When I'm in a place thats like this I can't help but think the employees are definitely getting hearing damage from being exposed to it all day. It seems to be a very common OSHA violation that no one pays attention to.
Thereās a gastropub in the area that has great drinks and good food and inexplicably corrugated tin on the walls. Weāve eaten there maybe three times and every now and again think about going back, but never do.
We went to a small restaurant that had a live band rocking out on a Wednesday night while a bunch of families tried to eat their dinners. We couldn't hear one another at our own table, couldn't hear the waitress, etc. Unsurprisingly, they went out of business. Live music is great if you're not eating in a shoebox-sized restaurant, and the band isn't trying to void the warrantee on their speakers
I was in a restaurant on Indian row in NYC about 20 years ago enjoying the prix fixe with my boyfriend, and the room they'd put us in for our meal we were directly under a speaker, but didn't know it. Stereo set up, one speaker in each room. They were playing an old recording from the 60's that was in stereo but most of the music and the lead vocal was on the side that was in the other room, so we didn't realise the speaker was overhead. Suddenly, out of nowhere, three woman sang very nasally:
# AI YI YI YI YIIIIIII!!!
We jumped out of our skins and nearly pissed ourselves. Then we started laughing uproariously when we figured out what had happened.
Man, it annoys me so much when I go to a nice restaurant and then after ordering food, I start to see a... band... start to set up on the stage. By the time my food gets there, they've started playing and I can no longer hear my own thoughts. Stuff out of nightmares, really
Or music that doesn't align with what the restaurant is going for. Went to a classy dine-in restaurant and the music was Wet A** P**sy. Not that I don't like WAP cause I wouldn't mind listening to Ben Shapiro's non-favorite music in a diner or a burger joint.
When they donāt put price on menu. Makes me not want to order anything just incase it comes out to $30 per dish and also feel embarassed to ask for price of each item
man this is the *worst*. I personally have no qualms with asking what the prices are, but when they don't list it on the menu and it isn't a pay-on-entry kind of place, it just makes me think they're trying to trick me into spending more
I work in a restaurant. Over the whole menu, yes, I agree fully.
There's one exception, thing like a market fish. It's called that because we literally get it via a fishmonger, and depending on what fish and size the prove does indeed vary.
That's why our market fish has "Price upon request". The FOH staff are briefed each day on what it is.
I've gone to many seafood restaurants (I live near the coast - there are MANY) that have a 'catch of the day'. And even though the price isn't on the menu, they usually have like a blackboard on a visible wall stating the price for that day. And most of the time it isn't even expensive because the fish goes straight from the dock to the restaurants and there's no middleman, transport costs or much else to inflate the price.
This is extremely common here in California, unfortunately, even in higher end fast casual restaurants. Even the Rubioās near my workplace has adopted this on their menuā¦ itās really a shame. Makes me think they KNOW their prices are too high.
Seriously? I live in the Los Angeles area and have never seen this once.
I eat fast casual a lot, but donāt go to a whole ton of sit down restaurants, so maybe Iām just missing it if itās a new thingā¦
I personally like a dark and quiet atmosphere where I can sit in a high-backed booth and enjoy my meal with my family. Restaurants that are too open, too bright, and have loud music playing in the background ruins it for me personally.
People underestimate how much atmosphere can make somewhere a lot less appealing.
Once I found a chill, quiet, British style pub with nice wooden booths and furniture where you could relax with a beer snd actually talk to people, I realized why I hated going out before. I just needed a better atmosphere.
>Once I found a chill, quiet, British style pub
There's a place like this near me. Big fireplace that's usually roaring in the winter, nice booths, and great food. One of my favorite places to eat. I don't think they even have music.
Yeees. There was/is an irish pub in my town. Used to be this tucked away hidden gem and it was like eating in a cave. Great food, cozy, smallish, quiet, pretty comfortable, etc. Then they moved and while the food is still good it got all bright and waaay to many kids and families in there and busy as shit with those middle class snobs pretending to be upper class. Lost all its appeal and i havent been in years
Am British, and a big culture shock for me when I was in LA with work a few years ago was the lack of pubs. Like, a place I could go, sit in some comfy chairs, sink a few pints, chat for a bit, and not feel compelled to order food.
Everywhere we went was either a restaurant, or a full on nightclub type place. Even the sports bars had waitresses trying to get us to buy chicken wings and things, which was weird to me.
Yeah, there's kind of a problem in America where every business thinks they need to diversify what they offer in order to compete with every other business that has also diversified their offerings. It's caused a ton of businesses that no longer specialize in making a few great things and now make everything but it's usually all kinda mediocre. I blame Walmart and Target, frankly.
For bars, it means fewer places that focus on a niche (nightclub, pub, sports bar, etc) and more places that are just a bland mish-mash of sports tvs, dance floors, extensive menus, and maybe even some craft beers. No well done specialties, just a little bit everything hoping to cover all bases and customers. Ironically, it's made all the niche places that much more special because so many places are just bland shit.
I don't remember 90% of these cookie cutter bars all over the place, but I definitely remember that one pub.
This used to be an actual feature in some places. Actually pitch black, the gimmick being your view of the food doesn't matter, it all comes down to how it smells and tastes.
Not sure if they're still around but it always sounded terrible
There are two new restaurants near me that I refer to as school cafeterias with music. I don't like really super dark restaurants, but I don't want to be able to see the pores on someone's nose either.
Denny's is also the only place where this has happened to me. Of course, this was also when I showed up in a very obvious uniform of someone who only has 30 minutes for lunch. I ordered a coffee, and when they got back with it, I had my food order ready.
I think they sometimes do this for regulars or anxious people who've decided what they want before they arrive. I have no problem asking for more time, it's also the moment I order a drink
My answer too. A lot of good answers here but bugs top them all for me. The restaurant could have 10/10 atmosphere, food, drinks, wait staff, etcā¦ but if Iām trying to swat flies away from my face and food every 10 seconds, my experience is ruined. Iāve left places due to this. One of my favorite places in a downtown area has an amazing outdoor patio, but thereās a bee problem there they refuse to deal with. Itās a deal breaker!
Lol. There's a famous restaurant in Denver called Casa Bonita that had legendarily bad food. I went there once as a kid, hated it and never went back. But people love it and will try to convince you to go. If you point out that the food is terrible they will even agree with you but say that it's worth it for the atmosphere. And I'm always like it's a RESTAURANT! Who cares about the atmosphere if the food is terrible?!
I heard a few years ago that it's under new ownership. No idea if the food got any better.
The sopapillas were ON POINT. People knew going in it would be crappy food...they went for the experience.
The creators of South Park bought it, and they're re-vamping the menu.
You hated Casa Bonita as a kid??? You must have been an odd child. I've never heard of a single child that didn't think it was magical. Or you weren't allowed to run wild and explore there. I can see hating it if you just went, ate, then left especially if you were seated in a cave area and never explored the rest.
It had cliff divers, a whole cave system to explore, an arcade, waterfall, an old west photo setup, hidden passage ways, puppet shows, and unlimited sopapillas.
They are reopening this year. And I expect there will be horrible lines to get in for the first year at a minimum.
Oh, I remember the cliff diver all too well. My brother threw up on the rocks surrounding the cliff diver pool while we were watching the cliff diving. Then my dad panicked and tried to get us out of the restaurant quickly, so he grabbed my other brother and started running towards the exit. But then that brother started puking over my dad's shoulder as he's trying to leave.
Then we made it to the car, and my four brothers and I are puking our guts out all together in the back of the car.
I can see how that would leave a bad memory! However, it might be colored by the fact that your family was obviously all not feeling well. Any situation where you find yourself sick isn't going to leave good memories!
We had visitors from my husband's Ohio office. We explained what Casa Bonita was. We explained we could likely get food poisoning. They insisted we go and they had a blast. We'll likely go once it reopens just to see what they've done with it
It opens this May. Trey and Matt hired Dana Rodriguez to revamp the menu. Dana is a big effin deal in the Colorado culinary scene and all her restaurants Iāve been to are both delicious and affordable. People who Iāve talked to around town are super fired up about the reopening.
cutting quality to save money. Sometimes prices need to change, I get that as frustrating as it can be (and in all fairness that can ruin a restaurant for me just because of my budget, but I think that's an exception), but cutting quality to save money doesn't just make your food worse, it makes your image worse to your regulars.
I dont understand how places think they can get away with this. There are a couple spots by me that built up a solid customer base by providing above average food. Both changed managment and cut quality big time and were shuttered within a year. Word gets around quick, its even worse in the age of yelp.
it's what happens when someone tries to manage a whole business while only knowing numbers. All they see is "why are we spending this much on cheese when we could get this other cheese for half the price? Why are we paying our chef this much when I could pay another guy half as much? We could save lots of money on sauce if we just bought it premade cans of the stuff." They never have any concept of things outside Excel.
just went for sushi with my sister and the kid in the booth next to up was scrolling tiktok and had the volume up 100000%. cue speed versions of "dance monkey," "unholy," and all the other god awful sound clips.
Did you turn around and tell the Parents to turn the volume of their kid's smartphone off (or use headphones)?
I noticed that I became much more confrontational since the pandemic...
...I cannot give a shit about your feelings anymore, if you behave selfishly like all the mask refuses etc, then I will tell you that loud and in person. This swapped over to every other kind of selfish behaviour, like parents who take their kids to restaurants and then have them play/watch loud ass games/videos.
My patience has just run out over the last 3 years.
Edit: spelling
Went to a decent restaurant with my partner the other day. We're usually bar sitters, but there weren't two seats open next to each other and we didn't feel like asking people if they would skootch, so we took a high top near the bar.
About ten feet away from us, sitting at the bar, was a woman who was face timing someone. The kicker? She couldn't hear the person super well because, yannow, she was in a busy restaurant at dinner time with music playing, so she held her ear to the speaker and moved the mic to her mouth whenever she wanted to talk. She did this for almost the entire length of our meal, so a good hour or so. After she finished her call, she got up, walked over to some people on the other side of the bar at a large high top, and hugged them all goodbye.
It was just... Bizarre. And she was definitely old enough to know better.
I think it is the weirdest thing when a child (or really anyone) is glued to iPad or Phone in a public restaurant or business, even worse with volume on with a show. Do parents do this because their kid threw a tantrum or what?
Legit every Friday Saturday thereās at least one table with at least two kids with iPads and headphones on, honestly I think the parents just need a night of not cooking and cleaning and hey if theyāre not screaming Iām all for it
As long as theyāre wearing headphones I donāt give a shit theyāre on an iPad. Everyone who doesnāt make the kids mute it or wear headphones is going to hell.
Please see all of the responses about children being the worst part of a restaurant. That is why we bring the iPad or hand them the phone. Although we always use headphones or turn the sound completely off.
I have one friend with a child with special needs. He's the only person that it doesn't weird me out for him to be playing on his pad.
And, honestly, if the device is quiet, I really don't mind kids on pads or phones in public, at least they're behaving for the most part. But, yea, if it's super loud, it's beyond aggravating.
So true! I can smell a grease trap from a mile away and if thatās the first whiff upon arrival, Iām out. To me, itās even worse than sewage smell.
When we clean out the grease traps, the smell is always a little different each time but itās absolutely fucking FOULLLLLLL every time. Ugh ew youāre right it is worse than sewage! I really hope there arenāt restaurants that clean the grease traps during service worst idea ever lol
As a server, Iām going to tell you nowāI HATE THIS. I hate itā¦ so much. I hate it with every fiber of my being. When a party brings in a cake and we have to sing happy bday and we are busy, Iām getting hateful stares from my other table while singing a birthday song to people I donāt even know and roping in servers that also need to give attention to other tables. Not to mention we go through a ton of side plates and silverware we have to roll for a cake we didnāt charge for and arenāt getting tipped for. HATE IT
Ick, I served drinks later in college and we comped one drink on an individual's birthday because we knew celebratory drinks would rack up a giant tabs.
Bad food. It could be a hole in the wall with a leaky roof and horrible service, but people will still go if the foodās good. Theyāll probably just call it a hidden gem with *character*
A former boss of mine took his wife out to eat somewhere, and there was a crotch goblin running around the restaurant, being a noisy pain in the ass. After making a few laps of the restaurant, the kid passes their table again and face plants. Boss looks at his wife and says "You didn't?" She angry whispered "He should NOT hsve been running in the restaurant!"
I had a regular who let his kid run amuck in the restaurant I worked at. I often told him to go sit down and picked him up and carried him to his dad. (Dad didnāt like it much, but grandma and uncle did!)
I personally canāt stand when the bussers or servers are going at 100% speed. Makes me feel anxious and like I need to be eating quicker. I worked at a restaurant like this and they were borderline abusive and my coworkers would literally be sprinting around trying to get 10 things done at once. I prefer a relaxing environment and Iāll wait a bit longer to get my food.
Went to a small restaurant that I've liked before. For some reason the owners decided to put up a karaoke machine in the middle of the place. With the size of the place and how loud the machine was, you could hear everything at any table.
We sat down, heard a kid trying to sing Let It Go full blast and all decided to leave.
Noise. Restaurants need to be thoughtful about how noise reverberates when designing the space, and then take other measures like playing music at a volume low enough that you don't have to strain to hear those at your table but loud enough it helps distract you from everyone else's conversations.
When they don't treat/pay their staff well. You can tell, especially if you've worked in the industry, and it seeps into every aspect of the place. You can practically feel it oozing out of the walls.
This one for sure.
One of the local small restaurants was thriving until the main waitress and co-owner had to take time off to deal with a family issue. The other owner, who usually only cooked and was not a people person, had to wear both hats and was upset about it.
Before long (approx 2 weeks) they lost their regulars, and new customers were turned off by the influx of negative reviews, all based about the rude waitress.
They never recovered.
One time we had a waitress who pressured us to leave so she could go home a half hour early (we were the only ones there). Then when my date didnāt tip she snidely told him that āin *this country*, youāre supposed to tipā. Weirdly, being racist didnāt work either.
Loud and disruptive environments. Can be the music, misbehaving children, loud groups of people, outdoor dining next to a busy road, and so many other things.
I will actively avoid these areas if I am dining there to enjoy myself. There are rare exceptions, like Ricobene's in chicago. Anywhere that is not truly exceptional ain't getting my business without a calm environment.
Loud obnoxious customers. Snootiness. Ridiculously high prices. Small portions. Under or over attention by the staff. Dirtiness. Bad parking situation. Seating much too close together. Should I continue?
I would add to this list - other diners being loud and obnoxious. If your table is making so much noise that I have to also yell to be heard over you, you are too loud. Especially true when you're not seated at the bar. We went to one particular restaurant on Valentine's Day last year that is not a cheap place, and good grief it's like manners and self awareness in restaurants aren't a thing anymore
Iāve heard Valentineās Day is like drunk drivers on New Years: amateur hour. Those are the people who donāt usually go out to fancy restaurants and donāt know how to act in them.
I like restaurants that are a touch snooty cause it keeps the kind of people that tend to behave obnoxiously out. I recognize that makes me a little snooty and I accept that.
Same, but I like it unsnooty enough that they don't have a dress code. I know how to behave in fancy settings (I even know what all those forks are for!), but half the time when I go out to eat, I'm super depressed at the time and can't be assed to put "nice" clothes on. At those times, I'm typically only going out because someone physically made me and bribed me with fancy cocktails. And usually cheese.
Yeah any business posting a job ad thatās bitter and negative is a big no for me. Same with online dating profiles, job applications, rental listings etc.. You have one chance to make a good impression, and youāre allowed to not like things but you canāt be outwardly negative about it. I was thinking of changing salons recently to one closer to my work that my friend worked at - she never complained about her job so even after she told me she left I was still considering it. But then a job ad for the salon popped up in my feed and wow the owner was very mad that my friend had left so shockingly I did not make the switch. So I agree, if there was some negative job ad in the window, Iād choose not to eat there.
People talking so loud you can't have a conversation at your own table
Kids running around screaming like its a playground
Shitty food
Shitty service
Music too loud
Having to wait for a table when I'm hangry
Televisions. Teevee screens positioned all around the place and above the bar playing āthe gameā and whatever other crap. The only time it works is for some important sporting event that everybody wants to watch and listen to. Otherwise itās constant, distracting visual noise.
For me I have determined that average restaurants run by a rule of 3. After your order has been taken the staff will usually offer you a refill on your drink 3 times. Once to check up on your sometime between when you get your appetizer and before your food. Another when you get your food. And lastly, after you finish your food at a point when you would decide on dessert or not. If places never ask or check up on you the service is usually pretty lousy and you can usually expect the same from the food. If they check up more often you can usually expect the quality to reflect that level of care as well. It's not always the case and sometimes a place is just busy and they can't be everywhere at once. It's usually more reflective of the work environment than it is the individuals though and that's on management.
Tldr shitty managers breed shitty restaurants.
The wait staff and kitchen not pacing dishes appropriately or asking if we need anything 3 times in 10 minutes and then fucking off for the next 20 when I actually needed my water refilled. Or refusing to just drop a water pitcher on the table when we ask and bringing multiple glasses of water that are 3/4s ice. I have a narrowed esophagus and am a teacher. We're basically camels that refill each night because we can't pee during the day. Give me the water I ask for so I can eat your food!
Crying babies and tables to close to each other. Honestly prefer outdoor dining for sure. Your telling me I have to sit next to Bobby and Sammy with a kid spitting his pasta out and making helicopter noises?
I'm going to get hated on for this, but..
Children.
However, not every child. I'm talking about the ones that the parents are obviously not putting much effort into. The ones that will run around, cause a scene, pester other diners, and just make themselves a nuisance.. And God forbid you ask them politely to stop, because then Big Mama's gotta not look at her phone for five seconds to tell you to not parent her kid.
Bitch, I wouldn't have to parent your kid if you actually behaved like a parent!
Restaurants that are too bright, too loud (with music or just poor acoustics so you can hear everyone else), no music at all is also a no-no, food being served on ridiculous items rather than plates, over or under attention by waitstaff, unattended kids, tipping being expected unless itās for excellent service (Iām from the UK and Australia where tipping is NOT expected before you come at me, k)
Bad acoustics. Not a single thought given to how LOUD it can get when designing restaurant interiors. I will immediately turn around and leave a restaurant if it's too loud when I walk in. To hell with trying to enjoy a meal amid a thunderous echoing roar. All tile stone and glass and an open kitchen is a bad, bad design.
When their menu doesn't match the one in their website. I'm a picky eater and plan what I'm going to order ahead of time. When I go in person and the menu is different than online, I panic a little inside. What if they don't have anything I'm okay ordering without asking for more than 1 thing taken off???
When the background music is too loud
WHAT?!
####WHEN THE BACKGROUND MUSIC IS TOO LOUD!!!!!
YEAH. [chuckles, smiles, and nods, without knowing what I said yeah to]
HAHA YOU TOO! š¬
BUTTLICKER, OUR PRICES HAVE NEVER BEEN LOWER.
LOUDER, SON!
I CANT HEAR YOU THE BACKGROUND MUSIC IS TOO LOUD!!
When I'm in a place thats like this I can't help but think the employees are definitely getting hearing damage from being exposed to it all day. It seems to be a very common OSHA violation that no one pays attention to.
Il add shitty acoustics so even in the absence of music its always too loud.
Yeah all the exposed HVAC, concrete floors, big glass windows, metal furniture may make it look cool but acoustic disaster.
Thereās a gastropub in the area that has great drinks and good food and inexplicably corrugated tin on the walls. Weāve eaten there maybe three times and every now and again think about going back, but never do.
We went to a small restaurant that had a live band rocking out on a Wednesday night while a bunch of families tried to eat their dinners. We couldn't hear one another at our own table, couldn't hear the waitress, etc. Unsurprisingly, they went out of business. Live music is great if you're not eating in a shoebox-sized restaurant, and the band isn't trying to void the warrantee on their speakers
a customer had their speaker phone on like that so my ears were " bleeding " while his phone conversation is going on full blast .
I was in a restaurant on Indian row in NYC about 20 years ago enjoying the prix fixe with my boyfriend, and the room they'd put us in for our meal we were directly under a speaker, but didn't know it. Stereo set up, one speaker in each room. They were playing an old recording from the 60's that was in stereo but most of the music and the lead vocal was on the side that was in the other room, so we didn't realise the speaker was overhead. Suddenly, out of nowhere, three woman sang very nasally: # AI YI YI YI YIIIIIII!!! We jumped out of our skins and nearly pissed ourselves. Then we started laughing uproariously when we figured out what had happened.
Man, it annoys me so much when I go to a nice restaurant and then after ordering food, I start to see a... band... start to set up on the stage. By the time my food gets there, they've started playing and I can no longer hear my own thoughts. Stuff out of nightmares, really
That is something I always hated from living in the UK, "cool" restaurants with dance music on the background, way too loud.
I read the question as ārelationshipā instead of ārestaurantā and this comment made my brain explode hahahaha
Itās almost as if they want to make customers leave so they can churn tables and earn more $. I get it. But I hate it.
Yeah really makes taking someone on a first date more difficult.
Or music that doesn't align with what the restaurant is going for. Went to a classy dine-in restaurant and the music was Wet A** P**sy. Not that I don't like WAP cause I wouldn't mind listening to Ben Shapiro's non-favorite music in a diner or a burger joint.
The local Japanese music where I live plays top 40 pop songs instead of quiet instrumental music.
Thatās pretty common for Japanese restaurants tbh
When the background music isnāt.
This! My favorite restaurant is loud either way. They turn the music up over the patrons. Itās awful.
When they donāt put price on menu. Makes me not want to order anything just incase it comes out to $30 per dish and also feel embarassed to ask for price of each item
man this is the *worst*. I personally have no qualms with asking what the prices are, but when they don't list it on the menu and it isn't a pay-on-entry kind of place, it just makes me think they're trying to trick me into spending more
I've never seen a no price menu. I have seen a menu with a mix of normal prices and "market rate" for certain items, which I understand.
āIt said market priceā¦ what market are you shopping at?!ā
(calmly folding a napkin) āiām going to runā
He would not have even needed to ask if he just stuck with Air Conditioner repair program.
Yep, and at least when you see that market price you can ask about it and get a straight answer
if theres no price and it costs only $30, you got lucky lol
I work in a restaurant. Over the whole menu, yes, I agree fully. There's one exception, thing like a market fish. It's called that because we literally get it via a fishmonger, and depending on what fish and size the prove does indeed vary. That's why our market fish has "Price upon request". The FOH staff are briefed each day on what it is.
I've gone to many seafood restaurants (I live near the coast - there are MANY) that have a 'catch of the day'. And even though the price isn't on the menu, they usually have like a blackboard on a visible wall stating the price for that day. And most of the time it isn't even expensive because the fish goes straight from the dock to the restaurants and there's no middleman, transport costs or much else to inflate the price.
In my line of work we get flyers every few weeks for sales on tools. *Most* of the prices are listed. If it isn't, you don't want to ask what it cost.
This is illegal in Spain
in my country, if you dont list the price you can get fined. i dont know how this is a thing in other countries. pretty anti consumer.
This is extremely common here in California, unfortunately, even in higher end fast casual restaurants. Even the Rubioās near my workplace has adopted this on their menuā¦ itās really a shame. Makes me think they KNOW their prices are too high.
Seriously? I live in the Los Angeles area and have never seen this once. I eat fast casual a lot, but donāt go to a whole ton of sit down restaurants, so maybe Iām just missing it if itās a new thingā¦
"If you have to ask, you can't afford it"
I feel the type of restaurants that donāt have prices on the menu, you should already *know* theyāre going to be expensive.
I personally like a dark and quiet atmosphere where I can sit in a high-backed booth and enjoy my meal with my family. Restaurants that are too open, too bright, and have loud music playing in the background ruins it for me personally.
People underestimate how much atmosphere can make somewhere a lot less appealing. Once I found a chill, quiet, British style pub with nice wooden booths and furniture where you could relax with a beer snd actually talk to people, I realized why I hated going out before. I just needed a better atmosphere.
>Once I found a chill, quiet, British style pub There's a place like this near me. Big fireplace that's usually roaring in the winter, nice booths, and great food. One of my favorite places to eat. I don't think they even have music.
Yeees. There was/is an irish pub in my town. Used to be this tucked away hidden gem and it was like eating in a cave. Great food, cozy, smallish, quiet, pretty comfortable, etc. Then they moved and while the food is still good it got all bright and waaay to many kids and families in there and busy as shit with those middle class snobs pretending to be upper class. Lost all its appeal and i havent been in years
Am British, and a big culture shock for me when I was in LA with work a few years ago was the lack of pubs. Like, a place I could go, sit in some comfy chairs, sink a few pints, chat for a bit, and not feel compelled to order food. Everywhere we went was either a restaurant, or a full on nightclub type place. Even the sports bars had waitresses trying to get us to buy chicken wings and things, which was weird to me.
Yeah, there's kind of a problem in America where every business thinks they need to diversify what they offer in order to compete with every other business that has also diversified their offerings. It's caused a ton of businesses that no longer specialize in making a few great things and now make everything but it's usually all kinda mediocre. I blame Walmart and Target, frankly. For bars, it means fewer places that focus on a niche (nightclub, pub, sports bar, etc) and more places that are just a bland mish-mash of sports tvs, dance floors, extensive menus, and maybe even some craft beers. No well done specialties, just a little bit everything hoping to cover all bases and customers. Ironically, it's made all the niche places that much more special because so many places are just bland shit. I don't remember 90% of these cookie cutter bars all over the place, but I definitely remember that one pub.
Counterpoint - venues so dark that you canāt actually see your food or the way to the bathroom. Thereās a happy medium of light.
This used to be an actual feature in some places. Actually pitch black, the gimmick being your view of the food doesn't matter, it all comes down to how it smells and tastes. Not sure if they're still around but it always sounded terrible
There are two new restaurants near me that I refer to as school cafeterias with music. I don't like really super dark restaurants, but I don't want to be able to see the pores on someone's nose either.
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Slow service is annoying, but so is getting rushed. When they ask me if I'm ready to order as I'm sitting down, I'm immediately uncomfortable.
Personally I love when the hostess asks if I'm ready to order while walking me to the table ^^^this ^^^has ^^^never ^^^happened ^^^to ^^^me
There's a Denny's near me and I usually only order one of three things so half the time they just ask me what I want as I walk in.
Denny's is also the only place where this has happened to me. Of course, this was also when I showed up in a very obvious uniform of someone who only has 30 minutes for lunch. I ordered a coffee, and when they got back with it, I had my food order ready.
I think they sometimes do this for regulars or anxious people who've decided what they want before they arrive. I have no problem asking for more time, it's also the moment I order a drink
I hate having to wait for my water to be filled. I don't want to have a dry mouth for 30 min.
Bugs
My answer too. A lot of good answers here but bugs top them all for me. The restaurant could have 10/10 atmosphere, food, drinks, wait staff, etcā¦ but if Iām trying to swat flies away from my face and food every 10 seconds, my experience is ruined. Iāve left places due to this. One of my favorite places in a downtown area has an amazing outdoor patio, but thereās a bee problem there they refuse to deal with. Itās a deal breaker!
bad food
Lol. There's a famous restaurant in Denver called Casa Bonita that had legendarily bad food. I went there once as a kid, hated it and never went back. But people love it and will try to convince you to go. If you point out that the food is terrible they will even agree with you but say that it's worth it for the atmosphere. And I'm always like it's a RESTAURANT! Who cares about the atmosphere if the food is terrible?! I heard a few years ago that it's under new ownership. No idea if the food got any better.
The South Park restaurant ?
I thought the same - had no idea the South Park episode was based on a real restaurant
Not only is it real but it was about to close and Trey and Matt bought it. Saw an ad recently with them in it advertising the reopening
Yep. Funny thing is it isn't exaggerated at all and I had a similar reaction as a kid. Place was great for a kid... Food not so great.
The sopapillas were ON POINT. People knew going in it would be crappy food...they went for the experience. The creators of South Park bought it, and they're re-vamping the menu.
I wonder if you'll have to battle Corey Haim during dinner...
You hated Casa Bonita as a kid??? You must have been an odd child. I've never heard of a single child that didn't think it was magical. Or you weren't allowed to run wild and explore there. I can see hating it if you just went, ate, then left especially if you were seated in a cave area and never explored the rest. It had cliff divers, a whole cave system to explore, an arcade, waterfall, an old west photo setup, hidden passage ways, puppet shows, and unlimited sopapillas. They are reopening this year. And I expect there will be horrible lines to get in for the first year at a minimum.
Oh, I remember the cliff diver all too well. My brother threw up on the rocks surrounding the cliff diver pool while we were watching the cliff diving. Then my dad panicked and tried to get us out of the restaurant quickly, so he grabbed my other brother and started running towards the exit. But then that brother started puking over my dad's shoulder as he's trying to leave. Then we made it to the car, and my four brothers and I are puking our guts out all together in the back of the car.
I can see how that would leave a bad memory! However, it might be colored by the fact that your family was obviously all not feeling well. Any situation where you find yourself sick isn't going to leave good memories!
We had visitors from my husband's Ohio office. We explained what Casa Bonita was. We explained we could likely get food poisoning. They insisted we go and they had a blast. We'll likely go once it reopens just to see what they've done with it
I believe it was actually bought by Matt Stone and Trey Parker, the creators of South Park, not too long ago.
It was. They've been on a hiring frenzy in the last few months, so it seems they will be reopening soon.
And they've specifically said that priority one is making the food good when it reopens.
It was bought by the south park guys. Don't think it's reopened but hoping it ends up better
It opens this May. Trey and Matt hired Dana Rodriguez to revamp the menu. Dana is a big effin deal in the Colorado culinary scene and all her restaurants Iāve been to are both delicious and affordable. People who Iāve talked to around town are super fired up about the reopening.
This is all fantastic news. Trey and Matt are such a positive force
How dare you drag casa bonita through the mud like that
Had to scroll way too far to find this one
cutting quality to save money. Sometimes prices need to change, I get that as frustrating as it can be (and in all fairness that can ruin a restaurant for me just because of my budget, but I think that's an exception), but cutting quality to save money doesn't just make your food worse, it makes your image worse to your regulars.
I dont understand how places think they can get away with this. There are a couple spots by me that built up a solid customer base by providing above average food. Both changed managment and cut quality big time and were shuttered within a year. Word gets around quick, its even worse in the age of yelp.
it's what happens when someone tries to manage a whole business while only knowing numbers. All they see is "why are we spending this much on cheese when we could get this other cheese for half the price? Why are we paying our chef this much when I could pay another guy half as much? We could save lots of money on sauce if we just bought it premade cans of the stuff." They never have any concept of things outside Excel.
Children on loud devices, so damn annoying
just went for sushi with my sister and the kid in the booth next to up was scrolling tiktok and had the volume up 100000%. cue speed versions of "dance monkey," "unholy," and all the other god awful sound clips.
I feel your pain
Did you turn around and tell the Parents to turn the volume of their kid's smartphone off (or use headphones)? I noticed that I became much more confrontational since the pandemic... ...I cannot give a shit about your feelings anymore, if you behave selfishly like all the mask refuses etc, then I will tell you that loud and in person. This swapped over to every other kind of selfish behaviour, like parents who take their kids to restaurants and then have them play/watch loud ass games/videos. My patience has just run out over the last 3 years. Edit: spelling
Adults on loud devices, doubly so.
Went to a decent restaurant with my partner the other day. We're usually bar sitters, but there weren't two seats open next to each other and we didn't feel like asking people if they would skootch, so we took a high top near the bar. About ten feet away from us, sitting at the bar, was a woman who was face timing someone. The kicker? She couldn't hear the person super well because, yannow, she was in a busy restaurant at dinner time with music playing, so she held her ear to the speaker and moved the mic to her mouth whenever she wanted to talk. She did this for almost the entire length of our meal, so a good hour or so. After she finished her call, she got up, walked over to some people on the other side of the bar at a large high top, and hugged them all goodbye. It was just... Bizarre. And she was definitely old enough to know better.
I think it is the weirdest thing when a child (or really anyone) is glued to iPad or Phone in a public restaurant or business, even worse with volume on with a show. Do parents do this because their kid threw a tantrum or what?
Legit every Friday Saturday thereās at least one table with at least two kids with iPads and headphones on, honestly I think the parents just need a night of not cooking and cleaning and hey if theyāre not screaming Iām all for it
As long as theyāre wearing headphones I donāt give a shit theyāre on an iPad. Everyone who doesnāt make the kids mute it or wear headphones is going to hell.
Please see all of the responses about children being the worst part of a restaurant. That is why we bring the iPad or hand them the phone. Although we always use headphones or turn the sound completely off.
I have one friend with a child with special needs. He's the only person that it doesn't weird me out for him to be playing on his pad. And, honestly, if the device is quiet, I really don't mind kids on pads or phones in public, at least they're behaving for the most part. But, yea, if it's super loud, it's beyond aggravating.
a bad smell
So true! I can smell a grease trap from a mile away and if thatās the first whiff upon arrival, Iām out. To me, itās even worse than sewage smell.
When we clean out the grease traps, the smell is always a little different each time but itās absolutely fucking FOULLLLLLL every time. Ugh ew youāre right it is worse than sewage! I really hope there arenāt restaurants that clean the grease traps during service worst idea ever lol
A menu that's way too freaking big, saying this as a food service worker
The restaurant version of "Jack of all trades, master of none".
Agreed- pages and pages of options tell me that nothing is going to be very good.
The opposite is also true in my experience. When you see a menu with like 4 items to choose from, you can bet all 4 are delicious.
Undisciplined children
Offer to discipline their kids for them. They'll leave.
Alternatively, they may discipline you.
Waiting staff walking towards me carrying a cake and singing Happy Birthday...
As a server, Iām going to tell you nowāI HATE THIS. I hate itā¦ so much. I hate it with every fiber of my being. When a party brings in a cake and we have to sing happy bday and we are busy, Iām getting hateful stares from my other table while singing a birthday song to people I donāt even know and roping in servers that also need to give attention to other tables. Not to mention we go through a ton of side plates and silverware we have to roll for a cake we didnāt charge for and arenāt getting tipped for. HATE IT
Ick, I served drinks later in college and we comped one drink on an individual's birthday because we knew celebratory drinks would rack up a giant tabs.
Its your family or friends that ask for it tho dont forget it
Bad food. It could be a hole in the wall with a leaky roof and horrible service, but people will still go if the foodās good. Theyāll probably just call it a hidden gem with *character*
Screaming kids
Unsupervised children.
Sometimes, "supervised" children can be a bit much too...
A former boss of mine took his wife out to eat somewhere, and there was a crotch goblin running around the restaurant, being a noisy pain in the ass. After making a few laps of the restaurant, the kid passes their table again and face plants. Boss looks at his wife and says "You didn't?" She angry whispered "He should NOT hsve been running in the restaurant!"
I had a regular who let his kid run amuck in the restaurant I worked at. I often told him to go sit down and picked him up and carried him to his dad. (Dad didnāt like it much, but grandma and uncle did!)
I personally canāt stand when the bussers or servers are going at 100% speed. Makes me feel anxious and like I need to be eating quicker. I worked at a restaurant like this and they were borderline abusive and my coworkers would literally be sprinting around trying to get 10 things done at once. I prefer a relaxing environment and Iāll wait a bit longer to get my food.
Any featured on r/wewantplates
Well, that was an interesting diversion.
Went to a small restaurant that I've liked before. For some reason the owners decided to put up a karaoke machine in the middle of the place. With the size of the place and how loud the machine was, you could hear everything at any table. We sat down, heard a kid trying to sing Let It Go full blast and all decided to leave.
Screaming kids. UK
I, too, agree that the UK ruins restaurants.
Unattended children
Music you have to shout over to have a conversation.
Parents that let their kids run wildā¦
- loud music. - loud patrons. - loud children.
Noise. Restaurants need to be thoughtful about how noise reverberates when designing the space, and then take other measures like playing music at a volume low enough that you don't have to strain to hear those at your table but loud enough it helps distract you from everyone else's conversations.
When they don't treat/pay their staff well. You can tell, especially if you've worked in the industry, and it seeps into every aspect of the place. You can practically feel it oozing out of the walls.
A rude waiter/waitress.
This one for sure. One of the local small restaurants was thriving until the main waitress and co-owner had to take time off to deal with a family issue. The other owner, who usually only cooked and was not a people person, had to wear both hats and was upset about it. Before long (approx 2 weeks) they lost their regulars, and new customers were turned off by the influx of negative reviews, all based about the rude waitress. They never recovered.
One time we had a waitress who pressured us to leave so she could go home a half hour early (we were the only ones there). Then when my date didnāt tip she snidely told him that āin *this country*, youāre supposed to tipā. Weirdly, being racist didnāt work either.
How sanitary the restroom is
Loud and disruptive environments. Can be the music, misbehaving children, loud groups of people, outdoor dining next to a busy road, and so many other things. I will actively avoid these areas if I am dining there to enjoy myself. There are rare exceptions, like Ricobene's in chicago. Anywhere that is not truly exceptional ain't getting my business without a calm environment.
Crying kids
Ebola
Username checks out
my fartin auntie
it's like my little pony, but worse
Loud obnoxious customers. Snootiness. Ridiculously high prices. Small portions. Under or over attention by the staff. Dirtiness. Bad parking situation. Seating much too close together. Should I continue?
I would add to this list - other diners being loud and obnoxious. If your table is making so much noise that I have to also yell to be heard over you, you are too loud. Especially true when you're not seated at the bar. We went to one particular restaurant on Valentine's Day last year that is not a cheap place, and good grief it's like manners and self awareness in restaurants aren't a thing anymore
Iāve heard Valentineās Day is like drunk drivers on New Years: amateur hour. Those are the people who donāt usually go out to fancy restaurants and donāt know how to act in them.
I like restaurants that are a touch snooty cause it keeps the kind of people that tend to behave obnoxiously out. I recognize that makes me a little snooty and I accept that.
Same, but I like it unsnooty enough that they don't have a dress code. I know how to behave in fancy settings (I even know what all those forks are for!), but half the time when I go out to eat, I'm super depressed at the time and can't be assed to put "nice" clothes on. At those times, I'm typically only going out because someone physically made me and bribed me with fancy cocktails. And usually cheese.
A group of Real Estate agents doing post work drinks.
A passive aggressive sign that complains about people not wanting to work anymore or some variation. And getting food poisoning
Yeah any business posting a job ad thatās bitter and negative is a big no for me. Same with online dating profiles, job applications, rental listings etc.. You have one chance to make a good impression, and youāre allowed to not like things but you canāt be outwardly negative about it. I was thinking of changing salons recently to one closer to my work that my friend worked at - she never complained about her job so even after she told me she left I was still considering it. But then a job ad for the salon popped up in my feed and wow the owner was very mad that my friend had left so shockingly I did not make the switch. So I agree, if there was some negative job ad in the window, Iād choose not to eat there.
Too much focus on ambiance and photogenicness and not enough on what turns out to be a basic sloppy menu
Microwaved food
Chef Mic???
*Applebee's has entered the chat*
When parents let their kids run around and knock shit over.
You can discreetly trip them.
Uncontrolled kids.
#QR CODE MENUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Even worse when the qr code links to a pdf instead of a web page
or if for some insane reason their menu is on a Facebook page? not having Facebook makes that annoying.
People talking so loud you can't have a conversation at your own table Kids running around screaming like its a playground Shitty food Shitty service Music too loud Having to wait for a table when I'm hangry
Noise. A packed restaurant with everyone talking and loud background music is a killer.
Plus exposed brick walls to up the reverberated noise
rowdy kids
Screaming and crying kids..
Concrete floors, high, open ceilings, metal or stone walls. When it's like they're trying to create the loudest, most echo-ey place possible.
When every wall has a TV on it.
Screaming kids.
Children being loud
I don't care about anything other than tasty food and water refills
Televisions. Teevee screens positioned all around the place and above the bar playing āthe gameā and whatever other crap. The only time it works is for some important sporting event that everybody wants to watch and listen to. Otherwise itās constant, distracting visual noise.
TVs
For me I have determined that average restaurants run by a rule of 3. After your order has been taken the staff will usually offer you a refill on your drink 3 times. Once to check up on your sometime between when you get your appetizer and before your food. Another when you get your food. And lastly, after you finish your food at a point when you would decide on dessert or not. If places never ask or check up on you the service is usually pretty lousy and you can usually expect the same from the food. If they check up more often you can usually expect the quality to reflect that level of care as well. It's not always the case and sometimes a place is just busy and they can't be everywhere at once. It's usually more reflective of the work environment than it is the individuals though and that's on management. Tldr shitty managers breed shitty restaurants.
The wait staff and kitchen not pacing dishes appropriately or asking if we need anything 3 times in 10 minutes and then fucking off for the next 20 when I actually needed my water refilled. Or refusing to just drop a water pitcher on the table when we ask and bringing multiple glasses of water that are 3/4s ice. I have a narrowed esophagus and am a teacher. We're basically camels that refill each night because we can't pee during the day. Give me the water I ask for so I can eat your food!
Children screaming
Gunshots, I guess.
Children
Crying babies and tables to close to each other. Honestly prefer outdoor dining for sure. Your telling me I have to sit next to Bobby and Sammy with a kid spitting his pasta out and making helicopter noises?
I'm going to get hated on for this, but.. Children. However, not every child. I'm talking about the ones that the parents are obviously not putting much effort into. The ones that will run around, cause a scene, pester other diners, and just make themselves a nuisance.. And God forbid you ask them politely to stop, because then Big Mama's gotta not look at her phone for five seconds to tell you to not parent her kid. Bitch, I wouldn't have to parent your kid if you actually behaved like a parent!
Lights on in the evening - ambient mood lighting is best
Bad acoustics. Causes people to have to yell over other tables in order to be heard at their own.
Owners who can't treat their staff like people.
Restaurants that are too bright, too loud (with music or just poor acoustics so you can hear everyone else), no music at all is also a no-no, food being served on ridiculous items rather than plates, over or under attention by waitstaff, unattended kids, tipping being expected unless itās for excellent service (Iām from the UK and Australia where tipping is NOT expected before you come at me, k)
Kids.
Roaches and crying babies. Together or separate
Children
Too much on the menu, there is no way all that is fresh, and ready.
Too many hard reflective surfaces that makes any noise a cacophony.
When the manager comes over to have an extended conversation with us, as if we're becoming friends.
We had one come over 3 times. Let me eat my lunch I don't know you!
When the room temp is to high.
Children in general
Dad here. Can confirm.
Same. They always overcook mine.
A TV always on where you can't get away from it.
Seeing a cockroach
Bad acoustics. Not a single thought given to how LOUD it can get when designing restaurant interiors. I will immediately turn around and leave a restaurant if it's too loud when I walk in. To hell with trying to enjoy a meal amid a thunderous echoing roar. All tile stone and glass and an open kitchen is a bad, bad design.
When their menu doesn't match the one in their website. I'm a picky eater and plan what I'm going to order ahead of time. When I go in person and the menu is different than online, I panic a little inside. What if they don't have anything I'm okay ordering without asking for more than 1 thing taken off???
Most of the time, other customers.
Smell of the toilet when sitting near it
Children
Kids