Has a bad experience stopped you from eating at a certain restaurant ever again?

[StusBlues]

I went to a local IHOP on July 4. I was the only customer in the restaurant for a good long while. It being IHOP, I ordered pancakes. When the waitress brought them out, she curtly informed me that they were out of butter. I then asked for maple syrup (being used to getting hot maple syrup with my pancakes) and was brusquely referred to the cold syrup decanters on the table. In pouring said room temperature syrup, I noticed that the pancakes themselves had been served on a plate almost exactly the same diameter as the pancakes themselves, giving my syrup nowhere to run but onto the table.

I won't be going back there.

[Valgard]

There was a burrito place called "Si Senor" right near my office, I found a big curly hunk of metal shaving in my burrito once. I brought it up to the manager, he looked at me and said "I guess you'd like your money back, huh?"

Yah think?

There's a Japanese restaurant that my wife and I have gone to twice. The last time the service was abysmal, they got orders wrong, it took something like an hour for me to get my sushi, etc. Zero tip and we're never going back.

[Chimera]

Chinese place in Robbinsdale MN. When I lived nearby I would eat there about once a week. Then I got the sickest I have ever been. I ended up sleeping on the cold hardwood dining room floor because I couldn't get any further from the bathroom, waking up about once every hour to vomit 4-5 times, clean it up and then collapse into fitful sleep again.

Never went there again.

A large chinese buffet near me in Eagan MN. Used to be very busy. Then I went there again after I hadn't been there in over a year. At 6:30pm on a week night, I was one of three customers in the place. Given the amount of food they had out, and the fact that it looked like it had been sitting there all day, I should have just left. Fuckers charged me $13 too. When I went to leave, I got about 2 doors down the mini-mall when I started to feel sick. Haven't been there since either.

When I lived in North Minneapolis, there was a neighborhood bar and pizza joint called Pepperoni's. I used to order food from them all the time on game days. They were really good. Then they sold the place to new owners. I ordered food. An hour later it hadn't arrived yet. I lived 4 blocks from the place. I called. They said it should be there any minute. 45 minutes later they showed up. Burgers were literally carbon pucks on buns. Totally inedible. Pizza was burnt and inedible. Never ordered from them again. They went out of business about 3 months later.

[Cheesesteak]

Chinese takeout restaurant at the end of my street. When we first moved here, 6 years ago, we gave them 3 opportunities to cook an edible meal. Haven't been back since.

Local, highly rated, pizza joint. We ordered a few pizzas from there years back, but weren't impressed with the taste, too much crust, and the crust was kind of bland, so we moved on to other places. Then decided to give them another try. Got a pizza with the wrong toppings, overcooked, dry and simply awful. Looked like a pizza left out to cut slices, then tossed back in whole for my order, then left under a heat lamp for a half hour. I would have given it right back to them if I thought to look in the box when I picked it up, but I took it home and decided I was done with them.

We've also given up on Friendly's, not that we ate there often, but the last 2-3 times the food was just miserable. Flavorless and oversalted. No thanks, we can find other places to eat.

[MPB in Salt Lake]

Originally Posted by Chimera

I ordered food. An hour later it hadn't arrived yet. I lived 4 blocks from the place. I called. They said it should be there any minute. 45 minutes later they showed up. Burgers were literally carbon pucks on buns. Totally inedible. Pizza was burnt and inedible. Never ordered from them again. They went out of business about 3 months later.

If you were only 4 blocks away, I assume you went there with the burnt food and demanded a full refund, right?

(Sounds like it was at least a $20 order, something worth taking the time to get your money back, unlike a ruined $2.99 order at a Taco Bell located 30 minutes away across town.)

[Chimera]

Originally Posted by MPB in Salt Lake

If you were only 4 blocks away, I assume you went there with the burnt food and demanded a full refund, right?

Not in the middle of a game session with 6-7 other people over at my house.

[drastic_quench]

My wife and I got food poisoning from Papa John's. By some fluke, our toddler hadn't eaten any. We were puking and shitting water for 24 hours.

Years later, I'll still turn down their pizza even if it's free.

[Jackmannii]

Food-borne illness is not a deal-breaker for me, necessarily. Mrs. J. and I contracted norovirus after a meal at the local McCormick and Schmick (I'm pretty sure it was the paella) but that could have happened anywhere. We've eaten there a few times since with no problems (burp).

Another incident I think I mentioned here once was another story. We used to eat fairly regularly on Sundays at a pretty good deli place that was notable for hostility between the boss and his employees. Things apparently came to a head during one of our visits, when I found that someone had taken a dump in the sink in the men's room. Somehow we never found the stomach to return.

[Great Antibob]

IHOP for me, too.

One evening about 12 years ago, I was enjoying a meal with some friends. I had a bite of some hash browns when I felt an unusually hard crunch.

"Funny," I thought, "potatoes don't have bones." I proceeded to push out the offending matter when I literally saw red.

"Funny," I thought, "I didn't put any ketchup on these potatoes." It was about that point I spit the whole thing out and figured out I had crunched down on some glass.

To be fair, the manager was horrified and proceeded immediately to the kitchen to figure out which soon-to-be-fired staffer had broken glassware over a food area without shutting down the works. The restaurant made absolutely sure I got the proper medical attention, which ended up being some sort of paste to stop my tongue from bleeding. Our group's meal was comped, too, of course.

But I'm still gunshy about going back.

[limegreen]

Another vote for Outback. I've been there twice, and although the food was not bad, everything was seasoned with pepper. Lots of pepper. I have some intestinal issues, and try to avoid spicy food. But Caesar salad should not be covered in pepper. Even my husband, who likes spicy food, was taken aback by the amount of pepper in his food. Their "lightly seasoned" ribeye was practically inedible. No more.

[MPB in Salt Lake]

Originally Posted by Chimera

Not in the middle of a game session with 6-7 other people over at my house.

Obviously it's your money and your choice, but for anything over 5 bucks or so, if I was within a 5 minute trip to a restaurant, store, or another business establishment that has ripped me off, I would damn sure go back and call them on it, demanding (politely but firmly) to have them make it right via refund or replacement, preferably both...

Again, if it's something that only cost a dollar or two, or the place is 50 miles away, I would either just let it slide or call them up and try to have them give me credit on a future visit, but for me, a place only 4 blocks away (especially one that I patronized regularly) that took me for something to the tune of $20 (or more) would be getting a quick, businesslike visit from me, resulting in a full refund, company or no.

[Bosda Di'Chi of Tricor]

The City Cafe here in my little Southern hellhole hometown.

Serious food poisoning, that required hospitalization.

[Irishman]

Originally Posted by Peanut Gallery

This girl had on some plastic gloves for food service use ... usually a good sign. However, she clearly thought she was wearing them to protect her precious hands from the grime of her job, and not to protect my food from that grime.

I hate that.

Originally Posted by StusBlues

In pouring said room temperature syrup, I noticed that the pancakes themselves had been served on a plate almost exactly the same diameter as the pancakes themselves, giving my syrup nowhere to run but onto the table.

Ate at IHOP yesterday, and noticed the same thing. Okay, the plate was slightly bigger, but not by much.

Originally Posted by limegreen

Another vote for Outback. I've been there twice, and although the food was not bad, everything was seasoned with pepper. Lots of pepper. I have some intestinal issues, and try to avoid spicy food. But Caesar salad should not be covered in pepper.

Yes, I noticed that about Outback. They put pepper in their ranch dressing, pepper in their Caesar salad. Can I get a salad without pepper? No.

[Soylent Juicy]

I went for breakfast once at a restaurant that I hadn't been to for many years. I'm vegetarian, mentioned it to the server, yet found a big chunk of bacon in my homefries. I guess the bacon and homefries are cooked on the same grill with no cleaning in-between. Not going back.

[Ambivalid]

Yes.

[Sattua]

I remembered another one. I was at a local Thai place with some co-workers, and I had a fierce craving for duck with gingery sauce on top of salad. They served exactly that. Frabjous day! I ordered it.

I'd scarfed down about 2/3s of it before I found, underneath it all... a used bandaid. Curled up, obviously come off of someone's finger.

We all got our meals comped. Haven't been back since. Refused to meet my (now husband) there for a first date.

[RikWriter]

There's a very popular steakhouse in this town called the Texas Cattle Company. I know why it's popular as their steaks are pretty good, but their service is just fucking horrible.
I was at a birthday party there with a group of friends. We arrived at about 7, got our table at 7:30 and order. The food doesn't get there until almost TEN O'CLOCK, and when it does...lo and behold, they forgot my order. Didn't just leave it in the kitchen, they forgot to put it in. So, it's 10PM and they haven't even started on my steak yet. They half-heartedly offered to make me the steak, but I declined. The salad and bread was probably healthier anyway.
So, I don't go back there until several years later when one of my wife's relatives wants to go there for their birthday (it's popular with birthday people because you get a free small steak on your birthday). I go with them, against my better judgement. We get there a bit before 7, don't get seated until an HOUR later, and the food doesn't come out till ten. Again. At least this time they didn't forget my order.
I haven't been back since.

[Mister Rik]

My two are purely service-related:

I got the munchies after 10:00 one weeknight a couple years ago, so I drove the couple blocks to the Jack in the Box (my favorite fast food spot, and I'm still a regular there). However, since all of my previous visits had been in the afternoon I'd never paid attention to what time they closed, and unfortunately they had closed a few minutes before I got there.

Oh well, I'll hit McDonald's. Let's just say that, having almost three decades of foodservice experience, I couldn't think of any conceivable reason why it should have taken 20 minutes to get a Quarter-Pounder with Cheese. I've refused to patronize the place since.

The other was at a local bar. Apparently I, being in my 40s, didn't fit the desired demographic of this place. Because I sat down at the bar with my money in hand, and despite the place being dead slow, I sat there for 15 minutes without anybody so much as acknowledging my presence. The owner herself was standing 20 feet away chatting with a handful of young hipsters, and occasionally glanced in my direction, but never asked if I wanted anything or even said a word to me. I put my money away and left, and didn't go back.

[MLS]

Well, I guess you know why the bar was dead slow.

[D-bear]

Does Chick-Fil-A count?

[Mister Rik]

Originally Posted by MLS

Well, I guess you know why the bar was dead slow.

It's closed now

[Kimballkid]

Originally Posted by Cheesesteak

I would have given it right back to them if I thought to look in the box when I picked it up, but I took it home and decided I was done with them.

I will give credit to the Pizza Hut here in town because they actually open the box and ask you if it looks all right before they charge you and let you take it. They suck at keeping their buffet full at lunch hour though.

[ralph124c]

I used to order take out from a local Chinese place..the food was always good. Then one day I looked at my soup-there was a dead yellowjacket wasp floating on the surface.
Never went back.

[Cheesesteak]

Prior to my giving up on Friendly's, way back in the early 90's, I was served a burger with a bee. I went to take the tomato out, and the bee flopped out onto my plate, stunned but still moving. I figure, bees aren't exactly roaches, so I cut them some slack once they comped the meal.

[Shakes]

Originally Posted by limegreen

Another vote for Outback. I've been there twice, and although the food was not bad, everything was seasoned with pepper. Lots of pepper. I have some intestinal issues, and try to avoid spicy food. But Caesar salad should not be covered in pepper. Even my husband, who likes spicy food, was taken aback by the amount of pepper in his food. Their "lightly seasoned" ribeye was practically inedible. No more.

Haven't been to Outback in over a decade. I gave them a few chances. I stopped because they put absolutely NO seasoning on my steak.

And their idea of what medium rare is supposed to be is absolutely ridiculous. (Way too rare)

Also, recycled bread. 'nuff said.

[digs]

I have a friend with either extremely bad luck at restaurants... or extremely thin skin.

And, thanks to his zero-tolerance policy, he's now down to three places he can grab a bite to eat in our town.

I may be too prone to give a place a second chance, but at least I have more choices when I go out.

[kayaker]

Originally Posted by Soylent Juicy

I went for breakfast once at a restaurant that I hadn't been to for many years. I'm vegetarian, mentioned it to the server, yet found a big chunk of bacon in my homefries. I guess the bacon and homefries are cooked on the same grill with no cleaning in-between. Not going back.

IANAV, but I'm kinda surprised by this. Seriously? You expected them to scour the grill?

(Might just be me, but I don't think hey did much wrong here)

[Ferret Herder]

Originally Posted by kayaker

IANAV, but I'm kinda surprised by this. Seriously? You expected them to scour the grill?

(Might just be me, but I don't think hey did much wrong here)

They could have been bothered to scrape any food left lying on the grill to the side/off so it didn't cook in with the next batch of food. Who wants overcooked bits of the previous dish cooked in with their food?

[kayaker]

Originally Posted by Ferret Herder

They could have been bothered to scrape any food left lying on the grill to the side/off so it didn't cook in with the next batch of food. Who wants overcooked bits of the previous dish cooked in with their food?

OK. YMMV, but I thought that was part of the appeal to diner home fries.

[Mister Rik]

Originally Posted by Ferret Herder

They could have been bothered to scrape any food left lying on the grill to the side/off so it didn't cook in with the next batch of food. Who wants overcooked bits of the previous dish cooked in with their food?

And once again, some people don't realize that, no matter what the sign out front says, restaurant cooking is not "home cooking". While the above quote is entirely correct (and I do agree with it), the simple fact is that a restaurant is not cooking one dish at a time. Unless you are the only customer in the restaurant, there are going to be other, different, orders sharing the grill with yours, and accidents happen.

The appropriate action when something like this happens is to summon your server, explain the problem, and ask for a replacement. If the restaurant refuses to replace the food, or if this happens over and over, then it's reasonable to say "I'm not coming back here".

[KneadToKnow]

I've had two, one of which I have since relented on, but the Lizard's Thicket chain in South Carolina has seen the last of me forever.

It's a long, boring story but involves a dish described on their menu as country fried steak, my gag reflex, and a manager who didn't understand the value of comping a customer a meal they could not eat for the sake of good relations.

[thelurkinghorror]

Originally Posted by digs

I have a friend with either extremely bad luck at restaurants... or extremely thin skin.

And, thanks to his zero-tolerance policy, he's now down to three places he can grab a bite to eat in our town.

I may be too prone to give a place a second chance, but at least I have more choices when I go out.

Unless your town has fewer than 1000 people and only a few restaurants, yes it does seem a bit extreme to ban dozens and dozens of restaurants from your stomach. What sorts of things was he complaining about?

[purplehaze2007]

Ah, memories....

I ordered a Cobb salad at Gilli's grill, and it was magnificent. The greens were crisp and fresh, the blue cheese pungent, the bacon smoky, the avocados perfectly ripe. It was delicious all the way down to the last lettuce leaf in the bottom of the bowl....

under which I found a very confused large green caterpillar walking around trying to figure out how the hell he got there.

I asked the waiter to put him outside, but not sure if that happened. We laughed ourselves sick but I haven't been back since.

[Ferret Herder]

Originally Posted by Mister Rik

The appropriate action when something like this happens is to summon your server, explain the problem, and ask for a replacement. If the restaurant refuses to replace the food, or if this happens over and over, then it's reasonable to say "I'm not coming back here".

This is quite true. However, from my example upthread, I'm not going back to a restaurant after two (separate visits) failures to give me a dish with flavor in it. If an Italian restaurant can't manage a marinara, they don't deserve another try.

[Ferret Herder]

Originally Posted by purplehaze2007

Ah, memories....

I ordered a Cobb salad at Gilli's grill, and it was magnificent. The greens were crisp and fresh, the blue cheese pungent, the bacon smoky, the avocados perfectly ripe. It was delicious all the way down to the last lettuce leaf in the bottom of the bowl....

under which I found a very confused large green caterpillar walking around trying to figure out how the hell he got there.

I asked the waiter to put him outside, but not sure if that happened. We laughed ourselves sick but I haven't been back since.

On the bright side... you can be pretty sure those greens were very fresh!

[Fenris]

I was doing sales years and years ago--part of my route included New Mexico. I commented about how good the Mexican (tex-mex, whatever) food was to one of my customers but said that I wanted something other than that. She recommended a Chinese resturant. So I went there for dinner that night. Oops.

It was beautifully decorated. I mean--someone had spent a bundle on landscaping, on interior decorations...it looked amazing--it was to normal Chinese places what The French Laundry is to McDonalds (in terms of decor--I normally don't care about decor, but this was amazing).

And for dinner, they even had one of those old-fashioned (but oh so cool) "Choose one from column A and one from column B" menus, so even someone eating alone could get a variety.

I chose (something unusual--I don't remember what, but it wasn't standard "food-court" Chinese food) and "Beef with Broccoli".

The portions were huge. The other dish was kinda greasy, but not terribly so. The beef with broccoli? Imagine a sunny-side up fried egg. Expand the egg to the size of a plate. The yolk would be the beef with broccoli. The egg white would be the thick orangey-yellow grease surrounding the food. It had to be 1/8th inch deep. I even tasted it, thinking "This has got to be some kind of oddball sauce or something...maybe too much sesame oil?" but no--just cooking grease.

Seriously gross and I never went back.

[Count Blucher]

Chilis.

The table was by the door to the kitchen, which doesn't bother me. But 15 feet through the kitchen to the other side was a second door which was wide open and led to a full summer-heat percolated dumpster of rotting food outside. The stench was horrific; doubly so when I realized that I could identify by smell some of the rotting food as the same dishes that we had just ordered and had just been brought to our table.

I claimed illness I we left. I had them wrap the food & we left it so two days later someone else would have less of a chance of smelling our food rotting away in that dumpster.

Its pretty bad when a restaurant makes you want to wretch even before you eat the food...

[Soylent Juicy]

My favourite nacho place relocated and a new Mexican restaurant opened in that spot. It was a tiny walk-in-take-out restaurant - big enough to just stand, get your order and get out. So I ordered their nachos. They were totally different from the previous guy's nachos (which is fine, it's a different restaurant) and they were gross. Stale chips, icky queso cheese, sketchy toppings. I chowed through them because I was hungry until a fruit fly flew out from under the lettuce. Notice I said under the lettuce. That just grossed me out and I never went back. They've since closed, they weren't open very long at all.

[John DiFool]

That last one had a good post/user name combo...