"I've Left Places Due To This": 30 Infuriating Things That Ruined These People’s Restaurant Experience

There is evidence that restaurants have gotten louder and louder over the last two decades. One study found that since the 1990s, the average noise level was roughly ten decibels lower than in 2018. Weirdly, this is primarily a result of customer demand. Most people don’t dine alone but feel uncomfortable speaking in a mostly silent room. You don’t want half the bar to hear your conversation after all. A lot of noise also looks attractive from the outside, telling us that there are lots of customers, no doubt for a reason. 

Some specialists suggest that loud music also serves to keep the pace of dining quick. Normally, the level of noise creeps up on you only after you are seated as you slowly realize that you need to lean in to hear anything. The noise prompts you to eat faster, so you vacate the table sooner, generating more business for the location. Cacophonous music is one of those things a restaurant can get away with since some people don’t mind it at all and others tend to only realize it too late.

While less dangerous to your eardrums, many here noted that if a restaurant has a massive menu, it’s unlikely that they are going to be experts at every single item. After all, how can one venue pull off fifty-plus dishes, across at least three cuisines well? The reasoning is simple, they want to attract as many potential customers as possible. If your date is a picky eater, this sort of location could be great, as they will no doubt find something among the hundreds of items they like.

Speaking of menus, some respondents indicated a distrust of price-less menus, which they theorize are a method to hide the more ludicrous prices showing up these days. The origin of the idea is somewhat more benign. During business lunches or when a person was treating a group of guests, they would make sure everyone received a ‘blind menu,’ so people could order without feeling guilty. Only the person who made the reservation would get a menu with the prices on display, a setup that could probably be used in a sitcom to great effect.

This practice is not as common anymore, now no one sees the price. Restaurants rely on social pressure to discourage the guest from asking for the specific price of something. There still are cases where the restaurant is acting in good faith. If you notice fish dishes where the price is ‘on request,’ or simply not shown, be sure you are getting something fresh as restaurant staff had to negotiate with fishmongers directly. Since the price would change daily based on supply, demand, and negotiation skills, it’s easier to not print a set price on a menu.

A more modern abomination, at least according to some respondents, is the QR code menu. Yes, it was more sanitary during Covid 19, yes, digital menus can be updated more easily, and yes, it’s easier than listing a hyperlink somewhere if you insist on an online menu. But way too often, it will just be a scanned pdf that forces guests to desperately zoom in to figure out what is available. It also vaguely feels like ordering something from Doordash or an equivalent, not a feeling anyone wants to replicate when actually going out.