Restaurants

I recently went out for a meal with my family to a restaurant that we frequent quite a lot when it comes to meals out, and they had a new menu for Autumn. I knew before we even got there what I'd be able to eat from the main course section, because let's face it - menus do not change that much, and being vegetarian I only have a few choices to pick from.

The starter menu was a bit of a disappointment. I don't often go for starters, and last weekend I definitely didn't because the only vegetarian starter was bread, which would be too filling when the main is a pasta dish and comes with garlic bread. I was fine with not having a starter but when the waiter came back to our table to check that I wasn't having one, my sister turned on him.

She started saying that it was awful that there was only one vegetarian starter, that he should complain to the chefs and generally just making me embarrassed and the waiter uncomfortable - it's not like he makes the menu. Her little outburst did get me thinking though.

I've been vegetarian for five years or so now. I'm quite used to restaurants only have a few veggie-friendly dishes, because vegetarian diets aren't the most common in Britain. But does that mean it's okay to be overlooked?

I appreciate that other diets are overlooked also, such as vegan and lactose/gluten-free, but given the seeming awareness of and trends towards alternative diets, should restaurants be doing more to accommodate for all of their customers? I might be used to only having a couple of dishes to choose from, but that doesn't mean it's okay for restaurants to provide so limited amount of alternative-diet food.

Being vegetarian, I tend to get a little bit fed up when things like buffalo cheese are part of a meal. Just using normal mozzarella would automatically make that a viable option for vegetarians. Furthermore, it would be nice if there could be a bit more creativity in the menu for vegetarians. I like having cheese with my pasta, but when my choices are narrowed down to macaroni cheese, some other form of pasta with cheese, or a veggie burger (with cheese), it really feels like I cannot escape the dairy.

I know I am a bit of a fussy eater. I hate mushrooms, so even when that option is on the menu I don't look at it twice. But the thing is, before I became vegetarian I had so much choice. If I didn't like a food type, it was fine because there were so many other options. Vegetarianism may not be the norm, but it does feel like the choice becomes a pasta or burger. Some restaurants have a quiche or tart of sorts, which is great, but in some places it feels so constricting that I end up eating the best sounding choice even if it isn't what I want because there isn't really another one.

If I struggle to eat out, then I know it must be even worse for other diets. I know there are bound to be more specialist restaurants out there, and they may be able to cater for certain dietary needs (such as gluten free) if you let them know in advance, but sometimes that isn't an option if it's a spontaneous thing. When the rest of your family doesn't have any dietary constraints, then it isn't really feasible to find a place that has more than three veggie options.

It might be our lifestyle choice to be vegetarian, vegan or whatever else, but it isn't to have allergies. With growing trends in alternative diets, then more notice should be given. If anything, it would be a welcome break to have more options, if not in the main course then at least more than two options in the starters.

So my question is: should restaurants provide more varied dishes to accommodate for different diets, as opposed to just happening to have the bare minimum?

I'd love to know what you think, whether you're sympathetic or believe it's self-inflicted.

Until next time.