Buffets are a staple in American culture. Across the country, families go to all-you-can-eat restaurants to consume every food under the sun for a fraction of what they would normally pay at any other restaurant. But while this might sound like paradise for foodies, some people have encountered buffets that grossed them out enough for them to never want to go back.
Unfortunately, buffets do have a bad rap in the industry. While they might seem sanitary, some buffets are not properly cleaned by their employees. Some have food left out for way too long, and some use germ-covered utensils that are shared between customers. Mix this all together, and it’s inevitable that you’ll get sick — or even worse — contract food poisoning.
Of course, not all buffets are bad. While some wouldn’t pass the FDA inspection on a random day, most do. However, it doesn’t change the fact that people have already revealed their gross buffet stories that’ll make you want to run in the other direction. But don’t take our word for it. We found 15 horrific tales from Reddit. And they will turn your stomach. Warning: Read at your own discretion.
1. A dad didn’t get to eat his crab legs.
Unfortunately, things are just out of your control.
While the buffet didn’t necessarily have anything to do with this sick relative, it was unfortunate for the dad. This poor, hungry guy only wanted to eat his crab legs. Hopefully, this situation didn’t ruin his appetite, though. Maybe he got to take his crab legs to-go.
2. A kid threw up in the middle of a buffet restaurant.
From Redditor /u/unsulliedbread:
I was 12 and [at a buffet when] I felt something hit wrong. Immediately jumped up and was scurrying off to the bathroom and this fucking lady wouldn’t move out of my way or speed up. My sister who was trying to help said ‘excuse me’ twice and then said ‘no really’ and the woman waited until she was in a pinch point right by the bathroom and slowed right down. Well, I pushed past my sister and then tried to push past the lady and she made a huffy noise and was starting to turn around when suddenly I puked at both our feet. I didn’t get any directly on her but she def. got splashback. She wrinkled her nose and said, “Ewwwww.” I finally got past her and finished up in the women’s washroom. My sister stayed and flagged down a waiter. The lady tried to get a free meal ( the waiter wonderfully said no they’d seen the whole thing) but all they did was put a chair over top of it so no one would step in it and moved the closest table to a spot out of scent range. I being a kid was now hungry and went back for more. My mom not realizing exactly what happened let me. 30 minutes later she went to the washroom. It STILL just had a chair over it. They hadn’t even put sawdust on top yet!
If the lady wasn’t there, everything would’ve been fine.
Sadly, that was not the case even though Redditor unsulliedbread knew instantly knew the food from the buffet didn’t sit right in their stomach. The older customer simply wouldn’t budge. Yes, the kid in question eventually threw up on the floor. And yes, the lady (who was partially responsible for the mess) tried to get free food because of the situation. Unluckily for her, the waiter said no.
3. A lego was found inside of a salad dressing container.
That’s not supposed to be there.
When you’re pouring salad dressing all over your salad, the last thing you want to find is a lego piece mixed right in with the condiment. We have some questions, though. How did the lego get in the dressing? How long was it in there? We’ll never know, but some kid is probably still missing that little plastic toy.
4. A young girl tried to have sugar.
Maybe parents are right about a few things.
When a kid is restricted from having a particular food item, you can bet that they’ll go crazy and order it the minute their parents are not around. And most kids can do this without facing any major repercussions. This child, however, instantly got sick the minute she had a large strawberry shake and spinach with ranch. Yikes.
5. An older woman ate off another person’s plate.
No one should do this, ever.
But, of course, it happened at a buffet. User notfromconcentrate47 recalls the one time a woman leaned over their table and asked if the roast beef was good. She then proceeded to cut a piece of beef directly from their plate. While it is important to share every now and then, it’s certainly not okay to grab whatever you want from someone else’s plate.
6. A firefighter ate way too much pizza.
And the nausea was no joke.
As a volunteer firefighter, you never know when you’re going to get called in for duty. One minute you could be enjoying a slice of pizza after training, and the next, you’re rushing to stop a fire. Well, that’s exactly what happened to user acidain after he ate more than he bargained for. Eventually, he was good to go after getting sick. But you can bet he probably didn’t eat pizza for a very long time.
7. A kid threw up and went for seconds.
Germs are everywhere.
Even if you consider yourself to be a very hygienic person, that doesn’t mean everyone else is. For instance, when a kid throws up, you assume they will wash their hands and stop eating. But that’s not always the case. And user dutchapplepoptart did not want to risk it. Consequently, he decided to call it quits at the buffet although his dad continued to eat.
8. A roach crawled out of a napkin dispenser.
No, that shouldn’t have happened.
When you eat at a restaurant, you assume that it’s clean and free of bugs. Unfortunately, that’s sometimes far from the truth. In fact, some eating establishments have more than just the occasional fly. They have actual roaches. And every now and then, a roach will crawl right of the napkin dispenser, apparently.
9. They used the buffet spoon as a kid’s utensil.
Don’t be this parent.
Yes, your kid might be hungry, but that doesn’t give you permission to use a spoon from the buffet table to feed your child. Instead, opt to use regular utensils like everyone else. This will prevent germs from spreading. And strangers won’t give you filthy looks.
10. Two chefs cut vegetables on the kitchen floor.
That’s not the right way to cut vegetables.
Instead of cutting vegetables on the floor, you may want to consider using a table if you’re an employee at a buffet restaurant. Not only will this stop the food from getting infected with germs, but it will also prevent people from getting sick if they eat it.
11. A great-grandma accidentally drank soy sauce.
Sorry, that’s not what a Coca-Cola looks like.
You honestly never know what can happen when you go to a buffet restaurant. You may eat an endless amount of chicken, or you may see an elderly woman accidentally drink soy sauce and throw it all up. Thankfully, everything ended up being fine. But you can say things got a little crazy during dinner for this family.
12. Someone found a press-on nail in the mash potatoes.
That doesn’t belong there.
Sometimes you just find weird things in your food. For instance, you may find a fly that accidentally got stuck in your dish or a piece of hair that fell from your head. However, finding a random press-on nail in a pile of mash potatoes at an all-you-can-eat restaurant is not normal and not acceptable.
13. A dad received a blue steak.
Steak should never be blue.
However, user artist_t3’s dad got lucky and almost ate a blue steak at this particular cafeteria-style restaurant. While any other place would provide a new steak for the customer to eat, this place saw nothing wrong with it and even prevented him from getting a new one.
14. A woman didn’t wash her hands after going to the bathroom and got more food from the buffet line.
Always wash your hands after going to the bathroom. Always.
As you can imagine, watching someone leave the bathroom without washing their hands would drive anyone crazy. But watching them leave the bathroom and then touch all the buffet utensils would force most people to just eat at home. You may want to think twice the next time you eat out before you touch a shared utensil at a buffet line.
15. A woman found a frog in her drink.
It somehow ended up in the ice machine.
According to user katelynn102595, her friend went to a local Chinese buffet and ordered a drink that arrived with a frog frozen inside the ice. The frog didn’t make it out alive. But apparently, someone wrote an article about the chilling incident.
