Ordered a $22 senior "Pan Roasted Barramundi" yesterday (in Doncaster). Does it look like the dish has shrunk a lot in size? Is this a new trend?
Senior Lunch – Are Portions Getting Smaller?
BendBridge on 24/09/2025 - 10:51
Comments
That was my first thought. Need a banana in the picture for scale
That lemon wedge looks as big as a banana on that plate.
Shrinkflation, and we are all becoming numb to it.
Linkin Park warned us about this
It starts with one,
One thing,
I don't know why
It doesn't even matter how hard you try
Just more aware of it.
Its happening everywhere.
So to answer OP's questionNothing new here
Dominos large pizzas have become so small they introduced a new size called extra large to replace the original large pizza
And of course charge more for it.
The large pizzas at dominos haven't changed size in at the very least 10 years, and the current new size is renaming the extra large to family.
Is Senior lunch a venue or common offer? I'm not sure how to compare.
There is a section on the menu for seniors. The portions are generally smaller than their normal counterpart.
It is bigger than the Dollar Dinner I used to get at the Catholic Club in 1990.
Admittedly, you got some jelly and whipped cream as a dessert with that, though.@fredz0r: You could pick roast chicken with green beans, gravy and potatoes or an option like spaghetti/tuna bake/lasagne plus the desert (either jelly or a 4cm cube of cake)
Was $1 until about 1993 then went to $1.50.
Extremely popular with the older set, and was complemented by free bingo about 2pm. I won a glass garlic bread tray!As you can imagine, the focus was on getting people through the doors in the hope they would play some pokies.
For comparison, pizzahut lunchtime buffet was $9.95 I think, so even in 1990 a dollar for lunch was absurdly cheap.
Does it look like the dish has shrunk a lot in size?
Depends what you paid for it - what did you? Business isn't (cross/)subsidizing you unless they have some other revenue source - e.g. pokies.
Depends what you paid for it - what did you?
Ordered a $22 senior "Pan Roasted Barramundi"
Perhaps you need to go here
Agreed.
Speedskim reader.
Portion control
It's a "Seniors Lunch" - you are meant to have dementia and not realize what the last portion size was !!!
It's a double edged sword: An old person can remember what portion sizes used to be like, while a 20 year old is unlikely to know how big the portions used to be in 2005.
I dunno it looks like jail food
Explains why the youth don’t care about being sent to “jail”.
Free rent. Solves the housing crisis.
Damn $22 for a senior and they didn’t even chuck in a serve of chips?
You want them comming back. Not drop dead from Cholesterol.
Who, what, or where is Cholesterol?
Dietary cholesterol has very little to do with blood cholesterol. It's basically a debunked old wives tale at this point. Even the American Heart Association who first pushed the myth has gone back on it.
It's not smaller. You're just getting bigger as you age
As a rule of thumb the cost of the food component of a menu item represents about 25% of the items price. On this basis the portion size would seem about right for cost of $22.00
Junior fish for senior citizen
Are finding that your clothes are also getting smaller?
Use your franking credit money to buy a full size portion.
Ok zoomer - how’s that house deposit going, blowing it all on full-size portions?
You do realise not all Boomer’s are the same? Some people are struggling.
That said I am the sort of Boomer you hate. In my defence I only own one property but the Super, the shares with franking credits and the house bought in the 1990s at a ludicrous but not totally outrageous price. Hell yeah.
My parents are boomers, yet are by no means well off. My wealth surpassed their years ago and I'm not even 40.
That is the point isn’t it. There are Boomers doing very well and Boomers doing not so well. Just as there are people born into wealthy households who will never have a trouble buying a house and those who either don’t have a chance or are lucky enough to do it for themselves. So much of our lives is luck. My parents never got past fourth form equivalent. At one point there were seven of us in a two bedroom house and the only one with their own bed was my little brother in the cot. But the most important thing was to study hard to get further up in life. Then we got the miracle of Gough Whitlam and for one shiny moment University was attainable to anyone. The right time and place and I get a comfortable life, the wrong time and place and I could be someone starving to death in a refugee camp.
That's a fair comment. Boomers should not complain about a $22 fish meal when they bought their house for $30k and its now worth $2m!
If you take the photo closer to the fish it will look bigger.
Good idea. Too many obese people around
Don't think there would be any seniors left that might have had larger portions "back in the day"…
Where in Donny (I am close by)?
Last time that happened to me, I called the waiter over and asked him to take it back. When he asked why I said, "I think you may have sent out a kid's meal instead". Got a full-sized oneThat's a good one. Will try that next time :)
I actually took my 97yo neighbour for a lunch. Didn't recall the serves were that small compared to last time. We are not big eaters but still feel that the meal size has shrunk quite a bit.
they spelt snack size wrong
Nailed it.
Does it look like the dish has shrunk a lot in size? Is this a new trend?
Do you reckon there's a big user base on OzBargain who also eat at the same establishment and eat the same seniors meal as you over a number of years to compare serving sizes and judge if they are getting smaller?
What is this, a school for ants?
But tbh smaller meals = healthier :)
That small?
That fish is 150g at most.
Barra is a lean white fish, low in fat.
So whilst it's possibly chock full of 30g good protein, it's only 150 calories. Not sustainable or healthy.
There's more lemon than green beans.
Couldn't even call it a balanced meal.
Most folk's at least want a bowl of full fat icecream with cream and chocolate topping to fill them up after that.
Sounds healthy.
Are senior meals cheaper? Do I need to have ID?
'Yes' but they are smaller so all your really doing is getting a serve between an entry and a main
As a teen, needed fake ID for underage drinking and as an adult, need fake ID for senior meals. Makes sense, cheers.
It looks like they took the hospitality saying "we're here to feed them, not fatten them" pretty seriously.
That dish probably does represent reasonable value for money for what it is, but I think it would be quite optimistic to call it a "meal".
I mean, you're classified as a senior at 65. Not all seniors are frail little shuffling things with an amputated foot and the other one in the grave.
"Tucker for Really Old Folk Who Aren't Very Hungry" sounds more honest than "Senior's Meal".
Last time I was in the USA I visited ihop, who offer the senior discount to over 55s.
Mind you, their life expectancy is a fair bit lower, so it might work out.
A senior complaining?
I would never have guessed.
I know right. Better bet is someone complaining about a senior…………
Ever noticed how old people walk along letting little farts slip out as they motor along?
They just go about their day as if nothing is happening.
Don't know if they don't know or they've reached that age where they just don't care…
So why do you care?
@try2bhelpful: My grandma used to do it as she got really old. She'd just be pt pt pt ing as she walked around the place.
I adored my grandma, gentle smiles and fond memories. Wonderful, gentle, kind, sweet woman.
Whenever I notice others do it, just gives me fond thoughts of my grandma.
@Muppet Detector: Fair enough then. Frankly I try to ignore other people’s digestive issue unless it clears a room.
@try2bhelpful: But how can you if they're tooting along in front of you in the grocers or standing beside 'em at the bananas?
I'd never say anything or embarrass them, just have a little secret smile to myself and have a thought for my grandma.
@Muppet Detector: In the same way most of us ignore the conversations around us. However, we seriously need to remove the word “like” as a speech tick from some people’s conversation.
However, if the audible punctuation of the colon reminds you of your granny then more power to the tooting throng.
@try2bhelpful: What, you just walk around farting and burping everywhere?
My parents are pretty old, so maybe they were old fashioned, but that's what they insisted on me growing up.
Sorry, I didn't know that wasn't normal, but I do know they instilled a lot of old fashioned practises.
@Muppet Detector: If the farts and burps are pretty quiet who cares frankly? Unless you actually startle someone why embarrass either party? Got to admit I don’t tend to notice people burping or farting but then I’m not looking for it.
@try2bhelpful: All good points, I was just taught that this was a part of good manners, my parents taught me this and expected it of me.
It never occurred to me until now that others may not have been given the same expectations.
I just thought that's what everybody did/knew to do, and those that didn't, had never been taught good manners.
LOL, I grew up where all adults, but particularly those older than me were addressed as Dr, Mr or Mrs. For close family friends, they were "uncle Jo or aunt Mary" kind of thing… I still don't know the first name of many of my parent's friends lol.
Oh, and having to kiss (and be kissed) on the cheek when greeting all those relatives & family friends….. eye roll
All those older than yourself had "right of way" eg supposed to stand back and walk behind them or let them go through doorways/enter places ahead of you.
Never start eating until everybody was seated and until all elders had started. Of course, elders got served first.
Had to ask to be excused from table before leaving at end of meal and that younger ones cleared the table and elders plates etc. whilst they remained seated and yabbered on.
Elders, pregnant or infirm got first dibs on any seats, even if you were there first and they came along sometime later.
And holding car doors etc open wasn't a patriarchy thing, did that for all elders or anybody needing assistance to enter.
In company, children really did speak when they were spoken to and otherwise remained quiet, never interrupting or otherwise engaging in an adult conversation unless you were invited.
Oh, and at family gatherings… of course elders got dibs on everything from beds to bathrooms and other facilities even if those elders were just kids who were older cousins.
And yes, very much gendered role expectations. Girls did the traditional "women's work" and males did those which were traditionally in the male domain.
Many more where they came from, but probably the most obvious ones.
If the farts and burps are pretty quiet who cares frankly?
Just as long as you're aware, that even though you don't mind if others do it, there are plenty of people who, if they are aware, will believe that you're rude or bad mannered if they notice you doing it without the obligatory "excuse me".
It's in the same league as not chewing with your mouth closed or not covering your mouth when you yawn or cough.
Unless you actually startle someone why embarrass either party?
It's not about being embarrassed because your body did something out of your control (nothing to be ashamed of or embarrassed about with that), it's about embarrassing yourself for not "excuse me" and appearing to have bad manners.
I mean, do you say "please" & "thank you"?
Remember farts are particulate. We wore masks in Covid. Would you just cough all over the place and not say "sorry", or attempt to cover your mouth? Even if you couldn't help it/weren't expecting it.
Got to admit I don’t tend to notice people burping or farting but then I’m not looking for it.
If you don't notice it, maybe they're not doing it.
How could you notice something they don't even do?
Nobody would expect them to say "excuse me" because they didn't fart.
@try2bhelpful: In the strictest sense, subjecting another person to your farts could be a common assault which is a criminal offence.
See s245 of Qld Criminal Code, for example.
https://www5.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/qld/consol_act/cc189994…
And s246 of Qld Criminal Code
https://www5.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/qld/consol_act/cc189994…
So, fart in the presence of others at your own risk.
Stuff the size that looks singularly unappetising in general.
If I may make a suggestion for alternatives
https://www.crownmelbourne.com.au/restaurants/bistro-guillau…
$25 steak on Mondays
$25 Coq au Vin on Tuesday’s.Haven’t done the steak but the Coq au Vin was delicious and a decent serve.
Any elderly person complaining about that for $22 should wait 'til they are in an aged care facility to see what they get and what it costs. Last time I was in one - for overnight recovery after an operation - I snuck out and went down to the local fish and chip shop for dinner.
What, no uber eats?
That'd be really rubbing it in, when the uber eats person turned up with something edible.
Nah, I think plenty do it.
They will be used to it.
Hospitals and the like feed you do early, at like 5pm. That's like afternoon tea for most people!
All the uber orders start arriving from 7pm onwards.
All the uber orders start arriving from 7pm onwards.
The one they put me in closes reception and locks the front door at 6. To get in after that you've got to buzz and the nurse for the requisite area has to put a hold on what they're doing - which at that time is trying to feed dementia patients - and go around to the entrance and decide whether you'd be disturbing the resident and whether to let you in.
@GordonD: Unless it is a jail or you're otherwise informed that this won't happen before you consent to admission* that's not your problem. (When doors close/staffing levels)
*how can you agree to T&C that you don't know about?
You are there voluntarily, you are a patient, you are not a prisoner or lawful detainee.
Of course, be decent and consciencous of not doing expecting it during busy times (such as bed & med time for example) if you can.
Apparently, they were able to let you leave to eat elsewhere, so they can also open the door for you to "leave for a few moments, collect your food and then come back inside.*
*unless notified that all outside food prohibited, I suppose.
If you're not a prisoner or otherwise lawfully detained, they can't deprive you of your liberty (if capacity exists)/ lock you up and not let you out even if it is inconvenient for them.
They can lock doors to keep bad dudes or other's of their legal choosing out, but can't keep you in (unless you agree to that of course)/not let you out upon request.
Unlawful Deprivation of liberty is a criminal offence.
Seniors have been getting fatter. This is probably a normal meal for a normal senior.
Damn, the plate looks like it's just warmed up frozen Aldi food.
It's not terrible, but it's at best a $10 entree serve.
$10? Go back to 2015 boomer.
It's a slice of fish not much bigger than a wedge of lemon & then 8 beans to go with it.
When was that ever considered a main portion ?
Shrinkflation is happening on most things - the alternative is passing on price hikes to customers and that is 'much' harder to do in the highly competitive hospitality industry
Ill say portionwise for $22 thats not bad, but quality-wise that looks like something a dog vomited up……..
Chargeback..!
shrinkflation is bad, and it's only going to get worse
Why would you order an old fish?
Senior meal are smaller in size they eat less i personal order senior meal way to help get smaller it dose work
You can afford to eat out?
Shrinkflation is just inflation. The price per 100g goes up. That can mean smaller portions or higher prices. It's just inflation.
I suspect the Beans and Lemons are getting bigger. :+)