"Don’t order fish on Sundays. Most places get their fish deliveries on a Monday and on a Thursday. Fish goes off fairly quickly, and on a Sunday it’s really not great."
"If you see lots of plates left half-full, run."
"If your server’s response to 'How is the [item]?' seems disingenuous, that’s a big red flag. They know what goes on in the kitchen, they know the complaints, and they know which items to stress over when they deliver them."
"Cheap ketchup on the table, or if they even let you see the ketchup brand."
"Does it sound like it could be two or more restaurants? For example, sushi and pizza at the same place. They probably can't do either well."
"Ask where your oysters come from. If they don’t know, you don’t want them. This works for most seafood."
"My ex-husband was a chef. We always left if he saw workers not wearing nonslip shoes. He says that’s super important and if they don’t care about that, he doesn’t even want to know what the kitchen looks like."
"If you can smell the fryer from outside the building, get back in your car and drive on. If they don’t maintain the fryer oil, they don't deep-clean at all."
"Look at the wait staff's name tags. People usually keep the same name tags the entire time they work there. There should be a little bit of wear and tear on them. If everyone has brand new name tags, that means they're all new, and service is going to be slow and bad. It also shows that the restaurant isn't good at staff retention and should make you question the quality of what you're eating."
"My red flag is going into a busy restaurant and noticing none of the tables have food or not many customers are eating yet. This usually means the kitchen is going down in flames."
"I look for dust. Dust on the ceiling tiles or in the air-conditioning vents. I also have a habit of running my finger along chair frames after I sit down to check for dust."
"If you walk into a restaurant and it smells like old socks, leave. German cockroach pheromones (the most common restaurant roach) smell like old sweaty socks and there needs to be A LOT of them to make the odor noticeable."
"Ceiling tiles. It sounds strange but if the ceiling tiles are stained, dusty, or otherwise in poor condition, you can bet that there are things being overlooked. And if there are tiles actually missing? Run."
"Any bars with incredibly large/deep ice tubs. If you're going to have ice in your drink, ask when it was last emptied and cleaned. Deep tubs aren't normally emptied in a busy bar; they'll just have more ice dumped on top."
"Random, but if there's a fish tank, take a look at it. If it's clean, you can bet the kitchen is too."
"Where's the manager and what are they doing? Do they look exhausted or are they upbeat, helpful, and engaging with their staff? Good managers tend to attract good staff which in turn leads to a good business. Bad management does exactly the opposite."
"Salt shakers. If the holes are clogged and the top is dirty, that thing has been refilled 100 times without being washed."
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So if the fish are floating belly up I should leave?
Not yet, ear them first!!!
I love your avatar, and I think that is the place Haseltine was referring to.
If you want the lemon, make sure it comes on the rim of the glass. Squeeze in the juice, don't put the whole thing in your drink.
I've worked in dives and fancy steakhouses, and it's always the same. Lemons for water are never rinsed off.
yeah, kitchen food is fine but drink lemons are cut by servers that just want to get their station prep done as quick as possible