30 Things You Should Look Out For When Eating At A Restaurant, As Shared In This Online Thread

We managed to get an interview with the online user that asked the question, and they gave some amazing insights: "So, when I posed the question, I wasn't looking for generic issues with restaurants like bad food, bad service, not clean - which a lot of the responses ended up being. I was more interested in problems people had with intentional choices restaurants have made which make the experience poor.

Like, for instance, there's a restaurant near me that's a casual place where you order from a counter, but they keep their soft drink machine behind the counter. So anytime you need a refill, you have to go up and flag someone down to get it for you, and if they're busy it can take a while.

Or, another problem is when their ordering system is more complicated than it needs to be. For example, at another restaurant, you first talk to someone up front and order things from the menu, but then you take a tray and go down a serving line and can pick other things. Then at the end, you pay a cashier, a different person from who you placed the order with."

"A good restaurant doesn't have to be really fancy nor super casual, it just needs to be easy to intuitively understand how things work there, even for first-timers. Any place that thinks they've come up with a 'new concept in dining' I’m not likely to return to.

The problems I've encountered are far more common with new restaurants. Established restaurants usually have worked out that kind of issue long ago or they wouldn't still be around."

"As someone with an anxiety disorder, I think restaurant owners need to think about how people like me experience their system. If I'm required to ask a lot of questions or to be asked a lot of questions, or it's a lot of trouble to simply place an order or to understand their menu, I will end up returning to one of my usual comfortable spots instead."

We also talked with Dr. Joan Salge Blake, a nutrition professor at Boston University and the host of the nutrition and health podcast, SpotOn! She answered some important questions about restaurants and the food industry. Firstly, we asked what a dealbreaker is for Dr. Joan Salge Blake at a restaurant: "A dealbreaker is when I can't find any veggies on the menu. I love when someone else grills, stir fries, roasts, bakes, or purees veggies. Don't they always taste better when someone else makes them for you?"

The professor also shared what makes a restaurant good: "The waitstaff is friendly, the menu is varied so that I can get fish or meat, depending upon my mood, and there are tons of veggies available. I love to start the meal with a veggie-based soup. You had me at minestrone or veggie bean soup." She also shared some common mistakes restaurants make: "Limited menu options with typical menu choices. Yes! I am done with French fries." Dr. Joan Salge Blake also mentioned that one of the most important things a restaurant can do is make sure to provide something for all the customers - meat eaters, vegetarians, vegans, etc.