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Original poster

What's your worst restaurant experience?

342 replies

RainbowsAndCrystals · 30/09/2017 18:36

Had one where I was with two friends having breakfast and coffees ... they kept asking friends if they wanted another drink and ignored me every single time.

there's been worse and places I would never go back to.

OP posts:
IndianaMoleWoman · 30/09/2017 23:13

Just remembered another. We sat down, looked at the menu, ordered a bottle of wine, olives, starters, main courses. Wine and olives came immediately. It was Saturday night and insanely busy. We were out for the first time in a long time after the birth of our baby and just sat chatting happily.

When we finished the bottle, I checked the time and realised an hour had passed. Looking around, a lot of angry people were complaining to the waiting staff. A waiter came to our table and explained that their electronic system for processing orders to the kitchen was down, but we could have another bottle of wine on the house and our food wouldn't be too long. We were very happy with that!

Our starters arrived after another half an hour. We hadn't eaten all day, and after two hours at the restaurant, we'd had two bottles of wine, a few olives and three prawns each. I'd loved to have stayed to see if the mains would ever arrive and if they'd offer a further bottle of free wine but we needed to get home, we were starving and a bit pissed, so we paid up and left. It was a very cheap night!

maamalady · 30/09/2017 23:23

Out for Indian with my parents and a couple of family friends, when I was in my early twenties. Lovely food, but on bringing/removing plates the waiter groped my breast. I was so shocked I didn't say/do anything, but can feel the sense of outrage even now. I was so tense and crossed my arms over my chest, leaning as far away as I could. I wish I had called the police.

NameChangeFamousFolk · 30/09/2017 23:24

Biting into a green and pussey abscess in my Kentucky Fried Chicken when I was about 13*

Bloody hell. Thought that was an urban myth!

paxillin · 30/09/2017 23:27

Mine wasn't that bad, just funny.

I had ordered steak and chips. Energetic waiter came and sort of frisbee-ed the plates onto the table. Except mine, somehow the plate stayed in his hand and the steak, chips and salad were neatly on the table cloth in front of me, arranged like they'd been on the plate.

bobdylannumber1 · 30/09/2017 23:33

I was in a Michelin star restaurant in San Sebastián for my 40th birthday we had the tasting menu lots of courses where you basically get a little taste of everything, one dish I hated it was pigeon it was garnished with tiny flowers at closer inspection I noticed tiny insects we told the waiter it was whipped away immediately the chef cam rout at the end of our meal and said the flowers were frown in Na organic garden out the back no chemicals use daily and that's why there were insects in it,at the end when we were paying the bill €400 they said the chef is paying for the coffee not even the wine we couldn't believe what had happened in such a posh restaurant.

123MothergotafleA · 30/09/2017 23:35

The time we had a waiter come to our table to advise putting the pepper sauce on our fish instead of the steak.
This was in France, and has left a bitter taste in my mouth.

Tissunnyupnorth · 30/09/2017 23:36

Worst one I ever had, in a pan Asian (I think that's what it's supposed to be, v new & trendy) in North London. Meal had been pretty average and disappointingly, they had run out of most of the veggie options.

Ordered a fresh mint tea and was sipping away happily when DH launched himself across the table & grabbed the glass, looking horrified. Sliding down the inside of the glass was a slug!

LittleLights · 30/09/2017 23:42

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

MumOfTwoMasterOfNone · 01/10/2017 00:00

A place we went for my mums 60th. They delivered my starter on a slate with a mini saucepan of hot mustard sauce, which was poured all over me by the waitress. It scalded me and she just walked off and didn't apologise or even bring a replacement! I spent nearly the next hour in the toilet with no clothes on washing sauce out of my dress, drying it with a hand dryer and putting cold water on my legs.

Our mains came and they had missed the topping off my salmon. I queried it as I only realised at the end of the meal and no one had asked whether it was ok. Again, no apology. I spoke to the owner, who offered me a cocktail for all of the above. I was pregnant Hmm

I told them I thought it wasn't sufficient and he was so rude and accused me of trying to get a free meal. They were supposed to be collecting my dress and handbag to be professionally cleaned (stained) but I'm sure you can guess it never happened.

Everyone raves about the place. I've never set foot in there again. They completely ruined my mums birthday meal.

caterpillarcop · 01/10/2017 00:01

Bromsgrove Harvester - a rat ran across dining area right in front of me! Told waitress who got manager who accused us of scaremongering to try and get money off the bill!

We left as we had yet to get out food as there was no way I was staying after that.

And yes, I’m naming and shaming!

123MothergotafleA · 01/10/2017 00:09

Presumably Bromsgrove Harvester is in Birmingham! which is crawling with rats ( I mean the city itself) A family member is unfortunate to live there and reports that this is indeed the case.
Ugh, it makes me shudder.

TheKidsAreTakingMySanity · 01/10/2017 00:15

I worked in a fantastic Italian and was clearing up at the end, very late at night. The bar was empty and diners were gone. My friend/colleague was out in the restaurant resetting the last of the tables and I rolled an olive towards her feet and shouted, "MOUSE!". She squealed and had a laugh about her being scared by a piece of food. I stopped laughing however when an overstaying customer emerged from a hidden table at the back ranting about how this place should be shut down by environmental health and that she was not paying for her meal. Took me ages to get her to believe it was an olive and I was just scaring my mate. Thing is, she would have definitely heard the exchange between my colleague and I, laughing about how I scared her with an olive so why she was complaining I will never know.

Taught me to not prank workmates again.

Bearwithverylittlebrain · 01/10/2017 00:32

Ordered rump steak in restaurant in Brittany. Steak arrived and looked more like frying steak and was tough as leather but as my French is so poor decided not to complain... until I noticed the slug crawling across the side salad.

I pointed out the slug to the waiter, who removed my plate, walked into the kitchen, flicked the slug off and returned my food. I refused to accept it or pay.

ChuffMuffin · 01/10/2017 00:37

Finally went to a localish veh nice country pub/restaurant that has excellent reviews, everyone raves about it. Food was fabulous, customer service was fantastic.. went to the ladies and there was a giant shitty handprint on the lovely wallpapered cubicle wall. Confused

I know it's not the pub's fault but it's all I can think of now if anyone talks about going there!

Littledrummergirl · 01/10/2017 00:42

I must be really difficult to please. I'm vegetarian and have been since my early teens.
First meal out with my now in laws aged 17 I returned the side dish as it was still frozen.
The valentines day dh and I went out for the first time in years post dc. I ordered deep fried mushrooms which were half mushrooms half scallops.
Arriving at pizza hut an hour after opening to be told they had no pizzas. Confused
Pizza hut dropping my sil gluten free base on the floor, the waiter apologized and said 'it's ok we can do her a normal one, it's not as if it will kill her"!
Dh and I having an unexpected meal out for sunday dinner, I happily poured the gravy that came out for me on mine, only to find on eating it wasn't vegetarian.
The waiter stated they had run out of vegetarian gravy so had sent beef. By the time they brought out another dh had finished.

When ds1 finished his GCSEs we went out for a family meal- my meal came out with flakes of fish in it. The restaurant handled it brilliantly with a huge discount on the meal. It was a fantasy example of how to make things right when things go wrong.

FrankyStein · 01/10/2017 00:46

Meal at Pizza Hut. Finished main course and ordered ice cream. Am sat with a view into the kitchen ... there's like a round window in the large swing door

Idly watching our waiter using a scoop to measure out our ice cream into bowls. Horrified to seeing him full on LICKING the scoop in between scoops. Scoop - lick lick lick - scoop - etc

Revolting

oldlaundbooth · 01/10/2017 00:48

Fancy restaurant in the ribble valley.

Cut into a steak and an earwig crawled out Shock

VonHerrBurton · 01/10/2017 01:09

Asked about the fish 'catch of the day special'. Waitress said 'i don't know, I'm not from round here' ConfusedHmm

We ordered the steak!

Mermaid36 · 01/10/2017 01:53

Not food, but service....
Went to a fairly posh steak restaurant in central London with DH.

I was pretty much ignored by the wait staff, who expected DH to order everything for me.
I chose some wine from the list and it was offered to DH to taste - he doesn't drink and instead of offering it me to taste instead, the waiter just poured me a glass and walked off.

When the bill came (£175+) it was given to DH. He very pointedly gave it to me and said to the staff, "oh no, she has all the money, I can't afford it" (joint account, it was just that I had a handbag and my purse on me at the time).
The staff seemed absolutely dumbfounded and confused by this and still couldn't manage to speak to me even when I was paying the bill!

Hateloggingin · 01/10/2017 02:05

Bromsgrove is in Worcestershire not Birmingham :D

MidniteScribbler · 01/10/2017 02:12

I went out for dinner one night and the chef set a customer on fire.

I will never get the smell of burning hair out of my brain.

safariboot · 01/10/2017 02:33

Dang, reading all this makes me feel I've been lucky. I've had my share of slow service and mediocre food, but nothing crazy.

But the one that often annoys me, at various places - waitstaff being slow to bring the bill. I've finished eating, I want to pay you money, why are you leaving us waiting for half an hour?

salsmum · 01/10/2017 02:35

I went to Memphis in august and visited Beale street and while there we walked to a famous chicken place..I asked for a larger shandy with my meal and was asked for I.d. Confused I'm in my 50s so quite obviously old enough for a shandy, I had no I.d. But my companion had hers so was served...she joked to the waiter that she'd give me a sip of hers to which he rep,iced ' IF I see you do that I will take your drink off of you and ask you to leave! Shock clearly someone had upset this young man and it wasn't us. Angry

Sweetpea55 · 01/10/2017 02:40

When DH was working in Holland we ate out quite a lot but I never seemed to get what I wanted. In desperation I ordered an omelette thinking that surely an omelette is universal. It arrived... and was two slices of butterd bread with two snotty fried eggs on the top. Boak

Sweetpea55 · 01/10/2017 02:45

Another about service.. Once ate IN GIRAFFE in Reading and the waiter asked if he could keep the change when DH paid the bill