# HOW much?



## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

This is one establishment we won't be visiting when we're in Mallorca next year.

Over €330 for a lunch for two people, consisting of fish, mixed salad, coffees and water!!!


La cuenta-sablazo de un restaurante que indigna en las redes sociales . SUR.es

They must believe in keeping the riff raff out, and as far as I'm concerned it will work very well.


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

Lynn R said:


> This is one establishment we won't be visiting when we're in Mallorca next year.
> 
> Over €330 for a lunch for two people, consisting of fish, mixed salad, coffees and water!!!
> 
> ...


My mother, who scrubbed floors to keep us when I was young, was a woman who knew 'breeding'.
We went during the Thatcher years on a trip to Bournemouth and passed a five star hotel, The Royal Bath, an Edwardian edifice looking a bit like an iced cake.. I remarked that it cost an arm and a leg to stay there.
'They let anyone in nowadays', said my mother reflectively, adding after a pause, 'As long as they've got money'.


So it may be that the riff-raff are inside whilst you, uncontaminated, remain afuera.


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## Tammydog (Mar 7, 2015)

This is the area I come from we live just down the road from Harry Rednap just a few million pounds difference. But hoy hay that's life..... Love our area and always will. Just want to see if it would work in a lovely climate better for us. Just going to try it out in winter to see how my husbands health is. Let's just hope there is some improvement but if not guess it will be back home to sunny Sandbanks. Just wait and see!


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## Tammydog (Mar 7, 2015)

Ps I spent at 15 years scrubbing floors as well for all the rich people in this area...


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## Roy C (Sep 29, 2012)

Why would anybody want to pay that sort of money for a bit of dinner

Fur coat no knickers.........


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## Tammydog (Mar 7, 2015)

Crazy I agree. Just complained because we paid over £20 for a,takeaway Indian meal. But it was really busy on a Thursday night and waited 40 minutes for it. And seems there are booked up totally until the middle of January for sit down meals. Guess people in UK are quite well off after all? But not if on a pension unless you have inherited. This takeaway was a celebration for us tonight


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

Roy C said:


> Why would anybody want to pay that sort of money for a bit of dinner
> 
> Fur coat no knickers.........


Well, to be honest,I might try to see what you got for that kind of money, out of curiosity. People spend money, lots of it, on things I wouldn't spend tuppence on, like season tickets for football or rugby or to see Rod Stewart or Ed Sheeran, or to go to Glastonbury (or on a cruise).
Sobre los gustos, as I always say....

I have twice dined at 'famous' restaurants, each time as somebody's guest. I thought the experience pretentious, over-rated and certainly not VFM as the amount of food on my plate wouldn't have satisfied a mouse on a diet.

But then I'm common.....give me a plate of egg, bacon and my mum's fried bread or well-cooked fish'n'chips any day.

Although the last time I bought fish'n' chips in the UK, in Surrey last year, I thought the shop owner was quoting me the price for his shop, not the two lots of fish and chips I'd ordered...


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

Another scandal that's been doing the rounds on Facebook is about politicians continuing to claim their monthly €2000 attendance allowance for the Andalusian parliament, even though it's closed in August.

Couldn't possibly be a connection between the two stories, of course!


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

Alcalaina said:


> Another scandal that's been doing the rounds on Facebook is about politicians continuing to claim their monthly €2000 attendance allowance for the Andalusian parliament, even though it's closed in August.
> 
> Couldn't possibly be a connection between the two stories, of course!


I'm sure that there are restaurants in Seville where they could spend that money on a meal if so minded, no need to go to Mallorca.

If that allowance is purely for attendance t meetings it should be given for that purpose and no other. I got attendance allowance when I was a Councillor but only if I attended the meeting. I didn't claim as I received my normal salary anyway.
But if it's a general allowance to cover other expenses then some politicians will continue working throughout the holiday period.
It's normal in the UK for councillors to have their total expenses claims published annually. Quite right too. PSOE councillors have to declare annually all assets and income from wherever. These declarations are available to the public although mine weren't verified so it's a matter of personal honesty and honour.

It has to be remembered though that expenditure of any kind is proportionate to income. 300 euros would be nothing to someone earning a large salary.
And a meal costing a modest 25 euros a head would be out of the reach of someone on the breadline.


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## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

mrypg9 said:


> I'm sure that there are restaurants in Seville where they could spend that money on a meal if so minded, no need to go to Mallorca.
> 
> .


Actually I got the location wrong the restaurant is on Formentera, whereas I read it as Formentor in Mallorca.

The thing that really amazed me about the amounts charged was that it was a chiringuito not some Michelin starred restaurant in an expensive city centre location, and for simple food like oven baked fish with a salad, an ice cream, a small beer, a tinto de verano, two coffees and a bottle of water. No way can that lot be worth over 300E.


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

Lynn R said:


> Actually I got the location wrong the restaurant is on Formentera, whereas I read it as Formentor in Mallorca.
> 
> The thing that really amazed me about the amounts charged was that it was a chiringuito not some Michelin starred restaurant in an expensive city centre location, and for simple food like oven baked fish with a salad, an ice cream, a small beer, a tinto de verano, two coffees and a bottle of water. No way can that lot be worth over 300E.


I read somewhere that Formentera is the 'in' place for 'celebrities' these days.
Sandra and I went there in the early 1980s and it was a desolate place...
Ah well, a fool and his money are soon parted, another favourite saying of my grandmother's (usually applied to me).


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

The easy way to avoid those places is to ask if they do "Menú del día" and how much it is.


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## Chica22 (Feb 26, 2010)

I cannot understand why these people have decided to post their bill all over social media. Did they feel they had been 'overcharged' or is it that they were just 'showing off' how much they paid for a meal for two in a chirinquito.

I can quite understand that it is easy to select a 'good looking' fish, and not realise how much the cost will be when the fish is charged by weight.

Surely they were given a menu, and selected a mixed salad at 19 euros, now for me that would be the point where I would decide if the place was worth paying 19 euros for a salad or not. 

Similarly they ordered a bottle of wine at 50 euros, their choice, they will have been given a wine list and selected their wine.

To then complain about the restaurant being expensive is a little unfair. The restaurant obviously caters for people who are prepared to pay those sorts of prices, and individuals have a choice on whether to pay or walk out.


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

Chica22 said:


> I cannot understand why these people have decided to post their bill all over social media. Did they feel they had been 'overcharged' or is it that they were just 'showing off' how much they paid for a meal for two in a chirinquito.
> 
> I can quite understand that it is easy to select a 'good looking' fish, and not realise how much the cost will be when the fish is charged by weight.
> 
> ...


That's very fair comment.
I'm eating out tomorrow at a 'nice' medium price restaurant. I had lunch there last week, with a glass of wine, salad, coffee, nice fish, with good tip came to 24€ each, bill divided between three. Good food, lovely view over the bay, good company and I didn't have to buy the food, prepare, cook and serve it and deal with the dishes etc. afterwards.
So vfm.
I noticed there were dishes on the menu, some kind of sea food, I think, priced at €80 and even €100.
I personally wouldn't spend that much on eating out unless I won the lottery and was treating my friends but as you say, no- one puts a gun to your head and compels you to choose expensive nosh.
And although I wouldn't pay that much myself, I don't have a problem with people who can afford to and do choose to.
No- one puts a gun to your head and demands you eat 'cheap'.
It's down to affordability and choice. People are still free to spend their money as they choose, still.


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## Chica22 (Feb 26, 2010)

I probably would (and have in the past) paid quite a high price for exquisite seafood, which I have relished and thoroughly enjoyed.
But would I pay 19 euros for a mixed salad? Probably, if Jose Mourinho was sat at the next table, otherwise not a chance.


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## Tammydog (Mar 7, 2015)

I'm too tight to spend that. I am a good cook myself both my sons are very good chefs. I would rather go and buy the best and cook it at home. I know what I'm eating then and can afford the best wine to go with it. If I eat out I do cheap unless it's a special occasion and we do splash out a bit more but never paid more than a £100 for 2 with 3 courses and wine. And we do live in an expensive area. We could pay mega bucks but why? ...not like it stays put! So to speak and that's a Lol!


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

Sobre los gustos....
Sandra and I enjoy eating out with friends. We always have done, wherever we have lived. Sandra is an excellent cook and we used to give a lot of dinner parties but we don't have the energy to do so that often any more. We prefer to let someone else do the cooking.
I love food. My grandmother, an excellent 'plain' country cook, did all the cooking in our house when I was young. Our fruit and veg came from our garden or granfer's allotment and our meat and fish came mainly courtesy of my gran's fishmonger and butcher nephews. No fancy stuff, no exotic sauces, just home- grown mint and horse radish - my job to chop and grate.
I'd pay almost any price to be able to feast on her Sunday roasts and apple pie....


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

If any Glaswegians are reading: one of my favourite restaurantsis Fratelli Sarti, Bath Street ( I think, off West Nile Street).


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## LDN2ESP (Jul 24, 2015)

Just to round things up: Formentera is expensive, I've been there numerous times and have dined outside the local Spar on many occasion! 

The bill isn't really a surprise, given that over in neighbouring IBZ clubs, a beer is around 8-10 euro and a Vodka - Limon is a cool 15-18 euros. 

Did I mention the Spar grocery store?


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## Tammydog (Mar 7, 2015)

Well will not be going there then unless I win the lottery. And I would pay what I can afford if it was special. But would want my money's worth. And I am getting a little older and may not want to do the cooking for much longer. Maybe we should move in with one of my sons.


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

Tammydog said:


> Well will not be going there then unless I win the lottery. And I would pay what I can afford if it was special. But would want my money's worth. And I am getting a little older and may not want to do the cooking for much longer. Maybe we should move in with one of my sons.


Sounds like a good idea. My dil is a good cook.....

When she retired, my partner decided she wasn't going to do anything she didn't want to unless really necesary. She said she'd spent her working life doing things she'd rather not have done.
So she decided she wouldn't cook. I do it and I'm not very good, really, which is one reason we eat out frequently.
The upside is that she does all the cleaning, washing the marble floors, windows, everything. She's very good at that and I don't like cleaning.
But no way will we pay someone to clean up after us. I draw the line there. Not until both of us are too feeble to swirl a mop or push a broom.


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

I always did the cooking in UK because SWMBO was working so many hours but I said that I wasn't cooking when we got to Spain (more as a sort of ultimatum, not to start working all the hours under the sun) but I still do some. I do enjoy cooking and have cooked ever since I was 12 years old. Nobody taught me but I used to watch, and ask my grandmother questions. 

One day I came home from school and I knew my parents would be home a little later that day. I had some pocket money saved up so went to the butcher's and got some steak and some kidney and made a steak and kidney pie, complete with decoration on the top (A rose where the pie funnel steam vent was and two scrolls, one each side, saying "The rose of " and "Old England"). Yes, I was rather pleased with myself especially with the look on my parents' faces. 

So we very rarely go to restaurants, why should we when both SWMBO and I both cook and the suegra has written or edited several cookery books? The suegra reckons we live at the best restaurant in town. I did stuffed tomatoes for lunch the other day and SWMBO took one to the unofficial (in a garage) greengrocer from who we had bought the tomatoes since I had been telling her about "tomates rellenos" - we found a couple of kilos of fresh figs from her hanging on the front door.


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

Why go to restaurants? 
To enjoy lunching/ dining in different places
To socialise with friends
To socialise with large groups of friends...sometimes nine or ten of us get together, twenty of us when it's a flamenco club night
To experience different styles of cooking
Simply to get out of the house, a change of scenery..

I have wine in the house and a state- of-the- art espresso machine but I still like to meet friends in a cafe for a solo or a copa....either in the village or at a chiringuito.


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## bob_bob (Jan 5, 2011)

I've paid less at Raymond Blanc's. Our 'local' for lunch a couple of times a month is The Walnut Tree near Abergavenny another MS* eatery but way cheaper than the bill posted in the OP.

Thats a lot of money for a bit of Hake.


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## bob_bob (Jan 5, 2011)

mrypg9 said:


> Why go to restaurants?
> To enjoy lunching/ dining in different places
> To socialise with friends
> To socialise with large groups of friends...sometimes nine or ten of us get together, twenty of us when it's a flamenco club night
> ...


Yep, same here, £500's worth of red and shiny chrome sitting in the kitchen...nine times out of ten I use a French press (I need a half litre mug of Joe in the morning) or an Ibrik for Greek coffee.

My Gaggia is up there along with my pasta maker, salad spinner and spud peeler


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## Simon22 (May 22, 2015)

We've had a variety of espresso machines but our Nespresso is used an awful lot, mainly because I like my coffee quite milky and my wife has hers very strong. The pods are expensive but not cafe expensive and cheaper than trying to keep two lots of beans on the go.


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

Simon22 said:


> We've had a variety of espresso machines but our Nespresso is used an awful lot, mainly because I like my coffee quite milky and my wife has hers very strong. The pods are expensive but not cafe expensive and cheaper than trying to keep two lots of beans on the go.


I don't drink tea, never had so much as a sip in my life, so coffee is important.
We've got a SAECO that grinds the beans before making the coffee for 'real' coffee but when, to my consternation, I was told by the doc to reduce caffeine intake, Sandra bought me an espresso machine plus grinder so I can use decaf beans. So now, after my two 'real' espressos and my breakfast mug of cafetiere Columbian, I can drink as many coffees as I like.

Last night we had dinner at a restaurant in Estepona perched on a slight rise directly above the beach, right at the end of the bay. The food and wine were excellent, the view across to Morocco to die for, and a Spanish friend celebrating her name day with her son sent a drink over so we joined them for political chat. Then we walked along the beach....12.30 and families were sitting around little fires, eating, drinking, chatting...

BobBob, our SAECO is six years old, does your Gaggia grind andweigh beans? Not sure how long it will be before we haveto look for a replacement and I read that SAECO have stopped producing. We paid about the same as you, will pay the same or more as coffee is important for me.


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## Maureen47 (Mar 27, 2014)

My daughter was delighted when she stayed at ours a couple of weeks ago and a night out in the village cost 25 euros , 3 different bars and food ! I think we may have them back soon !

Work in the past has taken me to some fabulous places for food all over the world but a traditional menu del dia for 6-8 euros gives me so much more pleasure !


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## Isobella (Oct 16, 2014)

Simon22 said:


> We've had a variety of espresso machines but our Nespresso is used an awful lot, mainly because I like my coffee quite milky and my wife has hers very strong. The pods are expensive but not cafe expensive and cheaper than trying to keep two lots of beans on the go.


Yes, great if there are a few friends around and some like mild and others super strong I recently bought Waitrose own brand pods, less expensive but good. Only tried one flavour, expresso intense.


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## Isobella (Oct 16, 2014)

There is a rash of rip off bills being posted online right now. Quite right too. I saw one this week fro a place in Ischia. Can't remember exact amounts but a couple of drinks cost about €10 and a service charge of €20 had been added.

Don't mind paying over the odds for special occasions if it is memorable, either location/ambience/or great food but don't like rip offs. Fish is the worst scam when sold by weight. Last night I had a pudding called rhubarb eton mess, brilliant! No idea what it cost but it was worth it.

Perhaps someone should start posting good value tabs.


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## jonmlb748 (Oct 30, 2011)

Also the owner was quite unrepentant,saying the menu was visible to view so if they didn't like it they should have gone somewhere else. A caña for seven euros !


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