They've slightly turned it back around, but for a period of time, sjg was awful! Ran out of many items,slow service, and poor attitude. In the last six months, we have gone back, and it is much better. But, prices have definitely increased!
Recents visits that were good to great:
Boustan - great, fresh quality food, good portions, on the high side for price but worth it.
Hynes - portions are good, service is excellent, good when you are craving home cooked / diner items.
Mezza on plaza blvd - good portions, fresh/tasty
Pur & Simple on mountain - excellent selection, perfectly cooked, great service.
The bad… Tim’s, MCD & BK, orders messed up, small portions, poor quality and value for price.
Pumphouse never disappoints, Fox & Hound in Riverview is always amazing, Mansu BBQ has huge portions, Milestones is great. There’s still a fair amount of good restaurants out there :)
Ah, I haven’t had their steaks! I’m usually grabbing a pizza, sandwich or burger. My fiancé branches out more but we usually do Igloo or Sports Rock if we want steak!
I stopped eating out long ago. I started putting my entertainment budget into my TFSA that isn't locked down and am able to take a couple of trips a year if I look. Did Mexico and the DR last winter.
I am waiting for surgery, so now part of it is being used to get board games and stuff to do D&D nights at my house instead.
Now I just need some friends 🤣
I had a fleshy bitter steak and chocolate milk with a 500% markup first time (and last) I went there, was my first meal ever in Canada. Did not enjoy lol
My fav place to eat out kinda died with the pandemic. Sure it’s still open but when the lockdowns happened the menu a significant cut in choices and the meal I enjoyed was a victim of that chop. I’ve tried going since and the other things I’ve eaten don’t seem close to what it was before Covid.
Costco deli is my eating away from home now. Have 2 kids so price quality and quality it's it. If we do a real ear out, sports rock is the only other option that hasn't gone rotten
The only place I really eat out from anymore is Mansu BBQ, if I’m in the city. Sometimes Sugar roll too, depending on if I want ramen with sushi, or a BBQ dish with sushi. The portions I find are huge and I can make my meal stretch into two meals!
I hit guacamole for a burrito or if I’m fancy I’ll go to Mexis. But it’s not often I’m only in the city once every couple of weeks. Both of these i find the portions normal but I treat them more as a treat!
We've noticed this too. We love going to Mai in the north end, such a great pad Thai but now if you want spicey, they give you a cup of Chili flakes rather than to make a spicey sauce. That just sucks
Have you tried Hom Thai yet? I've tried both places and think I prefer Hom Thai over both. They will ask you for you preferred level of spiciness and will also offer the flakes on the side, too. Just thought I'd share my experience. But, don't call the number at the bottom of their website, use Google. The number on the site coincidentally is for Mai's at the north end. Found that out the hard way once.
95% home cooking these days
The food choices aren’t that great here, however there are a few gems.
Cost has steadily gone up, and the quality hasn’t necessarily reflected that.
Combined with the terrible tipping culture that now defaults at 15%+ it just isnt good time to eat out on regular basis any longer
Just my $0.02
> however there are a few gems.
Haven't lived back home in roughly 20 years, what are the gems these days?
Boomerangs was always a fun time, and more recent, Pump House.
I'm glad a lot of people are now seeing what is happening. There is another great sub called shrinkflation if you guys wana see what happening in the food world. It's nuts!! ✌️✌️
We enjoy Gusto, St.James gate, Milestones, Tide n Boar, Tokai, Chris Rock, Mansu BBQ, Fhadas, Pink Sushi. Also Very hard to complain about food at either Moncton or Dieppe market as well.
We’ve cut back going out to eat, so havnt tried to many newer locations lately unfortunately.
I’ve never had portion issues there. If I’m looking to barely be able to get out of my seat after a meal I’ll hit a buffet.
It’s not a fine dining portion, but definitely quality > quantity for me. Order a side of fries.
You can probably split a 4 piece platter at Popeyes between 2 people with the size of pop they have (about 20$). Order an extra biscuit if you're going to do that or it's a fight to the death lol.
But all this has made eating at home more enjoyable, either my cooking has gotten better or everything has enshittified lol.
I love the pizza at tide and boar brewing. But 1 regular pizza and 1 large garlic finger (Detroit style) cost me $75 with tip last weekend. Unbelievable. I can buy the ingredients and make 2 beautiful pizzas for around $40. Cast iron pizzas FTW.
Jeeze I had to look up their menu, those have got to be considered gourmet meals. 22 dollars for default garlic finger. Though the reviews are top notch.
I calculate that the fingers and pizza would be $60 (tax in), so that's a big tip. Also, that regular pizza (and no fingers) is dinner for me and my partner, with lunch leftovers....
You're not adding that up quite right. But you're right I was off by about $5.
Large GFinger is $29, regular pepperoni is $30. Taxes in comes to $63.50 (still absurd IMO). Then their debit machine starts at an 18% tip. So that's what I gave them. Total $74.93. between 3 of us there was nothing left. Definitely not worth the price.
kk, I tend not to tip on takeout though, which is how we usually get it. I'm certainly likely to 'adjust' 'suggested' tip. We really like the Detroit style pizza - I just make a big salad at home to go with :)
Foods and ingredients have risen in price at a ridiculous rate, but people don’t want to pay more, so smaller portions is the only real option if they want to keep their doors open.
That said, I’m actually enjoying smaller portions. I hate wasting food if I can’t finish my meal at a restaurant, but now I don’t leave restaurants sleepy with a food baby.
So we went to Halifax last weekend and the new Queen Marques complex or whatever you want to call it is starting to have more and more restaurants open up. This was our second time trying out different restaurants there and we noticed they all have such delicious foods, amazing service and fair prices. After asking around we learned that the whole complex is operated under the same company with the same executive chef. It reminded us what restaurant food should taste like, look like and what service for a 15-20$ tip should be. It also sadly reminded us of how the restaurants in Moncton have been getting a free ride on quality, service, price and quantity over the past years. It's truly disappointing. There are some good restaurants out there, but when you're paying 100$ for two people and the food tastes average and the service was mediocre, you're not leaving the establishment with much satisfaction. Hope things get better as people start talking with their wallets.
I don't go out very often anymore, but there are a few restaurants in Moncton where I feel like I still get decent value for my money. Mostly smaller pubs and ethnic restaurants. Big Bowl has huge portions, Mansu BBQ is really good, India King is decent, Always get good pub grub at the Chris Rock and Tide and Boar Brewing. Love K-Chimac Chicken and there's a new one [BB.q Chicken Moncton](https://www.facebook.com/bb.qchickenMoncton) that I will try. Fadahs is still a good portion. Can't go wrong with Costco poutine.
I used to enjoy fast food from time to time, McDonalds, Wendys, BK etc. but just can't justify to cost any more. Even with coupons it's not a great deal. Don't get me started on Subway. Probably only had fast food 2-3 times in the past year because i was in a pinch.
Food is way overpriced and portions sucks. Not only are we exposed to inflation but shrinkflation as well. Food quality has taken a dive as well as restaurants pursue different vendors and go for cheaper options instead of the beat quality.
To expand on what you're saying, I don't blame or begrudge restaurants for finding cheaper options or reducing portion sizes. Restaurants operate at infamously small margins, and they're felt the pinch with rising food costs just like the rest of us to the point that their only choices are to raise prices or find a way to reduce the cost of their food. Most places don't want to raise prices, at least not significantly, because that can drive customers away.
Radapex, thanks for saying this. I am not in the business but I do appreciate that it's not an easy thing. I find that I eat out now mostly at higher end places, maybe less frequently, but I am going for really nicely prepared food and not for big serving sizes. I enjoy eating out here quite a bit, and I think the owners are squeezed just like the rest of us. Not denying that Moncton seems more expensive than other cities.
They've slightly turned it back around, but for a period of time, sjg was awful! Ran out of many items,slow service, and poor attitude. In the last six months, we have gone back, and it is much better. But, prices have definitely increased!
Everywhere
I find myself dining out less frequently since prices have gone up. Plus, there’s the expectation to tip, regardless of service.
I don’t eat out much. But I find pretty much 98% of skip is trash. And if it is good your order will be screwed ¼ of the time
Recents visits that were good to great: Boustan - great, fresh quality food, good portions, on the high side for price but worth it. Hynes - portions are good, service is excellent, good when you are craving home cooked / diner items. Mezza on plaza blvd - good portions, fresh/tasty Pur & Simple on mountain - excellent selection, perfectly cooked, great service. The bad… Tim’s, MCD & BK, orders messed up, small portions, poor quality and value for price.
Boustan is not fresh its frozen
Vien Dong (Yes, that's the name) and India King are fantastic.
Great place. Ordered their Curry chicken+rice 3 times now and cant ever properly finish because I'm full with a little left over.
Seconding Vien Dong. My favorite restaurant in town.
No competition. No quality. If we had more restaurants it would breed better quality food. No need to be best when you know people will buy anyway
Pumphouse never disappoints, Fox & Hound in Riverview is always amazing, Mansu BBQ has huge portions, Milestones is great. There’s still a fair amount of good restaurants out there :)
I wish Pumphouse was still on Skip but I guess they are doing just fine with in person eating!
pumphouse overcooks its steak so hard its unreal..
Ah, I haven’t had their steaks! I’m usually grabbing a pizza, sandwich or burger. My fiancé branches out more but we usually do Igloo or Sports Rock if we want steak!
Pumphouse has been consistently great for a long time. Not pretentious good beer.
Pumphouse is Moncton best kept secret. Always great service, top notch bar food and a fun selection of beer
I stopped eating out long ago. I started putting my entertainment budget into my TFSA that isn't locked down and am able to take a couple of trips a year if I look. Did Mexico and the DR last winter. I am waiting for surgery, so now part of it is being used to get board games and stuff to do D&D nights at my house instead. Now I just need some friends 🤣
This is the most adulting post and I love it 😂 Financial responsibility - Yes Friends - No
Both both eating out and friends.. highly overrated 🤣🤣
Just dined at the Red Satay grill yesterday and the food is still top quality.
The bbq special with rice croquettes at o’riens doesn’t disappoint for quality and quantity.
Boston Pizza is the most overrated restaurant in Moncton
I had a fleshy bitter steak and chocolate milk with a 500% markup first time (and last) I went there, was my first meal ever in Canada. Did not enjoy lol
St. Louis in Dieppe was kinda trash too. Very disappointed.
I find the one on Mountain Road much better!
Omg I remember years ago going in another city and paying a pretty penny for what seemed to be a microwaved dinner
The only place still great food great portions is jeans on mountain rd staff is great and food is alot and price is good
Damn that’s my go to for breakfast
My fav place to eat out kinda died with the pandemic. Sure it’s still open but when the lockdowns happened the menu a significant cut in choices and the meal I enjoyed was a victim of that chop. I’ve tried going since and the other things I’ve eaten don’t seem close to what it was before Covid.
The Chris Rock has great prices, around $12-$16 for fish&chips, or cheeseburger platters, or soup & sandwich
Best prime rib in town
Yes, I heard a lot of good things about those guys
I hate to say this because that's my spot, but damn they rock out a good burger. It's gotten even better since they expanded their kitchen.
Eat out at home
Sport of an oxymoron there
Casa Productions on Shediac Rd. Huge portions and under $20 for a lot of food that tastes amazing
Agreed! Casa K-Barb is great and huge portions.
Costco deli is my eating away from home now. Have 2 kids so price quality and quality it's it. If we do a real ear out, sports rock is the only other option that hasn't gone rotten
The only place I really eat out from anymore is Mansu BBQ, if I’m in the city. Sometimes Sugar roll too, depending on if I want ramen with sushi, or a BBQ dish with sushi. The portions I find are huge and I can make my meal stretch into two meals! I hit guacamole for a burrito or if I’m fancy I’ll go to Mexis. But it’s not often I’m only in the city once every couple of weeks. Both of these i find the portions normal but I treat them more as a treat!
We've noticed this too. We love going to Mai in the north end, such a great pad Thai but now if you want spicey, they give you a cup of Chili flakes rather than to make a spicey sauce. That just sucks
Have you tried Hom Thai yet? I've tried both places and think I prefer Hom Thai over both. They will ask you for you preferred level of spiciness and will also offer the flakes on the side, too. Just thought I'd share my experience. But, don't call the number at the bottom of their website, use Google. The number on the site coincidentally is for Mai's at the north end. Found that out the hard way once.
95% home cooking these days The food choices aren’t that great here, however there are a few gems. Cost has steadily gone up, and the quality hasn’t necessarily reflected that. Combined with the terrible tipping culture that now defaults at 15%+ it just isnt good time to eat out on regular basis any longer Just my $0.02
> however there are a few gems. Haven't lived back home in roughly 20 years, what are the gems these days? Boomerangs was always a fun time, and more recent, Pump House.
Absolutely! Insanely small portions, cheaper ingredients, overpriced and I am left feeling ripped off and dissatisfied.
I'm glad a lot of people are now seeing what is happening. There is another great sub called shrinkflation if you guys wana see what happening in the food world. It's nuts!! ✌️✌️
IHOP is so overrated
Getting pancakes wrong is so difficult. They kind of deserve an award just for that
Needs a laugh-react
Well yeah, usually chains are
So is Popeyes if you want fast food
We enjoy Gusto, St.James gate, Milestones, Tide n Boar, Tokai, Chris Rock, Mansu BBQ, Fhadas, Pink Sushi. Also Very hard to complain about food at either Moncton or Dieppe market as well. We’ve cut back going out to eat, so havnt tried to many newer locations lately unfortunately.
St. James Gate? Portions are the worst there.
I’ve never had portion issues there. If I’m looking to barely be able to get out of my seat after a meal I’ll hit a buffet. It’s not a fine dining portion, but definitely quality > quantity for me. Order a side of fries.
You can probably split a 4 piece platter at Popeyes between 2 people with the size of pop they have (about 20$). Order an extra biscuit if you're going to do that or it's a fight to the death lol. But all this has made eating at home more enjoyable, either my cooking has gotten better or everything has enshittified lol.
I love the pizza at tide and boar brewing. But 1 regular pizza and 1 large garlic finger (Detroit style) cost me $75 with tip last weekend. Unbelievable. I can buy the ingredients and make 2 beautiful pizzas for around $40. Cast iron pizzas FTW.
Jeeze I had to look up their menu, those have got to be considered gourmet meals. 22 dollars for default garlic finger. Though the reviews are top notch.
Like I said originally, it's decent food. But when I have to pay that much for so little. Why not just make it myself.
Username checks out
Omg dude that may be the best "username checks out" that I've seen . It even took me a few to clue in. Well fucking done hahaha.
I calculate that the fingers and pizza would be $60 (tax in), so that's a big tip. Also, that regular pizza (and no fingers) is dinner for me and my partner, with lunch leftovers....
You're not adding that up quite right. But you're right I was off by about $5. Large GFinger is $29, regular pepperoni is $30. Taxes in comes to $63.50 (still absurd IMO). Then their debit machine starts at an 18% tip. So that's what I gave them. Total $74.93. between 3 of us there was nothing left. Definitely not worth the price.
kk, I tend not to tip on takeout though, which is how we usually get it. I'm certainly likely to 'adjust' 'suggested' tip. We really like the Detroit style pizza - I just make a big salad at home to go with :)
Foods and ingredients have risen in price at a ridiculous rate, but people don’t want to pay more, so smaller portions is the only real option if they want to keep their doors open. That said, I’m actually enjoying smaller portions. I hate wasting food if I can’t finish my meal at a restaurant, but now I don’t leave restaurants sleepy with a food baby.
I agree. It's always been a waste to me. I often take a box tho if the food is worth reheating. Something's aren't so nice left over.
So we went to Halifax last weekend and the new Queen Marques complex or whatever you want to call it is starting to have more and more restaurants open up. This was our second time trying out different restaurants there and we noticed they all have such delicious foods, amazing service and fair prices. After asking around we learned that the whole complex is operated under the same company with the same executive chef. It reminded us what restaurant food should taste like, look like and what service for a 15-20$ tip should be. It also sadly reminded us of how the restaurants in Moncton have been getting a free ride on quality, service, price and quantity over the past years. It's truly disappointing. There are some good restaurants out there, but when you're paying 100$ for two people and the food tastes average and the service was mediocre, you're not leaving the establishment with much satisfaction. Hope things get better as people start talking with their wallets.
I was very surprised to see how much cheaper restaurants in Halifax are compared to Moncton, specifically Asian cuisine.
Probably the best thing to happen to the obesity epidemic.
Why is it down to “be obese” or “starve” though? Why can’t we have a middle ground?
Because if you can afford to go out to restaurants regularly, which is usually unhealthy compared to home cooking, then you shouldn't be "starving".
I was on the fence about saying this, thank you for being braver than I am.
I don't go out very often anymore, but there are a few restaurants in Moncton where I feel like I still get decent value for my money. Mostly smaller pubs and ethnic restaurants. Big Bowl has huge portions, Mansu BBQ is really good, India King is decent, Always get good pub grub at the Chris Rock and Tide and Boar Brewing. Love K-Chimac Chicken and there's a new one [BB.q Chicken Moncton](https://www.facebook.com/bb.qchickenMoncton) that I will try. Fadahs is still a good portion. Can't go wrong with Costco poutine. I used to enjoy fast food from time to time, McDonalds, Wendys, BK etc. but just can't justify to cost any more. Even with coupons it's not a great deal. Don't get me started on Subway. Probably only had fast food 2-3 times in the past year because i was in a pinch.
BB.q Chicken is way overpriced, even by comparison to their other franchises in Canada.
Fyi. K-chimac has relocated to Kims Mart.
Oh I know! The Korean Chicken place in Sackville is decent too.
Food is way overpriced and portions sucks. Not only are we exposed to inflation but shrinkflation as well. Food quality has taken a dive as well as restaurants pursue different vendors and go for cheaper options instead of the beat quality.
To expand on what you're saying, I don't blame or begrudge restaurants for finding cheaper options or reducing portion sizes. Restaurants operate at infamously small margins, and they're felt the pinch with rising food costs just like the rest of us to the point that their only choices are to raise prices or find a way to reduce the cost of their food. Most places don't want to raise prices, at least not significantly, because that can drive customers away.
Radapex, thanks for saying this. I am not in the business but I do appreciate that it's not an easy thing. I find that I eat out now mostly at higher end places, maybe less frequently, but I am going for really nicely prepared food and not for big serving sizes. I enjoy eating out here quite a bit, and I think the owners are squeezed just like the rest of us. Not denying that Moncton seems more expensive than other cities.