50 Times Restaurant Clients Got So Annoyed By How Their Food And Drinks Were Served, They Just Had To Document It (New Pics)
Cooking is an art form, and there are no limits to what culinary masterpieces chefs will come up with next. (Have you guys ever seen what an air fryer can do?) But when it comes to how brilliant dishes are served, there are many purists out there who think there’s nothing better than the classics. Plates and bowls were invented for a reason after all!
Below, you’ll find some of the wildest alternatives to traditional dishes that people have scrutinized in the We Want Plates subreddit. From fish sticks in Crocs to bread in a Versace shoe, we hope you get a kick out of these unappetizing atrocities down below. Be sure to upvote the ones that make you hesitant to ever eat in a restaurant again, and remember that sometimes it’s best to just stick with what you know.
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This Isn’t A Plate! The Wig Is Up!
Drinking Water Out Of A Measuring Cup Does Not Make Me Feel Quirky, It Makes Me Feel Like A Lunatic Who Needs To Go Do Their Dishes
A Full English Served By A Hipster
"Imagine going to spend your hard earned money on a full English and they bring it out on a BLOODY SPADE"
the bigger travesty is that many of those items look underdone. WHERE ARE MY CRISPY BITS
The bacon is definitely a travesty, but that's partly because it's back bacon and not the plainly superior belly cut. (Edit: someone seriously downvoted me because of my bacon preference? Jeez.)
Load More Replies...Ahem, the spade is a shovel. This is reminiscent of how train drivers and stokers would cook their food on a shovel on the hot coals of their fire box. It this case I hope the shovel was hot, or they would soon have a cold breakfast.
Bro that bacon is raw. Also this is a shovel, not a spade. And why is here one egg, just one? Even if this was on a plate, it wouldn't be worth it.
British bacon is genuinely cooked like this. I thought I hated bacon all my life til I cooked it myself... Properly.
Load More Replies...This is from a place local to me here in Cornwall. It's called the Cornish Gold Centre, just down the road from Redruth and you are asked at the point of ordering whether you'd like it on a shovel or a plate.
And for those that don't know. This area of Cornwall has a rich mining heritage.
Load More Replies...I want to know if the restaurant advertises it as being on a spade or whether that's just a surprise to the customer.
Hmm.. the tomato and bacon are underdone, and I hope the cut up (??) on top of the sausages is not undercooked black pudding! The baked bean planter doesn't look like it's sealed tin. Imagine if you leaned on the handle and sent the contents flying. What a mess..
A lot of people in the UK like their bacon cooked like that. The rest of the meal is cooked fine. But a bloody spade - behave.
I don't see any blood. It all seems to have been cooked properly …? *winks
A pub near me was doing this 20 years ago but they grew up.
OMG, the waiter has probably just finished his other job as a grave digger!!!
How are these restaurants passing their safety inspections when they're serving food on items that are not made of food grade materials?
Great way of making your food go cold before you have a chance to eat it.
What is that dark brown round thing at the front left? It's not black pudding or mushroom.
Everyone else: That's disgusting. Me: It's probably for the aethestic.
We Want Plates is a website, subreddit, Facebook page, Instagram account, Twitter account, and even a book! Just like wooden boards and baskets have taken the restaurant world by storm, We Want Plates has secured its place on the internet, demanding that people just use normal dishware. The subreddit, which has amassed an impressive 932k members since its creation in 2015, describes its mission as “crusades against serving food on bits of wood and roof tiles, chips in mugs and drinks in jam jars.” And the community certainly does an excellent job of mocking all of the ridiculous items restaurants find a way of incorporating into their kitchens for questionable reasons.
We Want Plates was started by Ross McGinnes, and lucky for us, my colleague Jonas was previously able to get in touch with him to hear more about how this community advocating for plates began in the first place. “I started the campaign in 2015 after a friend posted a picture of an average-sized steak on Facebook, which had been served to him on a large chopping board. It was captioned, unironically, ‘That is a big meal!’ It wasn't a big meal — he'd fallen for all this style-over-content hipster gastropub nonsense,” McGinnes previously told Bored Panda. “I searched Twitter for an account which would allow me to vent my spleen with like-minded people, but found nothing. We Want Plates was born.”
This Is Getting Ridiculous
You Can Use A Knife To Cut A Toothpick From The Log After You Finished Your Dinner
Fish Sticks In A Croc
EXCUSE MY LANGUAGE BUT WHAT THE FUCKlTY F**K IS THIS MONSTROSITY
The creator of We Want Plates presumes that restaurants go to these extreme measures when plating their food to ensure that they stand out from the crowd, and perhaps go viral. “My local pub used to do a great Sunday roast: twelve quid, piled high, tasted great and yes, it came on a plate,” he shared. “One weekend they added a quirky offering to the menu: little sandwiches, pies, dainty cakes and mini milkshakes served on a miniature picnic bench. The benches, painted bright pink and yellow, sat on top of tables seating actual grown adults. And what was the first thing these infantilized diners did? It wasn’t try the food — it was whip out their phones and take a picture.”
“Over the following months, the picnic benches became increasingly popular, coinciding with the specials board becoming progressively smaller, before it eventually disappeared altogether,” McGinnes continued, much to his dismay. “I sat there one Sunday, watching bench after garish bench emerge from the kitchen like a technicolor carnival of idiocy, before my usual roast arrived. The meat was cold, and the potatoes were burnt. It was once their main Sunday trade, but the traditional roast had died an unpalatable death. But that’s okay because they were doing a roaring trade with the benches, right? Sure, until the pub down the road started doing them too. Then the one around the corner. Before you know it, everyone’s doing the same ‘quirky’ thing, except it’s not ‘quirky’ any more because you can’t move for mini picnic benches and now all their roast dinners are rubbish to boot.”
“Rudolph.” “Here!” “Dasher.” “Here!” “Dancer.” “Here!” “Prancer.” “Here!” “Vixen.” “Here!” “Comet.” “Here!” “Cupid.” “Here!” “Donner.” “Here!” “Blitzen.” “Got Some Bad News About Blitzen, Boss”
I Think It's Necessary To Add That The Glasses Are Filled With Hot Pork Broth To Wash Down Those Hog Nipples
Sushi For M’lady?
As impractical as these plating options appear, they seem to keep popping up in restaurants all around the globe, likely because they go viral on social media. I’m sure we’ve all seen the slices of cheesecake on top of milkshakes or towers of onion rings sticking out of burgers. But how are we supposed to actually devour these dishes? Many of them must end up becoming a huge mess and creating devastating amounts of food waste. There’s nothing wrong with simple plating, but unfortunately, social media is a very powerful tool, even in the real world.
Bored Panda was also previously able to get in touch with one of the moderators of this board-shaming subreddit, Merari01, who shared that, “A wonderful meal is enhanced by a superb presentation. But an overly excessive display can detract from the meal.”
There Was An Attempt To Include A Plate... Sort Of
Tacos On Cactus
Caged Chicken Buns In Hong Kong
"For me, the line [between creative and absurd] presentation is crossed when the creativity hinders the enjoyment of the food,” Merari01 previously told Bored Panda. “Food that cannot be eaten without messing up the table, because the sauce gets everywhere since there's no plate but a piece of slate used. Food that cannot be eaten without carefully dismantling it from the display on which it is mounted and pinned. Our current top post is a good example. You'll have to dismantle the display and then there isn't much room on the board for cutting the meat."
Saw This On A Friend’s Instagram. The Horror
Cocktail Served In A Plastic Bag
That's the way we used to get our beverages with street vendors in Mexico. Is still used in some places here tho
Whole Meal On A Cup
We Want Plates has become such a massive movement that even The Guardian has reported on their efforts. In fact, some of the Twitter account’s followers have begun sending boards and bizarre serving platters back to the kitchen to receive their meals on regular plates. “I hope we’ll make a difference,” David Martyn, one follower who was featured on We Want Plates after requesting that a Clifton pub provide him with a plain old plate when they attempted to serve his fish and chips on a roof tile. “How are you supposed to eat fish and chips off a slate? It’s presentation over practicality. And surely it’s old hat by now?”
Bread In A Versace Shoe
Ice Cream Served On Only The Finest Of Frozen Rocks…
Would You Like Some Steak With Your Lawnmower?
Few things to say here. 1. That does not look clean in any way, shape, or form. 2. I feel bad for the employee(s) who had to lug a lawnmower from the kitchen onto the table. 3. I remember this place from when I lived in L.A., it's a Barton G restaurant. If you think this is bad, the entire f*****g menu is like this. Salmon on a f*****g samurai sword is another example. It's skewered too, sticking straight up from the plate.
One restaurant owner in Windsor was even convinced to change their approach after We Want Plates brought to their attention that eating ice cream off of a slate is not very practical. “We were delighted that someone pointed it out to us,” Conrad Byrne, general manager of the Fox and Hounds, told The Guardian. “We put the dessert on a plate that very afternoon and it’s changed how we look at our dishes. Now we don’t just think purely about the visuals, we’re asking: ‘How will the customer see this?’”
Next Time Just Throw The Dish At Me Please
Charcuterie Cups
Pudding In Birmingham
Not everyone is on board with We Want Plates’ movement, though. Just like there are purists who are begging for regular dishes, there are innovators who refuse to turn back. Seth Levine, the executive chef of Hotel Chantelle who hangs small pieces of jamon from a washing line for his diners, was unphased by the criticism he received. “I’d never in a million years even contemplate changing my style because there’s a small group of people who want to eat off a white china plate,” he told The Guardian. “It’s fun to upgrade dishes a bit. I ate in a restaurant the other night where something was served to me on burning wood, and I thought it was incredible.”
“Not Just Any Shoe, An Orange One”
I Was Wronged In Idaho
Wine Bottle Pasta
At the end of the day, the most important factor we should all be considering when trying to enjoy a meal is enjoying the food. If it’s impossible to eat without making a mess, becomes instantly soggy or cold due to a focus on the display, or it just doesn’t taste great because aesthetics became the priority, the meal is a failure. And when we’re going out to a restaurant and paying $20 for dinner, that dish better be delicious! Save the displays for art museums; when I’m coming to eat, I want to know that my meal will be satisfying. (And no, I don’t care if my Instagram followers get to see it.)
We Want Tetanus!
Glass Of Pasta
Shovel
In general, I’m a huge proponent of creativity. But when it comes to how my food is being served, I’d rather not have any surprises. It’s great if my food is presented in a beautiful way, but once it’s been warped into something that looks like it belongs in a modern art museum or on my feet, you’ve lost my appetite. We hope you’re enjoying this bizarre list, pandas; don’t forget to keep upvoting the pics that have you begging restaurants to simply use plates. Then, if you’re hungry for even more of these odd alternatives to regular dishware, you can find Bored Panda’s last article featuring We Want Plates right here!
Cocktail Served In Broccoli Soup Can, On Newspaper, On A Preschooler’s Popsicle Stick Craft?
I love it! Restaurants literally serving people in garbage, sitting atop more garbage and most likely these dummies are paying astronomical prices.
My Drink Served In A To-Go Box
Served Right On The Table
Incarne (And Bones)
Have Some Gyoza With This Houseplant
$14 Worth Of Fried Potato Served On A Hacky Sack
A Lot Of Fuss For 6 Shrimp
Words Cannot Describe This
Everything But The Kitchen Sink Taken Too Literally
Wood You Like Some Chicken With That Pasta: A Classic Study In Wanting Plates
Coffee In A Donut
World-Renowned Chef Jose Andres Serves An Appetizer Out Of A Stiletto
"Is The Ice Cream Locally Produced?" "No, But The Jam Jar And Bit Of Skirting Board Are From A Skip Down The Road"
The Brick Isn't Even Warm For The Sliders
Nachos In A... Bin Box?
Looks Like A Plant But Its An Actual Dish Served In A 2 Michelin Star Restaurant In La
Smash In Burger Paris. Food Served On A 2pac Vinyl. Taken From Best Ever Food Review Yt
Why would you waste a perfectly good 2pac vinyl, you're a monster. Vinyl is pretty much impossible to clean too, so they'd have to throw this out after. And unless they coated the vinyl in something beforehand, whoever is eating this is also eating a bunch of dangerous compounds.
Meaty Deer Shoulder On Boney Deer Shoulder
And So, On #worldpastaday, We Bow Our Heads In Silence And Remember The Pint Of Spaghetti Bolognese
THERE'S A WORLD PASTA DAY?? HOW DID I NOT KNOW ABOUT THIS?????
Bucket Of Burgers
Onion Rings On A Funnel
Breakfast Served In A Cardboard Egg Carton On A Chopping Board. Yummy, But Difficult To Eat
I Was Served On An Oven Rack
I feel like most of the people who made the decisions for these 'plates', 'bowls' and 'glasses' don't understand the concept of FOOD SAFE materials, nor the need to sanitize those containers between customers.
They also don't understand the concept of if you make good-a*s food, you don't need to do silly presentations in order to get people talking about your restaurant.
Load More Replies...Doesn't anyone actually turn around to the waiter and say 'no way, take it back , I'm not eating off of a rusty spade/ splintered log/ old shoe?' I mean how does this pass hygiene laws? If you are paying for e.g steak with peppercorn sauce and most of the sauce has all dribbled off the log, surely you can complain that you paid for it, ergo you should actually be able to eat all of what you PAID for? Such utter nonsense. I wouldn't even accept some of this rubbish in a high end restaurant. I would tell them it's now passé and over trying on the pretentiousness to do this, so go and get me a damn plate. Idiots. People will look back on this in many years in the same way as we look at shrimps and spam served in lime jello moulds in the seventies. Bonkers.
I think the places that do this stuff make it well known that they do. So, as a patron, you must know what you are getting onto BEFORE you go to dine there. Telling the wait staff that you refuse your order because of the way it is served is kinda a d**k move if you already knew that that was the theme of the restaurant.
Load More Replies...I've refused a meal due to the stupidity of how it's served before, mainly because I don't think most of the weird ideas are particularly hygienic- if it can go in a dishwasher then fine, if not I want a regular plate
The reactions and comments are so funny. These restaurants do this precisely to make people react and get attention on social networks. “Omg that’s not hygienic” “no way this is safe to eat” “so stupid, I want a plate!” “Yeah I would refuse the meal” But in the end they made you talk about them. And they will have people come to try it because they heard about it thanks to you. Big win for them.
Erm I don't think so? If someone told me a restaurant serves fries in an adidas shoe, I would make an effort to NOT go there. Why would people really want to visit a restaurant that people have complained about? Makes no sense.
Load More Replies...This was just a little too weird for me. Plates and bowls are there for a reason
Is this for real? Do the restaurants that do this at least offer a warning at the door or are the weird "plates" what one signs up for in advance? Curious minds would like to know...
I was wondering the same. Is there a notice somewhere? Also, where is this most common?
Load More Replies...It's funny that if one of the contestants on Masterchef served up food like this they would be told exactly what the judges thought about it. If the judges went to a michelin starred restaurant however it would be clever and amazing. I remember when a contestant served up food that was described by the judges as bland looking and all one colour. When they went to the restaurant of a world renowned chef who served completely white and beige stuff it turned out to be wonderful and very clever.
You chose to go to this places. Probably already knowing it was going to be weird. "Acting" surprised and outraged about what you're being served, kind of makes you a douche.
Some of these are really weird, gross and just plain why? But a very small few of these are actually kind of cool
Would also love to read an honest Yelp review about this silly disease-potential restaurant.
These all look ridiculous. If the food is good, don't tarnish it with crappy props. Sets of dishes for real restaurants are more than adequate and well worth the cost.
Some of the concepts are cool, and in some cases it might make you think more about what you're eating, but when it becomes overly impractical it becomes a problem.
I’m 100% sure most of those photos were taken by people who knew exactly what to expect when entering the restaurant. Places who serve food in a weird way get clients because they do so… it’s so rare that you get into one of those places by coincidence and won’t know that something weird is coming your way
if the menu says "dish served on shoe, plant, shovel, or whatever" its completely up to the customer who is silly enough to order it. If it doesnt say so, i would sent 99% of that cr*p right back and leave without paying for it. Hell no!
Considering the prices people pay at these places you would think the management could afford proper plates.
You can't be serious. No high class restaurant would do this.
Load More Replies...I feel like most of the people who made the decisions for these 'plates', 'bowls' and 'glasses' don't understand the concept of FOOD SAFE materials, nor the need to sanitize those containers between customers.
They also don't understand the concept of if you make good-a*s food, you don't need to do silly presentations in order to get people talking about your restaurant.
Load More Replies...Doesn't anyone actually turn around to the waiter and say 'no way, take it back , I'm not eating off of a rusty spade/ splintered log/ old shoe?' I mean how does this pass hygiene laws? If you are paying for e.g steak with peppercorn sauce and most of the sauce has all dribbled off the log, surely you can complain that you paid for it, ergo you should actually be able to eat all of what you PAID for? Such utter nonsense. I wouldn't even accept some of this rubbish in a high end restaurant. I would tell them it's now passé and over trying on the pretentiousness to do this, so go and get me a damn plate. Idiots. People will look back on this in many years in the same way as we look at shrimps and spam served in lime jello moulds in the seventies. Bonkers.
I think the places that do this stuff make it well known that they do. So, as a patron, you must know what you are getting onto BEFORE you go to dine there. Telling the wait staff that you refuse your order because of the way it is served is kinda a d**k move if you already knew that that was the theme of the restaurant.
Load More Replies...I've refused a meal due to the stupidity of how it's served before, mainly because I don't think most of the weird ideas are particularly hygienic- if it can go in a dishwasher then fine, if not I want a regular plate
The reactions and comments are so funny. These restaurants do this precisely to make people react and get attention on social networks. “Omg that’s not hygienic” “no way this is safe to eat” “so stupid, I want a plate!” “Yeah I would refuse the meal” But in the end they made you talk about them. And they will have people come to try it because they heard about it thanks to you. Big win for them.
Erm I don't think so? If someone told me a restaurant serves fries in an adidas shoe, I would make an effort to NOT go there. Why would people really want to visit a restaurant that people have complained about? Makes no sense.
Load More Replies...This was just a little too weird for me. Plates and bowls are there for a reason
Is this for real? Do the restaurants that do this at least offer a warning at the door or are the weird "plates" what one signs up for in advance? Curious minds would like to know...
I was wondering the same. Is there a notice somewhere? Also, where is this most common?
Load More Replies...It's funny that if one of the contestants on Masterchef served up food like this they would be told exactly what the judges thought about it. If the judges went to a michelin starred restaurant however it would be clever and amazing. I remember when a contestant served up food that was described by the judges as bland looking and all one colour. When they went to the restaurant of a world renowned chef who served completely white and beige stuff it turned out to be wonderful and very clever.
You chose to go to this places. Probably already knowing it was going to be weird. "Acting" surprised and outraged about what you're being served, kind of makes you a douche.
Some of these are really weird, gross and just plain why? But a very small few of these are actually kind of cool
Would also love to read an honest Yelp review about this silly disease-potential restaurant.
These all look ridiculous. If the food is good, don't tarnish it with crappy props. Sets of dishes for real restaurants are more than adequate and well worth the cost.
Some of the concepts are cool, and in some cases it might make you think more about what you're eating, but when it becomes overly impractical it becomes a problem.
I’m 100% sure most of those photos were taken by people who knew exactly what to expect when entering the restaurant. Places who serve food in a weird way get clients because they do so… it’s so rare that you get into one of those places by coincidence and won’t know that something weird is coming your way
if the menu says "dish served on shoe, plant, shovel, or whatever" its completely up to the customer who is silly enough to order it. If it doesnt say so, i would sent 99% of that cr*p right back and leave without paying for it. Hell no!
Considering the prices people pay at these places you would think the management could afford proper plates.
You can't be serious. No high class restaurant would do this.
Load More Replies...