31 Shadiest Scams Restaurants Thought They Could Get Away With

We don’t know what we ever did to deserve being scammed, but some us have fallen into some pretty hilarious restaurant traps. Whether you’ve been underserved, overcharged, or left feeling downright duped, we feel your pain. We scoured Reddit looking for the shadiest of restaurant scams, and honestly, we don’t know how some institutions have gotten away with this stuff.

From poor signage to incredibly questionable house rules, some of these restaurant scams are so bad they’re actually funny. In fact, we have to give credit to some of these places for even thinking of these bizarre rules and regulations in the first place.

Luckily, many who have been blinded with restaurant scam rage took a minute out of their tirade to snap and pic and post the absurdity to Reddit. The restaurant trap rabbit hole is a deep one, so if you have the time, definitely scroll through some of the comments left on these posts. The entire story will get funnier and even more aggravating.

Keep your eyes peeled for scammers, people. They’re everywhere.

1. If you like your fries with a side of disappointment.

Pardon, but there seems to be a balled up piece of paper underneath my six French fries? Oh, that’s supposed to be there? Oh…um…

2. Something isn’t adding up.

We were never the brightest in our math class.

However, we sense something is amiss with the suggestive tips.

3. It finally sucks to be a man!

Okay, ladies. New rule: all men must pay an additional $2.00 to do anything.

4. When you definitely don’t get what you pay for.

Wouldn’t it make more sense to put the salt and pepper in smaller containers?

Why go through the extra effort to pull the wool over our eyes?

5. This fine print is soooo shady.

Do our eyes deceive us? Or is this restaurant deceiving us?

6. What is this, a hotel mini bar?

No. Just tap water. No, please — just tap water.

7. Is that…is that guilt floating in our soda cup?

The use of “survive” here is wigging us out.

If it wasn’t for us…we don’t even want to know what would happen.

8. Um, we are not blind.

Plus, they’re both called Ji Ji Mi. We have a strange feeling there is actually no difference between the pancakes in the picture nor in real life.

9. Sir, this is just a head of lettuce. Sir? Sir!

Do they expect us to just pick those things up and dip them into that dressing?

Because that’s exactly how we would eat this, just to spite them.

10. This is either evil or genius. We’re not yet sure.

Honestly, kudos. This B-rated restaurant deserves an A for effort.

11. There are only three tipping options in this world: 20%, 25%, or 99%.

No offense, but we feel…attacked.

12. Straws bad. Plastic cutlery good.

The people in charge *must* see the irony in this sign.

They must!

13. Why? Just…why?

At the monthly staff meeting:

“Hey gang, I have an idea. Let’s make life harder for our customers.”

14. The old same size, different plate trick.

It wasn’t love, it wasn’t love. It was a perfect illusion (perfect illusion).

15. And the old same size, different glass trick.

It was a perfect illusion. Somewhere in all the confusion.

16. Trippy, dude.

Our senses would be boggled.

And then we would be mad.

17. No, no, no, no!

That feeling of panic is so tangible.

It’s sadly something we’ve all experienced.

18. Now, wait a minute —

Okay, we agree that this is frustrating.

However, on the flip side, who brings a measuring utensil with them to a Subway?

19. When they give you the calorie count but not the price.

What is the price of this one? And also this one? And also this one?

20. Did the fortune come true, or…?

Sad. Just…sad.

21. A good case of false advertising.

This week on Kitchen Nightmares…

22. Now you see it, now you don’t: Reversed

Shady AF.

And also, where do you get off charging $6 for water?

23. You thought you were smart, huh?

We see what you’re trying to do there by ordering “no ice.” We won’t stand for it.

24. Enjoy your “garden salad.”

It’s made with the best iceberg lettuce.

And the finest of shredded carrots. So…enjoy!

25. How to properly upset the entire internet.

Sure, they look the same. But they are definitely not of the same candy species. And don’t think you can hide, jelly beans. We see you.

26. How do you install AdBlocker on a fortune cookie?

If you’re going to do someone dirty like that, at least give them a coupon. Agreed?

27. When you’re better off staying home…

Kraft Singles should *never* be melted onto tortilla chips, especially in a restaurant setting. Did they even bother taking the plastic off?

28. Is there cheese, or not?

We guess the only way to find out is to send your lactose intolerant friend in there and see what happens.

Sorry, pal.

29. When the restaurant wants you to “chew and screw.”

Looks like you’re kind of done. Want the check? Here, take the check.

Please, take the check!

30. The lowest of all lows.

Are you trying to make us cry?

What’s your end game, restaurant?

31. You…want me to pay money for this?

This is a joke, right? It’s not funny, but this has to be a joke. Right?!

32. This was $11.

When you get cheesy bacon tots that cost $11, you expect $11 worth of cheesy bacon tots.

That’s not what this guy got.

To make his basket appear fuller, the restaurant placed an upside down food basket in the center of his tots. What initially looked like a mound of potatoey, cheesy goodness was all a lie.

33. Where’s the water?

Have you ever gone to a soda dispenser, looked for the water button, and then given up because you couldn’t find it?

It’s hidden.

Not all touchscreen machines are like this — whatever restaurant this Redditor visited though thought they were being sneaky.

34. Fast isn’t always better.

You would think that quick service in a sit-down restaurant means that they have an efficient kitchen. But you’d be wrong.

It could mean everything is pre-made.

“Cook at a fancy casual fine dining restaurant here,” started Redditor CrossFox42. “If your food is out impossibly fast, it’s probably something to be concerned about. I’m talking ordering an entree and it’s out in like 10 minutes.”

“This usually means it’s already been cooked and they just have to reheat it.”

There are times when fast shouldn’t be scary though, like with salads, which don’t take as much time to make. Still, they warn patrons to look out for wilted lettuce or greens, which means its been sitting out for quite some time before it got to you.

35. They hide the price on menus.

This one is downright evil. According to Ryan Gromfin, founder of The Restaurant Boss, menus shouldn’t be drawing any attention to the price. Talk about reading the small print.

“Bury the price in the text.”

Gromfin explains, “Put the price in the description, not in the header of each menu item.” The argument is that numbers often look larger than letters, so making the font size of the price smaller evens it out. Okay.

“We’re not trying to deceive anyone.”

“We’re not trying to make them solve riddles to figure out the price,” Gromfin continued. “I just don’t want it to be the first thing they see. I want them to read a description and fall in love with an item and then see the price.”

Some menus don’t even include the dollar sign.

A 2009 Cornell study determined that diners actually spend more money when the menus don’t use dollar signs.

36. Or they don’t show the price at all.

Both restaurants with menu screens and movie theaters use this tactic. You’re already in line and likely know what you want, and they don’t want to give you time to reconsider purchasing something based on price.

Plus, don’t those pretzel bites look good?

On top of getting you to purchase whatever you initially intended to, the board is trying to upsell you products. And it works.

37. When in doubt, bust out the duct tape.

You’d think if a restaurant owner would put as much thought and effort into drawing attention away from their poor health rating, they’d direct that effort into making sure their kitchen was clean.

They for sure get an A for effort here.

You can’t be mad at the ingenuity, but it’s clear their priorities lie elsewhere.

If you have evidence of a restaurant scam you’ve witnessed, please share.

They’re so bad, yet so good.

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