Why people order too much food at a restaurant if they can't finish it?

[mikeandy]

Everytime I go to restaurant I see lots of leftovers , few people ask to have the left for takeaway. I Just feel sorry for all the food that is being wasted.

[dantetheexplorer]

I used to work in the restaurant industry, and when I first started, I was utterly gobsmacked by the amount of food people left behind. And it's not like the restaurants I worked for was particularly generous on the servings. And yes, you're right, they don't even ask for the food to be taken away - even when the food in question is the type that would taste perfectly fine if left in the refrigerator a couple of days (seafood, meat, beans, rice, etc.). And the sad thing is, because of restaurant policy with food, leftovers on a customers' table MUST be disposed off (rather than say, fed to another living being).

I found it tough to wrap my head around, because I grew up in a family and culture that believed that food is precious, and would make all sorts of dishes out of leftovers and bits and pieces left in the refrigerator. We never threw food away - unless it was bad of course.

I don't have the stats in front of me, but I believe that the food that goes to waste in most countries, at least in the restaurant industry, is not an insignificant percentage.

[dantetheexplorer]

*disposed of.

[ak667]

That's actually a pet peeve of mine, since especially when I hang out with my friend groups, they all order multiple dishes and then we're surrounded in food that only gets half-eaten at the end.

The reason that annoys me more though is because at those places (Izakaya) the food is delivered rather promptly after ordering (maybe just 10 minute wait). So I don't see the need to order everything in advance. We could order a little bit, eat a little bit, order some more if we want more, etc, instead of ordering everything in advance and just finishing half of it.

[Salmon4056]

Because before consuming it, they think that they are able to eat all the food. Some people really just don't know how much food they can or should get. And when it comes to (All you can eat) buffets, many foods can cause people to bloat, which might be the reason to sudden reactions to not wanting to finish food.

[Salmon4056]

Thanks for mho

[Mac4kayla]

I have a small appetite so even with a normal meal is too much for me most of the time. But I always keep the leftovers for later and eventually eat it within 24 hours

[witherwing]

There's usually no possibility to order a smaller portion. I'd totally order from the kids' menu if they allowed me to do so. Restaurant portions are way too big and the restaurants I go to, at least, don't offer doggy bags to take the left overs home.

[Anonymous]

Because serving sizes are fixed and I'm not about to ask them to take things off the dish without a reduction in price. Buffets eliminate this problem, but most restaurants don't use the buffet system.

[Temporal_Ice]

Its because meals at restaurants are huge. Plus people have an intention of a leftover lunch.

[Shimy]

Maybe they overrestimate their hunger

[abundantlyrich]

Tooo much money to blow