be restaurants where children eat for free or an arbitrary low cost.
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I agree but the bigger problem is if more of us did this then they’d just remove those options outright.
I think they should just rename kid meals to small portion
Why not eat half the portion and take the rest home?
Kid’s meals are a money loser.
I do it. The portion sizes are perfect for me as well.
How will the they know I actually don’t have a kid? I can say my kid is at home.
Kids menus are usually a draw to a restaurant, and usually priced with a low to no profit. The aim is to draw adults who’ll order apps meals and drinks and make money on that.
I occasionally order a kids meal at fast food places when I’m just want a snack or not overly hungry. I’ve never once been denied my food or given a judgemental look. Honestly I don’t believe most restaurants care. They just want the sales
They know adults are ordering them and that’s why the prices of most kid meals have increased.
This is a practical, logistical issue. At a lot of places, kids’ meals are a loss or sold at razor thing margins because a restaurants need something for kids and know a lot of families don’t need or want to pay for a full meal for a child. If you look at the portions for kids’ meals, they are almost never scaled to cost. It’s essentially there as a benefit or discount, and if everyone ordered it the cost would go up or restaurants would go under.
They should just cal it a small portion and charge more then a kids meal I’m sure loads of places don’t make any or much profit on kids meals.
The kids menu is usually bland and boring. My kids often won’t order off them even when they are young because they want the chorizo taco and not a cheese-only quesadilla, or they want Amatriciana and not the cheap spaghetti with “butter.”
I’d gladly order half portions for myself at restaurants if I wasn’t going to only be eating chicken nuggets
They are loss leaders.
But I wish every restaurant had smaller serving options. With real food leftovers are fine to reheat. But some things aren’t good candidates.
that’s not an unpopular opinion at all. Most people agree that adults should be able to order off any menu they want and we don’t always feel like a full sized meal or want leftovers
Atlanta
https://youtu.be/N_JVi2-MPOU?si=RsYlD8RWs9JVGdtR
Exactly, not everyone can consume the regular or adult amount. Some people might not be very hungry, and at the end of the day, it’s not good to waste food. We should be able to choose how much we can consume.
I agree, they should just do half size snd full sized portions. A lot of kids these days sat more than most adults (way more than myself) so it should he based on a percentage cost of the full sized item.
I wasn’t aware it was not acceptable.
Restaurant portion sizes have progressively gotten bigger over the years to where a “kid’s meal” is the proper serving size for most things.
Smaller sizes are one thing, but some dishes can only be gotten in any size by ordering off the kids’ menu.
A lot of countries have half portions on the menu which is nice if you don’t eat a lot in one sitting. I find US entrees to be far too large with the expectation that people take it home.
This is because those kids meals are cheap meals that the restaurant doesn’t make much money, if any. They put them on the menu so parents will still come to the restaurant and spend money on full priced items and drinks. If adults came in and ordered off the kids menu, then the restaurant would probably not make any money off of you and that defeats the whole purpose of running a business.
I do this at Disney every time. My friends think I’m weird. I just can’t justify spending $100 on a 3 course meal when I eat like 1/10 of that
Where I live most restaurants will let adults order off the kids menu….but they charge you an extra $5. So basically getting a way smaller portion for practically the same price. What a rip off. Most of the time I order off the adult menu and my hubby finishes mine too or I take it home for him. I eat like a bird small meals 5-6 times a day and most restaurant food portions are designed for the average male.
People need to get over social stigmas.
Will a cashier look at you weird? Maybe, who cares? They probably serve 100 people a day, they’re not gonna remember you.
Will other patrons look at you weird? maybe, who cares? They’re strangers who have no bearing on your life.
Kids meals are loss leaders designed to get parents to come in and spend on adult meals/drinks. Theyre at a discount because theyre for young kids. Some places I’ve worked do allow you to order kids meals, they just charge you more.
I mean, sure. I don’t think this is something most people disagree with, just something that not many people like me think about it. I’m a grown man, if I’m hungry I want full dish.
If I’m not hungry I’m not going to eat. If I really want something smaller I can eat a soup or starters.
My girlfriend and I pretty regularly share a meal when we go out because of the giant portions at most restaurants.
My girl orders from the kids menus like 75% of the time we go out with no issues. We have never encountered anywhere that said no
I order a chipotle kids meal about 3x a week because it’s right across from my office. It’s less than $6 and is a warm meal that fills me up (I do eat smaller meals than most). I have no shame. The employees don’t even have to ask my name at this point they just grab my bag and hand it to me.
A kids meal is exactly the amount of food that I want to eat. I’ve never finished a full size adult meal in one sitting in my life, and taking leftovers is not always possible/practical. I have no problem paying more than a typical kids meal (I know sometimes they are sold at a loss) I just want the portion size.
Are people really this stupid? Kids meals are cheaper to draw the parents in to buy standard meals. If adults started ordering the kids meals regularly restaurants would raise the price and the promotion would be gone. This is why we can’t have nice things.
It’s not?
An adult sized meal is just too much for me
I’m at the airport rn and all I wanted was an egg sandwich and it was only for 12 and under. Like why can’t I just get an egg sandwich
I was at a swanky brunch a while back. The sliders looked awesome. So I ordered them from the kids menu. The waiter didn’t care. My group was surprised and one of them said “not everyone has the confidence to order off the kids menu, but you really pull it off”. I guess you don’t know if you don’t ask.
When I go to fast food which is rare for me I’ll get the kids meal. But a sit down restaurant I’ll get the adult portion. That way I get left overs.
It’s your money, no one gives a damn what you do with it
I totally agree an adult should be free to order anything he or she wishes!
However, it is also true this isn’t good for the finance of the restaurant which may need to back-pedal if too many folks do it 🙂
My gf does. Nobody cares that she does.
…..who says it isn’t? I get meal comped for lunches at 12.50 per day. A kids combo from a local burger chain costs 11.97. and it’s a decent sized meal.
no one ever says anything.
Idk, I get why they wouldn’t allow it in person since American restaurants are based on tipping culture and if everyone ordered kids meals the servers wouldn’t make a living wage. That is a whole other conversation tbh
I always order kids meals when doing carry out though, because I’ve noticed most places there isn’t any size difference. If I order a kids spaghetti vs an adult one they’ll be the exact same size nine times out of ten because usually they’re filling up the same box with the same amount of food at the places I go
I think they should just offer a smaller portion. I love when restaurants do this. I’ve been to a few where there’s a smaller “lunch” portion and you can order it at any time of day. I really do not want kid meals. I don’t go to a restaurant to eat chicken nuggets or grilled american cheese on white bread.
My grandparents never wanted a full meal when they took me out to eat, some of my best memories are me and my grandma eating happy meals together 💕
I just went to Wagamama and ordered two sides and a kid’s main. They always accept this. It’s not a meal for kids, it’s a small portion that is charged less.
I’d say rather than being able to order kid’s meals, or meals should have small and large portions instead
I will dd me a kids meal and extra food to make up the dd cost.
My great grandmother has always been able to order from the kids meal no matter where we would go with her. I think at a certain age they don’t even question it even if the kids meal is for kids 12 and under. Personally I’ve always eaten from the adult menu ans my cousin who recently turned 20 is still able to get food from the kids menu (mainly because she doesn’t eat much and it’s easier to find a non-meat option cus almost everywhere has Mac and cheese for the kids menu).
I agree. Even the kids’ meals are too much for me to eat most of the time, and if I can’t get one I’ll just get something a la carte – which makes the place even less money. Half the time there’s nothing I can stand on the main menu either. I never understood age restrictions on certain foods on the menu, unless they are for safety.
… Just do it anyway. Screw anyone who judges your choices of what to eat.
I get it… from both perspectives. Honestly, If I wasn’t all that hungry, I’d order an adult meal of something I could package up and reheat later. Eat my fill then ask for a doggy bag. Kids meals are usually junk food for kids anyways. A scoop of Mac & cheese, chicken fingers, a hotdog and 6 French fries… it’s provided so you can take your kids out and keep them quiet so you can enjoy a proper meal. It’s kind of odd to go to a nicer place without kids and ask for crayons and the colouring book menu so you can have a $3 hotdog…
That being said, a lot of places will also offer a ‘senior’ version of a lot of their foods. Mostly normal adult menu items with smaller portions. You could always ask.
In the UK it’s pretty common for adult portions to come in smaller sizes (and smaller prices) for the elderly or those with smaller appetites. That seems like a good solution to me.
it usually is unless you’re at a higher end place and that’s due to cost
it is lol. no one is stopping you
I like to order appetizers or small plates. For a while, I’d order the kids meal and let my kids order the adult item (usually the 2 would share). Now the youngest and I tend to split one meal. I have thought to ask about the kids meal on occasion, but I couldn’t bring myself to. Which is a shame. Age shouldn’t factor into the price. Just quantity.
In Germany the concept of a “senior dish” exists in many restaurants. So basically a smaller meal, preferred mostly by elderly people who can’t eat that much anymore.
Have you ever tried ordering a kids meal but offering to pay for a much more expensive meal?
As others have said it’s usually a loss for them to serve a kids meal but I wouldn’t entirely rule out that they are also judging you for your taste so I’m curious.
You watched that episode of after death didn’t ya
A lot of place let you order kids meals but just have a couple dollar up charge.
Also, they may have toys! Why should I stop liking toys as an adult?
More light meals and senior size meals need to be available is really the issue.
My mom had some surgery before I was born, where her stomach got fucked up and now she can’t eat a large amount of food, she has a card which she carries to show to servers in order to get meals off kids menus (some places don’t give them, even after showing the card, which was given to her by doctors). Even with that, she gets bad looks from OTHER CUSTOMERS who know nothing of her situation.
Let people eat what they want, no matter what the reason.
I agree with you, man ＼(^^)／
Kids meal typically are sold at a loss
I order kids meals all the time as an adult. I’ve never caught flack.
I think there should just be smaller portions for adults. Kids meals are typically sold at a loss to draw families in, but I would happily pay more for a reasonable portion. Like I would genuinely eat ice cream and other treats more often and spend more money at those establishments if their smallest size wasn’t disgustingly large and going to end up in the trash anyways
Get it to go
I order off the kids menu at fast food all the time because it is cheaper and healthier because you are eating a lil less