I wish restaurants had a half portion option that isn't a kids meal

2026-10-07 1397 views 2 posts

I’m 14 months in, down 62 lbs, and parked at 203 for seven weeks. Annoying, but not mysterious. Last Saturday I went to a local Italian place for a birthday dinner. I ordered the eggplant appetizer as my entree, ate maybe half, and still brought home enough for two lunches. It was $24 before tip.

I’m not mad at the food — it was good — I’m mad that there’s no middle ground between a giant plate and a kids meal of buttered noodles. I don’t want a discount or a gold star.

I just want a smaller portion priced like a smaller portion, so I’m not throwing away half my meal or forcing myself to eat past the point my body says stop.

On a plateau, every choice feels loaded, and restaurant menus make it harder than it needs to be. Anyone found a polite way to ask for a half order without getting weird looks?

i’ve asked for “mezza porzione” at a couple Italian spots — sometimes they’ll do it off-menu for ~70-75% of the entrée price, not half. My local eggplant app is about 14 oz; I weighed leftovers once and the “appetizer as entrée” thing was still ~700 cal, so it wasn’t really a half portion.

Sharp question: has anyone seen a menu that lists half-portion calories and price side by side? I’d rather compare real numbers than guess before feeling robbed at $24.