If you’ve had a bad restaurant experience, you’re familiar with the obvious warning signs that indicate “this establishment will probably make me yak” along with blessing you with other serious digestive issues. Over time, culinary professionals have compiled these red flags, and I’m happy to pass them along to you.
According to chefs, some tell-tale signs a restaurant is bad are…
1.
“The first thing I check? How it smells. Sour or that harsh disinfectant odor? That’s a no from me.”
2.
“When you see a massive menu, that’s usually code for frozen stuff, pre-made dishes getting reheated, or ingredients that aren’t exactly fresh.”
3.
“Skip the buffets and salad bars, half the time it’s just the same food getting topped off again and again. Pretty nasty when you think about it.”
4.
“If your feet start sticking to the floor, just turn around and walk away right then.”
5.
“Menu photos that obviously aren’t their actual food? Yeah, that’s a red flag.”
6.
“No prices on the menu.”
7.
“Keep an eye on the servers… if most of them look miserable or ticked off, that’s telling you something. Hard to care about your meal when they’re not being treated right.”
8.
“If you ask about your food allergy and the waitstaff can’t answer because they don’t know what’s in the food.”
9.
“Fruit flies buzzing around? That’s your cue that the kitchen isn’t exactly spotless.”
10.
“Every chef instructor I had said the same thing: those menu misspellings? Totally intentional. It’s their way of not having to serve you the real deal. Like when you see ‘krab cakes…’ yeah, that’s not crab.”
11.
“Carpet in restaurants. Sure, it’s quieter and less slippery, but it’s absolutely revolting. You can vacuum all you want, but I guarantee they’re never actually shampooing that thing. I know we never did at my old place.”
12.
“Grimy menus that look like they’ve never seen a wipe-down. If they can’t keep those clean, imagine what the rest of the place looks like.”
13.
“Even the best-run buffet can’t stay truly clean. It’s just not realistic. You can’t make a buffet sanitary when you’ve got that many people touching stuff all day.”
14.
“A very well-hidden kitchen is usually a bad sign.”
15.
“Check the bread first. If they’re screwing up something that basic, they don’t know what they’re doing. No decent chef phones it in on the bread.”
16.
“Watch how the servers handle clean glasses. If they’re grabbing them by the rim instead of the base, that’s sloppy.”
17.
“Those lemon wedges they plop in your water? Usually pretty nasty and not as clean as you’d hope.”
18.
“If you order something that should take forever to make and it shows up in five minutes. Yeah, that was sitting out somewhere.”
19.
“When the whole block is packed but this one restaurant is dead… That usually tells you everything you need to know.”
20.
“If you walk in and immediately smell that fishy seafood smell. That’s not fresh. Good seafood doesn’t actually smell like much—that funky odor only shows up when it’s been sitting around too long.”
21.
“Skip fish on Sundays. Most places get their deliveries Monday and Thursday, and fish doesn’t last long. By Sunday you’re getting whatever’s been sitting around all weekend.”
22.
“If you see lots of plates left half-full, run.”
23.
“If your server’s response to ‘How is the [item]?’ seems disingenuous, that’s a big red flag. They know what goes on in the kitchen, they know the complaints, and they know which items to stress over when they deliver them.”
24.
“Cheap ketchup sitting on the table, or worse, when they won’t even let you see what brand it is? That’s cutting corners where it counts.”
25.
“Pay attention to the water. Does it reek of chlorine? Smell like dishwater? Any weird odor hitting you when you lift the glass? Is the cup randomly hot? I won’t say anything unless there’s stuff floating in it, but I’m definitely taking notice.”
26.
“If it sounds like they’re trying to be two different restaurants, like sushi and pizza under one roof, they’re probably not nailing either one.”
27.
“Ask where the oysters are from. If they can’t tell you, don’t eat them. Same goes for pretty much any seafood, really.”
28.
“My ex was a chef and we’d walk out if he spotted kitchen staff in regular shoes instead of nonslip ones. He said if they don’t care about that basic safety thing, he didn’t want to imagine what else they were cutting corners on back there.”
29.
“Can you smell the fryer from the parking lot? Get back in your car and keep driving. If they’re not changing that oil, they’re definitely not deep-cleaning anything else.”
30.
“It’s mostly empty, and the staff are surprised and confused about your presence. It’s a hint that selling food isn’t their main business.”
31.
“Check out the servers’ name tags. They should look a little beat up if people have been there a while. If everyone’s got shiny new name tags, that means they’re all new hires, so service is gonna be rough. Plus, if they can’t keep staff around, what does that say about the place?”
32.
“Cook walks out of the bathroom with an apron on.”
33.
“Big red flag for me: packed restaurant but hardly any tables actually have food in front of them. That usually means the kitchen is completely in the weeds and falling apart.”
34.
“The chef is visibly sick and can’t stop sneezing and coughing (without any mask or gloves on).”
35.
“I look for dust. Dust on the ceiling tiles or in the air-conditioning vents. I also have a habit of running my finger along chair frames after I sit down to check for dust.”
36.
“If everyone’s raving about the view instead of the food, just hit up a diner… You’ll get the same quality for way less money. I’ve never been to a place with a ‘stunning view’ that didn’t serve overpriced, lukewarm garbage.”
37.
“Sounds weird, but check the ceiling tiles. If they’re stained, dusty, or falling apart, that’s a sign they’re cutting corners everywhere. Missing tiles? Time to bail.”
38.
“Those massive, deep ice bins at bars? Ask when they last emptied and cleaned them. Busy places usually just dump fresh ice on top of whatever’s been sitting there, so you’re getting ice from who knows how long ago.”
39.
“Random, but if there’s a fish tank, take a look at it. If it’s clean, you can bet the kitchen is too.”
40.
“Former restaurant manager here. I judge by the cleanliness of the windowsills and chair rails, exclusively.”
41.
“Keep an eye on the manager: are they burnt out and hiding in the back, or are they actually engaging with their team and looking like they want to be there? Good managers attract good staff, and you can taste the difference.”
42.
“Check the salt shakers. If the holes are clogged and the top’s all grimy, that thing’s been refilled a hundred times without ever getting washed.”
43.
“Dirty restrooms. Usually, if the restrooms are dirty, so is the kitchen. They seem to go hand-in-hand.”
44.
“Flies. Flies. Flies. They’re drawn to rotten food, so that’s telling you they’re either not cleaning properly, letting stuff spoil in the fridge, or—worst case—they’re actually using bad food and just cutting around the gross parts.”
45.
“Honestly, a sushi place that reeks of fish. I made that mistake once, it was not comfortable afterward.”
46.
“The smell of a dirty grease trap. After you’ve worked in a kitchen for a while you recognize it instantly. It’s an awful smell, and if a place isn’t getting it regularly serviced, the rest of the operation is probably terrible, too. I was going to pub trivia at a place I had worked at years earlier. As soon as I walked in I smelled the smell and it was strong. I ended up calling the trap cleaning service and setting up an appointment for them without telling the manager.”
47.
“No soap in the bathroom, and no hint that it just ran out — like there is no dispenser on the wall and no empty container on the sink.”
48.
“Someone handling the food while wearing gloves but then using their gloved hands to handle money, open doors, touch their face, etc. Or worse, someone handling food with bare hands while there are open wounds or bandaids. I’ve seen it. Immediate nope for me.”
49.
“Aside from the obvious dirt, bugs, grime, rats, etc., a complete lack of staff does it for me. Why are you trying to run on (for example) just three people when nine jobs need doing? I can’t trust a place like that.”
50.
“If a roach scurries across the table, I am out.”
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