Average French restaurants are worse than average British restaurants, amirite?

But they find a way to put aside their differences when a German restaurant opens down the street

by Arielshields 4 days ago

We had a German restaurant in my small Texas town. I only went once for a late lunch and was chased out because they closed between lunch and dinner. Probably no other restaurant that does that within 100 miles. They did not last.

by marguerite21 4 days ago

At least it sounds authentic haha

by Technical_Celery616 4 days ago

It was owned and operated by a German immigrant, apparently, so I suspect he tried to be authentic, though sourcing some ingredients was likely difficult or expensive.

by marguerite21 4 days ago

I grew up in Texas in one of the most German towns in the US (the primary language was German until the 70s), and this was the norm there for sure. Lunch 11-2, dinner 5-9.

by Anonymous 4 days ago

I don't even think German food is that bad. I'd def say it's my least favorite of the 3 but a lot of it is still good stuff.

by eupton 4 days ago

They're making a joke about how the French and the British have been historically at odds, except when the Germans have been involved (at least recently[relatively]).

by Anonymous 4 days ago

You lived in France and could only find good food in michelin star restaurants? I visited many times and could find good food at reasonable price.

by Anonymous 4 days ago

Look, I love France and French food, but they also think a proper sandwich only has ham and butter in it 🤷‍♀️

by Interesting-Bass 4 days ago

Lived in France for 20 years and the UK for 10.

by Double-Car 4 days ago

You're talking about Southern France?

by jamir39 4 days ago

Yep. Province/ cote D'Azur

by Anonymous 4 days ago

I guess a bunch of people who like overcooked veggies and poorly cooked steak are down voting.

by Anonymous 4 days ago

Lol!

by Anonymous 4 days ago

I'm also in the South currently and grew up here and couldn't agree more. Don't get me started on how they barbecue here... Everything is dry and tasteless.

by Double-Car 4 days ago

Bbq?! The Americans have entered the chat.

by DryStick4213 4 days ago

I assume he actually means grilling.

by Anonymous 4 days ago

I haven't lived in southern France but I've traveled there a bit and never seen them even TRY to do barbecue. Or even really much barbecue adjacent. Now I'm curious. French 'cue could be interesting. I wonder what the local wine pairing would be.

by Haunting_Whereas 4 days ago

You're correct, I've only had bbq at private french people's homes, never come across it in a restaraunt.

by Anonymous 4 days ago

Well they should leave they don't know fck all about BBQ they think using gas is BBQing..South Africa, Argentina now they know how to Braai/BBQ..

by darienbaumbach 4 days ago

Ok 🙃

by DryStick4213 4 days ago

"Rotton" cod? What a terrible take.

by Anonymous 4 days ago

If you've ever been to a Portuguese supermarket you can smell the dryed salted cod from 100 yards away. Big thing at Christmas time apparently. Makes me gag.

by Anonymous 4 days ago

This makes sense. From some just now internet research, bbq originates from "barbacoa" which is a blend of Iberian and Caribbean cuisine. So…makes sense Portugal would have the best European version.

by DryStick4213 4 days ago

South of France or US?

by jamir39 4 days ago

France

by Double-Car 4 days ago

I don't agree, but I do think the UK has some great restaurants and gets unnecessarily shat on a lot for having bad food. So does the US, which is pretty crazy considering how enormous the country is with world class cuisine in many cities and amazing regional cuisine all over.

by Anonymous 4 days ago

Yeah, UK has a lot of really good basic foods. You have Shepherds pie, Big Breakfast, Fish and chips, Toad in the hole, etc. What they don't really have is upper class foods like the French have. Pretty much all famous French foods are high end, while famous British food is pretty basic.

by Anonymous 3 days ago

The most popular Parisian food is a ham and butter sandwich.

by Anonymous 3 days ago

?? There's nothing high end about beef bourguignon, cassoulet, quiche, ratatouille, onion soup, croque monsieur, steak frites, crepes, tartiflette, coq au vin.... most of the famous french dishes are peasant food

by Anonymous 3 days ago

a lot of stew like dishes that are well known in french cuisine came from french nobility visiting British nobility and those recipes being taken home and adapted. Hundreds of years ago of course but it's funny to think about when we have traditional dishes that the french based their traditional dishes on

by Gus03 3 days ago

This is total nonsense.

by Zelmasmitham 3 days ago

French food is actually pretty basic too though.

by Anonymous 3 days ago

You lost me at lazy and basic.

by Anonymous 3 days ago

Right. Yesterday I was watching a video of how a guy made beef Bourguignon, and the amount of preparation he put into it overwhelmed me

by Any-Oven-5697 3 days ago

Right. It tastes like they just went to the supermarket and then cooled. Like WTF. Yeah that's how cooking works. I think OP wants over processed, over sauced, and over salted.

by No-Regular-7550 3 days ago

And that's before we even mention the quality of British curries.

by Fickle-Region6479 3 days ago

You mean…. Indian food?

by Fast_Discipline3963 3 days ago

I haven't spent much time in the UK, but my understanding is that British curries are different enough from Indian that they're their own sort of fusion cuisine now. Sort of like Tex-Mex in the American Southwest is influenced by, but different from, Mexican food.

by Anonymous 3 days ago

No, it's British Indian food - it's not that hard to grasp.

by Anonymous 3 days ago

You think tikka masala was invented in India?

by LeftCall8840 3 days ago

Being an Asian, London food prices to me are far from accessible, but believing otherwise while also considering non-Michelin French food to be below par is definitely one of the hot takes of all time.

by Anonymous 3 days ago

What does being Asian have to do with the food being inaccessibly expensive?

by Anonymous 3 days ago

It doesn't and the UK has some of the very lowest food prices in Europe when compared to average income

by Anonymous 3 days ago

I assume what they meant was London has more Asian restaurants and Asian grocery stores at reasonable prices. But yeah, it does sound like they get some sort of Asian discount or something.

by Anonymous 3 days ago

Traveling to London from HK and seeing the food prices in comparison to those here after years of inflation was quite the cultural shock, with a single fish and chips costing the equivalent of four filling lunches here. HK's food prices are already quite expensive for Asian standards, so hearing London food prices being "relatively accessible" will always be absurd.

by Anonymous 3 days ago

HK food is only considered "expensive by Asian standards" mainly when compared to South and SE Asia where the developing countries are. What are you comparing when you say a single fish and chip costs 4 filling lunches? A gastropub fish and chips to takeaway 三餸飯? Gotta compare like to like here

by kobywuckert 3 days ago

Asian countries practically give street food away

by Anonymous 3 days ago

I only went on holiday to London and Paris this winter but I had 6 meals in each city. And the Indian was spectacular in london an nothing else was impressive good. And 5/6 of my meals in France were spectacular. The only one that was average was on a seine boat tour, so kind of expected. Also I did a michelin star Indian place in London, and it wasnt the Indian food that I'm calling spectacular. But paris, a random baguette sandwich, Vietnamese pho, breakfast pastries, a classic French sit down, late night pizza, and casual cafes along the seine were all awesome eats. England I wound up at Gregg's twice after I didn't eat my entire meal at the restaurant.

by Anonymous 3 days ago

"French restaurant food is really lazy and basic, like someone has just popped out to the local supermarket and cooked something up" That's how the best meals are made. Wtf

by Anonymous 3 days ago

If you're going to restaurants who source their ingredients from a supermarket, you're going to the wrong restaurants.

by Anonymous 3 days ago

if you can't make amazing food with the ingredient from your local supermarcket, you're going to the wrong supermarckets

by Anonymous 3 days ago

If your restaurant is buying food from supermarkets, you're an idiot. Good restaurants buy from suppliers, not supermarkets. Because they'd go broke otherwise, or have to charge ridiculously inflated prices over the quality of what they're producing. Tell me more, person who probably doesn't have family who own high end restaurants.

by Anonymous 3 days ago

chill out little dude, noone said restaurants would buy directly from supermarckets

by Anonymous 3 days ago

That's how the best meals are made. Wtf

by Anonymous 3 days ago

Not for a restaurant you aren't going there to have something you can buy and make at home. One of the things I expect at any restaurant is that they have better ingredients than supermarket stuff.

by brucelowe 3 days ago

For normal food sure they are fine for anything more special good luck finding even one store which sells it. Pretty basic example Cardamom it's a niche spice here but one that multiple spice companies sell/"make" it yet literally no store ever has it where I am from. For anything actually exotic you can try the Korean, Chinese or Vietnamese shops but if they don't have it no one in the country has it. We have some Indian stores but I had awful experience with them even for popular Indian spices let alone more niche things.

by brucelowe 3 days ago

Except from michelin restaurants or some specific restaurants, you can make almost everything that is sold in restaurant. I mean, it's food not nuclear fusion

by Cydneyheathcote 3 days ago

yeah I totally agree with that

by Anonymous 3 days ago

ah yeah it depends on the country obviously at least you can find good local vegetables no ?

by Anonymous 3 days ago

I wouldn't know that for multiple reasons I never shopped for them in another country and the ones I eat at restaurants when I was in them aren't going to give me a picture about it and I don't like most of them cooked and raw ones will always be good because you only eat the food ones raw. Tomatoes, paprikas, peas and other legumes are good but if those are bad there is some kind of problem or I am just way too used to them and assume that good ones are the norm. Sorrel is the only thing I recall which might be kinda unique to this part of the world but I just get them from my own little garden so it's again not the best comparison material.

by brucelowe 3 days ago

This is unpopular for a reason

by Potential_Profile 3 days ago

Definitely an unpopular opinion and a wrong opinion. What region of France did you live in? French food is so varied and regional. Making blanket statements about all French food is bizarre. There is Bouillabaisse, Quenelles, Cassoulet, Tartiflette, Choucroute, Andouillette, and so many more amazing regional French foods. But you think all of those dishes are "basic" while pub food is somehow "complex"? You are likely just a picky eater trying to justify being picky.

by Anonymous 3 days ago

I don't think he's talking about specific dishes so much as overall quality from restaurants.

by ComprehensiveEye 3 days ago

My hot take when I was travelling was that I found the average meal I had in UK better than in Greece. UK is expensive though, even for a pub meal.

by carterkariane 3 days ago

Wildly expensive after exchange.

by Dear-Needleworker 3 days ago

That's a risky take but I like where are you going at

by Soft-Edge7737 3 days ago

Wow, this really is a hot take

by Savannagrant 3 days ago

in contrast to cold fries sprinkled with vinegar next to an unidentifiable piece of fried fish

by Ok-Camp 3 days ago

nah they good bro

by Ok-Camp 3 days ago

Who eats cold fries? Or even fries at all with fish?

by Anonymous 3 days ago

never heard of fish and chips?

by Thin-Audience9357 3 days ago

Chips and fries are different things. Neither should be eaten cold.

by Anonymous 3 days ago

This would be like describing all French food as a stale baguette with some over salted butter

by Technical_Celery616 3 days ago

You're meant to eat the chips before they get cold. 🤦

by Anonymous 3 days ago

they all wet from the vinegar tho

by Ok-Camp 3 days ago

Vinegar is optional (and delicious). Secret is to not use too much.

by Anonymous 3 days ago

The fact that British food generally has a pretty poor reputation means that restaurants here tend not to feel bound by tradition or culture. In the big, metropolitan cities at least, this means more creativity.

by Ok_Carob_4235 3 days ago

Good take

by Double-Car 3 days ago

Toad in the hole

by Ok_Carob_4235 3 days ago

TIL Toad in a Hole is not just an egg in the middle of toast over there. Yours actually looks really good!

by Anonymous 3 days ago

Fish and chips can be absolutely mind blowing if done well. So can shepherds pie etc. Not to mention how good the curries are in the UK. Even the basics like burgers and fries are done better in the UK. The food i'm talking about doesn't necessarily have to be British food, just the standard of restaurant food in the UK is way higher than France, regardless of the cuisine. I'd even venture to say that the average restaurant in the UK does French food better than the average restaurant in France (about to start a war here)

by Double-Car 3 days ago

this is the real core of your point -- restaurant quality. Of course you will.find massive disparity between quality restaurants in a metropolis like London, and some greasy roadside bistro in southern france... you cleverly poked the hornet's nest in pitting nationalities against each other, I do tip my hat to that ... but MOST cheap restaurants are lazy and basic, and every retsaurant buys it's ingredients somewhere I have worked in kitchens in different levels of restaurants and the truth is that there's very rarely a real reason to produce quality experiences for people ... restaurants make money in the simplest and most efficient terms, and mainly profit off peoples laziness and ignorance... the very rare restaurants that actually understand the holy craft of preparing food for other people, and the magic communion this entails, are few and far between, and this is what distinctive awards try to encompass... at least ideally, it's of course a profit-driven business as any other

by Ok-Camp 3 days ago

Yes I'm talking precisely about restaurant quality.

by Double-Car 3 days ago

French Bistro cuisine is world famous and nowhere near Michelin level. If you couldn't find a local bistro serving French food, you truly are stupid

by Holiday_Ear 3 days ago

I don't even know if this is unpopular, but you're spot on. French supermarkets are better though.

by Technical_Celery616 3 days ago

Agreed on supermarkets.

by Double-Car 3 days ago

British supermarkets were on a clear upward trend in terms of quality and variety which suspiciously flatlined after Brexit.

by Ok_Carob_4235 3 days ago

You've clearly never been to M&S.

by Anonymous 3 days ago

Yeah but that's not just food

by Double-Car 3 days ago

It's M&S Food™

by Anonymous 3 days ago

I'm not made of money ;)

by Technical_Celery616 3 days ago

Well, restaurants in the UK are decent mostly because most of them are serving anything but English food!

by Nervous_Passage_4602 3 days ago

England pillaged the world and now "english food" is a melting pot of Indian, Chinese, Turkish, Pakistani, South African food. England is an island with a bad climate for growing foods that aren't stodgy and starchy like potatoes and root vegetables (so stews and other hearty meals were the crux of what people could make). So bringing other cultures and foods back here was what we did and it's worked pretty well, you can get a wider selection of different cuisines here in most towns in across the country than anywhere else I can think of

by Anonymous 3 days ago

That's why my take isn't that British food is better than French food. Talking about restaurants.

by Double-Car 3 days ago

Every gastropub serves English food. It's by far the most common cuisine in this country and it tastes bloody good.

by Anonymous 3 days ago

yeah bad take. You probably just dig fried food

by Anonymous 3 days ago

Yes, sorry about that. Please don't let us keep you from your buttered snails.

by Anonymous 3 days ago

Saying that French people only eat snails and frogs legs is like saying Americans only eat McDonald 🤷‍♀️

by Anonymous 3 days ago

Wellllllll… after living in the states for a short while I can confirm that they eat way more fast food than we do in Europe. It was wild to me how much McDonald's and Wendy's some people would eat in a week

by Anonymous 3 days ago

I didn't say they ONLY eat snails and frog's legs. They also eat sheep's brains and forcefed geese.

by Anonymous 3 days ago

I'm French. You're just talking about stereotypes. I've tried snails and frogs legs once in my entire life. And it's not forced fed geese, it's foie gras and it's a dish you only serve at celebrations. You're trying to portray these foods as staples, when they're really not.

by Anonymous 3 days ago

Actually I've never eaten grilled escargot, I've just had them on spicy tomato sauce or in spicy broth(I'm from Spain BTW)

by Soft-Edge7737 3 days ago

Spanish food is 😙👌 No mockery of Spain from me.

by Anonymous 3 days ago

You shouldn't throw stones when you live in a glass house.

by Nervous_Passage_4602 3 days ago

Oh who said anything about throwing stones. I was agreeing with them. Please, don't waste time engaging with me, your frog's legs are getting cold.

by Anonymous 3 days ago

You went from restaurant quality to traditional food quality. Something England really isn't admired for. Especially if you pick the "odd ones". So it's a risky take. But no need to hurry, no one will steal your Marmite.

by Nervous_Passage_4602 3 days ago

I love that Marmite is the first thing you reach for. 😂

by Anonymous 3 days ago

Maybe at a brasserie or something, but if you're going to a French restaurant or a local food mom and pop shop then I don't think it's really valid anymore.

by Anonymous 3 days ago

Michelin star restaurants are just ridiculous things. They're not without merit but if you can't see the absurdity in them, then you're probably pretty out on of touch.

by Anonymous 3 days ago

I think this comes down to preferences a lot, and also local knowledge. For instance I like Greek food but in Greece it's really hard to find good (Greek) food, partly because I'm a tourist there so I dont know where the best places are, but also because the Greek food in my country os adapted to the tastes that we like. If I went there with someone from there I'm sure I'd get great food much more consistently though.

by Anonymous 2 days ago

London ≠ British Paris ≠ France I'd agree that London food on average is better than average Parisian food.

by Anonymous 2 days ago

lived in France for 20 years and couldn't find a decent restaurant unless you're going to what is essentially a spectacle more than a meal. I don't think you could find a single person outside the UK who's this delusional.

by Anonymous 2 days ago

I've spend significant time in France all over the country, and I disagree. The food is one of the best parts of that annoying country.

by Anonymous 2 days ago

What are you smoking? London has by far the highest price for food I've paid going to Europe. The price is what I pay in dollars in Los Angeles but in Pounds. The food was alright though. France has by far the highest standard for food I've had anywhere. And the prices were similar to where I live after exchange and outside of Paris was very affordable.

by Dear-Needleworker 2 days ago

Yeah, this would be extremely unpopular. You would only have this opinion if you prefer bland, deep fried and extremely salty foods.

by Anonymous 2 days ago

Wait until your find out how much olive oil the average french kitchen uses

by Double-Car 2 days ago

Dont forget the butter

by Anonymous 2 days ago

What? French cooking uses butter as base for everything. Dumb take.

by InterestingPayment 2 days ago

I mean if you live in the south of France it's def a mix of olive oil and butter.

by eupton 2 days ago

I do live in the South currently - agreed.

by Double-Car 2 days ago

Using olive oil and deep frying are not the same.

by Mariela29 2 days ago

Is that a problem ?

by Potential_Profile 2 days ago

No but neither is deep frying food.

by Double-Car 2 days ago

That's definitely an even hotter take than the first one. Deep frying erases most of the flavor and requires so much oil and fat, it's crazy.

by Potential_Profile 2 days ago

This take I burning.

by Anonymous 2 days ago

UK has better food overall

by korybreitenberg 2 days ago

The fact that you lived in France for 20 years and couldn't find good affordable food tells me you are the exact type of Brit who is still made fun of the world over for having awful taste in food.

by Anonymous 2 days ago

Who said I was British? :)

by Double-Car 2 days ago

English food is absolutely indefensible and I am English through and through

by Stoltenbergdelb 2 days ago

The best UK restaurants serve french food lol

by Cloydankunding 2 days ago

Meh it all depends where you live really. London is known for having fabulous Restaurants. But not to the point where making a dumb blanket statement like this would be true. Like just the small french town where I live has great restaurants at affordable prices. When I lived in Paris there was an endless list of great places to eat. 100s of great places to eat.

by lkoelpin 2 days ago

Lol this is a shocking take.

by Anonymous 2 days ago

I think the British food scene is underrated and London is potentially a better food destination than Rome. But Paris? Nah.

by Status-Egg 2 days ago

I'm an American whose been to London and had a ton of great food. Haven't been to France tho.

by Anonymous 2 days ago

You're wrong, but I respect the true unpopular opinion.

by FarmerPleasant 2 days ago

15 years ago this would have been an unpopular opinion, but the basic standard of restaurant (and pub) food in the UK is so much better now that I think this is quite a popular opinion.

by RazzmatazzCreepy4286 2 days ago

When you say France, do you mean France or do you mean Paris?

by francesca04 2 days ago

Completely agree. French cuisine is possibly the most overrated thing on earth. You'll get a load of pretentious know-nothings banging on about how great it is, but they're wrong

by RateAccomplished1694 2 days ago

Not sure if this is really accurate, but I recall speaking to a French colleague who said regarding French Vs Italian cuisine: 'if you go to a good French restaurant in France, it's excellent and better than a good Italian restaurant. If you just pick a random place off the street, you'll always get at least a very nice meal, in France...that is not the case.'

by Anonymous 2 days ago

French food outdoors is terrible until the upper $$$ segment. Fully agreed. Will be some exceptions, but overall it's just a lot of poorly executed burgers and pizzas with creme fraiche, spiceless Indian food too. I was as disappointed as you living in France for years.

by Anonymous 2 days ago

In terms of average UK food I'd think of chicken shops and fish and chips. That's not a high bar to clear unless you're constantly going to pubs.

by Anonymous 2 days ago

Hard disagree. Food in the UK, especially London, can be phenomenal, but if I walk into a random restaurant in either country I'd be vastly more confident of getting a good meal.in France.

by kayli65 2 days ago

Completely agree. 'Normal' French food is gross, I was having this conversation just the other day. Think hunks of meat boiled with a few root veg, no flavouring, served with a chunk of dry bread. Or a fatty pork pie which is about 30% fat with no herbs, spices or seasonings. Have been disappointed every time we've travelled in France, including staying with family and going to their 'favourite' restaurants. Bits of gristle in everything. The food is bland, poor quality. Think peasants trying to survival in a rural area in a famine.

by MiserablePilot6527 2 days ago

Well said, but you've commited sacrilege actually saying it....lol. Us 'Roast-beefs' apparently can't appreciate how 'chic and sophisticated ' their cuisine is, when in reality it is generally cooked to very poor standard.

by Anonymous 2 days ago

I think England has good food. They have The best variety of cuisines made at a high level compared to the other countries I've been to in Europe.

by eupton 2 days ago

I dunnow mate. We're comparing snails and jellied eels. It's like comparing mud and muck, neither is suitable for consumption...

by Dense-Yam 2 days ago

Have you ever had snails ? It's not even that weird taste-wise, the cliché mostly comes from the sight of the meal. It's very much suitable for consumption

by Anonymous 2 days ago

Day to day French food is heavy and full of butter, mid at most

by emery15 2 days ago

Every time I've been to a French restaurant I'm faced with a bunch of aloof servers and owners who are really uptight about seving me mediocre-ish food.

by Anonymous 2 days ago

The thing is French have a huge problem with arrogance especially regarding their cuisine. So I can see how average restaurants can suffer in thinking there is zero room for improvement whereas elsewhere they are far more open to criticism and thus can avoid stagnation

by Blanche06 2 days ago

Yeah france has a ton of lazy restaurant and brits just got really good at copying other cuisines and eating a lot. French cuisine is undoubtedly better than british cuisine but british restarants are generally better than french ones.

by Anonymous 2 days ago

Spot on.

by Double-Car 2 days ago

Because the French staff are all rude

by Hyattoleta 2 days ago

But you ate something most of us are eating like that. I would be willing to hear OP's point if there was an example of the food eaten and as predicted with your example, it totally missed the mark.

by greenwilfred 2 days ago

How do you figure? I went to a place that didn't serve a bad dish, and the restaurant in a different country served the same thing only better. Seems to me like it fully supports OPs statement. I wouldn't eat a plate of BBQ Ribs in France and then shnitzel in Germany and say that makes the Germans better at cooking.

by Anonymous 2 days ago

I'd expect a basic dish to be elevated, like what I got in London. Don't be salty because it was prepared better in a different country.

by Anonymous 2 days ago

I am not I actually understand why it was prepared better in another country. I personally would never order that in a French restaurant, but again that is basic dish I reluctantly eat at home (well to be honest not even at home).

by greenwilfred 2 days ago

See I'm a fan of duck, but I eat it sparingly. So a hearty meal was exactly what I wanted, and that fit the bill better than anything else on the menu. And I wasn't disappointed. You don't even care for the dish, so it makes no sense to me why you would try and downplay it. I enjoyed it in France. I liked it better in London. That's as apples to apples as you can get. I wouldn't consider it the same if I had gone to a pub in London and ordered a duck "burger", even if I enjoyed what I got.

by Anonymous 2 days ago

UK food is trash for the most part but yes…London has good food lol

by Healthy-Wait6432 2 days ago

You are 100% right. I live in Barcelona but from London. London is miles better for decent priced food and its everywhere. What's more my friend is French (wine producing family!) and he says London is hands down the best for accessible good food, Paris nowhere near.

by Anonymous 2 days ago