20+ True Stories That Happened When Food and Drama Collided

A trip to a café or restaurant isn’t just about the food—it can also serve up some unforgettable experiences. The people in this article know exactly what that’s like. They walked out with stories so unique and memorable, that they just had to share them.

• I worked in a chain of expensive restaurants. One day, one of our guests was wearing an expensive watch, and our waiter praised it. So the guest took it off his hand and gave it to him as a gift.
  The next morning he came back to the restaurant. The waiter was back on shift. He thought that the man had come back to take back his present. The guest said, "I gave you my watch yesterday, I feel awkward about it." The waiter handed over the watch, saying, "Here it is, safe and sound."
  And the man replied, "You misunderstood me. It's not nice to give a secondhand watch." And he hands our employee a box with a new watch of the same brand. © ChillOut / VK
• I used to work in a catering business. A regular and very well-respected guest came in with a lady and placed an order. Drinks were brought to them, they were sitting, cooing, and waiting for their food.
  Then a woman enters the hall and purposefully goes to their table. She takes the man's glass and silently pours the drink on his head. And then she leaves, just as silently. As it turned out, it was his wife. © OFF.NIK / Pikabu

"We were at a restaurant where they serve tacos in this unusual way."

• I remembered my most ridiculous and fateful date in October. We didn't know each other personally, but we knew each other through mutual friends. He wanted to meet me very badly. So one day, he texted me, "Hey, let's meet."
  I was young and wanted romance, especially in October. He invited me to a restaurant. I walked into the restaurant in a beautiful dress and high heels. It was evening, and almost all the tables were occupied. Waiters were running past me.
  I stepped forward, and suddenly a waiter with a tray in his hands fell on me. It was hard to keep my balance in stilettos, and we flew across the slippery floor straight into the center of the room. I hit the man's legs with all my might, and the waiter flew further away. I raised my head and saw the astonished face of a man I landed on.
  "Who are you?!" he asked perplexedly.
  "Lara," I said embarrassed, removing salad leaves from my hair.
  He held out his hand to me, helped me up, and sat me down at his table. I never got to meet my date. But I met my future husband. © Anonym 03 / VK
• A friend asked me to help her prepare for her first date (hair, makeup, manicure). But then her date called her and said that he had some accident and asked to postpone the date. We decided to go to a restaurant ourselves so that the beauty we'd made would not be lost.
  At a restaurant, we met that guy with his wife and 2 children. When he saw us, he and his family moved to the furthest corner. I was tempted to approach his wife and show her his profile on the dating website. But we decided to stay out of it. © Podslushano / Ideer
• When I was 3 years old, my father opened a business and worked 24/7. He took us to a restaurant as a family once, and the waitress decided to make me laugh.
  - Baby, who's Mummy's husband?
  - Daddy.
  - And who's Daddy's wife?
  I blurted out something that made my parents blush, "Work." From that moment on, my father spent more time at home. © Overheard / Ideer

“Steak served in a deep bowl on top of fries. Had to ask for a plate so I could actually cut it.”

• I once sat in a restaurant courtyard, eating, not touching anyone. It was crowded there, chairs and tables were right next to each other. And suddenly someone licked my left ear. I froze at first from surprise.
  Then I turned around and saw a small dog standing on the chair behind me. Resting its paws on the back of the chair, it was looking at me with interest, while the owners had gone somewhere. © Podslushano / Ideer
• I haven't seen my friend for 6 months, we are sitting in a cafe. She asked me what interest in my life during this time. My story lasted no more than 2 minutes, my friend managed to yawn a couple of times, and at the end, the guy at the next table said, "Miss, I apologize for interfering, but I feel sorry for you." © Podslushano / Ideer
• Once, as a student, I was sitting with a guy in a cafe. A popular song was playing on the radio in the background, and then he kissed me. There was nothing serious between us, we broke up after a couple of months.
  But it's been 15 years, and when I hear this song somewhere, I automatically remember, "Oh, Mike and I kissed under this song!" I don't know why this happened: I didn't like the song, and Mike was not the love of my life, but for some reason, my brain decided that it was necessary to remember it! © Podslashano / Ideer
• A few years ago, I met a perfect woman. We met on a dating site, chatted for a month, and decided to meet in real life. We sat down in a cafe and ordered tea and cakes. After about 15 minutes, she said, "Let's go to my place to eat dumplings."
  So I stayed with her for 3 days, and we were dating for about a year. She later confessed to me that the idea of dumplings was a 100% chance to win over a man she liked. © Podslushano / Ideer

"Ordered a large pizza and cheese fries. They delivered this."

• My wife had a doctor's appointment today, about 90 minutes from home, so I decided to take the day off and go with her. After her appointment, we decided to hit up a restaurant before heading home. It's a nationwide chain.
  A boomer couple is sitting in a booth across from us when the lady boomer spills her sweet tea all over the table. The waitress rushes over with a towel and a tray and proceeds to slide the tray under the edge of the table, in an attempt to catch most of it before it goes all over her (the boomer) and the floor.
  Mr. Boomer decides that he will not sit at a wet table and begins to grab their silverware, salad plates, etc., and moves a couple of booths down the line, all while the waitress is attempting to clean the mess the Mrs. made. The waitress grabs another towel and waits patiently for Mr. Boomer to get out of the way.
  He then grabs the Mrs. glass, puts it right in the waitress's face, and says, "You be sure to refill my wife's sweet tea. It's sweet tea, not regular." The waitress turns her head in my direction, where she sees me, with my mouth hanging wide open, and just stares. I was dumbfounded! Was this guy for real!? © sagitalistheway / Reddit
• My girlfriend and I were going to an event last Friday and wanted a small meal beforehand. At dinner time, we went to a Japanese restaurant we frequent. We both ordered a miso soup and one of their classic rolls (a little over $20 for that and a coke). The waitress scowled at our order and as she collected the menus she said, "Next time, just order online takeout, okay?"
  I work in the retail service industry myself and found this an insane comment to make to a customer. When she put our bill down and collected it with haste and no comment, I decided I was not tipping her at all. I've discussed the situation with my coworkers and a few have commented "That's rude, but I'd not tip" and judged me for it. © ScoresMann223 / Reddit

"The amount of uncooked bacon fat in my wife’s ‘traditional’ Italian restaurant's carbonara."

• We went with the kids to a kid's club. The club had a quite decent restaurant. It's not the first time we spent time there. We made an order and waited, and the children's entertainment program began. 2 hours later there was still no food, and the children started to run up and ask if there was something to eat. And not only ours. The hall was full of people and everyone had a questioning expression on their faces.
  We asked our waiter, and he made big eyes and promised that the food would be ready soon. We waited another half an hour, and my husband went to the neighboring fast food restaurant to get some French fries for the kids. When he brought them back, the waiters quickly appeared and said that it wasn't allowed. We were already pissed and shouted at them. They disappeared.
  Then a new waiter approached us with 2 cocktails on the house. He admitted that the cook had been out last night and was in no condition to work. Another cook was called in, but he had just arrived and started cooking earlier orders. Would we wait? We cursed them and left and never went there again, of course. © Tatyana Lobanova / ADME
• I'm in a cafe, and there's a woman in her thirties with a child at the neighboring table. She ordered
  something and was making eyes at me, smiling. I smiled back. After the waitress brought their order, she came to me with a payment terminal, saying that the woman was very grateful to me
  for the treat. I said I wouldn't pay for it.
  Suddenly, this lady starts shouting, "What's wrong with you? He looked so nice, and now he can't buy a coffee for a girl and a cocktail for a child, you cheapskate!" I was taken aback. © Sosisovca / Pikabu
• Let me tell you about how we had our first dinner in Bulgaria. Flight, customs, transfer... We were tired and hungry. We went to the nearest restaurant to have a normal dinner for the first time in a day.
  We were surprised by the low prices, so we asked the waiter, "Is it per dish or 100 grams?" The waiter was surprised but confirmed that it was per portion. We ordered soup, salad, some vegetables...
  They brought almost a liter of soup, a pan with grilled vegetables, and a bowl of salad. Instead of bread, they brought a huge flatbread. The waiter, looking conspiratorial, whispered, "I made you bigger portions." We were blown away! From then on, we took only one portion for 2 people. © SpikaTheMerc / Pikabu

"Ah yes, serving food in a container made for fish at a vegan restaurant."

• Once on holiday, we went to a tavern. And we waited for our order for more than 2 hours. People around us came, ate, and left. I ordered a well-done steak. In the end, the steak came raw with sauce on a separate plate.
  We were hungry and tired, and we still had a couple of hours to drive. It turned out they were looking for the zucchinis we ordered all over town. And we told them that we were hungry and tired. And they were looking for the bloody zucchini and not bringing the rest of the order!
  If they told us, they were out of them, we’d have ordered something else. The interesting thing is that there were 4 of us, and we all ordered different dishes. Only one dish of them contained zucchini. © Diana / ADME
• I’ve never had much luck with waiters. They were either rude or inattentive students. But recently I had lunch at a place near my work. It had home-cooked food, a cozy atmosphere, and not many guests.
  Everyone was served by a nice lady, who was very attentive and polite. I had never had such a great and somehow homely reception, even in fancy venues. When paying, I decided to express my sincere admiration and thank her for the delicious food.
  I told her that it was the first time I had seen this kind of attitude to a client. And she replied, “I’m the owner, I try my best to keep people coming back and making them feel at home!” Take note, guys, who work as waiters! © Palata 6 / VK
• I was in a restaurant with my child and a friend. My daughter is very sociable and started a small talk with the men at the neighboring table: “Misters, where are your misses?” They say they don’t have them.
  My daughter says, “Maybe you could look after Aunt Tana then? Because she complained that there was no one to take care of her. No one looked after my hamster, and it started to smell bad.”
  Everyone lay down on the table laughing. The waiters wept. The friend left the restaurant in a hurry. © Schastie / VK

Many of these tales involve family, which isn’t surprising—family and drama often go together. If you’re in the mood for more captivating stories with surprising twists, be sure to explore this article.