“I Haven't Eaten There Ever Since”: People Are Sharing The Most Repulsive Things They've Seen In A Restaurant, And I Think I Just Lost My Appetite
As a former service worker, I've seen my fair share of unsanitary practices that make my skin crawl to this day — discreetly killing cockroaches on a daily basis was way outside my job description. And as a diner, I'll never forget witnessing someone changing their baby's diaper out in the open while I was simply trying to enjoy my iced latte in a coffee shop.
So when Reddit user u/stevesmd asked the r/AskReddit community, "What’s the most disgusting thing you have seen in a restaurant?" both employees and diners were quick to share the horrible things they've had to witness. Here are some of the most shocking stories — just maybe make sure you've already eaten before reading:
1."Condensation above a buffet turning brown and dripping back down on the food."
2."Working at a restaurant, I pulled back the slushie machine because I smelled something off coming from behind. The smell was black mold. I quit on the spot and reported the restaurant to the health authority."
3."I worked at one of those build-your-own frozen yogurt places with 100 different toppings and watched a kid take a spoonful of cookie dough, eat it, and then put the spoon back in the container."
4."I used to make deliveries to a bunch of places. All but one were immaculately clean. The other one...oh my god, so gross. There was always a guy in the back chopping chicken into pieces and throwing them into a five-gallon Home Depot bucket that had flies buzzing around it and landing. Sometimes, pieces would fall on the floor and they'd just pick them up and throw them in the bucket. There was blood and viscera on almost all surfaces and a REALLY scary basement with goats hanging on hooks, also with flies on them. I would throw up in my mouth almost every time. Needless to say, I'd never eat the free food they'd offer."
5."As a waiter, I watched the 'chef'/owner scooping spaghetti out of the steam table with bare hands and plopping it onto a plate. At the same place, fermented ketchup exploded onto guests (they were refillable glass bottles stored in a hot kitchen that were topped off instead of emptied, washed, and refilled fresh). Oh, the '80s were a magical time for food health and safety."
6."About 10 years ago, I helped a friend retile a kitchen in a restaurant — a pretty nice place. When we were up to the top of the wall and looked into the ceiling space, there was about half an inch of rat feces."
7."In my pest control days, I watched a cook start up a flat top with mouse droppings all over it. He cooked chicken in the shit and served it up to an unsuspecting customer. I called the Department of Health on them. It was appalling."
8."A woman changing her baby's diaper on one of the tables. Before you throw hate at me, there were changing tables in both bathrooms."
"I WAS A SERVER IN A RESTAURANT AND A CUSTOMER DID THIS TO ME. I saw it from across the room and didn’t say anything because I was honestly just too shocked to move. She pushed everyone’s food to the side and just changed a number two diaper in the middle of all the plates. I mean, WTF. Then didn’t even leave a tip. We were reservation-only, so I had their group blacklisted from further reservations. Not sorry about it at all."
9."I was working as a server at a steakhouse. A big party came in, maybe 8–12 people. They sat down and we took their drink orders. One lady asked for two to-go boxes full of ice. Strange request, but okay. We brought them drinks and her two to-go boxes of ice. We came back to the table a few minutes later and the boxes were nowhere to be seen, until my coworker pointed them out. She had taken her shoes and socks off and had her bare feet in the boxes of ice. At the table. In the middle of a full dining room."
10."Actual human shit rolling out of someone's pants leg. They didn't seem to notice or mind."
11."Not in a restaurant, but a food court. I was having lunch with a friend and I thought I had stepped on her foot, so I playfully pressed harder but she didn't respond. A woman sitting on a table next to us screamed that there was a rat squirming under my shoe."
12."One time a family of cockroaches fell from the ceiling right into my plate of food."
13."Worms in a fish. The worst part, it was my father's restaurant. The guy who was in charge of grilling fish only worked there for a month and he actually cooked fish that was too old and badly refrigerated. He saw the worms and still cooked them. He was promptly fired."
14."One of the cooks pissed in the cooler. He was almost blind drunk, just dropped trou, and started pissing."
15."A steakhouse I was a server at had the tall tray holders you could put several trays of food on. This one happened to be all steaks. As it was being rolled by a kitchen employee from the fridge to the grill area, it toppled over spilling steaks out all over the floor. Said employee pulled the steaks from the ground and proceeded to put them back on the tray to cook. Looked at me and said, 'The grill will kill whatever is on them, anyway.'"
16."I used to work at an Italian restaurant where there was a used tampon sitting around in the back of the kitchen. Of course, no one wanted to touch it so it sat there for the entire time I worked there. They never cleaned the back of the kitchen."
17."My buddy ordered a burger. Took two bites then tasted something strange. It was a Band-Aid. A used Band-Aid."
18."Party of 10. White tablecloth restaurant. Party leaves. When we approached to clear the table, they had used the corner of one tablecloth to wipe their baby's shitty ass."
19."Cutting raw and cooked chicken on the same cutting board at the same time. The kitchen was open and you could see what was going on from the dining area. Everything came pre-packaged, they didn't have anything fresh. I haven't eaten there ever since."
20."We had a guy that would come into our aunt's cafe and empty his colostomy bag under the booth he was at instead of using the restroom. After a few times of doing this, she finally told him to not come back."
21."There was a dead cockroach in the salt shaker. I served at the restaurant, and my grandma found it when her and my grandpa came in for lunch. They did not come in for lunch anymore."
22."The owner was snacking out of the garnish tray for the bartenders. Just snacking on the lemon wedges and sugar sticks meant for the drinks. She was putting her fingers in her mouth and then diving back in for another cherry or orange wedge right there at the bar in front of me and a friend. I looked at her and said, 'What you're doing is disgusting. Those go in people's drinks and you're putting your gross fingers in there.' She scoffed and walked away. The bartender came over and thanked me for saying something and explained the staff tells her that all the time, but she doesn't listen because she's the owner."
Have you ever encountered something absolutely revolting while dining or working at a restaurant? Let us know about it in the comments!
Note: Responses have been edited for length and/or clarity.
