Leftovers in restaurants

Yes. We couldn't finish a pizza in Paris and got a box to take out the leftovers. No problem.

There have been a few instances in Europe of not being able to finish a meal and I've never had any issue taking out the leftovers. A French waiter even joked how my "eyes were bigger than my stomach" and even showed some respect that he didn't just have to throw away and waste good food.

We always take leftovers in Europe. It's never been a problem and I'm not sure why people say it is frowned upon in Europe.

There was a time when asking for a "doggie bag" was frowned on. It might be received as an implication the food was fit for dogs. If you asked, it was likely considered uncouth and met with a frown.

Today, the trend is against wasted food and taking your leftovers home, to eat later, is not frowned on at all.

We also ask for "a box" now. I can't remember the last time I heard the term "doggie bag"?

At least 15 years ago I was able to take out some unfinished Florentine steak from a restaurant.

You can certainly ask about the amount of salt used in a dish but in most restaurants the majority of dishes are prepared as a whole. We don't need public officials sticking their noses in, telling chefs how to cook their food.

As I read the post, my mind keeps thinking...litigation. Canada has gone from passing excess prepared foods to street shelters and soup kitchens to the garbage, rather than risk litigation.
There is a reason there is a thriving and well fed portion of society that dumpster dives for food....so much wasted food.
I only order as much as I can eat, and why I tend to only eat out at lunch when dinner culture is multiple courses.

"You can certainly ask about the amount of salt used in a dish but in most restaurants the majority of dishes are prepared as a whole. We don't need public officials sticking their noses in, telling chefs how to cook their food."
I am very much against over regulation, but in this case not too sure. I have high blood pressure (and so do a very large number of Americans) and my doctor has told me to limit my salt intake. I have reviewed many restaurant nutrition charts and for all of them the majority of entrees the sodium (salt) content was above the daily sodium limit. Some even had no entrees below the daily limit. Yes, I do avoid those restaurants but how many people look at the nutrition charts?? How do you explain a plain baked potato, with no toppings, exceeding the daily sodium limit? This is not an isolated incidence.

Bob, I hear you. It seems salt saturates all kinds of foods, as does sugar. It's almost shocking to read the amount of salt and sugar on food labels.

More to the point, I loathe wasting food. At our local schools kids dump half-full trays into the trash can every meal.

@Big Mike. I also see the waste in schools. Two huge factors play into this. 1) rules about what must be included in each meal, whether the student wants it or not. 2) ridiculously short times to eat a meal in before they are required to dump tray and move on.

Thanks guys, I've read in other forums that it's not necessary to have leftovers in restaurants in Europe because the portions are smaller and many smaller restaurants are loath to stock food containers.

Some of these laws require that restaurants not charge for taking leftovers.

In some countries, they discount food if you take away.

I don't mind paying for dine-in price but I'd rather not eat the whole portions if there's a lot of salt. Of course you'd have to have some kind of kitchen facilities where you're staying, either a vacation apt. or a place with at least a fridge and microwave, also utensils.

Well in a couple of weeks I'm going on an Andalusia trip so it should be interesting there.

This may be an American cultural thing, I don't think I've ever needed or felt the urge to take away my leftovers in Europe. If there is even leftovers so insignificant. I attribute this to the fact that portion sizes are much more realistic in Europe than in the US.

@Carlos I haven't done it in a while, but once the restaurants reopened in 2021 here in France, we took home half our food several times. Maybe after eating only at home for over a year, we had smaller appetites. I was surprised at how delighted so many places were that we weren't going to waste their food.
But now that I think about it, we haven't carried anything home in a long time. I guess we're eating too much again.

Bob, listing ingredients in store bought processed food is understandable. Telling a chef worth his or her mustard (or salt) which ingredients they can use is like telling a novelist which words they can use.

I’ve asked for a box only once in Europe and it certainly wasn’t an issue.
As for the salt content - It is rare to be served food that has enough salt - for me anyway. I really dislike how restaurants - here and abroad do not always put salt and pepper on the tables. In Europe I will sometimes bring my own - often saving the packets from my flight.
I don’t have high blood pressure and in fact not everyone is at risk of raising their blood pressure from salt consumption.

One good thing is that a lot of places have olive oil and balsamic as well as salt and pepper at the tables so you can make your salad as salty as you want it.

All I can do is ask. Has to be a lot of people trying to limit their salt.

2) ridiculously short times to eat a meal in before they are required to dump tray and move on.

Carol n.r., I wholeheartedly agree. My grandson chooses to pack a lunch every day rather than get a meal from his middle school cafeteria. I asked him why, since I know he likes some of the items they have, and he said that they only have 20 minutes to eat and after waiting in line to get the food, there's no time left to eat. I'm glad since his packed lunch is probably healthier, but it's still a shame.

Carol now retired, good points. I would add that from what I've observed that students generally have enough time to eat, but they often don't want the healthy stuff like green beans, spinach, and things of that nature.

Even when there's not a lot of time to eat, you can bet they're eating the fun food like hamburgers and pizza, and the healthy food gets thrown away.

One more thing about salt. A lot of people love Virginia ham, but my goodness it's like eating a salt lick with meat.

Gundersen, you've reminded me of one of my favorite lines from "Amadeus." The king/emperor remarked that Mozart's music "had too many notes."

It’s not just food. We’ve been able to take away a partial bottle of wine that wasn’t emptied during the meal. You don’t have to down an entire 750ml bottle, or pay for just 3 glasses worth and leave the rest. Waitstaff have been good enough to find a firm that could be stuffed in the bottle for us to bring the remainder home without spillage.

Leftovers? What is this thing called leftovers? Could it be food remaining on your plate at the end if a meal? If there is food left uneaten, it could only be that it is not appetizing enough. In which case, why would I want to take it away with me? And when I get back to my hotel room, what am I supposed to do with it? How do I safely store it? How do I reheat it? Where do I get the china and silverware with which to eat these sad remains? ; )

I have been taking home the rest of my meal from German restaurants for over 30 years and no one has ever blinked an eye. Did this in Spain too a couple of times when we had pizza and it was too much.

You can certainly tell the server that you prefer no extra salt (like on your fries, eggs, etc), but I bet that the food here has a lot less sodium than what you get in the US.

Thanks guys, I've read in other forums that it's not necessary to have leftovers in restaurants in Europe because the portions are smaller and many smaller restaurants are loath to stock food containers.

I have found smaller portions to be true. I also find I usually prepare for a restaurant meal by not eating too much for lunch or a breakfast if I plan on a larger lunch. I generally don't have a fridge in the room or a microwave for leftovers and honestly, I don't care so much for leftovers at home.

It's not a matter of cost as far as my taking leftovers. It's more about controlling salt intake.

For instance, as much as I love pasta, it would be better to have half a portion than the entire primo. I suppose I can just eat half of it and they would have to discard the rest, but it would be waste of food.

Going to Spain next month, specifically Andalusia so it's going to be temping with all the tapas. At least those portions are relatively small.

As it turns out, I did book mostly vacation apartments so I believe some or all of them have kitchens or kitchenettes -- I didn't book them specifically because they had kitchens but it turned out that way.

We learned that you never ask for a "Doggie Bag." This could be misinterpreted as an insult. We never had the slightest problem asking for a take home container and made sure we complimented positively on the food, "This is so good, we want to enjoy all of it later, and not waste it." Thought tipping isn't important in Europe we will tip for a box. And don't expect the waiter to box it for you. :)

The places we go to, are usually neighborhood establishments, off the path. They tend to have much larger portions than the central, tourist restaurants.

I often want to share a serving with my husband when we travel as I find all the food over weeks to be just too much. At home, I would have no issue with telling them we were going to share something, but in Europe since they don't turn over their tables like we do, I always feel like I shouldn't ask to share a meal between two people. Thoughts on this from the forum?

Some places offer foods to share, instead of anything like a main course. But I think those places want to sell you drinks while several people nibble on small portions.

Often mezzes at Arabic or "Mediterranean" restaurants.

Going to Spain next month, specifically Andalusia so it's going to be temping with all the tapas. At least those portions are relatively small.

I've learned that Tapas is sometimes confusing and intimidating for foreigners. A piece of advice, don't expect that the tapas are all small or cheap, often foreigners are surprised when their tapas order comes and they found they have over ordered and over payed. Take it slow and pace yourself, order 1-2 tapas at once then if wanting more order another round of 1-2 or move on to the next tapas bar. Also know that there are Tapas and Raciones, Tapas are small plates to share between 1-2 people while Raciones are larger portions of food that are meant to be shared by a group of people.

Thanks, Granada is one of the places I'll be going to -- haven't been in 10 years.

They used to give you a tapa for each drink you ordered. Don't know if that's still the case though or if other Andalusian towns where I'll be visiting have the same tradition.

Or if they would give you a tapa for a non-alcoholic drink.

It is not uncommon in Germany to ask for an extra plate if you want to share a meal. They may charge you a euro for it.
You might want to consider ordering appetizers instead of a full meal, or ask them if they do half-portions. You might be surprised by how many places do this.

To the poster who said tipping was not important in European countries. Europe has well over 20 countries and each country is different. Tipping is important in many of them, just not the excessive style that the USA has. 5-10% is normal, but if your service was bad, you do not need to tip anything at all. No one will chase you down the street.

Some restaurants will box the rest of your meal for you, others won't. Depends on the restaurant and how busy they are.

Thanks, Granada is one of the places I'll be going to -- haven't been in 10 years.

They used to give you a tapa for each drink you ordered. Don't know if that's still the case though or if other Andalusian towns where I'll be visiting have the same tradition.

Or if they would give you a tapa for a non-alcoholic drink.

They still give out free tapas with a drink, but only in Granada, and mostly it's for alcoholic drinks, not sodas or things like that. You may get away with a free tapa with non-alcoholic beer.

If looking for an authentic Tapas Bar in Granada I can recommend Bar Provincias, last time I was there it was only locals eating there.

I will check out Bar Provincia, thanks for the recommendation.

Just saw a photo of a menu for La Sponda, at the La Sireneuse hotel in Positano.

For the I Carni section, it says there’s a 20% surcharge for half portions.

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g194863-d1116369-Reviews-Ristorante_La_Sponda-Positano_Amalfi_Coast_Province_of_Salerno_Campania.html#photos;aggregationId=101&albumid=101&filter=7&ff=490288582

So they probably aren’t letting you take leftovers home for free.

:(

Ms. Jo, we almost always share meals over here. Often a big salad and a main dish. I do not understand how people can eat a typical restaurant meal without putting on a lot of weight. The calories alone for one meal is sometimes as much or more calories than a person needs in an entire day.

Sadly, I gave up pommes/fries a long time ago.

Mary reminded me that we once got "the look" from a waiter in Paris when we took out leftovers. I don't recall because, frankly, I don't give a you-know-what.

I will say again that most restaurants will give you a box to put your meal in.- they won't do it for you. You may get strange looks and don't call it a "doggy-bag" like we did but they usually understand. We've never gone to the poshest restaurants so maybe those are different but honestly, it's better to take your food home with you rather than throwing it away.

As for tipping, in all the restaurants I've gone to, tipping is preferred. Maybe not the 20% but most places now do demand a tip. Blame the Americans. As always if food or service wasn't good, feel free to reduce tip.
I've even noticed now that Europe has the annoying North American tip jars in coffee bars and cafes when you order at the register.