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SIgns of a bad restaurant:

Started 1 year ago by Jiggers
Latest reply from casaboba

Jiggers
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I'm just wondering what you think brings up red flags.

Posted 1 year ago #
SarahScoot
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Dogs in the kitchen. ;-)

Posted 1 year ago #
Que
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Ethnic restaurants where nobody of that heritage is working or eating there.

Posted 1 year ago #
West Seattle Art Attack
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A red flag for me is a restaurant that tries to be everything for everyone as they typically end up being mediocre at many things and not very good at anything in particular. I always laugh when I think of the sushi/Mexican restaurant in Seaside, Oregon. Never tried it, never will. Could be my loss but I doubt it.

Posted 1 year ago #
maplesyrup
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Empty tables during what should be a busy time.

Posted 1 year ago #
SarahScoot
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Agreed with WSAA. A few years ago there was an odd little cafe on the east side of California, just south of Raymond; I believe it was called Al's Cafe (City Nails has since expanded into their old space). Every time I walked by their special board named something radically different than the previous time: Philly cheese steak, hot dog, tacos, spaghetti and meatballs, clam chowder... you name it, they offered it.
Even worse was their tendency to also list an espresso drink special right next to the food special on the board; one example I remember was the aforementioned spaghetti and meatballs listed next to an iced peppermint mocha. They may not have meant for this, but I couldn't help reading them as a sort of "suggested pairing." Imagining those flavors together actually made me gag as I walked by.
Maybe they weren't a bad restaurant, but I never cared to find out because they were just trying to do too much. They lasted less than a year.

Posted 1 year ago #
valvashon
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"Bamboo Bar and Grill" above the door.

Posted 1 year ago #
Gina
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People finishing less than 1/2 their serving, and not asking for doggie bag or box, or dumping it all in trash can. Not a single person doing so. Every table.

Posted 1 year ago #
Jiggers
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Hey people, let's keep names of establishments out of the subject. Just list what you've experienced or think a sign of a bad restaurant is.

I have a ton of them because I used to work in the industry.

Example: When they sit you down, you see food below your chair on the floor were your feet are going to rest.

Posted 1 year ago #
JoB
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the smell...
if it isn't enticing the moment i open the door I will probably walk right back out

Posted 1 year ago #
datamuse
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Agreed with maplesyrup, if it's the dinner rush and the place is empty, bad sign.

The big one for me is bad smells. I don't mean strong or unfamiliar food smells; I like to try new things and where food is concerned I've liked most of the new things I've tried, and the smell of garlic will get me in the door faster than anything.

But if the place smells stale or dirty, like they maybe haven't taken out the garbage in awhile or are covering something up (a restaurant should not smell like a hospital), that's a bad sign.

Some combinations can work well; there's a teriyaki and burger joint in the U District that I recall as being pretty good, for instance. But I agree that wildly divergent pairings, like, I dunno, sushi and pasta, or something, would make me wonder if the place did either one well.

Posted 1 year ago #
dhg
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According to Anthony Bourdain: Unclean restrooms mean you should turn and run.

I agree with the idea that the restaurant should smell like good food. One memorably bad meal was a place in the ID. We were there late and four tables around us had left. They thought it was a great time to combine jobs. Clear the tables around us and then spray with ammonia ALL the tables, then come back to wipe them. We were enveloped in the ammonia and I do not want to go there ever again.

Posted 1 year ago #
Sue
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An empty restaurant doesn't necessarily scare me away. One of my favorite places is Royal India, and it's almost always empty. Don't really know why, but more room for me. :)

Odd menu pairings can sometimes be surprising too. I remember a restaurant many years ago at a hotel, and it was a jewish deli and chinese restaurant combined. The food was amazing, and they did both very well.

Posted 1 year ago #
JoB
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West Seattle art attack...
if the sushi/mex place in Seaside is the one i am thinking of you should have gone in. the fish was incredibly fresh.

Posted 1 year ago #
WS
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speaking of odd combinations there is a German and Indonesian food cart on Galiano Island. its been years, but the food was so good.

Posted 1 year ago #
Al
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As soon as I read the "smell" comment above I realized that's the kicker for me. One place some coworkers and I used to frequent in South Lake Union comes to my attention. About two summers ago I met some people there. We sat in front, by the open door and windows. The garbage scent was still so strong there I couldn't eat anything but the fries (at least I knew they were cooked). Never, ever went back. It was just disgusting.

Posted 1 year ago #
metrognome
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There is a ritzy restaurant on the second floor of a building on the Edmonds waterfront that takes their garbage down to street level on the passenger elevator ... and they apparently don't clean it afterwards ... ever. Since I have to use the elevator to get to the restaurant, they will never see me again ... ever.

Posted 1 year ago #
valvashon
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OK, We'll take out the named restaurant above and insert the experience I had a couple of Friday nights ago. Ordered the prime rib special and was served a nondescript slab of grey meat. Was it beef? Was it pork? Was it some other animal? It wasn't browned like beef nor did it smell like beef. It looked more like pork but it had no discernible flavor. It was brought to me by someone other than my server and identified as "Prime Rib" so that's what it must have been. I thought about sending it back after a few bites, but I didn't want to face the embarrassment of sending back what was, to them, actually prime rib.

Combine that with a friend's very reliable report of a roach crawling out of a plate of nachos and never again. Entertainment book, you done me wrong.

More things that drive me away: When a different server auctions the food off when they bring it to the table ("who had the prime rib?"). If my server doesn't have time to bring the food out I ordered, you need to rethink the workflow of your restaurant.

Also, Mexican food that has no taste- especially the rice and beans that seem to come with everything. I have two big local chains (sit down type places) in mind. They do booming business, but not with me.

Posted 1 year ago #
Zenguy
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Valvashon, sometimes the owner or manager does not know if something is not up to their standards...they should, but they cannot look at or taste every dish. Most places want to produce a good product and have you come back. I am guessing you will not go back. Do not be embarassed about saying what you think about it both good and bad.

Posted 1 year ago #
Jiggers
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What about when you see the silverware/glassware you're going to use is streaked of dry soapiness or crud and not even wiped down. I've seen a lot of those. Bread crumbs all over the floor and embedded in the seat you're about to sit in.

Posted 1 year ago #
cjboffoli
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Sue: What would give me pause about an always empty restaurant is the notion of inventory management in a business with razor thin profit margins.

If you reasonably assume that a given restaurant is representing that they are capable of producing any of the dishes on their probably extensive menu at any given time, one has to wonder how fresh those ingredients could possibly be if the restaurant is not turning over enough customers.

In truth, an under-patronized restaurant probably will be leaving ingredients in the walk-in longer, will be recycling ingredients as much as possible, and will be relying less on fresh food and more on "bought-in" frozen items. The sum of that equation points to a greater choice of food poisoning and/or a lower quality meal.

An empty dining room would definitely be on my short list of red flags. Along with servers who are wearing less than 20 pieces of flair.

Posted 1 year ago #
JayDee
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If I go to an ethnic restaurant, particularly one that is value-oriented, and do not see anyone I might profile as being of a related ethnic group eating there, that would raise a red flag. I figure authenticity is good, and if I just see gringo patrons in a Thai or Vietnamese place, I'd be worried.

I also agree with the no customer thing except it reminds me of Gallagher routine: "Have you ever noticed, the more people there are, the bigger the crowd is?" Maybe if I ate there, more people would think: "Hey, maybe we should try that place...?"

Posted 1 year ago #
redblack
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valvashon: i think we were separated at birth.

sorry, but i don't care for recycled '80's "butt rock," whether it's on alki or not.

Posted 1 year ago #
nighthawk
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I recently watched an episode of the show Restaurant Impossible. One of these shows where they go in and turn around a failing restaurant. OMG, some of these places are DISGUSTING. If I were a local I don't think i would eat at these places even after the turnaround considering how bad they let them get...grease traps never cleaned, mice under the kitchens. i can't figure out how the health department didn't shut them down.

On a more personal experience level. Menus that are filthy/greasy like they have never been washed down. Same for the tables. Cockroaches running across the floor.

Posted 1 year ago #
Jiggers
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Just like Gordon Ramsays "Kitchen Nightmares." You don't know if they are storing your food safely in the refer and if the refers been scrubbed down and cleaned. One episode had a pigeon flying around the kitchen.

Posted 1 year ago #
cjboffoli
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Kitchen Nightmares is a fantastic restaurant disaster series. Though the UK version is so much better than the Americanized one.

Posted 1 year ago #
anonyme
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Kitchen workers who use the restroom and come right back out without enough time having elapsed to wash their hands. Or kitchen workers who enter and leave the restroom still wearing latex gloves. It also bugs me when workers step out to smoke and don't wash their hands afterward, or allow the smoke to pour in through the open door. Hygiene issues are big for me. If there is a strong smell of perfumed air freshener, I wonder what it's covering up...?

Posted 1 year ago #
Jiggers
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cj..I need to dvr the UK one's, but I know most of Ramsays shows are scripted to a certain point, but there are real problems. It all comes down to the owners who most of them don't have a clue how to own a restaurant or never been in the business before. Most of them have no "Common sense." Bad habits and not washings hands from waitstaff goes on everywhere, and guess what, they don't care how dirty their hands are. There's always a huge risk when you eat out anywhere.

Cleanliness: Groomed waitstaff to dining room decor is easy to spot because it's right in front of you, but it's in the kitchen what you can't see is were it can kill you.

There is a few spots in W.S. that I'll never eat at in the Junction because it resembles that of toilet. They're busy little spots and I guess people don't care or don't notice the groseness.

Posted 1 year ago #
JoB
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while traveling i have had some of the best meals in little local storefronts that could really use a make-over...
which would have included getting rid of what looked like centuries of ground in grime in flooring and replacing the plumbing in bathrooms.

it isn't what you see.. or can't see... that counts...
it's the food.

the kitchens of some of the most beautiful and prestigious restaurants would appall you if you got a good look.

Posted 1 year ago #
cjboffoli
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Jiggers: Kitchen Nightmares actually isn't scripted. I think it is just edited in a way that makes it seems as though it is. It is astounding how many dilettantes are operating restaurants! And so much of what Ramsay illuminates for them is common sense. Still, I feel bad for some of these folks who put themselves hundreds of thousands of dollars (or more) into debt. As if they keep going things will miraculously change. It is almost like a gambler going deeper and deeper into debt chasing an illusive jackpot.

Posted 1 year ago #
casaboba
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As stated earlier. Dirty restrooms = Restaurants with problems. GREAT Food Service is a "detail business." You've GOT to get ALL of the details right ALL of the time.

Posted 1 year ago #