“10 Alarming Red Flags That Reveal You’re Dining in a Restaurant Disaster!”
Dining out is like playing a game of culinary roulette. You’re either set for a delightful feast or bracing yourself for a disastrous meal that’ll haunt your taste buds. Ever wonder why dining out feels like a high-stakes gamble? With reports showing that more people are choosing to stay home instead, it seems the thrill of the unknown is losing its appeal. But fear not! I’ve uncovered some fail-proof red flags that can help you dodge a dining disaster before it even starts. Keep those peepers wide open as I unveil the signs that signal a restaurant may not be the haven you hoped it would be. Ready to save your palate from peril? Dive into the details and let’s learn more!
Going to a restaurant nowadays is a gamble – if it’s a place you’ve never been before, you’re either about to have a very enjoyable experience or regret stepping foot out of the house altogether. And the latter case can get seriously disappointing, which is likely part of the reason why people seem to be dining out less.
Though, some people have found ways to prevent disappointing restaurant experiences. They know the red flags to be on the lookout for so they can leave before someone tries to ruin their night, or their tastebuds. On the list below, you will find some of such red flags, so read them attentively and feel free to share your two cents in the comments if you know of red flags others usually fail to notice.
An overly diverse menu.
No, I don’t think you are experts at Italian AND Mexican AND Japanese AND American BBQ.
When the server can’t recommend the food. A good restaurant not just allows the servers to eat the food, but likes it when they do so they can give educated feedback.
I always like seeing a table of servers having their shift meals and the table is laid out with all the good stuff and they are enjoying the food and each other – it means the food is really good and they don’t work for a******s, which is something I like in a restaurant.
I remember years ago in a Chinese restaurant we’d never been to before, I went to use the bathroom before our food came. I used it, then an employee (looked like a chef) came in, and as I was washing my hands, he used the toilet. By the time I was done, he was done, and he left without washing his hands.
I left the bathroom and saw our food on the table, told my wife and kids what happened, and we told the waitress what happened and left abruptly without eating. I felt obligated to let some other tables know what happened too, which I felt weird doing but also morally obligated to do so.
Yuck.
When the not-quite-clean smell from the restrooms somehow permeates the entire place.
“I won’t eat in a restaurant with filthy bathrooms. This isn’t a hard call. They let you see the bathrooms. If the restaurant can’t be bothered to replace the puck in the urinal or keep the toilets and floors clean, then just imagine what their refrigeration and work spaces look like.”
— Anthony Bourdain.
Tons of menu items. Greasy/dirty menu. Not busy. If you see kitchen clutter in the dining area. Bad Smells. Poor lighting.
Health Inspector weighing in.
If the front is sorta dirty, decor items kinda broke, bathrooms kinda need a good cleaning, and the corners and under the tables have napkins or crumbs, you can be damn sure the kitchen is dirty. What really goes on in a dining room? A kitchen is busy, stuff gets dropped, and when things get busy they cut corners. If they’ve started cutting corners where customers can see, then I’d bet money they are cutting corners in the kitchen.
If you can feel heat, steam, or sometimes even just kinda greasy cooking smells coming from the kitchen then their ventilation system isn’t working or is inadequate. It should always be pulling air from the dining room and pushing it out the roof or the back of the restaurant. And if the ventilation isn’t working and they cook grease bearing foods, then that grease is collecting on the vent hood, the walls, and the fire suppression system in the hood. That grease collects on surfaces, accumulates dust from the air, and then drips back into your food. And I’ve seen that grease, and it’s absolutely disgusting black sludge.
And probably the last reliable way tell you’re in a bad restaurant from a customer’s viewpoint would be the wait staff. I’ve noticed there are two kinds of flustered when a restaurant get’s busy. There’s the in-control-but-busy kind of flustered where they are rushed but still courteous and attentive to their customers, and then the cooks-are-messing-up-and-now-everyone-is-pissed-and-things-are-spiraling-out-of-control kind of flustered. If a staff is in control, then they aren’t making mistakes and they aren’t potentially contaminating the food. A restaurant gets busy every single day, they should be able to handle when they get a wrench or two in their system, and if they can’t, they will start to make mistakes.
