When you don’t have any expectations, you can’t get disappointed. But when there’s an advertisement for a delicious meal shoved right up in your face but you get served a big pile of cheap-looking cooking, you can’t help but get angry.
Nobody expects picture-perfect food at restaurants. However, some of these meals are so incomparable to their ads, Bored Panda just had to show you side-by-side examples. Check them out below, upvote the most egregious cuisine lies, and let us know about the times when a restaurant has made you swear like a souped-up version of Gordon Ramsay.
We’re not talking just about fast food here. Restaurants in seemingly good standing are also known to violate the most basic tenet of human relations ever: don’t mess with someone’s food. (Though, come to think of it, can you really expect anything good from places that have pictures of food on their menus? Kidding! Haha! Just kidding! Please don’t hurt me, Picture Menu Restaurant Mafia.)
This post may include affiliate links.
My "Cookies And Cream Stuffed French Toast" From Ihop
I Ordered Bruschetta From My Local Pizza Shop
Cheese Fries From Buffalo Wild Wings
As I see it, there are two main problems when it comes to sloppy reality being far from the picture-perfect gourmet meals you expect to receive. And they have a lot to do with our expectations. The problems are all about the actual cooking standards and the way food adverts can raise our expectations too high.
The first issue is very human: sometimes, the people making your food don’t 'five a guck' about what you’ll get served or they mess up and decide to put the meals out anyway. They might be overworked and burned out. Or they might be lazy and inattentive.
The solution here is simple (and incredibly hard at the same time)—the kitchen staff need to find the inner motivation to take pride in their work. Meanwhile, management needs to maintain acceptable standards. If you wouldn’t eat something you make, why would you expect your customer to? It’s better for the food to be late but presentable instead of rushed and disappointing.
This Steak Salad That Looks Nothing Like It's Advertised
The second looks like when you throw all the leftovers in the fridge together at 2 am because you have the munchies
This Is So Outrageous
Jameson and Ginger had been online dating for a while, when the day came where they would finally meet.....
Subway Pizza
The second problem, however, is directly related to how things are advertised. What you see on the menus are the ‘perfect’ versions of meals that restaurants want you to see. While some restaurants go for amateur snaps, others go all out and hire professional food stylists to turn grub into glamor shots.
Food styling is an art. Pros can end up using a whole array of tools, from tweezers and tape to blowtorches and paint. So when you take so much time and effort to create a work of art, can somebody in the kitchen who is under pressure really deliver something that’s comparable? Sometimes? Yes! Always? Dear Lord, no.
Menu vs. What They Served Me. No, Millennials Didn’t Kill Appleby’s, They Committed Suicide
Taco Bell’s Grande Stacker Box
Burger King Grill Dog Cheddar And Bacon
Part Of A $3.50 School Lunch. Picture On The Menu And What Was Served
A Texas Sized Disappointment
The 3 Pieces Of Lettuce Was A Nice Touch I Guess
Dreams Were Dashed At The Airport
Grilled Salmon At The Mall Food Court
Expectation vs. 2020
Taco Bell, I Try To Love You, So Why Do You Treat Me This Way??
Restaurant’s Charcuterie Board As Advertised vs. What I Got
Damn, I Am So Looking Forward To Eating This Delicious Burger With Copious Amounts Of Guacamole, Just As Advertised, And Then- Oh Wait..
Tim Hortons New Fruit Loop Donuts
Jack In The Box Tacos
Thanks KFC, Totally What I Expected
Fungi Toastie From Subway
Arby's Bacon Beef 'N Cheddar
So... they don´t "have the meats" after all... (as opposed to the Arby´s tv commercials declaring "We have the meats")
The Tempura Green Beans Looked Delicious On The Menu. I Think They Fell A Smidge Short
The Burger I Ordered Tonight
I Know It's Airline Food, But Sweet Baby Jesus United Airlines, Why Would You Let Someone Pay $10 For This?...
This Is Why You Check Your Food Before You Leave The Restaurant...
So I Bought This New Burger From Burger K!ng...
When Reality Doesn’t Meet Expectations
Eww. These must all be franchisee run businesses skimping for the biggest profit. I can only assume they live in highly populated areas where they can still survive, even if no one ever goes twice.
The Pico De Gallo Burger At Whataburger
We Were Expecting Four Mini Quesadillas, But We Got Four Tortilla Chips With Melted Cheese
Ordered This Delicious Cheese Platter...
Surf N Turf Burger From A Local Food Truck
I Heard Burger King Was Selling Tacos For $1 So I Went To Try Them
Lunch Buffet Disappointment. Salad Pictured On The Menu vs. What I Got
I Know That Fast Food Never Looks Like The Picture, Come On Burger King. This Makes Taco Bell Look Like A Gourmet Restaurant
Long John Silvers Rice Bowl
Ordered Char Siu Bao From My Local Chinese Takeaway...
Thanks Domino's. I Hate It
Sonic Philly Cheesesteak (No Mayo)
Picture Of Pizza On Room Service Menu vs. Actual Pizza
The Menu Picture Of The Nachos I Ordered From Room Service vs. The Nachos They Delivered To My Room
O’briens Epic Melt
Room Service At The Hotel I'm Staying At, I Was So Excited Too
Applebee’s Nachos
Pizza Is Not Supposed To Make You Feel Sad Before You Eat It
Not Quite What I Was Led To Expect
Panera Grilled Cheese “Food As It Should Be”
Burger King’s Bacon Cheesy Tots
The Tim Horton’s Farmer’s Breakfast Wrap...
Traditional Mexican Food In France
The Saddest Takeaway And Grimmest Mozarella Sticks I’ve Ever Ordered
Turds on the run...and the jailer man and Sailor Sam were searching everyone… for the turds on the run...
Taco Bell Mexican Pizza Or What I Imagine Prison Food To Look Like
Recently I Received The World's Saddest Espresso Martini
Taco Bell Is Getting Rid Of Their Mexican Pizza. It Used To Be A Favorite Of Mine So I Got One For Old Times Sake
I've Never Cried Harder In My Life
Chicken Manchurian With Rice. Second Item On The Menu
Fast Food Burgers vs. Advertisements
Dunkin Donuts "Lucky Shamrock" Donut
Damn You KFC
Newark Airport
Hardee's Omelet Biscuit - Literally The Worst
Chili's Menu vs. Chili's Reality
I Made This About 10 Years Ago. I Think Fast Food Places Should Submit Like 40 Burgers And The Average Is What Is Allowed To Be Shown In Adverts!
After all the previous disasters, this one doesn´t look that bad... I still see lettuce, tomato and the meats!!!
Whataburger’s New Pico De Gallo Burger
This is actually a self-defense-burger. When attacked and/or threatened or otherwise in need, you throw this at the person(s) who frighten you...
Food On The Menu vs. Ordered Food
Mc Donald’s Mcrib
I think everyone knows that a Mc Rib is basically sauce over shaped abattoir floor sweepings
This Coconut Tini vs. The Menu Picture
Aah yeah ... well, that's a small mistake. It should have been called the Wonderful Wellness Water cocktail with a tiny pinch of coconut as an extra. So sorry about that. Oh... and don't mention the war!
Knotts Berry Farm Is Holding Their “Taste Of Knotts” Event. Carnitas Fries As Pictured On The Website vs. Reality
The problem is that a lot of takeaway joints use props to advertise their food and what is pictured is not actually all food. They make the burgers, pizzas, tacos etc out of numerous things not just food. For example the patties are often undercooked to make them look juicier, the buns are meticulously chosen and sometimes the sesame seeds are glued on. They also use cardboard, pins and special placements to make the foods look bigger and better. Some places even advertise ice creams using mashed potato. Don’t forget the advertisers also use photoshop.
I think they use elmers glue for mayo.
Load More Replies...Most of these are from fast food franchises so the product will vary from owner to owner. They all use cheap unskilled labor anyway so it is unrealistic expect quality.
Also, the manager may be telling them to use X amount of the ingredients because of pressure from the owners, who want to build their own profits. It will also affect the manager's salary.
Load More Replies...Most of these 'what I really got' pictures are also not real. They've been altered to look bad for the sake of the posting. I eat at a few of these places and the food looks good
I was thinking the same thing. Some of the “reality” photos look staged or they altered the order.
Load More Replies...The problem is that a lot of takeaway joints use props to advertise their food and what is pictured is not actually all food. They make the burgers, pizzas, tacos etc out of numerous things not just food. For example the patties are often undercooked to make them look juicier, the buns are meticulously chosen and sometimes the sesame seeds are glued on. They also use cardboard, pins and special placements to make the foods look bigger and better. Some places even advertise ice creams using mashed potato. Don’t forget the advertisers also use photoshop.
I think they use elmers glue for mayo.
Load More Replies...Most of these are from fast food franchises so the product will vary from owner to owner. They all use cheap unskilled labor anyway so it is unrealistic expect quality.
Also, the manager may be telling them to use X amount of the ingredients because of pressure from the owners, who want to build their own profits. It will also affect the manager's salary.
Load More Replies...Most of these 'what I really got' pictures are also not real. They've been altered to look bad for the sake of the posting. I eat at a few of these places and the food looks good
I was thinking the same thing. Some of the “reality” photos look staged or they altered the order.
Load More Replies...