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How to Eat Out
It has taken Giles Coren a lifetime to master the art of eating out. From a lonely childhood spent in pub car parks, peering in at a magical world of chickens in baskets and butter in little foil squares, to belching his way through taste clouds of prawn gas and chocolate air at 'the best restaurant in the world', to mock dog in Shoreditch, sperm sushi in Tokyo and delicious fricasseed field mouse in 'Ancient' Rome, Coren has experienced pretty much everything a restaurant can throw at you, and thrown it right back. Or at least caught it, sniffed it, and bagged it up for later. Bad waiters, bum tables, little rip-offs, big cons, old fish, cheap meat, yesterday's soup and tomorrow's gastroenteritis... Coren tells you how to avoid the lot, and even come out of it with free champagne and a dish named after you by way of apology. It doesn't matter if it's fish and chips, takeaway pizza, a medieval banquet with Sue Perkins or a slap-up nosh at the Hotel de Posh, there is always a right way and wrong way to do it.How To Eat Out is a bit of both.
286 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 2012
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160 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 47 reviews
March 20, 2013
I know how to eat at restaurants. I'm not a dick. Coren is, however. I found his casual racism and misogyny very off-putting.
April 16, 2023
How do you identify a good Chinese restaurant? Look in the window and see how many Jews are eating there. I can’t even tell if he’s joking. This is a complete waste of time.
Did. Not. Even. Attempt. To. Finish.
Did. Not. Even. Attempt. To. Finish.
April 14, 2022
Here’s the thing, I am not a big (or, for that matter, any type of ) fan of Mr Coren. But I do appreciate good writing, especially when it comes to food, and he does write rather well. I also like his honesty. The book is a decade old, so it does feel dated sometimes. Still, I’ll keep it simple… 5 solid stars for the writing, minus 2 for our main protagonist and some of the things he says.
August 7, 2012
a thoroughly enjoyable book, for what it was. i'm not a fan of coren the person - his hideous sexism, see for example his daily mail article which i won't link to but which inspired this far superior response: http://ssy.org.uk/2011/01/giles-coren.... fuck his sexist, racist arse. and don't say "chicks", giles, it's cringeworthy in a middle-class restaurant critic pushing 40.
nevertheless, this book is good. it's funny. it's provacative. it's overall not too shitty about women but isn't great about different cultures. i feel guilty about ordering steak and eating bread, now, though i choose to differ to coren on pizza express. maybe it's because i've grown up in a processed food sugary culture blah blah, but i like it.
nevertheless, this book is good. it's funny. it's provacative. it's overall not too shitty about women but isn't great about different cultures. i feel guilty about ordering steak and eating bread, now, though i choose to differ to coren on pizza express. maybe it's because i've grown up in a processed food sugary culture blah blah, but i like it.
January 23, 2013
Although this is largely extracts from his Times restaurant reviews, strung together with some new narrative, it really works.
Unlike similar works, like Charlie Brookers Dawn of the Dumb, it reads like a book, with a coherent narrative and some surprisingly personal relationships are exposed - such as that between Coren and his famous father and the late Micheal Winner.
Crucially it is full of the humour for which Coren is known (when writing). Even a shameless plug of his Supersizers... TV series (something I consciously avoided) in the final chapter did not remove the lustre of this enjoyable collection.
Unlike similar works, like Charlie Brookers Dawn of the Dumb, it reads like a book, with a coherent narrative and some surprisingly personal relationships are exposed - such as that between Coren and his famous father and the late Micheal Winner.
Crucially it is full of the humour for which Coren is known (when writing). Even a shameless plug of his Supersizers... TV series (something I consciously avoided) in the final chapter did not remove the lustre of this enjoyable collection.
December 7, 2012
I really really hate myself for giving this four stars, because Giles Coren is an unabashed pain in the arse, and also an unabashed bigot. If you're gonna read this book, you should know that, going in.
But god, he can write about food, and media geek me enjoyed his insider's view of The Supersizers Eat/Go, one of my fav British programmes of the last several years.
Just be prepared to throw it across the room a few times.
But god, he can write about food, and media geek me enjoyed his insider's view of The Supersizers Eat/Go, one of my fav British programmes of the last several years.
Just be prepared to throw it across the room a few times.
June 12, 2020
I feel very conflicted about Giles Coren...
On the one hand, I think he's an excellent writer, unafraid to court controversy and speak his mind, no matter the consequences. There's an unbridled passion to what he does, he writes in a bombastic and truthful manner about the things that mean the most to him, chiefly being restaurants and our relationship to food in the age of junk food obesity, globalised chains and ever-growing foodie culture.
On the other, I can't help wonder if he really believes what he writes, instead imbuing a character that the reader will either love or hate, but crucially, won't stop reading about. At times, I think he is necessarily cruel and vitriolic for mere 'shock value', debasing certain cultures and countries for the price of a few deep intakes of breath from his audience. Though to be fair, he does write about the myth of the critic, and how divorces his reputation from his real-life persona.
A very clever man, who has written a very interesting and relatable book about dining out: the rituals, our own hang ups, what to order and where, etc.
I'm just not sure how much of it I believe.
On the one hand, I think he's an excellent writer, unafraid to court controversy and speak his mind, no matter the consequences. There's an unbridled passion to what he does, he writes in a bombastic and truthful manner about the things that mean the most to him, chiefly being restaurants and our relationship to food in the age of junk food obesity, globalised chains and ever-growing foodie culture.
On the other, I can't help wonder if he really believes what he writes, instead imbuing a character that the reader will either love or hate, but crucially, won't stop reading about. At times, I think he is necessarily cruel and vitriolic for mere 'shock value', debasing certain cultures and countries for the price of a few deep intakes of breath from his audience. Though to be fair, he does write about the myth of the critic, and how divorces his reputation from his real-life persona.
A very clever man, who has written a very interesting and relatable book about dining out: the rituals, our own hang ups, what to order and where, etc.
I'm just not sure how much of it I believe.
December 23, 2017
I'm not sure if someone unfamiliar with Coren would love this book as much as I did, but I found his frank and funny prose as wonderful to read as he is to watch.
October 30, 2018
Giggled out loud throughout.....
November 27, 2024
Wasn't a fan of the fatphobia or the blatant racism towards South and East Asians.
December 18, 2025
Quite informational, never really like how Giles Corey write.
September 20, 2015
Crossposted to 238 books in 238 days.
-----
As a restaurant critic for the Times, Giles Coren eats out a lot. He's got a lot of anecdotes to share, be it about inexistent customer service, the change in restaurant culture or people he met. Mostly though he talks about food, and you should have eaten when you read this. I've had it read to me while cooking dinner, and that was torture.
What is missing from this is a love for what he does. Occasionaly, when describing a meal with his parents when he was a young boy, or when discovering a new restaurant in his area, or when talking about the "Supersizers..." you can feel a bit of magic. But that is rare, and mostly he just moans about things. I don't know whether he lost interest or whether he thought bad anecdotes would be funnier, but it makes for a slightly depressing read, and seeing how this is supposed to be his job and his passion, it paints a rather moody picture.
What you should have done before picking this up is reading some of his other writings - columns and whatnot. Because Giles Coren has got his own style, and to be absolutely honest, it is provocative bordering on annoying. There are some astute observations, some funny things, and some things that are supposed to be funny but fail to hit the mark. At least I'm guessing that's what he's aiming for, because there is absolutely no casual racism or sexism when it comes to those topics (indeed he speaks out against it), but lots of it when he's trying to add funny metaphors where they're a bit out of context. So, if you aren't already familiar with that, you shouldn't try this book either.
There is one big problem with this book though, and that is the fact that he apparently pieced together some columns and some extra writing - into something extraordinarily incoherent. This doesn't read like a book at all, more like a series of ramblings with no apparent goal whatsoever. Granted, they're interesting ramblings, but ramblings nonetheless. Some sort of structure would have helped to make this a lot more readable. As it is, I don't recommend reading it all in one go.
(On a sidenote, seeing how I got interested in Giles because I adore his sister Victoria - he should have let her help with the structuring, because For Richer, for Poorer: A Love Affair with Poker works beautifully in that regard.)
-----
As a restaurant critic for the Times, Giles Coren eats out a lot. He's got a lot of anecdotes to share, be it about inexistent customer service, the change in restaurant culture or people he met. Mostly though he talks about food, and you should have eaten when you read this. I've had it read to me while cooking dinner, and that was torture.
What is missing from this is a love for what he does. Occasionaly, when describing a meal with his parents when he was a young boy, or when discovering a new restaurant in his area, or when talking about the "Supersizers..." you can feel a bit of magic. But that is rare, and mostly he just moans about things. I don't know whether he lost interest or whether he thought bad anecdotes would be funnier, but it makes for a slightly depressing read, and seeing how this is supposed to be his job and his passion, it paints a rather moody picture.
What you should have done before picking this up is reading some of his other writings - columns and whatnot. Because Giles Coren has got his own style, and to be absolutely honest, it is provocative bordering on annoying. There are some astute observations, some funny things, and some things that are supposed to be funny but fail to hit the mark. At least I'm guessing that's what he's aiming for, because there is absolutely no casual racism or sexism when it comes to those topics (indeed he speaks out against it), but lots of it when he's trying to add funny metaphors where they're a bit out of context. So, if you aren't already familiar with that, you shouldn't try this book either.
There is one big problem with this book though, and that is the fact that he apparently pieced together some columns and some extra writing - into something extraordinarily incoherent. This doesn't read like a book at all, more like a series of ramblings with no apparent goal whatsoever. Granted, they're interesting ramblings, but ramblings nonetheless. Some sort of structure would have helped to make this a lot more readable. As it is, I don't recommend reading it all in one go.
(On a sidenote, seeing how I got interested in Giles because I adore his sister Victoria - he should have let her help with the structuring, because For Richer, for Poorer: A Love Affair with Poker works beautifully in that regard.)
July 23, 2013
I started off hating this - Mr Coren comes across an arrogant snob. But at least he's an honest, arrogant snob and one with clear ability to write.
In fact, the more I read, the more I found I agreed with him; how fashion dictates the increasingly ludicrous lengths top-end restaurants go to,
how irrelevant the obsession with authenticity in imported cuisines really is (frankly an "authentic" Indian meal should be a bowl of rice, cooked in
dirty water over a fire made of dried cow-dung). Most of the time he's right; a restaurant's food is probably good enough.
I also found myself agreeing with his frustration that entering a restaurant or hotel is like playing a game; a high quality experience
is available but the staff always make achieving it very challenging.
I'm in complete agreement with him about Pizza Express as well. I remember large, rustic and tasty pizzas in the early 1990s. Several years later I visited for the first time in a while and was shocked to see how much smaller and less interesting the pizzas were.
There are some purple sections, obviously lifted directly from his reviews, but there are also some laugh out loud funny moments (I shall tread carefully when I'm next on a French beach). And I definitely share his complete inability to find restaurants, bars or pretty much anything listed in guide books, with the exception of the largest tourist attractions.
I was slightly suspicious of how he claims clear memories of eating out in the 1970s, given that he's five years younger than me and I don't. But he does suffer from the old adage "when you finally got back to your boyhood town you realised it wasn't the town you missed, it was your boyhood".
All in all an irritating but entertaining book. Though I am glad I don't know Mr Coren personally.
In fact, the more I read, the more I found I agreed with him; how fashion dictates the increasingly ludicrous lengths top-end restaurants go to,
how irrelevant the obsession with authenticity in imported cuisines really is (frankly an "authentic" Indian meal should be a bowl of rice, cooked in
dirty water over a fire made of dried cow-dung). Most of the time he's right; a restaurant's food is probably good enough.
I also found myself agreeing with his frustration that entering a restaurant or hotel is like playing a game; a high quality experience
is available but the staff always make achieving it very challenging.
I'm in complete agreement with him about Pizza Express as well. I remember large, rustic and tasty pizzas in the early 1990s. Several years later I visited for the first time in a while and was shocked to see how much smaller and less interesting the pizzas were.
There are some purple sections, obviously lifted directly from his reviews, but there are also some laugh out loud funny moments (I shall tread carefully when I'm next on a French beach). And I definitely share his complete inability to find restaurants, bars or pretty much anything listed in guide books, with the exception of the largest tourist attractions.
I was slightly suspicious of how he claims clear memories of eating out in the 1970s, given that he's five years younger than me and I don't. But he does suffer from the old adage "when you finally got back to your boyhood town you realised it wasn't the town you missed, it was your boyhood".
All in all an irritating but entertaining book. Though I am glad I don't know Mr Coren personally.
March 23, 2015
I got to know Giles Coren , the restaurant critic for The Times for the last fifteen years or so, through the television program “Edwardian Supersize me” and the series it spawned: “The Supersizers go…”. It was a rip-off of Morgan Spurlock’s concept (you know, the guy who ate all his meals at McDonalds for a month), applied to the history of food. Now, I do not care overly much about the details of the British diet in the Victorian, Regency and Restoration periods, but the programs were carried by the irrepressible charm and wit of the presenters: Sue Perkins, the funniest woman on earth, and Mr Coren. He managed to hold his own next to the force of nature that is Miss Perkins.
But I got to love him after reading the fire-and-brimstone e-mail he sent to his (sub)editors at The Times, when one of them had the temerity to tinker with his copy: óne word was removed from his review, and the word was “a”. Some people might think this reaction to have been a wee bit over the top (the bufflehead colleague who leaked the mail and the doofus who wrote up the story for The Guardian certainly did so) but to my way of thinking this shows Mr Coren to be a guy passionate about his writing and good at it and, in this case, one hundred percent right. You can read the e-mail here, it is great fun: http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2008/...
But I got to love him after reading the fire-and-brimstone e-mail he sent to his (sub)editors at The Times, when one of them had the temerity to tinker with his copy: óne word was removed from his review, and the word was “a”. Some people might think this reaction to have been a wee bit over the top (the bufflehead colleague who leaked the mail and the doofus who wrote up the story for The Guardian certainly did so) but to my way of thinking this shows Mr Coren to be a guy passionate about his writing and good at it and, in this case, one hundred percent right. You can read the e-mail here, it is great fun: http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2008/...
October 5, 2015
Lots of good laughs in this - it begins with some touching stories of his much-loved father Alan, and continues through various themed chapters loaded with disgusting similes, hit-and-miss jokes and some moments of stunning writing worthy of his dad.
You won't enjoy this if you find Giles Coren's writing condescending or tiresome, but it's mostly free from the smarminess and name-dropping that can infect his restaurant reviews, and explores its subjects at greater length and depth.
It's padded out with a couple of reheated newspaper columns near the end, but I liked the platefuls of advice (literally - they're printed with knife and fork either side) about tipping, booking, ordering, wine, complaining etc.
You won't enjoy this if you find Giles Coren's writing condescending or tiresome, but it's mostly free from the smarminess and name-dropping that can infect his restaurant reviews, and explores its subjects at greater length and depth.
It's padded out with a couple of reheated newspaper columns near the end, but I liked the platefuls of advice (literally - they're printed with knife and fork either side) about tipping, booking, ordering, wine, complaining etc.
January 3, 2017
Part self-deprecating memoir, part gleefully scathing rant about the horrors of being paid to eat in restaurants at someone else's expense, this is a very funny book indeed. But I wouldn't recommend you read it in a restaurant, since (a) the proprietor might eject you even for a vicarious association with the sharp-tongued Mr Coren, (b) you might be tempted to say something savage to him or her a la manière de Mr Coren, and (c) you might wet yourself laughing, which is a serious breach of etiquette in all but a few eating houses (most of them branches of McDonalds, where they've seen it all). Bon appetit !
January 26, 2013
On the whole, this was alright I guess. Giles can be a bit of a dick at the best of times, but the book was a gift so I thought I'd give it a chance.
This book comprises a dogs dinner of old reviews, vaguely bodged together to suggest this is some kind of instruction manual. Mostly its funny enough, but toward the end Giles starts to get so ill and gouty that it puts you off your own food. In the final chapter *spoiler alert* he explains everything he hates about his job, of eating, and reviewing, and would rather be eating baked potatoes at home.
I suggest you give this one a miss.
This book comprises a dogs dinner of old reviews, vaguely bodged together to suggest this is some kind of instruction manual. Mostly its funny enough, but toward the end Giles starts to get so ill and gouty that it puts you off your own food. In the final chapter *spoiler alert* he explains everything he hates about his job, of eating, and reviewing, and would rather be eating baked potatoes at home.
I suggest you give this one a miss.
May 27, 2013
Really enjoyed this. Being of a similar age, I recognised many of the restaurant types of my childhood (even if separated by 200 miles and financial differences).
Some moving sections about meals with his parents and, later, his father.
Only disappointment was the last section on the SuperSizers as it felt thrown in and hurried. Overall, genuinely funny part autobiography part restaurant review.
Some moving sections about meals with his parents and, later, his father.
Only disappointment was the last section on the SuperSizers as it felt thrown in and hurried. Overall, genuinely funny part autobiography part restaurant review.
March 2, 2014
Maybe it's because I'm not British and I don't like to be called a "foodie", but this book su***. Haven't heard of Mr Coren before but it seems he's quite well known in his homecountry, which only means that he can shout loud enough. Unfortunately he comes across as a pr**k and as if he had invented the concept of eating out .... and even the French don't know how to do it (they don't even have parking right in front of their restaurants).
June 29, 2012
Giles Coren is a restaurant critic, star of BBC's 'The Supersizer's Go..', son of Alan and brother of Victoria. 'How to Eat Out' is about food and restaurants, with some autobiography thrown in for good measure. Coren is funny, acerbic and opinionated. The book occasionally feels like a series of columns, but it is a great read and very entertaining.
September 22, 2012
Giles Coren's highly entertaining xenophobic, snobbish rants are familiar to readers of his restaurant reviews in The Times newspaper. I found this collection on dining at times laugh-out-loud funny. A particularly enjoyable read for anyone who grew up in North-West London in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
June 20, 2013
For better or worse, Giles Coren is a literate Jeremy Clarkson. He is funny enough to get away with his slightly edgy xenophobia, really because it seems like an act and you never truly believe he means it. Episodic and disorganised (if it is even supposed to be organised) but laugh out loud funny at times.
October 10, 2013
Bought this book on the spur of the moment (is there any other way to buy books?) and enjoyed most of it. Not having grown up in Britain, some of the references went over my head a bit; some passages felt a bit rushed almost like the writer just wanted to be done with writing the book, but overall it was a nice, funny, little read, part autobiography, part excellent advice.
October 6, 2018
Coren is a misogynist ass-hole, but he knows food, and he knows how to write about food. If you know what you are diving into this book is possible to enjoy and you get some smart tips for you eating habits. If you say that you cant read this because of his lack of humanity, then remember that strindberg was a horrible person and he is one of the most respected authora in history.
August 20, 2012
Pretty self indulgent and not very compelling. I love reading about food and having grown up in north london I should be the target audience for this. I went to have the restaurants he's talking about going to as a kid when I was a kid but it's just not interesting enough to keep me engaged.
October 28, 2012
An enjoyable read. Especially liked the Japan chapter. It looks rather like a compilation of articles but perhaps I am wrong.
Enjoyed it enough to wish I had not come to the end.
Surprised to see on page 231 nearly an entire paragraph repeated, fire the copywriter!
Enjoyed it enough to wish I had not come to the end.
Surprised to see on page 231 nearly an entire paragraph repeated, fire the copywriter!
January 29, 2013
Great start. Tailed off towards the end. Really enjoyed the sentimental family reminiscences in particular and the guy wiping the steak on the floor to make it taste French. Sound real laugh out loud moments in the first half, with filler towards the end.
February 25, 2013
Giles Coren is brilliant. He is exceptionally funny leaving me to laugh aloud several times a chapter. It's more of a autobiography than an actual guide but it was brilliant and I finished it in a day. I would strongly recommend it!
April 5, 2013
Laugh out loud funny and full of top tips for eating out. Giles campaigned to ensure that tap water on the table stopped the bottled water rip-off and offers sensible advice on why you shouldn't gorge yourself on bread and how to tip fairly.
June 3, 2013
Hilarious and entertaining, this book is much more comedy than a real guide on how to eat out. It will be loved by everyone who enjoys a good laugh. You certainly can't say that Giles has led a boring life!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 47 reviews