20 People Share Red Flags to Watch for Before Choosing a Restaurant

Everyone has a favorite place to grab a bite, but let’s face it—not all restaurants are created equal. Running a food joint isn’t just about cooking; it’s about sticking to a ton of rules to keep things safe and healthy. The thing is, we don’t always know what’s happening behind the kitchen curtain. As customers shelling out our hard-earned cash, we have every right to expect tasty food that’s served up fresh and clean. So here are 20 warning signs to look out for when choosing where to eat.

• Uncleaned toilets.

• "Chinese restaurant with no Chinese customers, or similar scenario for other ethnic restaurants."

• "The food comes looking like it was microwaved and still has the shape of whatever plastic frozen dinner entrée tray it came in." tangcameo / Reddit

• "I always go to wash my hands after finding my table. If the soap dispenser is empty, I leave." BRUISE_WILLIS / Reddit

• "If the hostesses appear timid to approach their bosses, it means they're really harsh on mistakes." boredguy12 / Reddit

• "Waiters/waitresses standing around together just staring because the owner told them it looks unprofessional to just relax; on the contrary, just a few of them running like crazy at peak hours because owners don't bother to hire a decent amount of people." sakura_zephyr / Reddit

• "Always look up. A good restaurant should be cleaned enough to not have half an inch of dust on their light fixtures. Don’t trust a restaurant that only cleans where they think you’ll look." OneHillTree / Reddit

• Cloudy cups and glasses. It means their dishwasher isn't using soap properly.

• Too many items on the menu.
  

• Incoherent menu. Cuisines that don't often have ingredients in common, which means some ingredients may sit longer.

• When you go in and most of the guests have dirty plates on their tables and are looking around for a server. Add in empty tables still piled with plates and you know they are incredibly short-staffed. Time to bail out.

• If you're looking at the menu outside, and an employee/manager comes out to usher you into the restaurant. I've only had that happen once, but it was clear pretty quickly why they were so desperate for my business.

• They’re annoyed that you’re ordering food.

• If you walk into a fish restaurant that smells of fish, walk out.
  
  This is true. It might seem expected but yea if the smell of fish (apart from already served dishes) is strong, questions how fresh or well refrigerated the fish is.

• "Being served hot food within 5 minutes. It was either already cooked and sitting around, or microwaved.." DopeCharma / Reddit

• Really long menu, and yet the food comes really fast.

• "I was once somewhere with a friend, and she ordered a meatloaf. They said they were out of it. No big deal. She orders something else, and 5 minutes later, they come back and said, "Hey, we found some meatloaf, do you want that instead?"
  We excused ourselves and left. I get it, maybe there was just some miscommunication or something, but the way she said, "We found some meatloaf".... it scared us both." DealMo / Reddit

• "A 20 percent tip automatically added to the bill." DJGlennW / Reddit

• "If you don’t smell food at a restaurant. Good chance everything is just microwaved. Also, flies. If you see one fly, no big deal if you see multiple flies leave." adriangalli / Reddit

Before you head out, take a moment to dive into another article that’ll leave you inspired and hungry for more! It’s all about 20 diners whose restaurant visits were so incredible, they redefined what it means to have a memorable meal. From jaw-dropping flavors to top-notch service that went above and beyond, these stories prove that dining out can be more than just a meal—it can be an unforgettable experience. You won’t want to miss it.