Things That Make People Immediately Say 'No' To Eating At A Restaurant
Reddit user TREE__FR0G asked: 'What’s an immediate ‘no’ that makes you not want to eat at a restaurant?'
Hungry customers could think of plenty of reasons to try out a new restaurant.
It could be good word of mouth found on Yelp reviews, a personal recommendation, or just plain curiosity in the spirit of adventure.
And while diners can be influenced and easily persuaded to walk into an eatery they haven't tried before, customers are not without the certain criteria they're entitled to.
Curious to hear from strangers who may have reservations about making a reservation, Redditor TREE__FR0G asked:
"What’s an immediate ‘no’ that makes you not want to eat at a restaurant?"
The smell from inside a restaurant should draw potential customers in, not repulse them.
Unpleasant Odor
"The smell. General cleanliness but most importantly, is the bathroom clean?"
– ibetyouranerd
"Years ago I walked into a local restaurant and the smell killed my appetite. It reeked of cigarette smoke and mold. The restaurant was sold and the new owner abolished smoking and throughly cleaned the place. He said the hood in the kitchen had so much grease and crud it that it looked it had never been cleaned. Now, the place is spotless and is a great place to eat at."
– phred_666
An Establishment's Short Lifespan
"Yeah there was a new restaurant that opened about 10 years ago, the smell the moment you walked into the door was raw sewage, they said it’s a plumbing issue, we lost our appetite and left. That place closed in a month."
– Omegaprimus
Exterminators Have Good Scents
"Exterminators know a certain smell that’s an immediate no-go. Roaches in abundance give off a sweet type of smell and I will literally turn right around and leave."
– otterplus
Dirty tables are an instant customer-deterrent.
Sour Rags
"Ugh, yeah and when they wipe down your table (with some dirty old snot rag that's probably never been cleaned, it even rinsed out) and the smell fills your nose after the murky brown drops pool on the table where you are now expected to eat."
"That's after the waiter smears around the jelly from the previous customer and pushes all the table crumbs onto your lap."
"Pro tip: you are supposed to cup your hand as you wipe so the crumbs accumulate in the palm of your hand. You start on one straight edge and wipe from one corner along the edge to the other. Then you turn your cupped hand, ready to begin the next pass and so you kind of catch the crumbs."
"No one likes someone else's crumbs brushed onto their lap!!"
– Th3_Last_FartBender
Unsanitary Cleaning Supplies
"Sticky tables. Tells me they reuse their dirty wash rags and don’t change out the sanitizer water they use in the buckets and nothing is clean or sanitized in there. Oh and spots on cups and utensils."
– Known-Pop-8355
For some, ambiance is everything.
Conversation Drowner
"Loud sh**ty music."
– porpoisebay
"A small band or single person on a keyboard crammed onto a makeshift 'stage area' with a poorly balanced slightly sh**ty sound system so that you can neither hear nor enjoy hanging out with the person you’re a foot and a half away from."
– PillsburyDohMeeple
No Audio Control
"You ever been in a car where the musics too loud and you can’t hear what the person next to you is saying? Imagine that but you can’t turn it down."
– Northern_boah
Off-Key Performer
"We went to a family style seafood restaurant about a month ago on vacation. It had been a large fish-camp style eatery for years, at least since the 80s, with lots of tables with holes in them for the oyster and clam shells from roasts. Big with retirees and young families."
"The restaurant is shaped like a large rectangle. They had taken the middle of the back wall and turned it into a stage- where, that night, a man was playing a guitar and singing, 4 octaves off and the speakers cranked to 11. It was 6 pm. We asked how much longer he would be playing. 2 hours."
"We left."
"Old on top, new on bottom. https://ibb.co/LnXXd3r"
– GetYerThumOutMeArse
These observations are very telling.
Desperate Cry For Help
"A sign complaining about how short-staffed they are because 'no one wants to work.'"
"I'm out."
– TheVoicesOfBrian
"I stopped patronizing a small local tavern for this reason. I liked going for a few cold ones and lunch on the weekends. Owner was a royal douche. Food quality went downhill. And then he'd complain online about no help. I'm like dude, I wouldn't work for you either."
– mistlet0ad
Disgruntled Staff
"If most or all of the employees are visibly unhappy. I don't want to do business with a place that doesn't respect their employees or our community."
– deathByAlgebra
Absent Pricing
"Prices not on menu... and refusing to answer when asked what they are."
"This happened to me a couple of months ago."
– cheesewiz_man
“'Market price' equals 'you pay what we tell you to pay. Cause I don’t see anyone else selling fish at this restaurant.'”
– bigno53
I have a sensitive sense of smell, so all it takes for me to nope my way out of patronizing an establishment is a foul odor.
The source could come from mold or reused mop water or who knows what.
I don't care how good the food is. If businesses can't keep a properly clean restaurant, who's to say they don't have a sanitized kitchen as well.
Years ago I worked in a restaurant that served some very popular ribs and steaks.
Ribs and steaks were what this restaurant did best. Honestly, it should have never gone anywhere near fish, but it did, and it served it anyway. (Sorry about that.)
The number of customers who were disappointed in the fish? Quite high. But then again... you might want to stick to the steaks if you're going to a steakhouse.
Servers shared their experiences with us after Redditor qrvjhb asked the online community:
"Waiters and waitresses of Reddit, which dish gets the most complaints at your restaurant?"
"When I was living in Atlanta, the worst menu item was the shrimp and grits, a common and pretty straightforward Southern dish. Ours added crawfish tails and a weird Parmesan sauce. It sounded good but it just wasn’t."
"Whenever people ordered it I would try to talk them out of it haha. Then they would send it back! And they would always say, “You were right.” I know!!!"
dinosaursarealwaysright
In this case, the waiter is always right!
"They had it on the menu for years..."
"Shrimp ceviche tacos."
"They had it on the menu for years. People ordering it didn't know what ceviche was so they would always complain that the shrimp was cold. What's even worse is that the recipe for the ceviche mix sucked. So even the people who liked ceviche would send it back. Any edits suggested to menu items would fall on deaf ears."
PhreedomPfighter
I pray that the restaurant never had to heat up the ceviche.
"One major thing I learned..."
"Ex waiter/diner employee. One major thing I learned is there is no EXACT standard on styles of eggs. Once a day someone would send eggs back."
"Most commonly, sunny side up eggs would get complaints for being under cooked, over hard eggs would get complaints about being over cooked, and about half the time we sent eggs out poached, people complained about the yolk being runny."
MeanConnection7818
There are few things as delicious as a perfectly poached egg. Sacrilege!
"I work at a bar..."
"I work at a bar, with wings and ribs, burgers and all that type of jazz. Our bar just came up with now serving sushi…so you can only imagine how many times that crap gets sent back."
Lovesmetacos125
That's on the customer for ordering sushi that sounds like a sports bar.
"When I worked in a restaurant it was always steaks. I get it but I always internally sighed when people ordered steak because there was a 50/50 chance the line wouldn’t cook it right and it would get sent back."
pdunson57
Did you work at Olive Garden, by any chance? This sounds familiar.
"Homemade bread..."
"We had a "bread and butter" for $13. Homemade bread, local honey, homemade jam, homemade butter. People would flip their shit when they saw it though. Tough sell."
CaptainRedPants
For thirteen dollars I'd demand the whole loaf!
"Tamales."
"I worked in a very inauthentic Mexican restaurant in a predominantly older white neighborhood. Often times we would get complaints that the tamales were tough, stringy, and difficult to eat only to find out that our guests were not removing the corn husks before eating."
"This was such an issue that we ended up removing the corn husks before serving altogether before the tamales were just sent straight to the shadow realm and dropped from the menu due to the lack of popularity."
SanDiegoIamnot
That fact has to be specified. Just like one has to specify if a dish is very spicy hot, even though half of Mexican food is hot.
"Old people and their soup..."
"Old people and their soup needing to be cooked over the fires of Mount Doom. Literally took a soup back to the kitchen, watched the cook boil it, and it still wasn’t hot enough."
BriefPomegranate845
This description is hilarious and yes... when I worked in a restaurant I dealt with this problem.
"If they sit too long..."
"Certain tacos. If they sit too long, they can get soggy. Plus, sometimes the braised beef and the carnitas can be fatty and watery, it depends on who makes it."
Stevie-Avail
Oh, man, the fat is the best part. These people are haters!
"Every bar or pub..."
"Every bar or pub I worked at always complained about the nachos. Either too few toppings or they forgot to add the extra meat."
killkrazy
You'd think nachos would be super easy to fix, no?
"For those that don't know..."
"Judging by how often I've been asked whether I really want to order it and whether I know what it is, I assume that in most french restaurants, it is Steak Tartare."
"For those that don't know: it is raw beef with raw egg yolk and some other stuff, and it is damn delicious. I really love it and I order it regularly when in France. But quite often when you order it in a more touristy place, the waiters really make sure that you know what you'll order."
RoRo759
You can take my tartare from my cold, dead hands. Those savages!
After reading these, it's safe to say that most people don't know what the hell they're ordering before they sit down. You'd think they'd do some research...
Have some observations of your own? Feel free to share them with us in the comments below!
Want to "know" more?
Sign up for the Knowable newsletter here.
Never miss another big, odd, funny, or heartbreaking moment again.
People Share What They Miss The Most From Before The Pandemic
Our lives have all changed in innumerable ways since the start of the pandemic. Many of us have lost friends, family, and colleagues, and our day to day lives have changed drastically too.
Going out to the club, eating at restaurants, going to the mall, etc... are all vastly different experiences that many of us are avoiding altogether when possible. Religious services, doctor's appointments, classes and many other social experiences have moved online.
There are lots of things to miss about pre-pandemic life.
Redditor Underneaththeshade asked:
"What do you miss the most from pre-covid?"
Late-night Options
"As a person who works nights, stores and restaurants that are open late. I used to be able to get out of work at whatever hour and have a dozen different grocery stores and fast food restaurants I could stop at on the way home, and now two years after the pandemic I have only one or two, and sometimes they'll be closed anyway for whatever reason."
-UltimaGabe
"same here!!! there was a 24 hour diner right by my house and I'd just go at 5 PM before work, or 2 AM on nights off when i didn't feel like cooking. all kinds of interesting people were there and the food was great."
"Also now basically all the stores close at 9 PM and so if I'm not right on my errands game when I wake up I miss it. I miss going to late-night movies guilt free too...technically I can still go but it's just not the same of course."
-good-titrations
"Same. Used to wake up around midnight on the nights I'd have to adjust myself for night shift and get grocery shopping done. It allowed me not to be in a crowd, take my time, and enjoy the silence."
-dm_me_kittens
No More Long Term Plans
"Not being able to book things long in advance because you have no idea what the situation will be like in a handful of months."
"You can sure as hell buy the tickets for a gig that’s happening months from now but is it actually gonna happen when it’s supposed to? Who tf knows 🤷♂️"
-eggsh*tter
"My Matchbox 20 2020 concert tickets now 2022 tickets. My teen is not amused that I am calling the band Matchbox 22."
-FlippingPossum
"This. I feel like I can’t plan anything more than two weeks in advance - trips, concerts, events , get-togethers. I avoided buying advance tickets for anything for more than 12 months, and went to my first indoor concert in 21 months in Dec 2021, and there was a Covid outbreak at the show. My events for Feb next month have been cancelled, AGAIN."
-kittykate416
It All Adds Up
"I guess I miss not having a stack of inconveniences that have to be dealt with in order to do public things. It's not that any one inconvenience is too much, but it's just so many little things."
-CarpeNow
"Amen to that. All the little things add up"
-mrsbebe
"Yeah. Like i actually don't like wearing a mask, don't like having to remember it, don't like how they feel, just... don't. Of course i'll still wear it and wear it properly wherever i go anywhere in public, and I'm pretty sure this is the first time i've ever actually complained about them out loud, and i still fully support mask mandates and the like."
-ComManDerBG
"Honestly it's the fucking worst... One of these little things... my favorite Sushi place has never re-opened for in person dining. Like, I can get take out from them still, and it is still great, they haven't missed a step on quality, but I really enjoyed having a seat in there with my wife and having some amazing sushi and fried rice."
-FourEcho
Thriving Instead Of Just Surviving
"Really living. This feels like just existing. I'm stuck with this overwhelming feeling of ennui. Bored with food, bored with TV, bored with social media, bored with books...😕"
-theneen
"I feel the same, a stagnant feeling."
-Ramen8ion
"I've been jumping from video game to video game show to show to keep myself occupied and entertained. There's only so much solo play and online interaction can make up for. I feel you."
-Leafs_Lifer
"Exactly this, I live alone, I tried to cope with weed, and basically doing tutorials, practicing stuff, gaming. but it doesn't work, these day i've been playing and suddenly i feel super depressed. It is hard to just think about stuff without great anguish."
-Pichuco
College
"I'm currently in first year of college. I hope next year I'll finally have some classes in the actual college instead of my bedroom."
-Branum8520
"I'm in my last year in my bachelor's program (undergraduate?) and I'd switched colleges right before the pandemic hit, so not only have I removed myself from a wonderful group of people in my previous college, whom I'd gotten close to, I've also spent the greatest part of my degree with people I've only ever talked to online, except a couple that I did meet once. Talk about bad decisions."
-ArihanK
"This. Absolutely this. I only got half of a university experience, half of my second and my whole final year were just me cooped up in my bedroom being absolutely miserable working my ass off on assignments which we normally would be able to work together on with friends in the study zones whilst hanging out. Online support? Forget about it. The university staff were so busy you had to book a week in advance for a one hour zoom call for any help."
"I just had my graduation ceremony yesterday and it took ages to click that it was for my time at university because it feels like I haven’t been a student in years even though it’s only been a few months."
-kirandoobles
"And the fact that we’re still paying full price for zero amenities and bullshit classes (some of which don’t even meet) is straight highway robbery."
-ProfessorSucc
Family
"My sister. Not seen her in person since the start as she works abroad. Sure we video chat, but 2 years is a long time to not see someone in person."
-stoatfoxbadger
"Yeah this is probably it for me as well, I’m the one overseas and I haven’t seen my family in 2 and a half years and it will be at least 3 before I am able. I’ve missed deaths, births, weddings and so many holidays and get togethers. At this point I have begun to feel so disconnected from their lives that it’s stressful thinking about trying to catch up and to be honest I am pulling away from them and becoming numb to it."
-PercivalSquat
"Having your family elsewhere really sucks. My family lives on the other side of the world, last I saw them was in 2018. I was supposed to travel in 2020 cuz I go visit every couple of years. Except I didn’t, rather, couldn’t. Going to be 4 years since I saw them. But that’s not it, I am never going to see my dad ever again because he died of COVID this year and I couldn’t be there due to travel restrictions."
-hepbirht2u
Sense Of Security
"Honestly, just the feeling of security we didn’t realize. You want to go out? Go for it. Making plans somewhere out of town? You go right ahead. Planning a vacation somewhere? No problem."
"Now you can’t really make any large scale plans without the decent chance it’ll get cancelled and you lose the down payments."
-tanktaylor85sx
"I finally gave up and got a refund after a music festival I had tickets to was postponed 4 times...like I get why, but there's only so much you can take"
-hoppedupsparrow
"Seriously. I miss being able to go out dancing whenever and have a ton of fun. I went on trips to visit friends across the country multiple times a year. It makes me too nervous now, because I literally cannot afford to get sick."
"I’m now going into my late twenties and it makes me so f*cking sad to miss experiences, and the ability to not have to worry about my career yet and what not. But that time is ending, and sh*t is getting so, so much more expensive."
-cherrib0mbb
Optimism
"My optimism for my future."
-Altruismisyourfriend
"My husband works healthcare. I miss when the smile would reach his eyes."
-Greatsex-daddyissues
"This. I was pretty pessimistic before Covid. This pandemic has shown me how there are so many people out there who have zero empathy for the lives of other people. The selfishness is astounding. It’s disheartening."
-pizzakisses
"This hurts, but yeah."
"Been tough to have faith in people to be smart, do the right/unselfish thing, the future of the world, opportunity to see more of it, any hope of getting out of my apartment, etc. Some of this is hyperbolic, but the repeated beatdowns and disappointments have been brutally disheartening. So I feel you."
-sixwax
Routines
"Not living in a constantly changing system. Pre-covid, everything was scheduled: School holidays, places were open to visit... But since Covid, everything that has to do with the government is constantly changing. I just miss being on stable ground."
-Elasp
-billybalverine
"Same... I've always been organized and being forced to jump from schedule to schedule gets me on my nerves."
-Elasp
"I relate to almost every comment on this thread, but yours especially. I am tired of this unstable ground as well. It feels like once in awhile you're holding something and it gets slapped out of your hands and replaced with a literal turd.'
-queenofthenerds
Normal Illness
"I miss the fact of just being sick without any other kind of concern."
-NotTheSharpestToolM2
"I have chronic, but mild, reflux, irritates my throat causing me to feel the need to clear it. Every other week it's been 'is this cough the normal cough or covid?' >_<"
-p75369
"Having seasonal allergies is a nightmare from a social grace perspective. Sneezing is like firing a blank in a crowd."
-danholtfromtxpornacc
"As someone with autoimmune issues, I've spent the whole pandemic playing 'Is it COVID this time or just my gradual physical decline?'"
"Its been fun."
-QuestioningHuman_api
You're not the only one feeling terrible because your life got turned upside down and seems like it might never get back to normal.
It might not be much comfort, but we're all in this together.
Want to "know" more?
Sign up for the Knowable newsletter here.
Never miss another big, odd, funny, or heartbreaking moment again.
I'm not a foodie. In fact I find the whole "foodie" culture insufferable.
It's just food, eat it and move on.
It's because of this culture of food obsession we've all tried some meals or restaurants that just don't live up to the hype.
All of these online people running around, taking scads of photos and videos of themselves feeding their faces has gotten out of control and lead others to make questionable dining decisions.
A burger is just a burger. If the meat is fresh, I don't care what you fed the cow.
Is the salmon not discolored? Great, then cook it.
We don't need to be spending tons of cash on meals. Keep it simple, it's the best way.
Redditor YannisAP wanted to discuss what's on the menu, so they asked:
"What food is overrated?"
I have been to too many fancy places and tried their key extravagant meal only to be left disappointed and heading to Wendy's after.
No ice cream is worth one thousand dollars. New Yorkers know where I'm talking about.
Insta-crap
"Those 'instagramable' burgers, burritos, etc, that are all covered in melted cheese. Don't cover things with liquid cheese. Drink it, coward." ~ Biscuitquit
GiphyWhen in France
"It's not quite a rule, but for many restaurants, if it has a view the food is terrible. As an example, cafes near the Eiffel Tower are generally bad, tourist traps."
"Overpriced and unimaginative offerings. French food is so much more than that, but a trip to Paris is so overwhelming."
"Tourists don't always find the truly great meals, and instead go home thinking that little cafe found when your feet were tired from walking back from seeing the sights is somehow representative of the entire cuisine." ~ math-yoo
Jerk
"The little packets in beef Jerky that say do not eat." ~ wallacem21
"I knew a guy once who thought they were flavoring packets. Ripped one open and was about to proceed to dump it into his recently rehydrated meal."
"This was apparently his first dehydrated meal, so I guess I can sorta understand, but still." ~ onetoothless
Gold Loss
"Gold covered anything is a waste of money and the definition of superfluous excess since it doesn't add flavor and wastes the gold." ~ phroggyboiii
"Wastes the gold? In 1000 years when all the gold has been panned out of Alaskan streams, future panners will still have a source of gold in our ancient crap rivers. They'll probably market it as 'rare archeological privy gold' and charge accordingly." ~ Batherick
"The thing is, it's not even pure gold. There has been traces of aluminum, lead, tin, and other such metals in the gold flakes."
"It's not just wasteful, and doesn't taste like anything, it's also sometimes toxic." ~ CursedJade
Purrrrfect
"Meow Mix for sure." ~ Hardinyoung
"Dude! Meow Mix is delicious, even if it doesn't contain cats like on the packaging. Kinda a scam, but still tasty." ~ CursedJade
GiphyWhy are cats so picky?
And why do we indulge them?
They're pets, but we treat them better than kids when it comes to meal time.
Bad Sizzle
"Bacon flavoured/infused anything."
"Don't get me wrong, I love a couple of rashers as much as the next man, but c'mon, bacon fat-washed whiskey?" ~ bumbershootle
GiphyBad Batch
"Those red berries on bushes in parks." ~ Gold_Ad_6543
"We had some Brazilian Peppertrees outside of my old job (actually an invasive species, but they planted them for looks I guess), and some women I worked with used to pick off the berries and smash them into their soups and stuff. They're pretty spicy!" ~ legendariel
"We called them snake berries. No idea if it's multiple different kinds of red berries or one, but they are sour and apparently make you sick if you eat em. But they look really tasty." ~ Sololop
DO NOT EAT!!
"Funny story: My family was living in China a few years back and our parents had bought these moon pie thingies for lunar new year. I saw the moisture absorbing bags in there, didn't read the English words that clearly said DO NOT EAT, and put it on the moon pie."
"I spat mine out because it tasted gritty and awful, but my brother seemed to enjoy it. We ended up calling American poison control because the local poison control didn't have someone who spoke English and they basically said just drink a lot of water and you'll be fine." ~ ryleu
Deactivate...
"Activated charcoal anything." ~ eremophilaalpestris
"The only reason should ever be eating activated charcoal is if you've got gas, or have overdosed on something (IN A MEDICAL ENVIRONMENT). That crap can really mess with your meds and food."
"It is technically a detoxifier... but turns out there's a good reason why chemists don't stock that stuff in the wellness section. This includes toothpaste, but for a different reason - it's like sandpaper for your teeth. Yes it whitens them, but it also strips the enamel off them." ~ Plethora_of_squids
I love weddings!
"Wedding cakes for sure."
"I work weddings; I've been to something like 150 of them so far, and have tried the cake at literally all of them."
"The vast majority of them are simply awful."
Giphy"I have only actually enjoyed eating the cake twice the entire time I've worked this job: once with some sort of specialty Korean cake, and one that was made by the Bride's mom. And what's worse is that these cakes cost an exorbitant amount of money! We're talking like $500 3-tier art pieces that look nice, but taste like a sponge with shaving cream on it."
"Just not something I can get behind. So, with that being said, word to the wise: don't buy a crazy-expensive wedding cake, I promise you it is not that good." ~ HDNHD
I love wedding cakes.
How could you not?
And bacon?
Yeah, we've gone overboard with the bacon. It doesn't need to be on everything.
Want to "know" more?
Sign up for the Knowable newsletter here.
Never miss another big, odd, funny or heartbreaking moment again.
People Share Their Biggest Pet Peeves About Dining Out At Restaurants
Why can't people behave like normal human beings? Why is going out to eat for a simple meal such an arduous issue?
Dining out has always been a fun life pastime, but has quickly turned into an anxiety-inducing circus.
When I'm out to eat, there is so much wrong happening that I witness.
It's just as delicious and easy to microwave leftovers.
I also may just be overly dramatic and picky. A lot of things disturb my dining peace, but I'm not alone.
Redditor DateInteresting wanted to talk about how to act in when eating out, it's time for lessons. They asked:
What really pisses you off inside Restaurants?
Kids. Don't bring your kids out to eat. Unless you've taught them how to be silent. They are my biggest pet peeve. They scream and shout. I can't.
Quiet!
Golden Girls Rose GIF by TV LandGiphy"When they have wicked loud music that you can't hear anyone talking over." ~ Imagenerum
Don't Touch
"When the table is sticky." ~ BronzeGutlet
"I worked in a place where the finish on the tables was starting to really wear off, and on a hot day the humidity would just make every single table soooo sticky, no matter what you did. It so freaking annoying for everyone involved. The day they were refinished was such a relief." ~ Im_Probably_Crazy
Back Up
"Spacing. I get it, if you own an establishment (a good one) you want to get as many seated as possible. I hate having to lean and whisper to have a conversation." ~ m1ster_grumpee
"I worked at a PF Chang's for a couple of years and there was already limited space, but on holidays they would split tables to get more people in at once and I have never witnessed anything like it in a restaurant."
"The customers would have to squeeze in as tight as possible and still be chair to chair with other people and then us servers could not get in between the tables. We would be squeezing, pushing people, and moving tables and chairs all while holding a heavy tray of food and drinks right over these customers heads, every year we would tell management not to, but they didn't care." ~ Tato_creator
"Its this price at the liquor store!"
"Menus without prices. Tables that are too small and too tightly spaced. Tables that are not cleaned well." ~ wanted_to_upvote
"I have so many people at my bar order drinks and complain about the price when it's clearly on the menu. The most common I get is "Its this price at the liquor store!" Well yeah, the liquor store is in a crappy part of town and doesn't have an on-premise license, and doesn't pay people to make your drink or prep your ingredients. If you are on a budget, ask prices or look at a menu!" ~ showMeYourPitties10
Bad Sounds
american idol singing GIFGiphy"I was a cook for 15 years, anytime I am seated too close to an open kitchen and I can hear the demonic buzz of a docket printer, my meal is ruined." ~ quaswhat
I hate sitting near the kitchen. Like, why did you even design this place to have seats near the back of house staff? Of course room is always as issue. Too many places are too cramped.
Yuck!
Basketball Wives Ugh GIF by VH1Giphy"Not properly cleaned utensils, plates and cups/mugs." ~ jay-ar55
Everyone know what they want?
"Great meal, great service, then when we're ready to pay and leave, the server is nowhere to be found." ~ ShrekTheHallz
"We were in a place in Tokyo where the table had a small button on it. Pressing it told the staff you were ready to speak to the server. Everyone know what they want? [Press] Need more water? [Press] Ready to pay? [Press]"
"I had the North American "That's kinda rude, demanding people come to you" feeling but we were told it's more efficient - staff can do other things in the kitchen (like folding napkins or helping with prep) instead of wandering around the floor in case someone needs something." ~ DulceEtBanana
So Krafty!
"As a mac n cheese lover, when they have "side of baked mac n cheese" on the menu and then they bring out Kraft mac n cheese." ~ ham_alamadingdong
"Before I had a kid, I had NO IDEA how prevalent this was. They literally just charged me 5-6 bucks for a 30 cent microwaved bag of pre-cooked kraft. I guess I should know better though, because unless there's mac and cheese in the adult menu somewhere then there's no reason for the place to actually prep and cook it." ~ Lamprophonia
I wanna be deaf...
"The noise level." ~ vieniaida
"So many restaurants just don't give a crap about acoustics. It is such a simple thing to consider, to make the ambience just right: Bustling energetic type of 'foodie' place - buy hard furnishings."
"Makes everything sound loud, echoey, and vibrant. Romantic candle lit spot - lots of soft furnishings. You can have a deep conversation with the person across from you, without hearing everyone shouting from all directions. Bad acoustics ruins so many dining experiences." ~ IllIIIlIllIlIIlIllI
Bow Down
King Yes GIFGiphy"Customers who act like they are a Roman emperor and the wait staff are their slaves. We've all seen these people at restaurants." ~ genghismom71
I may never eat out again. This thread has ruined it for me. Be better people. Whether you're a customer or staff, be better.
Want to "know" more?
Sign up for the Knowable newsletter here.
Never miss another big, odd, funny or heartbreaking moment again.