19 People Who’ve Had Restaurant Experiences They’re Not Likely to Forget

Curiosities
3 years ago

We all go to cafes and restaurants from time to time. While we may have different reasons for this, like the celebration of an important event or a meeting with friends, one thing always stays the same — we want to treat ourselves with a tasty dish. But sometimes what a waiter brings us causes mixed feelings of surprise and mistrust, instead of happiness. And we’re almost ready to say, “You must be kidding me!”

Quora subscribers remembered these restaurant moments and other internet users decided to join them. We at Bright Side read all the stories, picked out the most interesting ones, and didn’t forget to add a bonus at the end of the article.

19.

So my husband and I went to this restaurant. I stumbled upon the dessert “Thai Apple Pie” on the menu and ordered it. I love pies and Thai food, so I was waiting for my order to arrive with pleasant anticipation. And then they presented me with this. The pie looked like 4–5 tiny apple pieces tossed in butter, smeared with little chocolate sauce, and 11 chocolate chips (yes, I counted them). I cried a bit and vowed to never eat at this restaurant again. © Madhuri Peri Bhattacharya / Quora

18.

“I had never eaten a chicken samosa. I wanted to give it a try and ordered one. When I saw the box, I was like, ‘Wow! This is a very big samosa!’ And then I opened the box.”

17.

My wife and I celebrated our second wedding anniversary. We both decided to start with a French onion soup. When it arrived, we realized that it wasn’t exactly an onion soup. Instead of melted cheese to top the broth, the bowl appeared to be filled with a granular substance. I tried the dish and almost gagged. It was like pouring a spoonful of salt into my mouth. Our waitress came over and I asked her to explain what was done to the soup. She said, “Well, we ran out of mozzarella, so we had to use grated Parmesan.” We sent the soup back. © Tom Curran / Quora

16.

My friend and I stayed at a hotel overnight and ordered room service in the morning. It was already included in the price. We left a note saying that we don’t eat meat. They had a very limited vegan menu, but it was supposed to be enough for both us. So we got our food delivered to our room. We ended up with half a tomato, 6 button mushrooms, one hash brown, and maybe a tablespoon of beans each. To say that I was annoyed would be an understatement! © Jade Smith / Quora

15.

“I always wanted to eat my ice cream off a restaurant table.”

14.

When I was in high school, my parents and I went to an Ethiopian restaurant. We ordered a combination plate so we could try as many different things as possible. Soon, the owner brought out a huge tray with a dozen small dishes surrounding a pile of bread. There was no silverware, just napkins.

We sat there looking very puzzled for a moment. The owner ripped off a piece of bread, dipped it in some sort of yummy lentil dish, and shoved it in my dad’s mouth with her bare hands. Then she did the same for me. © Dan Fink / Quora

13.

In the summer of 2017, I was traveling in Italy and landed in Naples for a few days. I was obviously traveling on a budget and ate only 2 meals a day. After a long day of roaming around, I decided to go to a restaurant. I was very hungry and ordered pasta. My order came after what seemed like an eternity, and when the waiter finally brought my dish, I saw this. I sat and looked at it for a good 2 minutes before I could even take a picture. I had to pay 11 euros for this, plus tip. It took 4 bites to eat it. I laughed all the way back to the hostel and to this day, I think I was pranked. © Shruthi H / Quora

12.

“I bought something called the ‘Titanic Burger.’ It was described as a burger on the menu. And then this arrived.”

11.

10 years ago, when it was my first time in Saudi Arabia, I went out to have lunch. Our driver would usually order take out for us and I decided to join him that time. I was offered a chicken kabsa. I had no idea what it was, and the driver’s description was like it was Arabic rice with chicken. Then the driver asked, “You want a half or one?” I was hungry, landed at 3 a.m., hadn’t had proper sleep because of the 9+ hour flight, and had had no breakfast, so I chose one.

An hour later, the food came in a clear plastic bag. It was filled with enough rice to feed an Indonesian family of 4. Then I saw the roasted chicken inside a cardboard box. That chicken kabsa became my lunch, dinner, next day’s breakfast, and lunch. And I still had some leftover rice after that. © Bayu Riyadi / Quora

10.

“I decided to celebrate my birthday at an expensive restaurant in Toronto. I didn’t have a good feeling about the place even before we placed our order, and when the waiter finally brought us the dishes, it didn’t improve my impression at all. We paid $30 for 5 tiny pieces of ravioli.” © Arman Parmar / Quora

9.

“It seems I won’t be able to eat my soup.”

8.

“I’m going to need bigger hands to hold this burger.”

7.

I was on vacation and went into a cafe. The waiter told me to order their signature pizza and said that people come here just for this dish. So I decided to give it a try and started waiting. I waited, and waited, and waited until the waiter finally returned. He had a tiny burnt pizza with a circular piece of cardboard underneath. It looked like something that comes underneath the frozen pizza that you buy at a grocery store. I’m normally not one to complain about my food and I usually just eat it without any questions, but this situation was beyond my understanding.

I asked the waiter, “Did you guys run out of ingredients and have to go buy a frozen pizza to serve me?” I could tell I caught him off guard, like he somehow didn’t expect me to figure it out. But he confirmed my suspicions, apologized, and offered to remove it from my bill. © Robert Puckett / Quora

6.

“This Pizza Margarita doesn’t make me want to eat.. or live.”

5.

My friend told me that a cafeteria at their work decided to try to please people who don’t eat meat, so they added the same soup with and without meat to the menu. On his lunch break, my friend asked for a bowl of this soup. A chef carefully poured some broth with vegetables in the bowl and asked my friend whether he wanted his soup to be vegetarian or not. My friend chose the option with meat. Then the chef just took pieces of meat out of the same pot and put them into the bowl. My friend was speechless. © Irreverse / Pikabu

4.

“The waiter brought the dish and said, “Just don’t eat the rocks.”

3.

I hate sweet dishes made with meat, poultry, or seafood. Once, I went to a Chinese restaurant and saw photos of shrimp on the menu. The dish looked really nice so I decided to order it. Knowing about how much the Chinese love to put sugar in the most unexpected dishes, I asked a waiter, “Do you cook the shrimp without sugar?” She confirmed, “Yes, no sugar.” Then she brought me my order, I tried it, and my teeth got stuck in some kind of syrup. And the waitress was standing near, smiling, “No sugar, just pure honey!” © Yuriy8 / Pikabu

2.

“We ordered a sweet dish from the delivery outlet Faasos. This is what we were expecting and this is what we received.”

1.

I can only describe them as “stegosaurus dumplings.”

Bonus: When you go to a restaurant to finally say, “Wow, you must be kidding me!”

Have you ever been surprised by a dish at a cafe or at a restaurant? What was the strangest thing about it?

Preview photo credit Arman Parmar / Quora

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I've seen picture similar to #12 and I always wonder, how do people even eat that?

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