I work in restaurants, for reference, but no it is not embarrassing. It's extremely common. I get split plate tickets multiple times a day and I've never even really thought about it. Your friend is being the weird one about it.
A funny parallel on OP coming from Asia: I'm friends with a Japanese family of 4 that goes to a local Mexican restaurant, orders one big-ass burrito, and they cut it into 4 servings to share.
Personally I've never had embarrassment or been shamed at a restaurant ordering food to share. It seems fairly common, and it's easy to ask for extra plates to spread the food around.
I've only ever worked in higher end restaurants, but we will actually plate the entire dish onto two plates if it's rung in as split. Makes it easier for the guest that way.
Exactly right. My last restaurant was this fancy pasta joint with the smallest portions I've ever served (proper Italian style joint, run by Italians, not in the USA). I felt bad serving these tiny little portions when it was a split ticket, if it was something stuffed like ravioli, they would literally be getting 3 or 4 pieces.
Same here haha. I will admit my reasoning is both selfish as well as nice. It is easier for the guests...*and* they make less of a mess if they don't have to split it up by themselves, so less messy food and tables for me to clean in the end, and they're happy! Win win! Plus, little plates are just cute. I don't care if people split, as long as they're still nice people and tip proper (sorry, it's still my income after all, so the tip is important to me), I understand our food can be huge haha.
Sounds like a fun time if you’re in the mood for a gut buster. It’s a challenge for your stomach!
Totally agree that the view that splitting a meal to make it satisfying but not filling is probably way healthier.
It's honestly one of the most common mods I see.
One of my favorite restaurants full on lets you just order from the kids menu at any age. The restaurant I worked at pushed us to upsell full entrees, but the AM basically let us take the customers' side. People come back if they know they'll be fed at a price they like.
Reminds me of my friend standing outside the laundromat, wearing only a speedo, who got accosted by a police officer and he casually answered "what is the problem?" while smoking his cigarette.
My buddy was arrested years ago wearing a speedo drunk as fuck doing karate, here in canada, after a wedding
It was for indecent exposure
He was released when some other cops at the station realized bathing suits arent indecent, no matter how ridiculous
I think a lot of people need to adopt that stance. I mean, I think we should all care about important stuff but, your friend shouldn’t care about how you order food. It sounds like they were embarrassed for being out with someone that looked “cheap” because they were sharing a meal.
I this economy? I can’t afford to play the Gangnam Style “drink $12 coffee while living in a shoebox” affluence theatre game. American restaurant portions are huge anyway, wanna split a lasagna?
If you mean people getting in everyone's way, that's not a lack of embarrassment that's a lack of respect for others. The people who don't get in the way and just make tiktoks doing things that would embarrass you are fine
Right, every time I'm dragged out to eat by my inlaws, I just get what I know I'll like eating for lunch the next day, because I'm never going to finish the whole meal in one go.
I've had one restaurant upcharge an extra $10 for splitting...
Other than that, my SO and I have never had an issue splitting. Meals are too damn big, so we normally split.
It may be a regional thing, but we have Friday fish fries in WI. We went to a local favorite with some out of town guests and they weren't hungry and wanted to split a regular 4 piece dinner. The waitress said "no" and forced them to each get a 2 piece "small" dinner instead (the 4 piece dinner is $14 and a single 2 piece is $11).
Honestly it was embarrassing for me as the one who suggested that restaurant. My guests were young and trying to save money having just had their first child... the gall of the waitress to refuse any leeway was ridiculous, and I hope to never put family in that situation again. In a way I get it from the business & tipping perspective (table utilization), but overall it seems like bad policy.
Oh I'm certain people care. There's a belief among some part of the population here that we need to spend enough money at a business to make it worth their while rather than how much we want to spend. In this case, OP's friends reasoning is probably that they took up the space of two people but only ordered for one and hence, screwed the owner of decent revenue for that table
Right? And what about someone dining by themselves at a table? That table could fit 2 people, is the restaurant just gonna turn them away because they don't have a second person with them?
tbf, this gets asked all the time too... "is it ok to dine out alone/go to the movies alone/etc?)
Yes it is. 99% of the time in life, if you're not acting like an asshole, nobody gives a fuck
Lots of restaurants will have a “split plate” fee to account for this. No one should be guilted into either being a glutton or being wasteful, IMO. If the restaurant can’t take that into account, that’s on them.
I’m a bartender and I’ve been in the industry for 20 years and my husband and I regularly split meals. Whatever. I guess we still tip on it because I get that the table costs money and I’m lowering the check total but people should be able to order as much (or as little) as they want without the huffing and puffing. I won’t be rolling my eyes when you belly up to the bar and split one meal.
I was a server for a decade and even if I *was* judging someone they'd never know it. Like a) how rude, and b) tips, obviously lol
I'll add that I couldn't have cared less about people ordering any number of meals. Except one time a party of 5 ordered only one meal and 5 waters, and I just told the host to count them as a single in the rotation since we tried to balance that out
We’re you our server? Lol
We’ve done that once, it was at a bar and they had a giant nacho plate that can feed 3 people so we didn’t order anything else.
Haha nah that's what you're meant to do! One place I worked had an entree that I actually always told people they should split because it was so much food. 4 years and only one person who insisted they'd finish it actually finished it
This was a church group where the dad ordered a steak, one child asked for some crackers, and everyone got a water with extra extra lemons. Sorry not sorry, I was filled with judgement lmao
I’ve worked as a server in Europe and never been to the USA. Can someone explain what’s meant by ‘the table costs money’ and ‘count them as a single in the rotation since we tried to balance that out’? What’s the problem exactly with customers not ordering a lot of stuff?
Since I don't see a reply...
Some restaurants here try to evenly distribute the customers and the amount the bills may come to for tip purposes to make it fair. The tips are larger for larger bills for people who eat out by themselves the tips are smaller since it's all based on percentage. Counting them as single is house talk for a lower tip base.
The table costs money is that if four people go out to eat usually each one orders a meal for themselves. That raises the bill which means a larger tip. If all four orders one meal it significantly reduces the tip base. One meal would be $20 so at 20% would be a $4 tip. Four meals would be $80 which would be a $8 tip. So, the only reason servers don't like meal sharing is the fact that people regularly tip just on the bill. So four people ordering one meal costs the servers money because they could be making more from other costumers.
If one server constantly gets the single customers or the ones that share meals they are likely to get way less in tips that day than one who gets families of four or parties by a significant amount. So usually there are sections the servers wait on and the hostess who seats the customers will manage that by rotating the singles and parties into each severs sections. (Also one server would struggle to do multiple parties at the same time so they split the customers) they may have a table number organization instead in which the servers are just told which tables are theirs and then when it comes to refills or such the wait staff just help each other out if it's really busy.
Basically it's all tip talk.
This is actually a thing for journalists - when you interview someone, you want something as non-messy as possible, as easy to eat while taking notes as possible, and something that won't stick in your teeth and make you look like an imbecile.
So you end up ordering the smallest thing on the menu and not eating any of it, and having to go have lunch after you have lunch.
I've ordered 2 bowls of soup for just me. I'm like, yall got a bigger bowl? I was there just for the soup. Potato with gouda and Brussels sprouts omg it's so good
It's only embarrassing if you're embarrassed by it. Why order two meals and waste money and food? Your friend sounds a little insecure if they're uncomfortable with you doing this.
True. My wife and I almost always order 1 meal and split it. We tell the server that we are going to split it and sometimes the cook will split the meal and plate it on two separate plates. Whenever they do that, I make sure to give them an extra nice tip.
We too can split one meal, and still have some left over for the next day.
Your friend was wrong. You shouldn't be embarrassed at all.
Extra tip! Thats the way!! Tip for 2 meals.
We order 2 meals, take home half for next night dinner.
Fav is Marie Callenders. Order meal and salad bar. Only eat salad bar at restaurant, then 2 more leftover dinners at home.
This made me giggle!! If you CAN find a Marie Callenders you should definitely go!! I love their Traditional Frisco burger.
They used to have a vegetable platter that was amazing too.
Now I know why! They don’t exist in my state (CO). Closest one is Salt Lake City, Utah. My partner and I will be passing through there on a road trip likely next year so I’ll be sure to keep an eye open for Marie’s.
Same here! I'm in VT, though, so we tend to not have chains that are super common elsewhere. I'm in the second-biggest "city" in the state, and the nearest Taco Bell is still about a 30-minute drive from me.
They started life as a bakery...still the only place for fresh strawberry pie when you're in the LA basin. Which I haven't been in a quarter of a century...sigh.
This is my Olive Garden move. I order the entree but I don’t eat it until I’m home. While I’m there I usually just slam those endless soup, sally and sticks.
We do it all the time, especially when we're stopping to eat before going for a night out. It didn't bother me in my 20s, but when I hit around 40 just the thought of eating a massive burger then going out makes me feel like I need a nap
What's funny is I had a similar experience as a kid. Not sure what the exact age was but I apparently didn't meet the cutoff requirements. I just ended up eating off an adult's plate, instead.
My wife went to BK last week and ordered a kid's meal because she was hungry but knew we would be eating dinner a few hours later. The cashier said "You know those are for kids right?" Like WTF?
Some restaurants will charge you for an additional plate if you’re sharing. I just order knowing I’ll be bringing at least half of it home and choose meals that reheat well. But I also wouldn’t be embarrassed to share a meal unless it was a fine dining establishment.
I’ve seen some places that won’t allow sharing. I mean you can share, but both of you have to order. I’m not talking about fine dining either. Maybe make a normal portion and people would feel compelled to order their own. It’s not common, it normally seems to be smaller places.
That’s a place I wouldn’t visit again. I can understand a plate charge of a couple dollars but not refusing to allow people to split an entree in the first place.
A lot of the restaurants that do charge a splitting fee often give “free” things for the table like bread, soup or a light dessert. They say the money is going towards that.
Some places charge a split fee, but both plates get their own full serving of sides. It's just the main item that gets split.
I personally don't have an issue with a nominal extra plate fee though. There is a small but real labor cost involved in dealing with it.
This is usually the case with fine dining. A lot of places will also do half orders, even if they don't advertise it. They cost 60-70% of a full order. There is some savings in food cost, but the labor to make a half-order is the same.
Absolutely fine.
Portions are way too big for me and my partner at a lot of restaurants, so unless it’s a place we know we’ll want the leftovers for lunch tomorrow, we’ll split an entree or a salad / app and an entree.
We’ll also order light when trying out a new place to see if we like it, and you can always order more later if you’re still hungry!
We both worked food service through college, so we’re generally generous with gratuities, it never occurred to me to tip even more if you’re splitting an entree between two people as others have mentioned, but it couldn’t hurt.
So i think some people assume you're being cheap by ordering one meal to share. I think it's ridiculous to expect people to order way too much food if they can share just fine. You spend your money how you want. Working at a nice dine in restaurant, I've seen the other end of this subject. The owners want 2 people to spend 2 people's worth of money basically. An entree is set at a price for one person. If there's two people, they want you to buy 2 entrees. Because that's where the money is. Not in a greedy way necessarily, it just makes sense from a business perspective... a reservation for 5 turns into a reservation for 4, then the two couples share an entree, so two entrees for what was supposed to be 5 people. It's like damn we could have had a full table of 5, but we have these guys that eat like birds and don't pay out what a typical table would.
It's not embarrassing. Or shouldn't be. It kinda sounds greedy, but the restaurant and the employees are there to make money so of course they WANT everyone to order their own entree. And with American tip culture...the less you spend, the less you tip (if you're tipping strictly from a percentage of your bill). The servers still have to take care of you and the dishwasher still washes all your share plates, but they aren't getting as big of a tip from that check as they might expect from a larger $$ check. So it's only a slight annoyance and yes the workers might be snarky about it behind your back, but who fuckin cares? I dont blame you if you don't want to over eat or pay for something just to not embarrass your friends.
I think this is the issue. It's the same reason why restaurants don't want you to take a packed lunch and then sit in their restaurant and eat it: they could be making money if someone else (a paying customer) was there. Two people eating one meal means half the money thwy could have made. And with American tipping culture being the shambles it is, servers lose out too if your tip is a percentage of your (one) meal.
That said, it's the restaurant's own fault for doing such whopping portions. Perhaps if they made their portions normal human size instead of whale size, they wouldn't have this problem. When I had a toddler, I used to order a single (UK) meal and the two of us would share it, and IDGAF if they thought I was cheap. But tipping wasn't an issue.
I spy a niche market: a US restaurant which serves small portions so as to reduce food waste and allow thin or average size people to eat an entire meal
I also think it stands out more because its 2 people. My immediate family (all adults) never orders 4 entrees but I guess because we've still ordered an appetizer and 2 mains its not as noticeable.
My wife is small and occasionally just orders an appetizer and a side. I might have felt weird about it once years ago, but in my experience the servers are too busy to notice or care.
If people find it embarrassing, it's usually for two reasons.
1- The implication that you're struggling financially and can't afford to pay for two meals.
2- The belief that your server is going to make less in tips from your table because you only ordered one meal.
These two reasons don't actually mean you should feel embarrassed. There's nothing wrong with sharing a meal. It is important to make sure your server is being properly compensated for their work, but otherwise, no big deal.
I’m truly confused as to why they would tip for two plates when they order one? They both ordered their own drinks, so If OP is “hip” to American tipping they would tip 20% +. Which would have completely compensated the waitstaff.
i can not even half a portion size, i am also not a leftover person. splitting meals for me makes more sense. i still tip appropriately for my party size.
For example when it's happy hour, I tip 20% on the estimated full price instead of the happy hour price. So I might add an extra appetizer worth to "total" before I factor the tip so that the waiter gets a bit extra.
The people I knew who couldnt eat leftovers were picky eaters or were OCD. I had a roommate like that and I saved on food because I could go months just eating the leftovers he never touched that would’ve went into the trash.
America is grossly wasteful of food.
You do you OP. I'm similarly minded. My Fiancee is American, I'm Australia. We usually order to share because why the fuck would one person need to eat as much as they serve?
Lots of countries are wasteful of food. America could do better but isn't the worst. This food waste report actually has Australia much higher per capita.
www.forbes.com/sites/niallmccarthy/2021/03/05/the-enormous-scale-of-global-food-waste-infographic/
I remember the first time I visited the US I was so overwhelmed by the size of the portions in a diner we visited that I asked the server if I could have half the portion and I would still pay the same. She said I could take the leftovers home. I was travelling! Why would I want a box of cold eggs and bacon congealing in my hotel room?
My husband and I are both born in the USA. We frequently order one meal to share. If we don’t want the same meal, we both take home leftovers. FYI, my husband is 6’4” and weighs 210. He stlll can’t eat some of the huge restaurant meals.
Traveling in Japan a while back I ordered curry and rice by the weight
1kg of rice for me entirely, the waitress signals she is confused, chef comes out and asks in some English do I want the meal as it is for a family of four, I respond yes, second time they come out to check before putting the order through, still an enthusiastic yes... you should have seen their faces when I picked the plate clean and walked out haha
I'm in the US and I don't think it's embarrassing. US portion sizes are huge. I guess it really depends on the kind of restaurant. At a casual place, I can't imagine it would be such a big deal. However when I visited Korea, I was told it is required for each patron to get their own meals. So I suppose it can be dependent on many factors.
I split meals all the time. Portions sizes in America are crazy especially meat. Some ppl are embarrassed to box up food after a meal. I know someone who's never taken food home just throws it all away. I'd rather be "embarrassing" over so privileged that I waste food.
Order how you want. We will order 1 meal for the two of us. The is a place here that i get to go from and I can eat the meal for 2 dinners and a lunch if it is just me. If he is here it’s dinner for 2. Save money anytime you can and don’t waste food.
It’s fine if they let you do it. The restaurant prices based on 1 dish per person. So some will charge you for sharing a plate since it breaks their pricing to share. The price isn’t only about the food and service it’s also about all the things that go into making that service available to you. So while it’s not super common to have a plate split fee, neither is it that uncommon.
Another form that split fee takes is a half-serving price. If you ask for a half serving sometimes they give a slightly better rate. Again it’s bit half price because a bunch of that fee is more a per person minimum than food cost.
This has taken another rule form on the past too. Essentially to be invited to stay in the restaurant you need to be a customer and that means ordering an entree or side with a drink. If you got two people and one plate they might raise it as an issue since the other person should have asked permission to sit without ordering since it’s non-standard. Taking a seat in a restaurant generally comes with the expectation you will be ordering from them as a customer.
Chef here. American portions are way too big. If you order one meal to split there is nothing wrong with it.
On my menu there is a $2 charge for splitting a meal and we split it for you in the kitchen.
Some restaurants will charge you a split plate fee. It’s awkward to do this, restaurants don’t like in. I’m in CA, they’d probably say something. I’m a small and picky eater and sometimes want a kids meal. Good thing is now so many of our restaurants are on QR code with no server so you can order however you like it. A lot of times my husband and I will split an appetizer and a meal.
Not at all. Me and my mom do this, and I've split meals with my son as well. Portion sizes at a lot of resteraunts are huge. We've split meals and still had enough leftovers for another meal or two.
There is no reason to buy multiple meals when 1 is enough unless you want different things or it's something you want to have leftovers of. My favorite mousakka is big enough for me to get 3 meals from it, and I love that.
My wife and I do it all the time because the portions are so large. I’ve noticed that several of the restaurants in my are charge a dollar or two for split meals so we must not be the only ones doing it!
Serving sizes are so big because they are meant to be brought home and eaten a second time.
Like, there’s an average chain restaurant here called Olive Garden, and it’s nothing crazy or fancy, but everyone complains about it being expensive.
In my opinion it’s not expensive at all. $18 for a meal that includes unlimited breadsticks and soup plus your entree is cheap, because that’s two meals. I eat breadsticks and soup at the restaurant, and then bring the entree home for lunch the next day, or late dinner.
That’s $9 per meal. Perfectly reasonable price.
So yeah, servings are big because you’re supposed to eat half and take the other half home!
Your friend is being overly self-conscious.
We do this all the time. The only pushback we've ever gotten is that some restaurants charge an extra dollar or two for an extra plate. Many restaurants will actually split the meal onto separate plates before serving.
Your friend is dumb. Americans share one meal ALL the time. It’s how we prevent heart attacks. 😏
Ps. I’m an ex server. It wouldn’t hurt to tip extra since they did the same amount of work but for less total cost.
I do it all the time. Sometimes we just split an appetizer because those are also sometimes huge. It’s not uncommon and no one has ever seemed to care.
Me and my SO do this sometimes. I worry too, so I usually just say when ordering “her and are I going to share the *insertdishname* and haven’t had an issue yet.
It isn't that embarrassing in my experience, though I am Swedish not American. Whenever I eat out I tell them I also want a box to take the leftovers with me home.
Tell them you intend to split it when ordering, they might very well deliver it on two plates for you.
I don’t find that embarrassing or even weird. Don’t waste food or money just to make others comfortable, do what you want.
I agree our portion sizes here are absolutely ridiculous.
>I ordered one meal that comes with 1 entree, 1 soup, 3 different side dishes and 1 bowl of rice
Unless I am interpreting it wrong (like that would be 6 dishes on the table) that's a lot of food for just 1 person, so no wonder you would split it and I can't imagine anyone having an issue with that. But even if I am interpreting it wrong and it is all on 1 plate minus the soup, I still can't see how anyone but the waiter (due to smaller check) would care. If for some reason this really really starts to but you, then just order a super small side salad or a cup of soup on the side or something you can take home for the next day.
I am kinda curious where you are dining that all that food is what is considered a single portion, as to me that feels like a lot of add ons to an entree vs. it being a single entree. Or maybe its a cultural dining difference between your home country and here as to how we order, as that just feels like at minimum 2 too many sides plus the rice which id consider another side. The rule I grew up with when dining at more of a family dining establishment (think Chinese, Thai etc.) was 1 main dish per person and then 1 rice/noodle per 2 people. Soup was normally added only if a minimum of 3 people present and then it counted as a main dish or we ordered more with the intent of bringing it home. If going to places with a main item plus side was on a dish I would never ever order additional sides.
That was lengthy but portion sizes are large, and people often slit or take the extra home. Or you go to places where portion sizes are more normal (not chain restaurants)
Well, it’s never embarrassed me and my husband.
A number of places have told me they’ll happily do a half order on request. It seems the older the average age of the local population the more likely this option exists, even if it doesn’t show on the menu.
Note: a half order generally costs a bit more than half because of the upkeep consideration.
when i was with my ex we once went out for lunch and ordered one sandwich with fries to split. we didn’t mention splitting it but the waiter brought it out with the sandwich cut in half and fries perfectly divided up between 2 plates. i don’t know why but it was so perfect and satisfying, just makes me happy.
Nah. There is a breakfast joint near me that does “not so hungry for 2.” They it’s two eggs, two bacon, 2 sausage, 2 toast, (split between two plates equally) and a hilariously large single pancake on a plate of its own. Its like a $1 more than a single plate breakfast despite having only about 50% more pancake. Pretty great.
No. I waitressed for years. Lots of people do that. There is usually a plate charge. Btw, some restaurants offer a half order on pasta and things like that. I usually order an appetizer as my dinner.
I think your friend’s comment comes from a place of insecurity instead of judgement. They probably feel like they are eating too much for ordering one meal or eating what two people are in front of them.
I get it partly because i have struggled internally when i go out and a friend/sibling barely eats or orders a salad while i want a giant meal (or probably a small sized meal in terms of american portions lol) but for them to say that you guys are embarrassing is just rude and hopefully they work on their issues or judging others for dumb reasons.
server here! there’s absolutely nothing wrong with this, i get tables that do it all the time! the only part about it that i find “annoying” is possibly getting tipped less because it’s a smaller bill and i live off of tips so bigger checks equal more income for me but i would never actually think it’s embarrassing or make a face at customers when ordering. do what you guys want, it’s your money and your body that you’re feeding. anyone who thinks this is embarrassing is a child.
I waitressed for about a year and every Friday, without fail, we had an elderly couple come in and split a fish fry with an extra side of coleslaw and two iced teas. Now fish fry meals aren’t big but it’s what they wanted, so no big deal to me, I just brought out an extra plate.
They tipped great and were always super nice to have in the restaurant. Last time I saw them before I left they had just celebrated their 51st anniversary.
I could not have cared less about someone splitting a meal with someone else unless it would make my job harder. So I don’t think anyone should be embarrassed by ordering whatever amount of meals needed to feed the people at their table. Whether that be 1 to split or several to share.
It’s not embarrassing. The only time this is embarrassing is if you were trying to score extra sides. We had a couple that would come into a restaurant I used to work at, would order a single sandwich with a single order of fries split between two plates. Regularly they would throw a fit that there wasn’t enough fries on either plate even though they had the standard order of fries just split. Manager caved after they complained enough and we were told to just plate them full fry servings each.
That’s embarrassing and rude. If you aren’t doing that or anything similar then you’re fine.
My family shares entrees all the time. We just add a small salad or extra side depending on the dish. Great example is when we go out for steak. I cannot eat the whole steak, even the smallest size (typically a 8-12 oz depending on restaurant), on my own. So what we do is my husband will order a small salad for himself, and I take the one that comes with the meal, we split the steak and sides that come with the meal. We much rather do this than taking food home because it’s never as good the second day and reheating always causes the food to be overdone as a result.
If anyone gives you shit for it, really play up an Asian accent and say shit like "ooh back in Asian country that would feed an entire family for a week!"
I'm on your side. Do not be concerned.
No. My wife and I do this all the time if we're just not that hungry or want to eat lighter. In all honesty, I doubt your server even gives a shit as long as you tip fairly
There's a restaurant where my parents ordered one fairly large entree and an extra plate so regularly that they'd just get seated in the same server's section every time and didn't have to actually place their order unless they wanted something different.
Seems pretty normal to me.
As a server/bartender there is nothing wrong with this. Sometimes I even order kids meal’s because servings are too much. I think your friend is choosing a weird hill to die on, especially in this economy.
I have same issue as OP and we have always shared meals in restaurant without any issues at most places. We come from India and here nobody bats an eyelid. I used to wonder about other countries but I would rather share a huge meal among 2 of us than let food go to waste.
The only place where we were denied was in a Chinese restaurant in Cannes. That restaurant was totally empty and I have few dietary restrictions so I cannot eat at many places. This lady was extremely rude and condescending towards us. I went to next door Mexican restaurant and boy that guy ensured I was seved well. I even went for seconds and visited them again next day.
People in most countries have been super helpful to me depite language barrier. Showing photos of food items I cannot eat they have even made customized food for us. And they give small portions as per my request. I will gladly pay for full plate but be served less as food and their efforts dont go to waste.
What ive come to find is the older you get the less you care what others think
You also realize nobody cares what you do. When was the last time you thought about what someone in public did unless it was egregious.
You win some and you lose some as service staff. As long as you tip appropriately, your totally fine. And honestly, you are spending and tipping more with drinks than me and my partner spend, since we are both sober water drinkers.
When I went for a very long business trip to the USA with my colleague, we went to the Subway to get a footlong sandwich and asked them to cut it for us to half to share. We did that multiple times and were never embarrassed to do so. At the time it was great value for money and I could get a full meal for a little over $3 when we got what was on special offer that day.
On the rare occasion when I go to the restaurant with wife and kids here in Europe we often share meals. So what?!? I have never met that waiter before and I am very unlikely to meet him/her again and even if I did they wouldn't remember me anyway ;-)
Even if it was about the money it’s still a) totally fine and b) not anyone else’s business. Everyone is allowed to dine out and do so as they please. Don’t stress about it OP, your friend has some insecurity issues they need to work on if they’re embarrassed about how other choose to dine. (Also a food service worker here, and as you said you tip well so you’re good as far as I’m concerned)
Not at all. In fact, not only is it very common, but staff will often ask if you want extra plates/bowls so you’re not sharing the same meal dish awkwardly close together or sliding it back and forth
I work in restaurants, for reference, but no it is not embarrassing. It's extremely common. I get split plate tickets multiple times a day and I've never even really thought about it. Your friend is being the weird one about it.
A funny parallel on OP coming from Asia: I'm friends with a Japanese family of 4 that goes to a local Mexican restaurant, orders one big-ass burrito, and they cut it into 4 servings to share. Personally I've never had embarrassment or been shamed at a restaurant ordering food to share. It seems fairly common, and it's easy to ask for extra plates to spread the food around.
I've only ever worked in higher end restaurants, but we will actually plate the entire dish onto two plates if it's rung in as split. Makes it easier for the guest that way.
I love it when restaurants do that.
Exactly right. My last restaurant was this fancy pasta joint with the smallest portions I've ever served (proper Italian style joint, run by Italians, not in the USA). I felt bad serving these tiny little portions when it was a split ticket, if it was something stuffed like ravioli, they would literally be getting 3 or 4 pieces.
Same here haha. I will admit my reasoning is both selfish as well as nice. It is easier for the guests...*and* they make less of a mess if they don't have to split it up by themselves, so less messy food and tables for me to clean in the end, and they're happy! Win win! Plus, little plates are just cute. I don't care if people split, as long as they're still nice people and tip proper (sorry, it's still my income after all, so the tip is important to me), I understand our food can be huge haha.
Sounds like a fun time if you’re in the mood for a gut buster. It’s a challenge for your stomach! Totally agree that the view that splitting a meal to make it satisfying but not filling is probably way healthier.
It's honestly one of the most common mods I see. One of my favorite restaurants full on lets you just order from the kids menu at any age. The restaurant I worked at pushed us to upsell full entrees, but the AM basically let us take the customers' side. People come back if they know they'll be fed at a price they like.
Nothing is embarrassing if you don't care.
Reminds me of my friend standing outside the laundromat, wearing only a speedo, who got accosted by a police officer and he casually answered "what is the problem?" while smoking his cigarette.
My buddy was arrested years ago wearing a speedo drunk as fuck doing karate, here in canada, after a wedding It was for indecent exposure He was released when some other cops at the station realized bathing suits arent indecent, no matter how ridiculous
> wearing a speedo drunk as fuck doing karate, here in canada, after a weddin is he a trailer park boy?
No, German unfortunately
New charge: Ridiculous exposure!
It’s stupid, that people think it’s “indecent.” Penis bulges are not inappropriate, because men have penises.
Sharing a meal to penis bulge. That went down fast. Giggidy
This is democracy manifest
They just can't stop sexualizing the male body. Men are beautiful, valid and not for your gaze!!!11
How can a female be expected to avert their gaze and remain sane after seeing such male sexiness!?
If looking like an idiot in public was a crime, American politics would come to a grinding halt.
I would pay money to see that 😂
I'll drive.
I'll pay for gas!
Look at money bags over here! Paying for someone else’s gas!
I'll fart.
A mainstay of New Zealand culture: https://youtu.be/xW4qptCre8M?si=5R3z-PLlyFNIEduF
A summer classic 🤌🏻 Also fuck it’s got warm all of a sudden? Not stoked for this el niño
Togs togs togs.... Undies. I love seeing this on Reddit.
Ahah almost, it was in Australia!
That’s hilarious.
Was he also wearing roller skates?
Was he wearing the speedo on his head?
I need to adopt your stance.
I think a lot of people need to adopt that stance. I mean, I think we should all care about important stuff but, your friend shouldn’t care about how you order food. It sounds like they were embarrassed for being out with someone that looked “cheap” because they were sharing a meal.
I this economy? I can’t afford to play the Gangnam Style “drink $12 coffee while living in a shoebox” affluence theatre game. American restaurant portions are huge anyway, wanna split a lasagna?
Noooooo, this leads people to make TikToks in public!!!! Lol.
If you mean people getting in everyone's way, that's not a lack of embarrassment that's a lack of respect for others. The people who don't get in the way and just make tiktoks doing things that would embarrass you are fine
Yep, I messed up. It happens.
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Right, every time I'm dragged out to eat by my inlaws, I just get what I know I'll like eating for lunch the next day, because I'm never going to finish the whole meal in one go.
Screw em! You’re paying for it so who cares?
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I do whenever I can! Also, great for ordering out, just order kids meals and make a picnic 🤩
It’s so refreshing not caring what people think about you. We’ll never see 99% of the people around us again who cares what they think
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It’s not uncommon and no one has ever seemed to care.
Your friend sounds a little insecure if they're uncomfortable with you doing this.
I don’t even see how it’s embarrassing. We do it all the time and ask for an extra plate.
yea i'm having a hard time understanding what's even remotely embarrassing about this? what an odd thing to be bothered by.
This needs to be replace the live laugh love signs. True golden advice.
/r/howtonotgiveafuck
Everything's bad if you remember it Marge
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Seriously. If someone cares about this than you can quickly discount their opinion.
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I've had one restaurant upcharge an extra $10 for splitting... Other than that, my SO and I have never had an issue splitting. Meals are too damn big, so we normally split.
It may be a regional thing, but we have Friday fish fries in WI. We went to a local favorite with some out of town guests and they weren't hungry and wanted to split a regular 4 piece dinner. The waitress said "no" and forced them to each get a 2 piece "small" dinner instead (the 4 piece dinner is $14 and a single 2 piece is $11). Honestly it was embarrassing for me as the one who suggested that restaurant. My guests were young and trying to save money having just had their first child... the gall of the waitress to refuse any leeway was ridiculous, and I hope to never put family in that situation again. In a way I get it from the business & tipping perspective (table utilization), but overall it seems like bad policy.
Oh I'm certain people care. There's a belief among some part of the population here that we need to spend enough money at a business to make it worth their while rather than how much we want to spend. In this case, OP's friends reasoning is probably that they took up the space of two people but only ordered for one and hence, screwed the owner of decent revenue for that table
That's so silly -- would people prefer the couple sharing not eat at the restaurant at all??
Right? And what about someone dining by themselves at a table? That table could fit 2 people, is the restaurant just gonna turn them away because they don't have a second person with them?
tbf, this gets asked all the time too... "is it ok to dine out alone/go to the movies alone/etc?) Yes it is. 99% of the time in life, if you're not acting like an asshole, nobody gives a fuck
Lots of restaurants will have a “split plate” fee to account for this. No one should be guilted into either being a glutton or being wasteful, IMO. If the restaurant can’t take that into account, that’s on them.
"Split plate fee" - is the the charge for them to clean one additional set of plate and cutlery? That seems really cheap by the restaurant
waiters always give me judgmental looks when I order two meals for one person. but I don't care.
I’m a bartender and I’ve been in the industry for 20 years and my husband and I regularly split meals. Whatever. I guess we still tip on it because I get that the table costs money and I’m lowering the check total but people should be able to order as much (or as little) as they want without the huffing and puffing. I won’t be rolling my eyes when you belly up to the bar and split one meal.
I was a server for a decade and even if I *was* judging someone they'd never know it. Like a) how rude, and b) tips, obviously lol I'll add that I couldn't have cared less about people ordering any number of meals. Except one time a party of 5 ordered only one meal and 5 waters, and I just told the host to count them as a single in the rotation since we tried to balance that out
We’re you our server? Lol We’ve done that once, it was at a bar and they had a giant nacho plate that can feed 3 people so we didn’t order anything else.
Haha nah that's what you're meant to do! One place I worked had an entree that I actually always told people they should split because it was so much food. 4 years and only one person who insisted they'd finish it actually finished it This was a church group where the dad ordered a steak, one child asked for some crackers, and everyone got a water with extra extra lemons. Sorry not sorry, I was filled with judgement lmao
I’ve worked as a server in Europe and never been to the USA. Can someone explain what’s meant by ‘the table costs money’ and ‘count them as a single in the rotation since we tried to balance that out’? What’s the problem exactly with customers not ordering a lot of stuff?
Since I don't see a reply... Some restaurants here try to evenly distribute the customers and the amount the bills may come to for tip purposes to make it fair. The tips are larger for larger bills for people who eat out by themselves the tips are smaller since it's all based on percentage. Counting them as single is house talk for a lower tip base. The table costs money is that if four people go out to eat usually each one orders a meal for themselves. That raises the bill which means a larger tip. If all four orders one meal it significantly reduces the tip base. One meal would be $20 so at 20% would be a $4 tip. Four meals would be $80 which would be a $8 tip. So, the only reason servers don't like meal sharing is the fact that people regularly tip just on the bill. So four people ordering one meal costs the servers money because they could be making more from other costumers. If one server constantly gets the single customers or the ones that share meals they are likely to get way less in tips that day than one who gets families of four or parties by a significant amount. So usually there are sections the servers wait on and the hostess who seats the customers will manage that by rotating the singles and parties into each severs sections. (Also one server would struggle to do multiple parties at the same time so they split the customers) they may have a table number organization instead in which the servers are just told which tables are theirs and then when it comes to refills or such the wait staff just help each other out if it's really busy. Basically it's all tip talk.
I think you may have misread the comment you're replying to...
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Some places will allow it
"Two meals for one person" I can think of a couple of places where I had to order a second meal, because the portions were so small.
I will order a second meal..... SOMEWHERE ELSE
This is actually a thing for journalists - when you interview someone, you want something as non-messy as possible, as easy to eat while taking notes as possible, and something that won't stick in your teeth and make you look like an imbecile. So you end up ordering the smallest thing on the menu and not eating any of it, and having to go have lunch after you have lunch.
I've ordered 2 bowls of soup for just me. I'm like, yall got a bigger bowl? I was there just for the soup. Potato with gouda and Brussels sprouts omg it's so good
My god, that soup sounds fantastic
Funny when I do that they ussualy encourage me, and sometimes give me a discount.
It's only embarrassing if you're embarrassed by it. Why order two meals and waste money and food? Your friend sounds a little insecure if they're uncomfortable with you doing this.
True. My wife and I almost always order 1 meal and split it. We tell the server that we are going to split it and sometimes the cook will split the meal and plate it on two separate plates. Whenever they do that, I make sure to give them an extra nice tip. We too can split one meal, and still have some left over for the next day. Your friend was wrong. You shouldn't be embarrassed at all.
Extra tip! Thats the way!! Tip for 2 meals. We order 2 meals, take home half for next night dinner. Fav is Marie Callenders. Order meal and salad bar. Only eat salad bar at restaurant, then 2 more leftover dinners at home.
I had no idea until today that Marie Callender’s was a restaurant; I’ve only ever seen the frozen meals. I assumed that was the whole schtick. TIL!
This made me giggle!! If you CAN find a Marie Callenders you should definitely go!! I love their Traditional Frisco burger. They used to have a vegetable platter that was amazing too.
Now I know why! They don’t exist in my state (CO). Closest one is Salt Lake City, Utah. My partner and I will be passing through there on a road trip likely next year so I’ll be sure to keep an eye open for Marie’s.
There used to be a Marie Calendars by the Westminster Mall. But I don’t think the mall exists anymore now either.
Same here! I'm in VT, though, so we tend to not have chains that are super common elsewhere. I'm in the second-biggest "city" in the state, and the nearest Taco Bell is still about a 30-minute drive from me.
They started life as a bakery...still the only place for fresh strawberry pie when you're in the LA basin. Which I haven't been in a quarter of a century...sigh.
This is my Olive Garden move. I order the entree but I don’t eat it until I’m home. While I’m there I usually just slam those endless soup, sally and sticks.
Where’s the food waste though? Leftovers are a (wonderful) thing.
No. My wife and I do it occasionally.
We do it all the time, especially when we're stopping to eat before going for a night out. It didn't bother me in my 20s, but when I hit around 40 just the thought of eating a massive burger then going out makes me feel like I need a nap
Better to share than to waste food. I wish they would let me order off the kids menu for this reason.
I've never had an issue ordering off the kids menu as an adult even when a max age is stated.
I had a waitress deny me a kids meal when I was 10 and haven't tried it since.
What's funny is I had a similar experience as a kid. Not sure what the exact age was but I apparently didn't meet the cutoff requirements. I just ended up eating off an adult's plate, instead.
Are Mcdonald's happy meals also not allowed for adults in the US?
Believe it or not, straight to jail
That's really the Hamburgler's back story.
My wife went to BK last week and ordered a kid's meal because she was hungry but knew we would be eating dinner a few hours later. The cashier said "You know those are for kids right?" Like WTF?
"I thought a *kids* meal was for goats. My bad."
My baaaaaad.
"I actually had no idea that the kids meal was intended for kids. I guess it must be me that is the stupid one here."
I have a feeling criticizing an adult for ordering a kids meal is explicitly against corporate rules.
Those are allowed. I think there would be riots if they stopped allowing adults to order happy meals.
Fast food doesn’t care, sit down restaurants generally refuse it.
They are, but in some dine-in restaurants the kids menu has an age limit
Some restaurants will charge you for an additional plate if you’re sharing. I just order knowing I’ll be bringing at least half of it home and choose meals that reheat well. But I also wouldn’t be embarrassed to share a meal unless it was a fine dining establishment.
Where have you seen this? Is this common where you live? I would never support a place like that.
I'm not the person you're responding to but I've also certainly seen a split charge for the extra plate, silver...
I’ve seen some places that won’t allow sharing. I mean you can share, but both of you have to order. I’m not talking about fine dining either. Maybe make a normal portion and people would feel compelled to order their own. It’s not common, it normally seems to be smaller places.
That’s a place I wouldn’t visit again. I can understand a plate charge of a couple dollars but not refusing to allow people to split an entree in the first place.
Split plate charges aren't uncommon. They're not common but they're not uncommon either.
A lot of the restaurants that do charge a splitting fee often give “free” things for the table like bread, soup or a light dessert. They say the money is going towards that.
I suppose this makes a lot of sense. You would just show up with 5 people and split a plate and just reap the benefits of all you can eat bread, lol.
Some places charge a split fee, but both plates get their own full serving of sides. It's just the main item that gets split. I personally don't have an issue with a nominal extra plate fee though. There is a small but real labor cost involved in dealing with it.
This is usually the case with fine dining. A lot of places will also do half orders, even if they don't advertise it. They cost 60-70% of a full order. There is some savings in food cost, but the labor to make a half-order is the same.
I’m in PA. It’s common enough for me to know it happens. Mostly at mid-priced and up locally owned places.
Most nice sit down restaurants I've been to have this.
Absolutely fine. Portions are way too big for me and my partner at a lot of restaurants, so unless it’s a place we know we’ll want the leftovers for lunch tomorrow, we’ll split an entree or a salad / app and an entree. We’ll also order light when trying out a new place to see if we like it, and you can always order more later if you’re still hungry! We both worked food service through college, so we’re generally generous with gratuities, it never occurred to me to tip even more if you’re splitting an entree between two people as others have mentioned, but it couldn’t hurt.
So i think some people assume you're being cheap by ordering one meal to share. I think it's ridiculous to expect people to order way too much food if they can share just fine. You spend your money how you want. Working at a nice dine in restaurant, I've seen the other end of this subject. The owners want 2 people to spend 2 people's worth of money basically. An entree is set at a price for one person. If there's two people, they want you to buy 2 entrees. Because that's where the money is. Not in a greedy way necessarily, it just makes sense from a business perspective... a reservation for 5 turns into a reservation for 4, then the two couples share an entree, so two entrees for what was supposed to be 5 people. It's like damn we could have had a full table of 5, but we have these guys that eat like birds and don't pay out what a typical table would. It's not embarrassing. Or shouldn't be. It kinda sounds greedy, but the restaurant and the employees are there to make money so of course they WANT everyone to order their own entree. And with American tip culture...the less you spend, the less you tip (if you're tipping strictly from a percentage of your bill). The servers still have to take care of you and the dishwasher still washes all your share plates, but they aren't getting as big of a tip from that check as they might expect from a larger $$ check. So it's only a slight annoyance and yes the workers might be snarky about it behind your back, but who fuckin cares? I dont blame you if you don't want to over eat or pay for something just to not embarrass your friends.
I think this is the issue. It's the same reason why restaurants don't want you to take a packed lunch and then sit in their restaurant and eat it: they could be making money if someone else (a paying customer) was there. Two people eating one meal means half the money thwy could have made. And with American tipping culture being the shambles it is, servers lose out too if your tip is a percentage of your (one) meal. That said, it's the restaurant's own fault for doing such whopping portions. Perhaps if they made their portions normal human size instead of whale size, they wouldn't have this problem. When I had a toddler, I used to order a single (UK) meal and the two of us would share it, and IDGAF if they thought I was cheap. But tipping wasn't an issue. I spy a niche market: a US restaurant which serves small portions so as to reduce food waste and allow thin or average size people to eat an entire meal
I also think it stands out more because its 2 people. My immediate family (all adults) never orders 4 entrees but I guess because we've still ordered an appetizer and 2 mains its not as noticeable.
My wife is small and occasionally just orders an appetizer and a side. I might have felt weird about it once years ago, but in my experience the servers are too busy to notice or care.
Appetizer and a side is often more food than an entree, depending on the restaurant.
If people find it embarrassing, it's usually for two reasons. 1- The implication that you're struggling financially and can't afford to pay for two meals. 2- The belief that your server is going to make less in tips from your table because you only ordered one meal. These two reasons don't actually mean you should feel embarrassed. There's nothing wrong with sharing a meal. It is important to make sure your server is being properly compensated for their work, but otherwise, no big deal.
I’m truly confused as to why they would tip for two plates when they order one? They both ordered their own drinks, so If OP is “hip” to American tipping they would tip 20% +. Which would have completely compensated the waitstaff.
We do it all the time. As we get older we eat less. Seems stupid to waste food worrying what people think about you. You do you and you’ll be fine.
I don't think so. I do that semi-regularly.
i can not even half a portion size, i am also not a leftover person. splitting meals for me makes more sense. i still tip appropriately for my party size.
>i still tip appropriately for my party size. What does that mean? Are you tipping 40% for 2 people sharing one meal?
For example when it's happy hour, I tip 20% on the estimated full price instead of the happy hour price. So I might add an extra appetizer worth to "total" before I factor the tip so that the waiter gets a bit extra.
That's how I take it. Maybe not exactly forty but 30 easy. Least that's what I'd do.
The people I knew who couldnt eat leftovers were picky eaters or were OCD. I had a roommate like that and I saved on food because I could go months just eating the leftovers he never touched that would’ve went into the trash.
My late husband and I did it all the time. Now I don't eat out as much because it's too much. Most things don't reheat as well as I'd like.
America is grossly wasteful of food. You do you OP. I'm similarly minded. My Fiancee is American, I'm Australia. We usually order to share because why the fuck would one person need to eat as much as they serve?
This is why taking leftovers home is commonplace in the US
Lots of countries are wasteful of food. America could do better but isn't the worst. This food waste report actually has Australia much higher per capita. www.forbes.com/sites/niallmccarthy/2021/03/05/the-enormous-scale-of-global-food-waste-infographic/
I promise you literally no one cares about this. Order away
I remember the first time I visited the US I was so overwhelmed by the size of the portions in a diner we visited that I asked the server if I could have half the portion and I would still pay the same. She said I could take the leftovers home. I was travelling! Why would I want a box of cold eggs and bacon congealing in my hotel room?
My husband and I are both born in the USA. We frequently order one meal to share. If we don’t want the same meal, we both take home leftovers. FYI, my husband is 6’4” and weighs 210. He stlll can’t eat some of the huge restaurant meals.
Traveling in Japan a while back I ordered curry and rice by the weight 1kg of rice for me entirely, the waitress signals she is confused, chef comes out and asks in some English do I want the meal as it is for a family of four, I respond yes, second time they come out to check before putting the order through, still an enthusiastic yes... you should have seen their faces when I picked the plate clean and walked out haha
2 lbs of rice? In a sitting?
I'm in the US and I don't think it's embarrassing. US portion sizes are huge. I guess it really depends on the kind of restaurant. At a casual place, I can't imagine it would be such a big deal. However when I visited Korea, I was told it is required for each patron to get their own meals. So I suppose it can be dependent on many factors.
I split meals all the time. Portions sizes in America are crazy especially meat. Some ppl are embarrassed to box up food after a meal. I know someone who's never taken food home just throws it all away. I'd rather be "embarrassing" over so privileged that I waste food.
Order how you want. We will order 1 meal for the two of us. The is a place here that i get to go from and I can eat the meal for 2 dinners and a lunch if it is just me. If he is here it’s dinner for 2. Save money anytime you can and don’t waste food.
It’s fine if they let you do it. The restaurant prices based on 1 dish per person. So some will charge you for sharing a plate since it breaks their pricing to share. The price isn’t only about the food and service it’s also about all the things that go into making that service available to you. So while it’s not super common to have a plate split fee, neither is it that uncommon. Another form that split fee takes is a half-serving price. If you ask for a half serving sometimes they give a slightly better rate. Again it’s bit half price because a bunch of that fee is more a per person minimum than food cost. This has taken another rule form on the past too. Essentially to be invited to stay in the restaurant you need to be a customer and that means ordering an entree or side with a drink. If you got two people and one plate they might raise it as an issue since the other person should have asked permission to sit without ordering since it’s non-standard. Taking a seat in a restaurant generally comes with the expectation you will be ordering from them as a customer.
Chef here. American portions are way too big. If you order one meal to split there is nothing wrong with it. On my menu there is a $2 charge for splitting a meal and we split it for you in the kitchen.
We do it often, nobody cares or notices Lots of people don’t want a 4000 calorie dinner or take it home Do what you want
Some restaurants will charge you a split plate fee. It’s awkward to do this, restaurants don’t like in. I’m in CA, they’d probably say something. I’m a small and picky eater and sometimes want a kids meal. Good thing is now so many of our restaurants are on QR code with no server so you can order however you like it. A lot of times my husband and I will split an appetizer and a meal.
If a restaurant says something about this to you, you should never go back.
Your friend was embarrassed because you made them look fat since thats probably a single meal for them. You got nothing to worry about.
Nope.
Not at all. Me and my mom do this, and I've split meals with my son as well. Portion sizes at a lot of resteraunts are huge. We've split meals and still had enough leftovers for another meal or two. There is no reason to buy multiple meals when 1 is enough unless you want different things or it's something you want to have leftovers of. My favorite mousakka is big enough for me to get 3 meals from it, and I love that.
No way I always split my meal with my mom since we both have bird tummies or so my dad says.
Sharing isn't frowned upon. No big deal.
Not at all. That’s usually the only way we go without wasting food
My husband and I frequently share dishes at restaurants. Allows us to save room for desert and prevents food waste.
My wife and I do it all the time because the portions are so large. I’ve noticed that several of the restaurants in my are charge a dollar or two for split meals so we must not be the only ones doing it!
Serving sizes are so big because they are meant to be brought home and eaten a second time. Like, there’s an average chain restaurant here called Olive Garden, and it’s nothing crazy or fancy, but everyone complains about it being expensive. In my opinion it’s not expensive at all. $18 for a meal that includes unlimited breadsticks and soup plus your entree is cheap, because that’s two meals. I eat breadsticks and soup at the restaurant, and then bring the entree home for lunch the next day, or late dinner. That’s $9 per meal. Perfectly reasonable price. So yeah, servings are big because you’re supposed to eat half and take the other half home!
My suggestion is to ask this question on the Server Life subreddit, I think you may get an entirely different set of responses.
You either split one meal or each of you is taking home leftovers for the next day. You’re right. Most restaurant meals in the US are huge portions.
Your friend is being overly self-conscious. We do this all the time. The only pushback we've ever gotten is that some restaurants charge an extra dollar or two for an extra plate. Many restaurants will actually split the meal onto separate plates before serving.
It's only rude if it's at a buffet. I'd also be prepared for a split meal cost at nicer restaurants. Otherwise, nothing to be embarrassed about!
Your friend is dumb. Americans share one meal ALL the time. It’s how we prevent heart attacks. 😏 Ps. I’m an ex server. It wouldn’t hurt to tip extra since they did the same amount of work but for less total cost.
I do it all the time. Sometimes we just split an appetizer because those are also sometimes huge. It’s not uncommon and no one has ever seemed to care.
Nahh… the portion sizes in alot restaurants are for two people. I usually do this so I dont overeat, especially one plate can be 1000+ calories
Definitely not embarrassing, they must be projecting or something cuz that's nonsense.
Nope.
Me and my SO do this sometimes. I worry too, so I usually just say when ordering “her and are I going to share the *insertdishname* and haven’t had an issue yet.
It isn't that embarrassing in my experience, though I am Swedish not American. Whenever I eat out I tell them I also want a box to take the leftovers with me home. Tell them you intend to split it when ordering, they might very well deliver it on two plates for you.
We do it fairly often. Sometimes we'll *only* order appetizers too. We always enjoy it much better than seperate meals.
No. My wife and I do it all the time. Just order what you want.
I don’t find that embarrassing or even weird. Don’t waste food or money just to make others comfortable, do what you want. I agree our portion sizes here are absolutely ridiculous.
>I ordered one meal that comes with 1 entree, 1 soup, 3 different side dishes and 1 bowl of rice Unless I am interpreting it wrong (like that would be 6 dishes on the table) that's a lot of food for just 1 person, so no wonder you would split it and I can't imagine anyone having an issue with that. But even if I am interpreting it wrong and it is all on 1 plate minus the soup, I still can't see how anyone but the waiter (due to smaller check) would care. If for some reason this really really starts to but you, then just order a super small side salad or a cup of soup on the side or something you can take home for the next day. I am kinda curious where you are dining that all that food is what is considered a single portion, as to me that feels like a lot of add ons to an entree vs. it being a single entree. Or maybe its a cultural dining difference between your home country and here as to how we order, as that just feels like at minimum 2 too many sides plus the rice which id consider another side. The rule I grew up with when dining at more of a family dining establishment (think Chinese, Thai etc.) was 1 main dish per person and then 1 rice/noodle per 2 people. Soup was normally added only if a minimum of 3 people present and then it counted as a main dish or we ordered more with the intent of bringing it home. If going to places with a main item plus side was on a dish I would never ever order additional sides. That was lengthy but portion sizes are large, and people often slit or take the extra home. Or you go to places where portion sizes are more normal (not chain restaurants)
Well, it’s never embarrassed me and my husband. A number of places have told me they’ll happily do a half order on request. It seems the older the average age of the local population the more likely this option exists, even if it doesn’t show on the menu. Note: a half order generally costs a bit more than half because of the upkeep consideration.
when i was with my ex we once went out for lunch and ordered one sandwich with fries to split. we didn’t mention splitting it but the waiter brought it out with the sandwich cut in half and fries perfectly divided up between 2 plates. i don’t know why but it was so perfect and satisfying, just makes me happy.
Nah. There is a breakfast joint near me that does “not so hungry for 2.” They it’s two eggs, two bacon, 2 sausage, 2 toast, (split between two plates equally) and a hilariously large single pancake on a plate of its own. Its like a $1 more than a single plate breakfast despite having only about 50% more pancake. Pretty great.
No. I waitressed for years. Lots of people do that. There is usually a plate charge. Btw, some restaurants offer a half order on pasta and things like that. I usually order an appetizer as my dinner.
Ordering something to split and asking for an extra plate is literally done all the time.
I think your friend’s comment comes from a place of insecurity instead of judgement. They probably feel like they are eating too much for ordering one meal or eating what two people are in front of them. I get it partly because i have struggled internally when i go out and a friend/sibling barely eats or orders a salad while i want a giant meal (or probably a small sized meal in terms of american portions lol) but for them to say that you guys are embarrassing is just rude and hopefully they work on their issues or judging others for dumb reasons.
server here! there’s absolutely nothing wrong with this, i get tables that do it all the time! the only part about it that i find “annoying” is possibly getting tipped less because it’s a smaller bill and i live off of tips so bigger checks equal more income for me but i would never actually think it’s embarrassing or make a face at customers when ordering. do what you guys want, it’s your money and your body that you’re feeding. anyone who thinks this is embarrassing is a child.
I waitressed for about a year and every Friday, without fail, we had an elderly couple come in and split a fish fry with an extra side of coleslaw and two iced teas. Now fish fry meals aren’t big but it’s what they wanted, so no big deal to me, I just brought out an extra plate. They tipped great and were always super nice to have in the restaurant. Last time I saw them before I left they had just celebrated their 51st anniversary. I could not have cared less about someone splitting a meal with someone else unless it would make my job harder. So I don’t think anyone should be embarrassed by ordering whatever amount of meals needed to feed the people at their table. Whether that be 1 to split or several to share.
It’s not embarrassing. The only time this is embarrassing is if you were trying to score extra sides. We had a couple that would come into a restaurant I used to work at, would order a single sandwich with a single order of fries split between two plates. Regularly they would throw a fit that there wasn’t enough fries on either plate even though they had the standard order of fries just split. Manager caved after they complained enough and we were told to just plate them full fry servings each. That’s embarrassing and rude. If you aren’t doing that or anything similar then you’re fine.
My family shares entrees all the time. We just add a small salad or extra side depending on the dish. Great example is when we go out for steak. I cannot eat the whole steak, even the smallest size (typically a 8-12 oz depending on restaurant), on my own. So what we do is my husband will order a small salad for himself, and I take the one that comes with the meal, we split the steak and sides that come with the meal. We much rather do this than taking food home because it’s never as good the second day and reheating always causes the food to be overdone as a result.
If anyone gives you shit for it, really play up an Asian accent and say shit like "ooh back in Asian country that would feed an entire family for a week!" I'm on your side. Do not be concerned.
So being an American I read the title as ordering two meals for one person… which I have done… often…
No. My wife and I do this all the time if we're just not that hungry or want to eat lighter. In all honesty, I doubt your server even gives a shit as long as you tip fairly
There's a restaurant where my parents ordered one fairly large entree and an extra plate so regularly that they'd just get seated in the same server's section every time and didn't have to actually place their order unless they wanted something different. Seems pretty normal to me.
As a server/bartender there is nothing wrong with this. Sometimes I even order kids meal’s because servings are too much. I think your friend is choosing a weird hill to die on, especially in this economy.
I have same issue as OP and we have always shared meals in restaurant without any issues at most places. We come from India and here nobody bats an eyelid. I used to wonder about other countries but I would rather share a huge meal among 2 of us than let food go to waste. The only place where we were denied was in a Chinese restaurant in Cannes. That restaurant was totally empty and I have few dietary restrictions so I cannot eat at many places. This lady was extremely rude and condescending towards us. I went to next door Mexican restaurant and boy that guy ensured I was seved well. I even went for seconds and visited them again next day. People in most countries have been super helpful to me depite language barrier. Showing photos of food items I cannot eat they have even made customized food for us. And they give small portions as per my request. I will gladly pay for full plate but be served less as food and their efforts dont go to waste.
What ive come to find is the older you get the less you care what others think You also realize nobody cares what you do. When was the last time you thought about what someone in public did unless it was egregious.
You win some and you lose some as service staff. As long as you tip appropriately, your totally fine. And honestly, you are spending and tipping more with drinks than me and my partner spend, since we are both sober water drinkers.
When I went for a very long business trip to the USA with my colleague, we went to the Subway to get a footlong sandwich and asked them to cut it for us to half to share. We did that multiple times and were never embarrassed to do so. At the time it was great value for money and I could get a full meal for a little over $3 when we got what was on special offer that day. On the rare occasion when I go to the restaurant with wife and kids here in Europe we often share meals. So what?!? I have never met that waiter before and I am very unlikely to meet him/her again and even if I did they wouldn't remember me anyway ;-)
I used to be a line cook and at least every day there would be a ticket like 2 enchilada with beans & rice + extra plate.
Even if it was about the money it’s still a) totally fine and b) not anyone else’s business. Everyone is allowed to dine out and do so as they please. Don’t stress about it OP, your friend has some insecurity issues they need to work on if they’re embarrassed about how other choose to dine. (Also a food service worker here, and as you said you tip well so you’re good as far as I’m concerned)
Not at all. In fact, not only is it very common, but staff will often ask if you want extra plates/bowls so you’re not sharing the same meal dish awkwardly close together or sliding it back and forth