30 Things People Look Out For In Restaurants To Tell If The Food There Is Gonna Be Good

Yep, happened to me in northern France - I wanted to try african cuisine and the place was full of people form Africa, there was even a "senior" table where elderly people were playing cards... and the food was delicious

When I was a child and went for Chinese food (in New York City's Chinatown) with my Aunt's family we'd follow a Chinese family until they'd go into a restaurant and follow them into it to eat. Always a great way to find a great place to eat.

best falafel place I went to was 50 years family owned immigrants, the grandmother who founded the place was born in Yemen. You know it was authentic because the manager at the time (grandson of the founder) would be sitting in a wifebeater with his buddies smoking at a table he placed on the street right right next to the door, and would be there chatting. As to the workers, they could have been arab or hispanic, who knows

Absolutely. We used to go to an Indian place (Vintage India, in Bernam, Johannesburg) and we were usually the only white people there. Same thing happened at a Chinese restaurant in London. We were the only non-Chinese people there! And the food was fantastic both times.

Definitely. There was a small, dark Chinese restaurant in a NYC subway corridor one floor below street. First time I went in there were a dozen guys all talking in Chinese, all kinda messy looking like laborers of some kind. This place lived up to the claim above - great food!! Every day, if I didn’t have pizza, I had Chinese from there. This was in Lower Manhattan, 2003.

that's the way you do it...train your staff and be aware that there will be some incidents.

integrity

For those wondering, the Hawthorne Hotel is located in Salem, Massachusetts.

Honestly I'd become a regular at that restaurant. If only to see personal growth happen. I like when that happens.

Communication, transparency, and offering both constructive critique to the staff (while not being negative), and being honest with the customer. All great hallmarks of excellent management.

it's natural to love your own food

Never had curry and was excited about trying it, my waitress was awesome in explaining. I'm now a big fan of curry

My local Pizza shop, that I used to go to, when it was under the original owners, they had a guy who has worked making pizza's there for years (when they sold the business, and this worker did not get along with the new owners, he had been there 27 years) and was the best at making pizza. They old owners trusted him, that he had a key to the safe in the back in case he needed to access it for the register. They literally let him run the area they made the pizzas once he had been there logn enough, and let him handle hiring. He was a good man who knew every regulars orders, etc. He said he was like family with the owners. Most workers there had worked for years, and very low turnover. Shame the new owners treated him as just another staff member and he quit, though the new owners made changes and things arent as good. Why you would do that to a 50+ year old pizzeria is beyond me. Also just 2 years after purchasing it, only 1 worker from the old days is there. Shame

This is not indicative. It can easily mean the owner/management is lazy and the employees are complacent. Hence where I am currently at (for one more month), some employees have been there since they opened and are too depressed and wrapped up in their own world to realize they're being taken advantage of and/or do anything about it.

Sometimes money can be a big reason to stay.

My local sushi restaurant had the same owner for my whole life and we always saw the same friendly lady working in the kitchen. The atmosphere was always great until the owners changed and the service was considerably worse

We have a local restaurant that's had the same people working for my entire life. And they are amazing.

Cooks don't clean the bathrooms. This is generally not an indicator of what the kitchen looks like.

Sounds like nonsense that people who have never worked in a restaurant would say. It may be true in some countries, but is absolutely not true in the UK. Chefs clean kitchens, NOT bathrooms. Sometimes front of house staff will clean them at the end of the night, but usually there will be cleaners who come every morning. Does anyone really want staff who are cooking/handling your food to be cleaning toilets every hour?

Not always, IMO

I might add looking at floorboards, under table and under counter. If they are dirty it a clear sign of issues that best not be said. All in all if see sign of dirty bathroom or this I suggest just leaving.

This totally depends on the cuisine. There are some foods that take hours to prepare, and other dishes that can be made in a few moments, and can be configured in many different ways.

I know of a restaurant that has the best Chinese food outside of China, with a whole book of choices, it's all amazing. But there is also a very clear green flag there, Chinese guests :)

Ir might also be partially cultural. A big menu is something you typically see in cultures where the customer is king, it shows that they try to cater as many wishes as possible. While a small card shows that they want to serve you the dishes that they are most proud of (often family recipes etc) and have perfected. I prefer the latter, because it focuses on the craft and artistry of cooking, but I think that especially for people from very customer-centered cultures, such restaurants might feel restrictive and not catering to their preferred variety ( for example, in many French restaurants with small menu's,asking for alterations in a dish is quite bad manners)

Even better : no menu at all, like in many fine dining or local traditional restaurants. You eat a carefully thought meal or the fresh products found by the chef in the morning. The menu is whatever came from the fishing boat or the gardener. You know the price, the composition but all the rest is in the hands of the cooks.

If you haven't seen it "The Lost Kitchen" on Netflix is a great series. Chef Erin French opened a restaurant in her hometown of Freedom, ME (USA) and is totally committed to using only fresh, local food items. And she seems like just a really cool person.

Always a good sign

It’s definitely a bonus, but gives no indication of food quality. I worked in a Michelin starred restaurant where everyone was miserable and a budget restaurant where we all had a great time.

Yes. Food making with love

From personal experience, this is true. However, if you smell a duck cooking, please leave. We have no cooking experience whatsoever.

This 👆

Unless they Spritz Good food aroma from an aerosol device.

Or, it's because the kitchen's exhaust fan stopped working.

Tres true.

If they are busy during typically slow times, it is a great sign.

I recently went to my favorite thai restaurant as soon as it opened for dinner hours and within 20 minutes, the place was packed. Understandably so because the food and service is amazing.

Lot of which depends on location-- can be crappy, but only place open

100% but only after they have been open a while, I live in a major capital city and new places can be over hyped but if the quality is good they retain the crowds.

eating with the Village People?

Or if your near a courthouse and jurors show up.

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In much of the world, most of Europe at least, you never get queues at a restaurant. Either they have a table or they don't, but unless someone is just about to pay their bill they would not just let you wait around. It's very much a fast food thing, in a proper restaurant tt would be very rude to pressure existing diners to hurry up like this.