20 Restaurant Stories That Deserve a Tip on Their Own

2 weeks ago

Working in food service isn’t easy. From waiters to cooks, everyone has to deal with picky customers sometimes. Someone doesn’t like a steak, another spits out cake. The main thing is to keep a sense of humor. These people are definitely stress-resistant and always have a funny story to share with friends.

We have a regular customer who orders a well-done steak with asparagus almost every night. And she almost always complains about the meat: too fatty, too thin, overcooked, or undercooked. I tried everything to make the perfect steak for her.
When she returned it to the kitchen again, I lost it. I cooked the steak to medium, then just put it in the microwave for a couple of minutes. She ate it happily and even gave me a tip! © Uzasodinson / Reddit
Once, while working as a waitress, I recognized a pianist among the restaurant guests — he had recently played at an artist’s exhibition. I told him about it right away. He wasn’t used to being recognized by waiters, and just for fun, he asked me for an autograph. © Warmi / Pikabu
I’m sitting in a café working on my laptop. A waiter comes up and asks, “Can I get you anything?” Without looking away from my screen, I say, “Yes, success... and make it quick!”
He pauses and seriously asks, “Coffee with that?” © aliya.rakhimbek

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I’m a chef at a higher end Italian restaurant. The average dish is around $50. One of our popular dishes is Salmon Florentine. I’ve made it dozens of times, and customers rave about it. It looks 100% the same and picture perfect every time.
She ordered, I made and plated it, and it was taken to her table. We have an open kitchen, so I saw the lady arguing with the server. The plate came back untouched.
The server said the customer’s exact words were, “Um, that’s not salmon. I know what salmon looks like, and that’s not it, I refuse to eat this whatever it is.” So, she ordered a filet mignon instead. Cooked it, sent it out and watched.
After one bite, she flagged down the server and started berating her. I didn’t know what it was about until I heard this lady scream, “I ordered medium rare, and you brought me a steak that still has pink in it. That’s not medium rare.” What is wrong with people? It was so absurd it felt like a prank. © ThisCarSmellsFunny / Reddit
I work at a café. Over time, I’ve collected lots of different gifts left by customers. But recently, a couple of girls sat in my section: about 20 years old, pink hair, tired look, bags under their eyes. They ordered something to eat and drink.
As I later found out, they were artists. Passing by, I kept watching them draw. After they left, I found a drawing of myself, a heart made of a paper bill, and a small note. It’s the nicest “tip” I’ve ever gotten in my career. © Overheard / Ideer
I work as a waiter. A guest, chatting with her date, barely touched her salad. It’s my job to ask why — maybe it was too salty, too peppery, or dressed with the wrong sauce.
She smiled and said she wasn’t hungry, but I could sell that salad again. I thanked her and explained that in our venue, salads aren’t served a third time. © umorist / Pikabu

A couple sat down at a table and ordered a ton of stuff. The only one acting normal was the man. His lady was freaking out about everything. Eventually, the guy asked for the check.
He gave more than the total, but I’m an honest person — I brought the folder back with the change. Then the woman looks around, sees the man already heading to the car, and suddenly grabs the money from the folder. Shoves it into her purse and bolts for the exit.
Right then, she looks up and realizes he saw everything. He quietly walked back over to me, took out his wallet, counted out about 30–40% of their check, and handed it to me. He came back a few more times after that — but never with her. © BelleTyrell / Pikabu
I work at a café. A girl came in, asked at the counter if we have “dish smashing” on the menu, looked around, got herself a coffee, drank it, smashed a cup hard, put the money down, and left. © Overheard / Ideer
I used to work at a bakery. One time, a girl came in and ordered a slice of carrot cake. She took it and immediately bit into a piece right by the counter, chewed it, then threw the rest in the trash. I stood there shocked, and she came back again saying she wanted the same whole cake now. I asked her what was wrong and why she threw the cake away. She said, “I can’t stand this kind of cake, but my parents love it. I just wanted to make sure it was exactly the kind they like. I’m getting it for their anniversary.” Well, I hadn’t heard anything like that before.

A few years ago, I had to work in a small restaurant. Our administrator was a very pretentious lady who loved to throw in fancy words whether they fit or not.
One time, she came up to me and handed me a thin notebook with the words “Personae Non Gratae” written in huge letters on the cover. She said that I needed to know these names by heart. I said, “Okay, but what am I supposed to do when they show up? Call security?”
She replied, “Dear, are you stupid? Personae Non Gratae are the most important guests in our place!” Then she walked away, muttering that they’d hired dumb waiters, and now she had to deal with them. © niakris89 / Pikabu
A friend’s wife worked as a cook. According to her, cockroaches showed up in the restaurant.
A waitress approached a customer, and a cockroach fell from the ceiling right onto his bald head. The waitress didn’t panic, she wiped his bald head with a towel and said, “That’s how much we love you.” In the end, she got a huge tip.
Now she wipes that guy’s bald head every time he comes in. She even bought a special silk towel just for that. © THE CUSTOMER IS ALWAYS RIGHT! / VK
I’ve been working as a barista for 5 years, and during that time I’ve seen all kinds of situations — funny and not so much.
One time, I was finishing my shift when a customer decided to try a new drink on the menu. It was coffee with syrup and an extra-large serving of whipped cream on top. Not seeing where the cream ended, and the coffee began, the guy took a huge sip, and whipped cream fell all over his face while the coffee spilled everywhere.
I braced myself for a scene, but then I heard laughter. The guy started laughing at the situation, and the whole room joined in. That funny moment lifted everyone’s spirits and created a nice atmosphere. © Chamber 6 / VK

The place has been open for about 25 years, and the menu has changed multiple times over the years. However, they have a policy where if someone orders something that used to be on the menu, and we still have the ingredients, we will make it for them.
The problem is, these dishes are only ordered a few times a year, but the people who order them are very loyal to these dishes, and all the people who trained me on making them are no longer there. I’m the last person there with the knowledge of how to make these dishes, and I haven’t had a reason to train anyone else how to make them.
So when I leave in January, the secret menu leaves with me. It’s weird to think about, but funny to me as well, because I picture someone down the road ordering it and nobody there knowing what they’re talking about, then the customer insisting they’ve been ordering it for years, and being made to feel like a crazy person when everyone insists no such dish exists. © AngryChefNate / Reddit
I worked as a waitress in a karaoke bar. One day, I came home after a double shift, tired and hungry. I hadn’t eaten properly for about a day and a half.
I quickly heated up some food, filled a plate, set the table: fork, knife, tea, and a small plate with bread rolls. I put the plate down and stood waiting for my “customer.”
My mom looked at me sadly and said, “Mademoiselle, please sit down. I’ll bring you the check myself.” The next day, I quit. © Region89 / Pikabu
Once, I worked in a small coffee shop where the kitchen was ruled by tough guys in aprons and tattoos. They didn’t tolerate pop or calm jazz — it was always loud rock. One day, I asked them to play something quieter, and the head chef declared with a serious look, “Real food is only born with the right soundtrack!”
Many years have passed since then, and I still can’t cook a steak or roast meat without guitar riffs. If the music isn’t playing, the dish definitely comes out bland, no matter how much salt I add. © Chamber 6 / VK

We had a catering event for hospital nurses yesterday where they were giving out bagels and cream cheese on the side for breakfast. At the end of the day, I was there picking up our stuff, and it turns out they only gave out about 400 bagels.
They said they didn’t want the rest even though they were already prepaid and told us to do “whatever we wanted with them.” So come back and tell the GM and chef, and they said they’ll figure it out...
So I was thinking about what I would do with 1,600 prepaid bagels, and the business savvy thing to do would be to give the staff however much they want and then run a bagel sandwich special with the rest. The kind thing to do would be to donate them to a homeless shelter or food pantry. But no, the GM insisted they all go into the trash.
Not only that, she sent the chef up with me and had him record me on video throwing them all into the compacter. There was so much I had to compact it twice to fit it all in. She then made me and the chef sit with her as she watched the whole 5-minute video. © Burgerlander6 / Reddit
It was a fierce northern winter. I worked at a restaurant, and we had a banquet booked for about 30 people. My coworker and I spent the whole day bustling around, setting up. We were running around hungry, but the table was loaded.
The table was set, but the guests hadn’t arrived. There was a blizzard outside, and a storm warning was announced. We waited an hour, then 2, and by the third hour only 5 people showed up.
They sat at the set table, talked for a bit, then stood up and left. Without thinking much, my coworker and I pounced on the food! About 10 minutes later, the hall door opened — and there they were, the whole gang. It turned out those 5 had just gone to meet the rest.
My coworker, mouth full, said, “We thought you’d already left.” But the guests were great. We quickly cleaned up the mess we made, and the guests sat down and teased us all evening. I’ve never been so embarrassed in my life. © MissYellow / Pikabu
Once, I worked as a waitress during summer break. A new group of men came in. I calmly took their order and at the end asked, “Anything else?” Then one of the men stood up and said arrogantly, “Oh, miss, your smile is so fake, it looks like you’re forcing it.”
I was immediately taken aback, totally shocked. Then I thought: I work from morning till night, sometimes for weeks without days off. What more do you want from me? © tulip.bk

I’m a pastry chef. Someone ordered a honey cake. I handed over the order, and 5 minutes later the administrator came and said to everyone, “Now we’ll have a laugh.” Here’s the dialog with the customer:
— Did you make the honey cake?
— Yes, what’s the problem?
— Our daughter found a hair in the cake, I demand a refund.
— Sorry! That can’t be my hair.
I took off my hat, everyone saw my almost bald head. The customer said, “Okay, you have a lot of cooks in the kitchen, maybe it’s theirs.” The administrator called the whole crew — all bald. The mom got mad.
The administrator took her by the arm and led her away. We checked the cameras: she pulled something out of her bag and poked the kid’s cake with it. In the end, the mom paid double for the meal. Everyone laughed — both in the kitchen and in the dining room. © THE CUSTOMER IS ALWAYS RIGHT! / VK
I work at a restaurant. At first, I had a really tough time adapting to the team. To cheer me up, a coworker told me about something that happened to our best waiter: “When he was still an intern, they asked him to clear a table (to remove dirty dishes from the table), and he just took the whole table away.” © ehinopsis / Pikabu