30 People Reveal Restaurant Green Flags That Indicate You Should Definitely Eat There

If that's all they had I'd turn around and walk out.

Menus are rarely cleaned thoroughly. This became more popular during the pandemic and I don't hate it.

To me this is such a sensible alternative. They can easily update the menu while cutting back on costs, they don't have to worry about people trashing their menus, and people with visual difficulties can adjust the menu size to suit their needs. Such a weird thing to dislike

How is this an indication you should eat there? This is the opposite.

Why? Retrogrades, jeez

Oh yes, 100% agreed

If the bathroom smells GOOD, that's a great sign

Clean bathrooms, clean kitchen clean public areas

I honestly don’t know why people think this. I’ve worked in many restaurants/bars over 20+ years. Toilets are usually cleaned by CLEANERS, not CHEFS! Some small, independent places will have front of house staff clean the loos - once, at the end of the day. If an issue is raised by a customer we’ll just lock the cubicle and put an out of order sign up. If restaurant toilets are sparkling on a Sat night, it means that the venue is dead, or that waiters are cleaning it. Do you want people cleaning bathrooms and then handling your food? Even with protective gear I would still choose no to this. Also, you could have a spotless bathroom and your food cooked by an absolute slob who picks their nose and scratches their a*s.

Is YOURS?!

I've been frequenting the same Chinese restaurant for 40 years. It's owned and operated by a family from China. Whenever they have enough money, they send for more family to come over. The new family members work at the restaurant (at least until they speak better English), and the family starts saving up for the next set to come over.--- This place has excellent food and service, although it took the first pioneers time to get the cultural differences. When I was in highschool, a friend bought me a gift certificate from them for Christmas. When he went, he explained to the lady what he wanted. She didn't understand, even though her English was relatively good, so I think it's something that wasn't done in China then? Anyway, she understood the "pay now, buy later" but she wanted him to choose a meal and just pay for it. She kept asking if his friend wants vegetable. So he finally got her to understand what he wanted. She called the other two servers over, and the three of them discussed it in Chinese. Then the woman went back to the men (cooking) and explained it to them in Chinese. The three men had a conference about it, gave their decision. The woman went back to the servers and explained the decision to them, came back to the counter. She took a ticket and wrote the whole thing out on the ticket and took his money. He told me the story when he gave it to me, and suggested I bring money just in case. So when I went, it was the same woman at the counter. She knew me. I was a regular at the time. She told me I had a very nice friend. Now, this is the person who sold him the gift certificate. She took it from me, called the serving women together, and had a conference in Chinese. She then took the certificate, which SHE handwrote, to the kitchen to show the men. The had a conversation in Chinese, and gave her their verdict. She came back to speak to the other women again, and then she rang me up as normal and gave me the change from the certificate. It was so funny! When I got out of prison, a friend was going to bring me an order from that restaurant and needed the address. I checked the website, where I was slightly dismayed to see standard gift cards for sale. The end of an era.

If Asians eat there I’m in

My favourite hole-in-the-wall sushi place was like this. The owner/chef/waiter didn't speak English except to know the menu numbers. He'd often bring extra stuff at no charge because he was just happy to cook.

I have a similar thing with gyro places. If they're dirty, tiny, and there's literally no place to go inside and the kitchen takes up the whole venue, the food is going to be amazing. The moment it becomes an actual restaurant it's kinda meh

Golden Crown Restaurant in Bloomfield Hills Michigan was the best of the best Sir! With honors! Chinese restaurant I've ever been to and they always had native Chinese coming in to work as they got their immigrant feet under them. I moved out of state and always went back there to eat when I visited. Last year we were planning a trip to see relatives and i learned they had closed because the family matriarch had retired and the adult kids didn't want to own a restaurant. I literally cried. A cherished memory, I will never again taste almond boneless chicken. War su gai is NOT the same.

Yesss! Upvote for good potatoes! 👍🏻

Potatoes for breakfast? I hardly ever see it even for brunches. This is more oatmeal territory 😀

AGREED!

Potatoes and fries yes, but ... for breakfast???

Yes, crispy hash browns will guarantee a return visit!

Goes to how often they make things fresh. Anything stale means it has probably been sitting around for a while.

I'm both a server and a frequent solo diner. A couple on a date is usually going to occupy that table 3 times as long. It's not like I'm going to be talking and getting to know myself. I'm just there for a good meal.

If you want to be treated well as a solo diner, wear sunglasses and carry a notepad.

If your solo I make it a point to spent a little time talking with u not a lot but hey why not

"Hello!, every pizza place"

Totally agree with this one.

That's a weird salad

Do you remember when they tried to do "the wedge "salad"?????? an actually cut wedge of head lettuce with a little dressing dribbled on top

The state of their coleslaw is also a big indicator. So often it's bought in, made with cream (ugh, why?) or tastes of cheap vinegar.

We had a hole-in-the-wall diner near us with an historic length menu, but everything was fantastic. Gone now, thanks Megan's Diner in Ravenna, Ohio!!

Helloooo Cheesecake Factory

For me it's not the number of pages it's the number of items. I've been to a couple places that have huge menus, but when I started looking through them it's because they only have a couple items on each page along with a description, lots of photos etc. And often the last four to six pages are all wines and spirits.

Cheese thing manufacturing thing springs to mind....

And the volume on the TV is so high that you can’t have a conversation.

Went to a place that had a couple tvs (small place) the food was phenomenal! Good portions great taste and offered gluten dairy free options another pizza place with tvs had amazing food too also with dietary friendly options. Tv doesnt tell the food

I miss my old spot. They put in karaoke so I'm out.

We went to a popular "in" restaurant with lots of small rooms, but with window walls. We could see 4 TVs at one time (different channels) and a radio blaring. Never went back. Oh, the food wasn't all that great, either.

The only exception to this I've known was a Korean Barbecue restaurant that had tvs showing Kpop videos. Food was excellent and the tvs didn't detract from the atmosphere (my daughter was glued to them).

The indian (Goa cuisine) restaurant I went to yesterday was filled with Chinese tourists, couldn't conclude on anything

Same with Mexican restaurants, if Mexicans eat there I’m in