We put a lot of trust in our local restaurants and restaurant employees. So if a well-known eatery makes headlines for its less-than-pristine conditions, we might refuse to eat there. Who would want to dine in a dirty kitchen with gross foods?
To accommodate for cleanliness, food safety, and allergies, good chefs are knowledgeable enough to craft clean, tasty dishes. Still, some of us hold a little paranoia about shady restaurant practices. Usually, the feelings creep up if something seems wrong with the dish.
Have you ever been afraid to make a reasonable complaint about your food in fear that someone might tamper with the dish back in the kitchen? If so, you’re not alone. That’s why many of us practice the “just eat what you can, pay, and never come back” method.
Hopefully, these photos won’t make you feel even more terrified of dining out. Because the truth of the matter is, sometimes restaurants have gross secrets. It could be the way chefs prep food, or the way waiters (don’t) clean their freezer or dining tables. Thanks to the internet, though, the proof is everywhere. And sometimes the customers are the ones who commit the worst offenses.
These bizarre restaurant photos demonstrate our wildest fears.
1. The Barefoot Guy At Hooters
Hooters, for the record, is trying hard to be a family-friendly restaurant. But most people probably know the chain for their waitresses.
A Hooters waitress usually has a specific look.
And even though their uniforms are perhaps a little more revealing than, say, a McDonald’s uniform, there’s nothing about them that’s gross or unsettling.
But…
A barefoot customer in any Hooters establishment is just not okay. Who’d want to eat here after seeing this?
2. The Customer Who Left Dirty Diapers On The Table
Leaving dirty diapers at your table after leaving a restaurant is pretty trashy from r/trashy
This is beyond gross. Anyone who has a baby or a toddler knows that sometimes, diaper emergencies happen.
But that’s what a changing table is for.
If this doesn’t inspire restaurants to start installing them in both the men’s and women’s rooms, who knows what might.
But the customer still isn’t off the hook.
Even if they honestly had no better place to change a baby, they could have found a much better place to dispose of the diaper. And even the worst customer service doesn’t deserve something so foul.
3. The Chef On Drugs
A restaurant in my town. I think this fits here. from r/trashy
It’s a shame this chef has demons he’s battling, but what a nightmare for the manager. And here’s the real question: Who received all the free food?”
And how did the chef get caught?
It’s probably going to be challenging for this guy to get a good reference from this restaurant. So hopefully he was able to clean up his act, get some help, and start fresh at a brand new place.
And what about this sign?
You have to admit, outing the man may not have been the best way to retain customers.
4. The Gross Thaw
How a restaurant in my hometown is thawing their chicken from r/trashy
Handling raw meat isn’t exactly for the faint of heart. It requires a lot of know-how. And the person in question should consider cleanliness above almost all else.
But this?
This is next level wrong. Fingers crossed that this isn’t a legit picture of a restaurant prepping for dinner.
Maybe someone just wanted a surefire way to freak people out
And, if so, they definitely accomplished this feat with expired meat that was pulled from the supply. Otherwise, they’re asking for a mass amount of food poisoning and infestation.
5. Shoes Not Optional
Taking his shoes off in the restaurant and taking up free seats from r/trashy
Again, someone took it upon themselves to remove their shoes in a restaurant. This guy is at least wearing socks.
But he’s also putting his feet where people eat and sit.
Just imagine if this restaurant patron went to the gym right before grabbing some food. Talk about a rank odor!
And bad manners to boot.
Hopefully, an employee noticed and sprayed down all of the areas that made contact with feet at the end of the night.
6. The Impossible Mess
The trashy family that let their kids run wild and then left this awful mess at a Mexican Restaurant in GA from r/trashy
When you go out, you’re not expected to wash the dishes and clean up the way you would at home. But you should at least try not to be a complete animal.
And sometimes you should try even harder.
Especially when, from the sounds of it, it wasn’t as if you couldn’t try to pick up your mess because you were watching your kids.
And even then, the establishment you visit deserves some consideration.
This is a good reminder that the stress of going out isn’t always due to the food, or the chef, or the long waits. Sometimes, other customers ruin the experience.
7. The Even More Impossible Mess
Things can get worse. If the trash can is overflowing, you may want to ask an employee to change it. Chances are, they’d rather do that than have to deal with this disaster of a clean up project.
Not only that.
But these tables are completely unusable until someone cleans them up. If a restaurant looks like this, you might even get the feeling that their kitchen is even worse.
Moreover, we want to know what happened here.
Did the mess build up at once? Or did it accumulate slowly? If the latter is true, the restaurant management team likely dropped the ball. An employee should have been cleaning periodically before such a disaster could escalate.
8. The Restaurant With The Feral Customers
If they had to go ahead and put a sign up, you know it must have been bad. This is literally a skill that toddlers need to learn.
Not to mention some adults…
And this would only be okay if the restaurant was located in a town that contains unsupervised toddlers.
Perhaps the town that housed the animated Rugrats kids would work.
Otherwise, this reminder is just disgusting. Humans, let’s try not to be our worst selves when we’re out in public.
9. The Woman Who Brought Her Dog To Shoney’s
Woman in my hometown brought her dog into a Shoney’s restaurant and took it up to the buffet from r/trashy
A majority of us are animal fans. But even we know to leave the pets at home when it comes to dining.
Of course, though, there are always some exceptions.
Registered service dogs that help the blind and differently-abled should and are allowed everywhere.
They’re necessary and important.
Plus, those pups might act better at a buffet than a standard customer would. But judging by the lack of attire, and the way the dog is being held, it seems like this doggo is a just a companion.
10. The Taco Bell Buttscratcher
Local Taco Smell from r/trashy
There’s a lot of things a fast food worker shouldn’t do. And this is clearly one of the biggest food employee faux pas.
Sometimes, you have the urge to scratch.
It makes sense. But if that’s the case, scratch when you’re far away from the food. And this should be a no-brainer.
Plus, hands should be thoroughly (very thoroughly) washed with soap after the scratch.
Hopefully, the employees also wear gloves while prepping the food. Otherwise, this could be one of the few times in history that a Taco Bell truly disappointed.
11. The PDA Couple
This couple at the upscale restaurant getting handsy. from r/trashy
A little bit of PDA, like a hand-hold, is nice. But this? This is extreme. We can only imagine what happens in private.
The Redditor who saw this couple in action added more commentary and stated:
My fiance and I were enjoying dinner and this couple across from us decided to go at it. The manager pretty quickly brought them their bill, but everyone else in the room got a show for about 15 min.
12. The Burger King Mice
When you’re eating at Burger King and you get some company of mice from r/trashy
Maybe it was Chuck E. Cheese, just scoping out his competition? Pests and vermin are a nightmare for restaurants since they can often be hard to avoid.
Still, though, dining establishments have to make an effort.
Moreover, there isn’t a customer out there who wouldn’t lose their nerve a little after seeing mice scamper across the floor shortly after finishing dinner.
It’s a fact.
Mice just don’t scream cleanliness. At least they’re slightly cuter that cockroaches, though. Right?
13. The Unfresh Subway
Subway employee picking her feet behind the counter. How fresh. from r/trashy
For the last time, feet and food just don’t mix! This incident was caught on camera, and we’re truly appalled. It looks like the Subway employee used some downtime to clean her feet.
And it seems as if customers were in the sub shop as well.
Why didn’t one of the other coworkers at least tell her to go to the back of the shop?
Know when would be a better time to do this?
Literally any time when she’s not at work. It looks like the employee was far away from the fixings, but that doesn’t make it right.
14. The Coffee Assault
Throwing hot coffee at a fast food employee cause you have to wait for fries. from r/trashy
In this world, it’s tough to be happy all the time. And you may not even be able to fake a good mood.
We understand it’s tough.
However, you still don’t have permission to assault someone. Wouldn’t you think that participating in a criminal activity might add time to your wait?
Seriously, what were they thinking?
Knowing that there are people out there who instantly resort to throwing a hot beverage on someone to get what they want should make everyone afraid to leave the house.
15. The Applebees Chef
It’s best not to know if he had anything in his pockets. But, hey, you might see this and not think it’s all that bad.
It may be because you use similar methods at home.
But in a commercial kitchen, all chefs know that this behavior is not up to code.
Just think about it.
If this guy is a smoker with loose tobacco in his pocket, the leaves could get into the food. It’s too risky.
16. The Fast Food Fingernail
Here’s one con about nail extensions. Taco Bell is, sadly, notorious for having menu items that hold less-than-desirable ingredients.
And we’re upset because, obviously.
Just recently, a woman found a nozzle inside her Taco Bell nachos.
Yes, a nozzle.
At first, she identified it as a doorknob. This seems slightly more personal than that, but still gross. Here’s just another reminder to always look before you eat.
17. The Shirtless Chef
Local restaurant where I’m from. Who needs food safety right? from r/trashy
Shirts don’t just look nice. They also function as hairnets for your entire body. This photo is enough to turn you off from eating out forever.
And rightly so.
Who told this chef he could work sans clothing? And why did he think he’d satisfy any health code regulations.
It’s just not right.
If this guy wants to cook without the proper attire, he can do so in his own home while cooking for himself.
18. The Menu That Doubles As A Piece Of Paper
A “customer” decided to use the wine menu as a doodle pad with a sharpie.
byu/Annoleuven intrashy
Now if a child did this, we’d be a little more forgiving. Sometimes it’s challenging for young people to control their more creative (and destructive urges).
But look at that handwriting.
An adult definitely wrote this down; those are adult words, so to speak. And the adult in question went to town.
19. Not Enough Pitchers
Can anyone tell what’s wrong here? This restaurant seems to have decided pitchers that used to collect tips are suitable for holding drinks as well.
But money is one of the dirtiest things in the world.
In fact, medical studies determined that fecal matter contaminates the majority of paper bills. Consequently, any container that previously stored money is likely as dirty as the average toilet.
And we’re not so sure, the restaurant even cleaned the pitcher properly.
They couldn’t even manage to clean the marker from the plastic dispenser. Whoever was in charge of managing this establishment clearly dropped the ball
20. Trouble Making It In
Saw this in a restaurant bathroom
byu/beckyisawesome intrashy
There are probably a few different people at fault in this establishment. Indeed, customers who need to be told where to relieve themselves are hardly ideal.
Yes, trashcans do hold waste.
But they’re not designed to hold human waste. The only reason it might be okay to go in the trash bin is if the toilet is horribly bad repair. We doubt that was the case here, though.
And whoever let it go in the trash should feel embarrassed.
Their actions forced someone to handle urine, and that’s just not okay. Again, who taught these people manners? Because they really left some things out.
