Is it uncommon for European restaurants to bring out another plate/silverware if asked, or just considered bad manners?
I'm genuinely curious, but perhaps I misunderstood what you were saying.
Also I'm curious if doggy bags imply the same connotations where you are from, as here they imply simply bringing leftovers home, although it has been a very long time since I've heard the term doggy bag and am more accustomed to people asking if anyone wants a box or their leftovers wrapped up.
> Is it uncommon for European restaurants to bring out another plate/silverware if asked, or just considered bad manners?
I'd hate to try :) I've never ever seen anybody do that, except for maybe asking for an extra spoon to share a desert.
> Also I'm curious if doggy bags imply the same connotations where you are from, as here they imply simply bringing leftovers home, although it has been a very long time since I've heard the term doggy bag and am more accustomed to people asking if anyone wants a box or their leftovers wrapped up.
I think that part of the stigma is that eating out is somewhat of a luxury in Europe whereas in America it is extremely normal. Prices are in general much higher here when eating out, the menus more varied (no thousand island dressing here, no burgers (at least, not in most places)) and people tend to dress up before going out.
A 'doggy bag' simply does not go well with the image of going out when you look at it like that. So I think that it's as much custom as it is setting and social stigma, if you asked for a doggy bag in a restaurant your peers would assume that you are either broke or very very stingy.
Or that you had a dog :)
Of course this is just my experience, maybe other Europeans can add / detract from that by giving their perspective, this is mine.
As another European I agree. When we eat in a restaurant with my family its almost always the case that for some people the portions will be too big and for others too small. What we sometimes do is we just pick a dish for each person and each of us eats about 1/n'th of each dish, with the people who are more hungry eating more and the others less. I'm not sure if this would be considered bad manners (not that we'd change it, we're tasting n dishes instead of one and having more fun comparing what we like and don't like, especially if the restaurant is good).
I'm pretty sure that taking food with you in a bag is unfortunately considered bad manners :( Asking for a second plate and silver maybe a less so but still.
Just back from holiday in Scotland. We both asked for a doggy bag (for a slice of pizza) and asked for extra crockery+cultery on occassion (different restaurants).
I wouldn't have balked if they'd said no, but as I constantly say to my lad "you don't get if you don't ask" (which may not be true universally, but certainly is with me).
as here they imply simply bringing leftovers home, although it has been a very long time since I've heard the term doggy bag and am more accustomed to people asking if anyone wants a box or their leftovers wrapped up.
It took a while for me to get used to the US phenomenon of asking for leftovers to be "boxed up" and I've noticed a similar level of surprise with less travelled Europeans I've taken to the US.
I'm used to it now (though I still wouldn't ever do it myself) but this is not even slightly common or acceptable practice in the UK. Such a request wouldn't be met with disgust or offense, though, merely confusion. I doubt many places except Chinese restuarants/takeouts would have anything to put the food in anyway.
So, yeah, this is a very American practice from the UK POV. I'd be surprised if it weren't common somewhere in Europe, though, but I've never seen it happen on my travels.
Splitting a meal or asking for more utensils to share a dish isn't exactly common here either but it is done, especially in pubs or similarly low-end places.
Is it that Europeans see eating out as a signal of luxury and asking to take the rest of the food home somehow diminishes that perception ("oh look they must be poor if they are taking that left-over steak home..." kind of attitude). In other words are Europeans just afraid of looking bad, poor or stingy in front of others in a restaurant and Americans just don't care?
What if portion size wasn't a problem? Image that Europeans served same sized portions as Americans, would you take your leftovers home to be heated up for lunch then?
> In other words are Europeans just afraid of looking bad, poor or stingy in front of others in a restaurant and Americans just don't care?
I don't care what people think, but restaurants that don't do takeaway simply don't have containers to take food home. I've been to 10 restaurants this month, and none did takeaway.
Besides, a half-eaten reheated meal doesn't sound very appetizing. The sauce will have congealed or soaked up by the food, the pastry gotten soggy, etc. etc.
I asked for "a doggy bag for this pizza please" and got the response "will foil do?" and it did just fine. We use foil to wrap stuff for the fridge quite regularly if it doesn't fit in a tupperware (reusable rubberised plastic food storage box). Of course if it's soup or whatever you're probably not going to get it to take away.
Perhaps take your own tupperware with you, I'd love to see that.
Sadly I so rarely get to eat out that I tend to finish everything so I'm not likely to be taking a tupperware any time soon.
Fatigue with the particular dish (I don't want to eat the same thing within a day or two anyway), a mostly irrational "ick" hygiene factor, not wanting to carry food around (it's less common to be parked close to where you're eating in the UK), a lingering (though lessened) elitist attitude to the practice, and a fear of it being considered an unusual request.
Different cultures engage in slightly odd behaviors (such as the prevalence of stick shift cars in the UK) often because people are, en masse, afraid of being unusual and making a change. If restaurants made taking stuff home an obvious and acceptable policy, I'd probably deliberately eat only half the meal and do it from time to time.
It is uncommon here in the netherlands. My mom had a gastric bypass when i was very little but even at the age of 7 to 12 i alway felt emberessed when my mom asked for a doggy bag. Even our european sizes were way too much for her. Here it is/was almost concidered a sign of being poor and having no manners. I now think its super cool off her to go against the social stigma and is able to enjoy a restaurant meal for 2 to 3 days.
"Is it uncommon for European restaurants to bring out another plate/silverware if asked, or just considered bad manners?"
I did this the other day in my favorite Chinese restaurant. I wasn't hungry enough to eat an entire "Chinese-style Steak" myself, so I split the meal with my brother. Anytime my family has ever asked to get an extra plate it's never been a problem. (Also, there is this tendency to treat Europe as one big country, as if the customs in France are going to be equivalent to customs in, say, Sweden!)
"...I'm curious if doggy bags imply the same connotations where you are from, as here they imply simply bringing leftovers home,..." Funny story concerning "doggy bags": I worked at a hotel once. There was a wedding on one night, and there was a huge volume of food leftover (regular occurrence, the amount of food wasted in the hotel and restaurant business is eye-opening). One guest caught my attention as I was clearing plates, and said "was there any chance that I could bag up all the leftovers". I said no problem. Turns out he had greyhounds, and was looking to save money by feeding them leftovers from the wedding food. I bagged up all the leftovers and gave them to him. I was happy to do it because it was destined for the bin otherwise. Btw we don't use the expression "doggy bags" over here, but in this case it literally was a case of the food going into a "doggy bag".
In many places it is illegal for a restaurant to use the leftover food in a meaningful way (e.g. feed it to animals). Personally I think this is ridiculous, but it's supposed to prevent diseases from spreading.
"In many places it is illegal for a restaurant to use the leftover food in a meaningful way" that really is ridiculous. If there's a law like that where I live, I would deliberately flout it. The developed world has massive problems dealing with waste and I'm sure there's far bigger threats to public health than feeding your dog leftovers.
There's some great business opportunities around waste. I've read about entrepreneurs using methane from rubbish dumps to fuel heating systems. Some great fortunes are made in the waste business (turning trash into cash to use a cliche). I remember reading a great article about one guy who converted his Hummer to run on leftovers that he collected from local restaurants. Not only did his "mpg" increase, but his cost of running the Hummer decreased enormously (he even brought food sometimes, put it in a blender, and used the chopped up food as fuel - still cheaper than a tank of traditional petrol/gasoline). It was the "Green Hummer" or some similarly named project if you wish to Google around.
It's not that every restaurant obeys this law. I know two pigs who eat Chinese every night, and they love it. Their owner gets it from a local restaurant.
Feeding your own dog/chickens/whatever your own leftovers is not illegal fortunately.
In Germany (Hamburg and Berlin) I have never had problems when asking for additional plates or silverware to share meals. Also, a lot of places can and will pack your leftovers if you ask them, but I believe it's not quite as accepted as the 'doggy bag' is in the US.
Comments
Is it uncommon for European restaurants to bring out another plate/silverware if asked, or just considered bad manners?
I'm genuinely curious, but perhaps I misunderstood what you were saying.
Also I'm curious if doggy bags imply the same connotations where you are from, as here they imply simply bringing leftovers home, although it has been a very long time since I've heard the term doggy bag and am more accustomed to people asking if anyone wants a box or their leftovers wrapped up.
> Is it uncommon for European restaurants to bring out another plate/silverware if asked, or just considered bad manners?
I'd hate to try :) I've never ever seen anybody do that, except for maybe asking for an extra spoon to share a desert.
> Also I'm curious if doggy bags imply the same connotations where you are from, as here they imply simply bringing leftovers home, although it has been a very long time since I've heard the term doggy bag and am more accustomed to people asking if anyone wants a box or their leftovers wrapped up.
I think that part of the stigma is that eating out is somewhat of a luxury in Europe whereas in America it is extremely normal. Prices are in general much higher here when eating out, the menus more varied (no thousand island dressing here, no burgers (at least, not in most places)) and people tend to dress up before going out.
A 'doggy bag' simply does not go well with the image of going out when you look at it like that. So I think that it's as much custom as it is setting and social stigma, if you asked for a doggy bag in a restaurant your peers would assume that you are either broke or very very stingy.
Or that you had a dog :)
Of course this is just my experience, maybe other Europeans can add / detract from that by giving their perspective, this is mine.
As another European I agree. When we eat in a restaurant with my family its almost always the case that for some people the portions will be too big and for others too small. What we sometimes do is we just pick a dish for each person and each of us eats about 1/n'th of each dish, with the people who are more hungry eating more and the others less. I'm not sure if this would be considered bad manners (not that we'd change it, we're tasting n dishes instead of one and having more fun comparing what we like and don't like, especially if the restaurant is good).
I'm pretty sure that taking food with you in a bag is unfortunately considered bad manners :( Asking for a second plate and silver maybe a less so but still.
Just back from holiday in Scotland. We both asked for a doggy bag (for a slice of pizza) and asked for extra crockery+cultery on occassion (different restaurants).
I wouldn't have balked if they'd said no, but as I constantly say to my lad "you don't get if you don't ask" (which may not be true universally, but certainly is with me).
The UK is a bit more of a mix between Europe and US when it comes to food and restaurants etiquette.
In France, I've seen myself denied the extra cutlery before (after leaving for some years in Asia, I was used to share food...)
That it was pizza and you were in Scotland instead of France probably helped.
I live in London and I frequently split a meal with someone. I have never had a restaurant complain.
The UK is not Europe, as anyone in the UK or Europe will tell you ;)
Frequent US traveller here from the UK.
as here they imply simply bringing leftovers home, although it has been a very long time since I've heard the term doggy bag and am more accustomed to people asking if anyone wants a box or their leftovers wrapped up.
It took a while for me to get used to the US phenomenon of asking for leftovers to be "boxed up" and I've noticed a similar level of surprise with less travelled Europeans I've taken to the US.
I'm used to it now (though I still wouldn't ever do it myself) but this is not even slightly common or acceptable practice in the UK. Such a request wouldn't be met with disgust or offense, though, merely confusion. I doubt many places except Chinese restuarants/takeouts would have anything to put the food in anyway.
So, yeah, this is a very American practice from the UK POV. I'd be surprised if it weren't common somewhere in Europe, though, but I've never seen it happen on my travels.
Splitting a meal or asking for more utensils to share a dish isn't exactly common here either but it is done, especially in pubs or similarly low-end places.
> though I still wouldn't ever do it myself)
Why do you think that is?
Is it that Europeans see eating out as a signal of luxury and asking to take the rest of the food home somehow diminishes that perception ("oh look they must be poor if they are taking that left-over steak home..." kind of attitude). In other words are Europeans just afraid of looking bad, poor or stingy in front of others in a restaurant and Americans just don't care?
What if portion size wasn't a problem? Image that Europeans served same sized portions as Americans, would you take your leftovers home to be heated up for lunch then?
> In other words are Europeans just afraid of looking bad, poor or stingy in front of others in a restaurant and Americans just don't care?
I don't care what people think, but restaurants that don't do takeaway simply don't have containers to take food home. I've been to 10 restaurants this month, and none did takeaway.
Besides, a half-eaten reheated meal doesn't sound very appetizing. The sauce will have congealed or soaked up by the food, the pastry gotten soggy, etc. etc.
I asked for "a doggy bag for this pizza please" and got the response "will foil do?" and it did just fine. We use foil to wrap stuff for the fridge quite regularly if it doesn't fit in a tupperware (reusable rubberised plastic food storage box). Of course if it's soup or whatever you're probably not going to get it to take away.
Perhaps take your own tupperware with you, I'd love to see that.
Sadly I so rarely get to eat out that I tend to finish everything so I'm not likely to be taking a tupperware any time soon.
Duh, you're right, any restaurant would have aluminium foil. I bet the question would surprise them though.
Perhaps you could use surprise negotiating tactics -
You: "can I have a mop bucket to take my food home in please?"
Waiter: "perhaps if we just wrapped it in foil ...?"
I eat fairly simply, so leftovers are usually the best tasting thing in my fridge!
Why do you think that is?
A handful of reasons, I think.
Fatigue with the particular dish (I don't want to eat the same thing within a day or two anyway), a mostly irrational "ick" hygiene factor, not wanting to carry food around (it's less common to be parked close to where you're eating in the UK), a lingering (though lessened) elitist attitude to the practice, and a fear of it being considered an unusual request.
Different cultures engage in slightly odd behaviors (such as the prevalence of stick shift cars in the UK) often because people are, en masse, afraid of being unusual and making a change. If restaurants made taking stuff home an obvious and acceptable policy, I'd probably deliberately eat only half the meal and do it from time to time.
It is uncommon here in the netherlands. My mom had a gastric bypass when i was very little but even at the age of 7 to 12 i alway felt emberessed when my mom asked for a doggy bag. Even our european sizes were way too much for her. Here it is/was almost concidered a sign of being poor and having no manners. I now think its super cool off her to go against the social stigma and is able to enjoy a restaurant meal for 2 to 3 days.
"Is it uncommon for European restaurants to bring out another plate/silverware if asked, or just considered bad manners?"
I did this the other day in my favorite Chinese restaurant. I wasn't hungry enough to eat an entire "Chinese-style Steak" myself, so I split the meal with my brother. Anytime my family has ever asked to get an extra plate it's never been a problem. (Also, there is this tendency to treat Europe as one big country, as if the customs in France are going to be equivalent to customs in, say, Sweden!)
"...I'm curious if doggy bags imply the same connotations where you are from, as here they imply simply bringing leftovers home,..." Funny story concerning "doggy bags": I worked at a hotel once. There was a wedding on one night, and there was a huge volume of food leftover (regular occurrence, the amount of food wasted in the hotel and restaurant business is eye-opening). One guest caught my attention as I was clearing plates, and said "was there any chance that I could bag up all the leftovers". I said no problem. Turns out he had greyhounds, and was looking to save money by feeding them leftovers from the wedding food. I bagged up all the leftovers and gave them to him. I was happy to do it because it was destined for the bin otherwise. Btw we don't use the expression "doggy bags" over here, but in this case it literally was a case of the food going into a "doggy bag".
In many places it is illegal for a restaurant to use the leftover food in a meaningful way (e.g. feed it to animals). Personally I think this is ridiculous, but it's supposed to prevent diseases from spreading.
"In many places it is illegal for a restaurant to use the leftover food in a meaningful way" that really is ridiculous. If there's a law like that where I live, I would deliberately flout it. The developed world has massive problems dealing with waste and I'm sure there's far bigger threats to public health than feeding your dog leftovers.
There's some great business opportunities around waste. I've read about entrepreneurs using methane from rubbish dumps to fuel heating systems. Some great fortunes are made in the waste business (turning trash into cash to use a cliche). I remember reading a great article about one guy who converted his Hummer to run on leftovers that he collected from local restaurants. Not only did his "mpg" increase, but his cost of running the Hummer decreased enormously (he even brought food sometimes, put it in a blender, and used the chopped up food as fuel - still cheaper than a tank of traditional petrol/gasoline). It was the "Green Hummer" or some similarly named project if you wish to Google around.
It's not that every restaurant obeys this law. I know two pigs who eat Chinese every night, and they love it. Their owner gets it from a local restaurant.
Feeding your own dog/chickens/whatever your own leftovers is not illegal fortunately.
In Germany (Hamburg and Berlin) I have never had problems when asking for additional plates or silverware to share meals. Also, a lot of places can and will pack your leftovers if you ask them, but I believe it's not quite as accepted as the 'doggy bag' is in the US.