I’m at my local supermarket in Sydney and I’m extra stressed.
Half a cauliflower is on sale for $4.20. A small jar of pesto is $5. And when I get to the checkout, the total is more than I’d been planning to spend at the pub.
It gets me thinking – as supermarkets increase profits and the cost-of-living crisis stretches on – is it actually cheaper to cook at home as a young, childless person? Or could I save money and time eating out?
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I set myself a daunting – and delicious – mission. For one week, I will eat pub specials at a different Sydney venue each night. Then I’ll compare those prices with the cost of preparing the same meal at home using ingredients from one of the two biggest supermarkets, Coles and Woolworths.
Here’s how it went.
Monday: steak night
People always look for specials in the aisles but they might not do the same when eating out, says Prof Clare Collins, an expert in nutrition and dietetics at the University of Newcastle.
“You might pay $30 and not blink,” she says.
So, naturally, when I see an $18 special of a sirloin steak and chips with a side salad at the East Village Hotel in Darlinghurst, I think: instant bargain.
This proves very enjoyable – better than what I could have cooked at home. It’s not cheaper than a home-cooked version but it’s a nice way to start the week – especially if your Sunday hangover prevents you from shopping and meal prepping.
Coles ingredients for two: Coles porterhouse steak two-pack with pepper butter, 500g at $19, Coles 4 leaf salad mix 200g at $3.00, Coles French dressing $0.60 (for 100ml), Coles frozen french fries $2 (for 500g), Coles extra virgin olive oil $1.50 (for 100ml), Coles table salt $0.03 (for 10g), Coles premium mushroom or peppercorn sauce $2 (for 100ml).
Cooking at home: $28.13 for two
Pub special: $36 for two
Savings: $7.87 cheaper to cook at home
Tuesday: schnitty night
The next day a friend and I visit the Willoughby hotel in North Sydney for an $18 chicken schnitzel, hot chips and coleslaw, with a slice of lemon. My friend sums it up as “delicious”, and we both decide we couldn’t make it as crispy at home.
Coles ingredients for two: Coles RSPCA approved chicken breast fillet crumb sage & rosemary 400g $18 (for two), McCain’s pub style straight fries $4 (for 500g), Coles kitchen coleslaw salad at $4 (for two), Gravox traditional liquid gravy pouch $2.80, Coles extra virgin olive oil $3.00 (for 200ml), Coles table salt $0.03 (for 10g), one lemon $1.50.
Cooking at home: $33.33 for two
Pub special: $36 for two
Savings: $2.67 cheaper to cook at home
Another option: Lord Dudley in Woollahra offers a $10 schnitty and chips special on Monday nights.
Wednesday: burger night with trivia
Pub specials are pumping across Sydney by the middle of the week, and the Imperial in Erskineville is no exception, offering $15 burgers (truffle mushroom, buttermilk fried chicken or bacon cheeseburger) with a sideof french fries … and trivia.
I go for the vegetarian option and am pleasantly surprised by the generous size of the mushroom. This time my pub meal and my at-home version work out at basically the same price.
Woolworths ingredients for two: Woolworths portobello flat mushrooms punnet $8.50, 1/2 cup of plain flour (too cheap to work out), one free range egg $0.80, Woolworths panko bread crumbs $1.05 (for 100g), Woolworths cheese provolone dolce from the deli $4.50 (for 100g), Fehlbergs burger pickles $1.02 (for 100g), Woolworths baby leaf rocket $1.65 (for 60g), Masterfoods garlic & truffle sauce $1.40 (for 100ml), Tip Top Bakery gourmet burger buns $2.75 (for two), Woolworths extra virgin oil $3.37 (for 250ml), McCain pub style extra crispy chips $4 (for 500g), Essentials table salt $0.03 (for 10g).
Cooking at home: $30.57 for two
Pub special: $30 for two
Savings: $0.57 cheaper to eat out
Thursday: curry night
By now I’m getting pretty sick of hot chips, so I look for flavour and variety, and stumble across a $20 curry night at The Nelson in Bondi Junction. I get the main ingredients from the display sign but borrow from this recipe for spice inspiration. This time, it’s a lot cheaper to eat at home.
Woolworths ingredients for two:Woolworths diced lamb 225g $6.50, one brown onion $0.59, one red onion $0.68, mustard oil $0.55 (per 100ml), cumin seeds $0.81 (for 10g), two green chillies $3.80, vegetable oil $0.47 (for 100ml), two potatoes $1.62, one bay leaf $0.12, one cardamon pod $0.31, ginger paste $0.05, garlic paste $0.05, chilli powder $0.12 (for 1g), Essentials table salt $0.03 (for 10g), 1/2 eggplant $0.80, Mission naan bread garlic & herb $2.05 (for two), Woolworths Greek style yoghurt $0.86 (for 200ml), coriander (too cheap to calculate). Yellow rice: Sunrice microwave basmati rice $4 (for two), Woolworths turmeric ground $0.38 (for 10g), garlic paste $0.05, Essentials salted butter $0.74 (for 50g), one cardamon pod $0.31.
Cooking at home: $24.89 for two
Pub special: $40 for two
Savings: $15.11 cheaper to eat in. Might stick to eating curries at home.
Another option: Cauliflower hotel in Waterloo does a $16 curry night on Tuesdays.
Friday: fish and chips night
It’s Friday! And what better way to enter the weekend than with a classic Friday pub deal – $14 fish and chips at Hotel Regent in Redfern.
This time, the pub is cheaper – and who has the energy to deep-fry whiting after knocking off anyway?
Coles ingredients for two: Birds Eye frozen deli New Zealand whiting crisp light batter fillets $10, one carrot $0.42, one green cucumber $2.50, one quarter red cabbage $1.42, Coles grape perino tomatoes $1.95, Coles 4 leaf salad mix 200g at $3.00, one lemon $1.50, McCain’s pub style straight fries $4 (for 500g), Coles table salt $0.03 (for 10g), Coles extra virgin olive oil $1.50 (for 100ml), Heinz seriously good garlic lovers aioli mayonnaise $3.72 (for 200ml).
Cooking at home: $30.04 for two
Pub special: $28 for two
Savings: $2 cheaper to eat out
Sunday: roast dinner
I have a lovely time going out for a roast and wine for $30 at the Native Rose hotel in Rozelle – even if it would have been cheaper to cook. The beef brisket is tender and tasty, the vegetables are a colourful palette on my plate and the Yorkshire pudding is an unexpected delight.
Collins is also a big believer in pub roast veggies: “You can get different veggies and probably a bigger variety than what you would have made at home.”
Woolworths ingredients for two: Macro beef rump roast $14, two potatoes $1.62, 1/2 cauliflower $2.95, snow peas medium $4.70 (for 150g), one onion $0.59, two yorkshire puddings $1.80, Essentials table salt $0.03 (for 10g), Essentials salted butter $0.74 (for 50g), Woolworths extra virgin oil $2.70 (for 200ml), Gravox traditional liquid gravy pouch $3.
Cooking at home: $32.13 for two
Pub special: $44 for two
Savings: $11.87 cheaper cooking at home
Another option: Royal Oak hotel in Parramatta offers a Sunday roast for $24 (except on game nights).
My findings
By the end of the week I’ve learned two things: it’s not always cheaper to recreate a pub meal at home for two people and eating pub meals every day is not the best way to live.
In total, I spent $107 for my own six meals. That might sound relatively cheap, but I had no leftovers and also felt as if I had eaten a month’s worth of potato in three days.
Gary Sacks, co-director of the Global Centre for Preventive Health and Nutrition at Deakin University, says: “For young people, often the convenience and price trumps the healthiness.”
And as Collins points out, healthy eating at home only works when you plan ahead. One key challenge, she says, is having those pantry staples.
But on the positive: I found pub deals can still be an affordable and enjoyable way for young people to socialise with partners or friends – in moderation.
“I think there’s a midway point between never going out and eating really, really, cheap,” Collins says.
“You don’t have to never ever go out but you’ll enjoy it more and get better value from your hard-earned dollars if you work out your budget beforehand.”
