If you own a restaurant or cafe, then you know that your customers deserve only the best. That means quality ingredients, tasty food, great service, and… a clean kitchen. Unfortunately, not all business owners reach even the most basic hygiene standards, whether due to mismanagement or their attempts to cut costs.
In a recent AskReddit thread, a bunch of health inspectors opened up about the very worst, most disgusting restaurants that they’ve ever had the displeasure of evaluating. Scroll down for their horror stories. It’s serious nightmare fuel.
Bored Panda reached out to the author of the interesting discussion, u/Lightningstar39, and they were kind enough to share their thoughts about everything. Scroll down for our interview with them.
A note of warning: some of these tales are quite vivid and detailed; you may want to skip over some of them if you’re particularly sensitive or if you’re eating something right now.
#21
Not a health inspector but worked at a food place:
I picked up a case of wings to be dropped in the grease but when I took the lid off they smelled bad and then when I saw the blood at the bottom was a dark brown instead of a bright red I instantly started heading to the back to throw them out. My manager caught me on my way back there and said nothing was wrong with the wings, he sprayed water on them and put them in the grease, it was truly disgusting.
I picked up a case of wings to be dropped in the grease but when I took the lid off they smelled bad and then when I saw the blood at the bottom was a dark brown instead of a bright red I instantly started heading to the back to throw them out. My manager caught me on my way back there and said nothing was wrong with the wings, he sprayed water on them and put them in the grease, it was truly disgusting.
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9points
#22
We have an Indian place down the street that fails so bad every time they just keep changing the name and owners once a year. Real bad stuff is on the health inspection every time, too. None of the fridges kept to temp. Unlabeled, uncovered, undated, raw chicken kept on top of the fresh fruit. Roaches and mouse poop on stacked plates, dry stock, shelving, cabinets. One time, one of the comments was that they didn't have any cleaning rags or sanitizer on site.
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8points
#23
Not a health inspector but I worked at an ice cream shop when I was 15. My boss “found” a mini fridge in an abandoned closed down elderly home. There was still food in there, with cottage cheese that expired 3 years prior to me opening it.
She gave me two bottles of bleach and said “go to town”.
Now I pleaded with her not to keep the fridge not because I had to do the Charlie work on it; but because it was f*****g nasty even if we did get rid of the mold that was literally eating the interior of the fridge. I didn’t feel right putting food in there and selling that food to customers.
Cleaned it anyway and put it out on the floor but refused to put stuff in there; when people put stuff in it, I’d throw it away or move it (depending on what it was)
I also had to negotiate with my boss on how often she’d let me clean the frylator grease. I wanted to do it once a day but ended up only getting a “once a week” approval; which was better than “once a season” like she had been.
She gave me two bottles of bleach and said “go to town”.
Now I pleaded with her not to keep the fridge not because I had to do the Charlie work on it; but because it was f*****g nasty even if we did get rid of the mold that was literally eating the interior of the fridge. I didn’t feel right putting food in there and selling that food to customers.
Cleaned it anyway and put it out on the floor but refused to put stuff in there; when people put stuff in it, I’d throw it away or move it (depending on what it was)
I also had to negotiate with my boss on how often she’d let me clean the frylator grease. I wanted to do it once a day but ended up only getting a “once a week” approval; which was better than “once a season” like she had been.
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8points
#24
Not the worst but never ate there after this...
First week in Canada I went into Popeyes as who doesn't like mashed potatoes. They were cleaning when I walked in and there was a guy with a pressurised hose blasting the floor and the water was spraying everywhere.
The fine mist of grim floor water could be seen coating the food waiting in the pass, the prep tables. Everywhere in that tiny space was just getting blasted with floor goop.
First week in Canada I went into Popeyes as who doesn't like mashed potatoes. They were cleaning when I walked in and there was a guy with a pressurised hose blasting the floor and the water was spraying everywhere.
The fine mist of grim floor water could be seen coating the food waiting in the pass, the prep tables. Everywhere in that tiny space was just getting blasted with floor goop.
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8points
#25
Not a health inspector but had one tell me the place she was at before mine was the Chinese place down the street and they had bugs crawling out of the cold table lid. She made them take it outside and failed them. As she was leaving she saw them dragging it back in
They closed permanently not shortly after.
I’m assuming they didn’t get their license back
I heard the restaurant that took over the building spent a fortune just making the building up to code on top of the remodel for what they wanted.
They closed permanently not shortly after.
I’m assuming they didn’t get their license back
I heard the restaurant that took over the building spent a fortune just making the building up to code on top of the remodel for what they wanted.
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7points
