Top 7+ signs you’re about to eat in a bad restaurant

You're waiting a long time, There's a lack of personal hygiene, The menu is dirty, Salt and pepper shakers on the table, The bathroom isn't kept clean, Lack of disinfectant, Insects inside the restaurant

Eating out at a restaurant is one of life’s greatest pleasures – which is why you don’t want your meal to be ruined by an upset stomach afterwards. These are the warning signs that a restaurant isn’t as clean as it should be... (Picture: Getty Images)

You're waiting a long time

You're waiting a long time, There's a lack of personal hygiene, The menu is dirty, Salt and pepper shakers on the table, The bathroom isn't kept clean, Lack of disinfectant, Insects inside the restaurant

If no one comes to serve your table within five minutes of being seated, you could be in for a bad meal. ‘It just speaks to the lack of supervision, lack of training, and lack of putting the customer first,’ restaurant and hospitality consultant Dennis P. Gemberling told Business Insider. Dietician Johna Burdeos said that it also indicated a low number of staff, which could result in shoddy standards. ‘The situation could lead to an increased risk of unsafe working conditions and the serving of unsafe food,’ she told Mashed (Picture: Getty Images)

There's a lack of personal hygiene

You're waiting a long time, There's a lack of personal hygiene, The menu is dirty, Salt and pepper shakers on the table, The bathroom isn't kept clean, Lack of disinfectant, Insects inside the restaurant

When you do get served, keep an eye out for your waiter's personal hygiene. The Food Standards Agency advises that long hair should be tied back and that cuts and grazes should be covered with a plaster to avoid contamination. If your server isn’t complying with this advice, it could be a sign that the restaurant doesn’t pay much attention to detail when it comes to hygiene standards (Picture: Getty Images)

The menu is dirty

You're waiting a long time, There's a lack of personal hygiene, The menu is dirty, Salt and pepper shakers on the table, The bathroom isn't kept clean, Lack of disinfectant, Insects inside the restaurant

‘Sticky or splotchy menus can be a sign that things are not cleaned routinely,’ Chris Meckes, professional chef turned culinary educator, told Eat This Not That. In fact, an investigation by Good Morning America found that the average menu carried 185,000 different bacteria – making it the dirtiest item on restaurant tables. And while you’re looking at a menu, make note of how long it is, and how many cuisines it contains. If a restaurant is offering up a lot of different menu items, it’s probably not cooking them all from scratch (Picture: Getty Images)

Salt and pepper shakers on the table

You're waiting a long time, There's a lack of personal hygiene, The menu is dirty, Salt and pepper shakers on the table, The bathroom isn't kept clean, Lack of disinfectant, Insects inside the restaurant

A report by ABC News found that restaurant pepper shakers contain more bacteria than a toilet. With that in mind, check how clean the salt and pepper grinders on your table are. If they’re sticky or clogged up, it could indicate that the restaurant staff don’t clean them often enough (Picture: Getty Images)

The bathroom isn't kept clean

You're waiting a long time, There's a lack of personal hygiene, The menu is dirty, Salt and pepper shakers on the table, The bathroom isn't kept clean, Lack of disinfectant, Insects inside the restaurant

Another tell-tale sign that cleaning isn’t being done properly is the state of the bathroom. Paul Kushner, bartender and founder of My Bartender, told Eat This Not That: ‘If you want to know how much an establishment takes hygiene and cleanliness seriously, go to the bathroom. It should smell neutral or, better yet, like disinfectant or cleaning solution.’ He recommended looking out for a cleaning logbook to find out when it was last disinfected. ‘If the bathroom is out of supplies, the floor is sticky or it smells of urine, I'd wager the kitchen isn't kept clean either,’ Kushner added (Picture: Shutterstock/New Africa)

Lack of disinfectant

You're waiting a long time, There's a lack of personal hygiene, The menu is dirty, Salt and pepper shakers on the table, The bathroom isn't kept clean, Lack of disinfectant, Insects inside the restaurant

Even if a table looks clean, if the staff aren’t following certain standards, then it could still be teeming with potentially harmful bacteria. Watch out for whether staff use a disinfectant spray to clean down the table, rather than just wipe it with a wet cloth. If they don’t use a spray in the dining areas, then chances are the kitchen isn’t properly sanitised either (Picture: Getty Images)

Insects inside the restaurant

You're waiting a long time, There's a lack of personal hygiene, The menu is dirty, Salt and pepper shakers on the table, The bathroom isn't kept clean, Lack of disinfectant, Insects inside the restaurant

If there’s a fly buzzing around inside, it could be a sign that there’s rotting food or unhygienic bins in the restaurant. House flies are attracted to organic matter like decomposing fruit and spilled sugary drinks and can lurk in dirty sink drains – and none of those are things you want to find in a kitchen that's preparing your food (Picture: Getty Images/Cavan Images RF) This article was originally published in june 2024

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