Bad First Impression: How often has your first impression of a restaurant put you off? If you walk into a restaurant and notice food crumbs on the floor or messy tables, some red flags should pop into your head, and it’d probably be best for you to find somewhere else to eat.
Fishy Smell: A seafood restaurant smells like fish? If it does, that’s an indication that it’s gone or going bad.
Sick Waitstaff: If restaurant owners encourage their staff to work while sick, you can count on getting sick too.
Food Is Wrong Temperature: When ordering food, it should arrive fresh and hot. If the food is served lukewarm, the food has been sitting long enough to give bacteria a chance to develop.
5 thoughts on “20 Red Flags At Restaurants That Should Scare You”
Thank you for a very informative article. Getting food poisoning is not pleasant. I’ve been there twice. I would like to add one more thing. I always check salad dressing and anything with mayo, ie, tartar sauce. If it’s not cold, I won’t eat it.
My husband and I look at the entrance of a restaurant. If the front door glass is filthy, cigarette butts or overflowing garbage cans nearby are always clues, especially when you walk in and there is multiple employees just standing around at the hostess station. I am also turned off by a server wiping down tables, seating and sometimes the Condiments with the same old filthy rag. Who knows what germs lurk there. It is getting more difficult to find a clean, affordable, consistent place.
Great article thank you for all the Tips. And alot of Interesting points thst I will use in the future and sum that obviously no Brainer but Again very good points thank you again.
I KNEW ALL THIS. My family ran restaurants all my life.
ONE little thing you can tell and not even go in the restaurant; If their singage has lights out or missing, DON’T GO IN.
If they’re not taking care of the little things, they’re not taking care of the important things.
I spent ten years in Commercial Pest Management. Many customers were restaurants…both inexpensive and expensive, small and large. I use my sense of smell when I enter a restaurant. With experience, you can easily tell a clean business versus dirty; one with a roach problem or a rodent problem. All restaurants have a smell. If it isn’t a pleasant smell, move on!