People Are Sharing The Hidden Signs That A Restaurant Will Be Incredible Or Totally Disappointing — Often Before Taking A Single Bite
Let's face it: We all have our own unique set of criteria for assessing a restaurant when we take a seat — or when we do a drive-by to see if it'll be any good or not. I was reminded of this recently when I wrote about how everyday people judge restaurants and even more of you wrote in with your own hidden restaurant red and green flags. These are the responses I can't stop thinking about.
And if you have your own set of restaurant criteria that you'd like to share, tell me about it in the comments below.
1."I always check online reviews before I dine at a restaurant — not to see if they're good or bad, but to see if the restaurant owners are combative with anyone who leaves a negative comment. In my experience, the owners who respond with their sincere apologies for one-off incidents run great establishments with delicious food. The restaurants with owners who pop off at people who 'dare to slander their name online' are generally overcompensating for their lackluster business."
"And reviewers can be awful, I realize that. But I'm talking about the people who comment 'the food was just OK and kind of expensive, I probably wouldn't go again,' who are met with 'BYE, WE NEVER ASKED FOR YOUR PATRONAGE ANYWAY.'"
—Greg, 37, New York
2."Paper menus without any leather binding or plastic covers. When restaurants have paper menus, it tells me that they change their menu frequently, or at least seasonally. And as someone whose eyesight isn't what it used to be, I can't tell you how much easier it is to read regular paper as opposed to anything in plastic or laminated just so the menus won't get dirty."
"And frankly, I actually think plastic coverings on menus get pretty sticky pretty quickly."
—Anonymous
3."If the server doesn’t know the ins and outs of the menu — aka they can’t help accommodate any sort of dietary needs — or they guess or give the whole 'I think you should be fine' line when you ask about an allergy, that’s never a good sign. Unless they're new, the server should know the menu forward and backward and at least be willing to confirm or deny whether they can accommodate you."
4."I look at how clean the floor is. If it looks like it hasn’t been cleaned since the Clinton administration, I will turn tail and leave. I owned a restaurant for seven years."
5."For barbecue, I look for places with weird hours, or joints that are only open when the guy running it feels like working. You’ll know it’s open because there’s a line. I have bought barbecue from stands in people’s front yards, and it’s fantastic. Also: Look for the smoker. If there isn’t a smoker or you can’t see smoke, don’t go in."
6."In culinary school, there were a few things I picked up from chef instructors. If the restrooms aren’t clean, I’m out. The kitchen is probably disgusting. Also, if it’s noticeable that they’re not keeping food at the proper temperatures, I’ll never set foot in there again. That’s a food-borne illness waiting to happen."
7."I know that I shouldn't write off an entire restaurant experience based on one tiny interaction, but if the host or hostess gives you attitude when you don't have a reservation, it's an immediate red flag for me — and I'm way less likely to make an actual reservation to return."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know you've been booked out for weeks. But instead of pretending like everyone in the whole universe knows just how busy and popular you are and insinuating just how stupid I am for not realizing this in advance, you could also just politely tell me you're full."
—Rachel, New York
8."For hole-in-the-wall restaurants, their website has to suck, visually. The uglier their website, the better the food. I don't make the rules."
—Anonymous, 29, California
9."I'm a vegetarian, and if the only options the restaurant offers me are salad and pasta, I'll pass."
10."I was a server and bartender for many years, and I hate when servers 'auction off' food at tables, especially if they are running their own food for an order they just took 20 minutes ago. Take the orders clockwise. Put it in the point-of-sale in that order. Set your tray up in that order. During a rush, auctioning always seemed like a waste of valuable minutes when you’re getting triple sat or need to grab the extra ranch someone else asked for."
11."One of the hardest things to deal with for many newly widowed people is the experience of going out to eat alone. Hosts and hostesses who made more of a deal of it than necessary and waiters who presumed they wouldn't get as much of a tip from me (more than the table of guys who left you a $5 tip) made it worse."
12."The restaurant will be great when they have specials that are actually special. When I was in Italy, one of the pizzas I had was recommended by the chef. It had artichokes, almonds, and hard-boiled eggs. There was creativity and a seasonal aspect, so they were excited to cook the new thing."
13."When a sit-down restaurant has one of those door chimes that rings a bell or rattles something when you walk in (usually the mom-and-pop-type places), I know the service is going to be dope. I'm no expert, but my theory is that they put the chime there so they don't waste a SINGLE second being inattentive while you wait to be seated."
—Javier, 28, Illinois
14."'No substitutions on a menu is a red flag. It means to me the chef is cocky. I have food allergies as well, so the 'no substitution' is a red flag for me that the chef may not help me avoid my allergies over his pride."
15."My grandma Betty says that any restaurant that has good soup will never fail."
16."It’s frustrating when they will not remove an ingredient, especially if it’s not essential to cooking. If I ask for a burger or sandwich without one topping or ingredient and they can’t do it, it gives off the impression that they are just mindlessly slapping together sandwiches."
17."Even though this comes at the end of a meal, I still count it as criteria for 'judging' a restaurant, because it could easily change my whole perception for the better. FREEBIES FOR DESSERT! Even the cheapest offering feels like such a gift. Like, I'm talking about a sip of a dessert drink or a spoonful of homemade ice cream. Or ice cream you told me was homemade but is straight from the carton. I don't care! It turns even atrocious meals into a Michelin-starred experience, in my humble opinion."
—Anneliza, Colorado
18."When a restaurant serves house-made ketchup or Heinz, great. Anything that has that bitter aftertaste is a real indicator of cutting corners."
19."At Mexican restaurants, I always automatically assume if the chips and salsa aren’t good, the food won’t be either. Can you tell if the chips are fresh and made in-house versus out of a bag? Does the salsa have good flavor and depth, or is it similar to jarred or store-bought?"
20."I live in a South Asian country, and my favorite restaurant by far here in the city is only frequented by locals. I mean, I have never seen a foreigner there except myself; it is quite big, and it is busy every single weekday. I guess saying 'go where the locals go' is stupid advice to give someone in the US who wants to eat somewhere in the US, but if you leave your country, definitely seek out a place where you find locals. I also know a few places that target expats, and while they can be nice, it's still not the same."
21.I will absolutely judge the hell out of a restaurant for charging me extra to substitute with some mass-produced veggie burger I could buy from the frozen section at the grocery store. Veggie burgers are incredibly easy to make and freeze, so it’s not like it would be required to make from scratch daily. But if someplace wants me to pay $2–$3 extra for a 'vegan meat' burger, which I refuse to eat because I want a veggie burger that tastes and looks like actual damn veggies, I’m ordering a salad and probably never going back."
22."If you go to a really fancy restaurant, padded tables under the tablecloth are a good indication of quality."
23."Immediate pass if you have 'fusion' in the name of your restaurant. And if you have sections of your menu devoted to cuisines from entirely different continents, I will trust none of it."
—Anonymous, 45, Washington, DC
24."When I'm traveling in non-American countries, I'll always trust a restaurant that doesn't have A/C. It tells me that they're not pandering to American tourists. We love our air conditioning here in the US, so when European restaurants operate with only fans (or just windows open), I know I'm getting the real, authentic deal."
—Benjamin, 45, Massachusetts
25."Immediate green flag: waiters who don't try to upsell you. My husband and I went to a restaurant once, and he was debating between the salmon and the seasonal street taco. The salmon was almost twice as expensive as the tacos. When he asked the waitress what she would recommend between the two, she said that the salmon was delicious, but the tacos were out of this world. And she was right! That place is now one of our favorite places to go to."
26."If there are local businesses advertising on ceiling tiles, breakfast is going to be lit."
27."I love eating at restaurants that have a high volume of to-go orders. Since to-go food is way harder to nail (and even harder to get repeat customers through), it tells me that their food served in-house will be amazing."
—Bryce, 29, New York
28."If you're in an old European city, look down the little side streets for somewhere to eat, not the main tourist areas. Lower rents mean more focus on the food, and the dishes at these small places are fantastic almost every single time."
29."For ramen, I always order tonkotsu the first time. A true tonkotsu broth requires boiling for a long time and no shortcuts. So if the soup tastes watery or otherly seasoned, that's a red flag for the ramen house. Doesn't matter if they throw a bunch of meat, fancy veggies, or oils on it, it can never compensate for the soup foundation."
30."This might seem fairly obvious, but if the kitchen is visible to guests, I trust their food. The 'we have nothing to hide' vibe almost always indicates that their food will be great."
—Colton, 24, New York
31.And finally: "Coleslaw is my test for a really good lunch place. If they can’t make good coleslaw, it doesn’t look promising."
If you're someone who frequents restaurants, tell me about the criteria you consistently use to decipher whether or not a restaurant will be any good. Use the comments below or this anonymous form, and your response could be featured in a future BuzzFeed post.
Note: Submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.
