Going out to eat is a huge privilege nowadays. If you think groceries have gotten expensive, try ordering two entrees and two glasses of wine from your local Italian restaurant. The shock of seeing your bill will convince you that instant noodles and PB&J sandwiches are healthy enough to sustain you for the rest of the month.
So if you’re going to splurge on a nice meal or treat yourself by ordering takeout, that food better be delicious. Or you might find yourself having serious regrets. We has scoured the internet and found some of the most insulting and disappointing meals people have ever been served by restaurants. I’ll warn you right now that this list might give you trust issues when it comes to ordering food, but these establishments deserve to be called out for trying to pass these abominations off as edible!
#1 This Starbucks Wrap Was Not What I Was Expecting
#2 I Don’t Even Have Words
#3 My Friends Mom Ordered A Cobb Salad At Resort In Dominican Republic
There’s nothing like the disappointment of being served a bad meal. Whether your soup comes cold, your pizza came with olives even though you explicitly asked for none, or your burger is burned to a crisp, it’s painful to have to suffer through a gross dish. But if you’re paying for it, it’s even more painful to waste the food!
Some of us are far too polite or anxious to complain about a bad meal, but shouldn’t we be happy with what we ordered? Well, if you want to have a game plan for the nexttime you’re served a plate of disappointment, Food & Wine has some tips. First, they recommend resisting the urge to get angry. You’re likely to receive much better service if you’re polite and respectful. Plus, nobody wants their server spitting in their dinner!
#4 I’m An English Man Travelling India. Fancied Some British Food And Ordered Fish And Chips. Wow, What A Sight This Was
#5 The Outback Steakhouse Salad I Ordered vs. What I Got
I remember when going to a steakhouse used to mean something.
#6 Panera Is The Absolute Worst
If you’re tempted to channel your inner Karen and ask to see a manager when you’ve been served a bad meal, Food & Wine notes that this isn’t always the best choice. It’s likely that they’ll offer you the exact same solution that your server did, so you probably don’t need to escalate the issue to this point.
And if you are interested in speaking with the manager, first consider if there’s actually anything they can do for you. If your server has informed you that the kitchen is out of the dish you wanted or is missing a key ingredient, the manager can’t magically make it appear. And if your waiter offered to comp your dinner, that’s probably enough to satisfy you. Try to keep calm and remember that everyone makes mistakes. Yes, even people working in restaurants!
#7 We Were On Holiday In Sheffield. As A Parting Gift My Wife Got This “Cheese And Onion Toastie” For £8. We Did Not Pay And Left
#8 Box Lunch From Sandwich Shop Comes With Picture Of A Cookie, Rather Than An Actual Cookie
#9 Expectation vs. Reality
Eater has also shared some advice on how to politely complain when a restaurant messes up your order. First, it’s important to know when it’s worth it to say something and when it’s best to keep your mouth shut. For example, if you asked for mild curry, and the first bite of the dish burned your tastebuds off, don’t hesitate to tell your server. However, if you forgot to ask for your salad without tomatoes or didn’t realize that there would be some onions on top of your guacamole, it might be best to just pick them off and carry on with your meal.
#10 I Ordered A Salad And Got A Plate Of Random Ingredients On A Wooden Board
#11 Caprese Salad Takeout From Local Restaurant
#12 Ordered The Garden Avocado Toast From Panera, And Got This
Eater also suggests that diners remain on their best manners when sharing concerns about their dishes. Don’t be a jerk, and always remain calm. It’s not the end of the world if your steak was cooked the wrong way. Just politely explain the situation and ask for a new one.
If you have something in mind that will resolve the issue, be specific when requesting it. If it’s as easy as getting a new meal, ask for that. And if it’s too late, you might want to ask the restaurant to comp your dish. Or, if you ordered an appetizer that was incredibly disappointing, you might be able to swap it out for a different one. Have suggestions, but be reasonable.
#13 Ordered Soft Serve And It Was Hollow
#14 The Number Of Fries I Got In My Meal
#15 Airport Breakfast
First photo is screenshotted from their online menu and second pic is what I got. I paid extra for a side of avocado and they gave me a little scoop of an overly ripened one that tasted tangy.
When expressing concerns about your food to restaurant staff, you also have to remember that they might not always be interested in hearing your feedback. It’s possible that the chef will double down and assure the customer that there’s nothing wrong with their food. And you know what, they might be right. If you’re really uncomfortable with your dish, no one will force you to eat it. But you might still have to pay and simply decide to never return in the future.
#16 I Ordered A Takeout Fish Sandwich. Got Home, Opened The Box, And Noticed Something Was Missing
They told me to come back and they would give me another one. No apology, no compensation for my inconvenience.
#17 What I Ordered From Panera vs. What I Got
I got a refund, but still felt cheated. I craved this meal all day and it took over an hour to get. Had a small scoop of rice. No meat and look at everything else. By the time I got it, they were closed for the day. I was infuriated to say the least. Highly doubt that I’ll order from Panera anytime soon.
#18 Ordered A Grilled Cheese From Panera
It’s also not a great practice to fail to speak up in the moment when you’ve been served a disappointing meal, and then write a scathing Yelp review after you’ve left. Give the restaurant an opportunity to right their wrong while you’re still sitting at your table. Negative reviews can really hurt a business, and it’s possible that you just caught them on a bad day. Don’t make the restaurant suffer forever because of one bad experience.
#19 I Ordered Thai Food Delivery And This Is What I Got
#20 Caprese Salad I Purchased From A Pizza Place. I Should Have Checked The Review First
#21 Ordered Some Pancakes With Syrup And Bacon, But I Got The Top Slices Of A Brioche Bun
Everyone loves to enjoy a delicious meal, and it’s natural to hold restaurants to a high standard. But the reality is that there are a lot of ways an order can go wrong. First, the customer must correctly explain what they want. Then, the server has to relay that information to the kitchen. The line cooks must pay attention to what’s written and properly plate the order, and then, the server has to deliver it to the correct customer before it gets cold. Let’s have some sympathy for the staff when dining out!
#22 I Ordered A Salad, They Sent Me 12 Slices Of Ham
I ordered a salad from Subway using this little robot delivery service my campus has. I get back to my room, and see that my “salad” is just a bowl of ham. The cold cut combo is supposed to have three types of meat anyway, why just the ham?
I’m mostly just baffled. I’m upset because it cost nearly $8 and they just gave me ham.
#23 This $10 Cheesy Garlic Bread I Bought Tonight
#24 I Can’t Stress Enough That The Egg Rectangle Is Completely Homogeneous
Are these photos infuriating you, pandas? Keep upvoting the ones that you find particularly atrocious, and let us know in the comments below what the worst experience you’ve ever had when ordering food was. Then, if you’d like to check out another We article featuring similarly disappointing photos, look no further than right here!
#25 Ordered Domino’s Mac & Cheese
I will admit ordering pasta from a pizza place was mistake #1. But how did they forget one of the only two ingredients?
#26 Dairy Queen Side Salad For $4
#27 Ordered A 1/2 Cheese, 1/2 Pepperoni Pizza For My Kids. The App Defaulted To No Sauce And No Cheese
#28 When They Said It Was An “Elevated Dining” Experience, I Didn’t Think They Meant This $19 Vegan Burger
#29 What I Ordered vs. What I Got
#30 What I Ordered And What I Got
The original dish was described as yellow tomato sauce, confit cherry tomatoes, garlic, basil, dried chillie flakes and garlic confit. I got 3 almost raw yellow cherry tomatoes and some garlic paste at the f***ing bottom. Violife coconut feta is insane.
#31 Hotdog Meal While On Holiday
#32 Taco Bell Nuggets
I knew better. But, I always try new things, and I’m a sucker for limited & special items.
The box was larger than I expected so I had high hopes. But it was light and upon opening, I was greeted with chicken marbles. They wouldn’t qualify for boneless wings let alone nuggets. These are the extras that get thrown in your chicken strip meal at other places.They were crispy, but that doesn’t make me any less of an idiot for ordering them.
#33 Ordered Avocado Toast From Panera Because The Photo Looked Really Good. Here’s How It Actually Came
#34 First And Last Time Trying Taco Bell’s Garbage Nuggets
#35 $12 Crispy Scallops
#36 Ordered Mozzarella Sticks At Ruby Tuesday And Half Were Hollow
#37 Ordered A Bagel With Cream Cheese. Thanks?
#38 Pizza Place Salads Be Like
#39 Ordered A Blackened Salmon Caesar Salad
#40 Ordered Vegetable Fajitas At A “Mexican” Place. Didn’t Expect This
#41 Friend Paid 10 Extra Dollars For Meatballs
#42 Panera Toasted Garden Caprese. Is This A Joke?
#43 Ordered From Pizza Hut And I Ended Up With More Crust Than Pizza
#44 The Sandwich I Ordered For Dinner Was The Same Size As This Coffee K-Cup
Haven’t eaten in days due to medical procedure and medication that caused severe nausea. First time I was able to get out of bed and pickup some food that I’d be able to keep down so I was starving and very excited to get home and eat this sandwich. It looked positively mouthwatering on the advertisement window at the restaurant. $8 for only the sandwich (no sides). Bun is the size of this K-Cup and the meat inside is would have fit onto a teaspoon. I’m going back to bed.
#45 Chicken And Waffles At My Local Bowling Alley
#46 How Does Papa John’s Actually Sell This? My Wife Ask Me “Why Did You Order A Box Of Raw Potatoes?”
#47 Finally Ordered The Vegan Ramen From One Of The Most Popular Ramen Spots In Socal
#48 The “Pizza Americana” I Ordered In Slovakia
#49 Ordered A 3 Piece Combo At Raising Canes. Came Home And Opened It Up To This
#50 Ordered A Regular Sausage Biscuit. And I Received This Sausage Blueberry Biscuit With Icing
#51 Ordered Spinach On This Pizza. There Is ¼ Of A Spinach Leaf On It
#52 $10 Salad
#53 Bj’s Brewhouse Potato Skins Online Photo vs. Reality
#54 Valentine’s Pastry At My Local Coffee Shop
#55 The Size Of The Pasta Dish I Ordered At (What I Am Told) Is The Fanciest Hotel In Gurgaon India
#56 I Ordered Pizza From A Local Pizza Joint, And This Is How It Arrived
I legitimately don’t understand how this is possible. When I called the restaurant, the cook said he “cut it weird” and was completely dismissive.
#57 This California Roll My Girlfriend Ordered Through Doordash
#58 Ihop, You Better Count Your Days
#59 Some Pieces Of The Chef’s Choice Sushi Menu I Ordered
#60 I’m Extremely Disappointed Dunkin’ Donuts
#61 I Ordered Pizza From Bare Naked Kitchen And They Weren’t Kidding About Being Bare Naked
#62 Ordered “Pacific Veggie” From Domino’s
#63 25+ Minutes One Way To 5 Guys- Got Home To No Meat On The Burgers
#64 My Friend Ordered The T-Bone Steak At Ihop
#65 20 Dollars For “Guacamole” And Chips And These Gross Oily Limp Fries
#66 This Is My “Pound” Of Boneless Wings Order From Tonight. Only Short 11 Of The 16 Ounces
#67 Paid Extra To Make One Medium Pizza A Large, And They Just Gave Me 2 Mediums With 1 In A Large Box
#68 My Taste Of Expectation vs. Reality Today
#69 Ordered Half Cheese Half Pepperoni And They Didn’t Put Any Cheese On The Pepperoni Side
#70 Ordered Takeout From The Lowest Rated Wing Place In My Area
#71 My Sister Ordered A Foot Long Chicken Teriyaki From Subway, This Is What Was Delivered
#72 I Ordered “Fish & Chips” From A Local Food Court And This Is What I Received
#73 So I Ordered Orange Chicken In A Chinese Restaurant
#74 Ordered Rare Filet Mignon. Received Grizzly Well-Done Beef. Still Got Charged For The Filet Mignon Though
#75 Nutella Calzone
#76 A “Cheeseburger” Served In My Closest Dining Hall Tonight
#77 What I Ordered vs. What I Got
#78 This Big Mac Was My First Mcdonald’s Meal In Six Months And It Did Disappoint
#79 When Chefs Hate Their Vegan Clients
A few weeks ago I went to the renowned Boschendal Wine Farm, outside Stellenbosch, and ordered their vegan aubergine pizza. One would think that they would take pride in what they do and make aubergine the star of the dish. What I got was so dissapointing, and made me feel that they really hate their vegan customers. My husband, who is not vegan got a beautiful presented plate of food. I wrote them a polite letter about customer experience, etc. but to date got no response, hence I now name them for their bad pizza and arrogance. How hard can it really be to have made this a great pizza without too much effort? For my part it wasn’t even necessary to replace mozzarella with bad vegan cheese. How about a great Napolitana sauce, grilled aubergine, a few Kalamata olives, some red onions, rocket or basil pesto perhaps? I am also a professional chef, but I would never treat my vegan or vegetarian customers with such disdain. I won’t recommend them, nor spend my hard earned cash there ever again.
#80 Ordered “Caprese” Sandwich At An Italian Restaurant At A 5 Star Resort In Mexico. Now, I’m No Italian, But That Doesn’t Look Like Caprese Sandwich To Me
