What makes you go (and keep going) to a restaurant?

[LittleDolphin]

We've reined in our restaurant outings a whole bunch the last couple of years, but when we do eat out, we either want a special occasion place to celebrate a birthday or an anniversary or a casual, affordable eatery with good food and good prices. You know, like great pub food or home-made things like meatloaf and great mashed potatoes.

For special occasions, we lean toward a place that has a pleasant and romantic atmosphere and a menu that offers choices that I don't or won't make at home--like duck or pumpkin ravoli...I like great bread to dip in seasoned olive oil. We appreciate attentive, but not overdone service, nice art on the walls and soft background music...chef-owned and operated restaurants are usually excellent, we've found.

A wine list with reasonable prices for wines by the glass brings us back. We may order two glasses of wine instead of one. Small pours and big prices keep us away. Value is important.

For casual dining, we want honest food at honest prices and some character...we usually find this at independent restaurants...we're not big on chain places...we're after quality over quantity.

[bjh]

Consistency, Caring, and Cash

Like most here have said #1 is good food. My favorite places are CONSISTENTLY good.

Of course, the waitstaff can make or break a meal. Good service means they've been trained. Chains often go through employees quickly and training is minimal. Mom and pops with good food are often staffed by family or long time employees. So the managers care about the service provided.

Price is a factor for almost everyone. I know restauranteurs need to make their living too, but be reasonable. A few months ago a local restaurant folded because they charged about $50 a plate. Right across the street is another local with great food, good service and about $15 a person including drink and tip. The restaurant that folded had a sign taped to their door, this is in a pedestrian area, saying people should support their local restaurants. Clearly whoever ran that place into the ground was clueless. 100 ft away their competition is still packing 'em in.

[jlawrence01]

Originally Posted by bjh

Price is a factor for almost everyone. I know restauranteurs need to make their living too, but be reasonable. A few months ago a local restaurant folded because they charged about $50 a plate. Right across the street is another local with great food, good service and about $15 a person including drink and tip. The restaurant that folded had a sign taped to their door, this is in a pedestrian area, saying people should support their local restaurants. Clearly whoever ran that place into the ground was clueless. 100 ft away their competition is still packing 'em in.

Around here, some of the local operators just do not get that there is a recession going on. No specials, no promotions.

And then they wonder why people are parading to their competitors - both chains and local operators.

[bjh]

Originally Posted by jlawrence01

Around here, some of the local operators just do not get that there is a recession going on. No specials, no promotions.

And then they wonder why people are parading to their competitors - both chains and local operators.

I agree some don't get it. There is both good and bad in local stores too. Usually, locals die off pretty quickly without a corporation to support them though. One way to tell if they're doing it right is whether they're busy.

[wertyuru]

For me there are 3 principal reasons:

The service, the food and of course the price.