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.

#1

An overly diverse menu.

No, I don't think you are experts at Italian AND Mexican AND Japanese AND American BBQ.

Image credits: anon

#2

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.

Image credits: anon

#3

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.

Image credits: zazzlekdazzle

#4

When the not-quite-clean smell from the restrooms somehow permeates the entire place.

Image credits: edgrrrpo

#5

Tons of menu items. Greasy/dirty menu. Not busy. If you see kitchen clutter in the dining area. Bad Smells. Poor lighting.

Image credits: Yakmasterson

#6

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.

There are a number of other things, but most of those would be circumstantial.

Edit: Coworkers found me. It's my best comment and now I've gotta cut and burn. Adios.

Image credits: anon

#7

Once I saw someone barfing outside of an Old Country Buffet. I thought that was an appropriate indication of what the food situation was inside.

Image credits: krissym99

#8

Sticky/greasy menus. If they can’t clean the menus down, they’re not cleaning much else.

Image credits: anon

#9

Go to their bathroom and see how well kept it is . that should tell you everything you need to know about the place .



PS:This trick also works for anywhere .

Image credits: anon

#10

If they sell steak, but won't cook it rare.

If they're doing this, it's most likely because they're unsafe, because they're selling frankensteak, meat assembled with meat glue to reassemble more expensive cuts.

You can eat rare steak because the fibers are dense enough to not allow bacteria to penetrate deeply, so a sear is enough to make a steak safe. This is the same reason you need to fully cook chicken, because the fibers are all fluffy, and let bacteria really get in there. But, if you've made frankensteak, you're incorporating external surfaces into the interior of the cut, which can't be properly cooked at anything short of medium well. So, if they refuse to cook a steak rare, I refuse to eat there, because it's very strongly indicative of shady business practices.

It goes without saying, don't order rare steak from someplace you suspect would do this and wouldn't care of you got sick, but if they're worried you might get sick from a rare steak, don't order a steak there at all.

Image credits: Malbranch

#11

“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.

#12

This is a bit of a different one, but ask about their allergy policy.

A good restaurant who cares about their customers will have a strict policy in place and educate all staff on it. It should include using seperate knives, prep boards, and designating a specific staff member to check every ingredient while preparing that dish. They may also have a specific station. But they absolutely will have a policy and the wait staff should know it immediately.

A poor restaurant will have staff that 'will go check'. Maybe they're new? But it's not a great sign.

Edit: a word.

#13

Flypaper hanging from the corners, complete w dead flies.

#14

Look at the salt and pepper shakers. If they are clean someone cared enough to check.

Image credits: StereotypicalSupport

#15

Carpet on the floors. No soap in the restroom. Dirty ceilings.

Image credits: bistro223

#16

I went to a Chinese food restaurant once, the "Happy Dragon". When we got in, the place was empty save for one woman dining alone in a booth. There was no hostess or waiters around so my SO and I stood there for a while waiting to be seated and wondering what to do. We thought maybe they were in the back or something and they'd be out shortly.
About 5 minutes later, the woman in the booth stands up, wipes her mouth with a napkin, and then grabs 2 menus, walks over to us and says "Table for 2?".

I think when you have to wait for the waitress to finish dining before you're served, that's a bad sign. Also it unsurprisingly was total s**t food and for too much money. One of the worst restaurant experiences I've ever had. BEWARE HAPPY DRAGON!

Image credits: 14thCenturyHood

#17

A row of proudly displayed excellent hygiene certificates... That stop a few years ago.

Image credits: mronion82

#18

Chef peeing at urinal with gloves on returns to kitchen without removing gloves or washing.

Image credits: tkeno1987

#19

The Denny’s near my house has had a “Help Wanted: Servers and Kitchen Help”sign for about 6 months. If it’s a bad place to work, don’t bother dining there.

Image credits: tuff_gong

#20

I went to a restaurant a couple weeks ago that was called Somethingsomething Sushi and Oyster Bar. In their menu it had a section for fresh oysters, with a blurb that said "Ask us about our daily oyster offerings." When our waitress came over to ask us if we'd like to order appetizers, we asked what the daily oysters were. She said "Yes, we have oysters today." When we asked her to clarify on the kind of oysters, she made some vague comment about the fact that they just came in that morning and she didn't know. We asked if they were east coast or west coast and she just shrugged.

If your server cannot tell you anything about the raw food you are about to eat, that is a bad sign and you should not eat that thing.

Image credits: TheNakedZebra

#21

You’re literally the first people there after opening and there are food stains all over the table, only one napkin is provided for the table and the place is totally silent except for a smoke alarm chirping.

Image credits: jay3535

#22

If the employees take their aprons with them into the bathroom.

If you can see into the kitchen, and you see the cooks, watch for sweat dripping into food, not changing gloves/washing hands between raw meats and other food, and how clean the area is. If it is busy, it won't be pristine, but it shouldn't be disgusting.

If the menu either has pages of choices, or a wide variety of ethnic foods (like cheeseburgers, sweet and sour chicken, and escargot all on the menu for instance), usually the food that isn't ordered often is old, and close to if not expired.

Image credits: VioletViola

#23

Hardly any customers are there but it takes a ton of time to get served or order food.

Image credits: ParchaLama

#24

The quality of their Mac n’ Cheese. If they put effort into that, they’ll put effort into everything.

Image credits: anon

#25

From experience of the restaurant I worked in:

If its slow (less than half of the tables full) and there is more than one dirty table with nobody stopping to clean it, run.

If your plate is hot on the edges but only warm or cool in the middle, its been microwaved.

If any hot dip, sauce, or gravy has a film within a minute of it hitting your table it has been sitting in the window for at least 5 minutes.

If you see a female server cleaning the men's restroom during business hours then the bathroom will be filthy. The female servers I worked with barely gave it any attention when they were forced to clean it they just wanted to do the bare minimum and gtfo.

Check glassware because 9/10 times in our restaurant they were barely rinsed let alone sanitized. Check for fingerprints, lip marks or lipstick marks, or chips.

Speaking of: chipped dishes or glasses will never be completely clean. They're unsanitary and bacterial landmines.

Image credits: EatSleepCryDie

#26

There's a dead fly in the parmesan shaker.

#27

You walk in and the staff don’t stop chatting to each other to greet or seat you. And then when they finally notice you they seem annoyed that you interrupted their gossip session. Then they don’t bring a menu or take your drink order, but don’t seem to be doing much else.

Just turn around and walk out. They just failed the easiest part of hospitality and probably aren’t going to do a great job on the other parts.

#28

My husband and I joke that the food at Waffle House won’t be good if there isn’t a staff member outside smoking. 😂.

Image credits: anon

#29

When you walk into a mexican restaurant and there’s a portrait of an indian chief stabbing a pregnant woman.

I can’t make this up. They microwaved the quesadillas we ordered. They fortunately are no longer in business.

Image credits: choice_crystal_clear

#30

Grand Opening sign out front for over a year.

#31

Advertising the 'cheapest menu in town'.

#32

When you walk in and someone says, "Welcome to The Macaroni Grill.".

#33

No prices on menus. Do these guys want be to be financially irresponsible and buy a 100 dollar steak or some s**t?

#34

If the bottom of the tables have a lot of gum and c**p stuck to them. Also this is rare, but once I went to a restaurant where they only bothered to wash the tops of plates and when I picked my plate up my hand became covered in grease and rotten sludge

#35

If it is dead during lunch or dinner. Even okay restaurants have a busy time.

#36

As a Canadian Went to a bar/restaurant in USA where the waiters and bartender were exercising their right to “open carry” it didn’t exactly make me feel like I was in a safe place. Though some of my American friends would argue it was the safest place to be.

#37

A buddy of mine uses the "nachos rule." In this rule, you order something basic like nachos. Depending on the quality and quantity of toppings you can infer a lot about how well the place is run- like whether the owners are cheapskates or not just by whether there's enough cheese, olives, and other toppings; which can roughly translate to how they may be cheapskates towards other meals, staff, and running the place in general.

#38

The Applebee’s logo on their menus...

Image credits: cyle_murdoch

#39

If there's no one of the same ethnicity as the cuisine eating in the restaurant.

Image credits: iwearoddsockz

#40

It doesn’t seem clean.

The servers do not appear to be neutral. I don’t expect them to be ecstatic but I hope they look like they are ok at least.

#41

WHEN THE LAMB IS F*****G RAW!

#42

Dirty bathroom, dirty silverware, and sticky floors. These all give me hesitation or fits depending on how bad they are.

#43

When you pay too much for your Coke/Fanta/Pepsi/whatever and they open the can in front of you.

#44

At a new restaurant, I will order something simple that still requires cooking. I'll order somthing like fries (with or without gravy) or a plate of rice. If they mess that up, then I have no reason to believe they can make anything more complex.

#45

The server doesn't seem new or like they are just filling in, but still seems to be winging it. Like they haven't had an actual sit-down customer in so long that they don't really remember how to do this part of their job.

#46

When ever a waitress, or any representative asks you, or insists, that you fill out a customer satisfaction survey. I will never return simply because I was pestered for submitting one.

#47

Gordon Ramsay is there.

Image credits: infinite_level

#48

If it's "ethnic", zero people of that ethnicity in there, ever.

Image credits: PointsGeneratingZone

#49

If they're in r/WeWantPlates.

#50

No mozzarella sticks on the menu /s.

#51

If you hear a microwave, there isnt really a good reason for a microwave in a resturant where they serve cooked things like fish chicken steaks and burgers so if you notice a beep from a microwave run
Edit:this is with context that it is super overused and abused for menu items that should never see the microwave. Yes there are veggies etc that use it.

#52

When you realize youare in the "no server section".

#53

Even the cockroaches are running out.

#54

Jon Taffer (Bar Rescue) is inviting you in the front door and asking you to order as many drinks and orders of food as one person possibly can.

#55

When prices go up and the menu doesn't change in hopes that will balance out the recent losses.

Also using food from Wal-Mart when your supply was drastically short right after opening. Great burger the opening weekend but was totally garbage the second try 3 days later. Different Patty meat and buns were store bought...I don't mind paying premium for a good burger but not when it's items I can get next door shopping. Others had similar sentiment and they closed after 2 months. Shouldve just shut down for the week rather than lose your first impressions right after opening.

#56

There are no other customers, or the customers are all pensioners. If a lot of locals eat there, it’s usually good.

Image credits: anon

#57

When everyone who is eating there is over the age of 70.

Image credits: 113862421

#58

Any restaurant without a smoke stack in the roof.

Or rather, if you don’t see smoke rising out of the building, it means they aren’t actually cooking your food in the back. They are reheating it out of a Sysco bag.

Places like TGI Friday’s ect..

#59

There's a Babu Bhatt owned place in a small neighborhood strip center close to me. It's billed as a pizza place, but they serve wings, sandwiches, burgers, pasta, gyros, fries, bulgogi, bi bim bop, ramen, swedish meatballs, and southern catfish. Owners are Korean. Super nice people. I've never seen it busy. Food is good, especially the Korean, but i'm gonna "Seinfeld" myself into telling him he should focus on that. It's just a weird assortment of eclectic tastes. The place doesn't know what it wants to be. I feel bad, but i try to eat there every few weeks cause i want him to succeed. And yea, i usually just get Korean as the pizza, gyros, and burgers are just mediocre and as, if not more, expensive than other better places in the area that cater to that specific food. He should just do Korean as it's the best part of his menu, but the location isn't terribly great either (seriously, in the middle of a single family neighborhood, no major roadways nearby, and mostly white and hispanic).

Edit: it's not a "bad" restaurant exactly. It's just one i see as being far too eclectic and will end up failing in a year for lack of personality, location, and market need.

#60

My grandparents want to go there.