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Restaurants these days try their best to stand out, sometimes offering incredible, hard to beat prices, or dishes no one else has. Others try unique interiors, but a select few think that what will really help everyone is a gimmick. As is often the case, it doesn’t work out.
So we’ve gathered some of the most ridiculous and ill-conceived examples of restaurants refusing to actually serve their food on anything resembling a plate. Get comfortable as you scroll through, upvote pictures that boggle your mind, and be sure to share your own thoughts and experiences in the comments section down below.
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
Vegan Dish Served On A Bone
Loki 3 weeks ago
I'd put guesses on it cow rib bone. So a pretty big bone but still a fairly small serving
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Ellinor she/they/elle 3 weeks ago (edited)
Do you know that plenty of food that a lot of people (maybe you) eat are already Vegan ? Like hummus & crackers/veggies, spaghetti, Oreos, chips and salsa, rice and beans (and veggies), avocado toast, oatmeal...
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#2
Paid $26 For This Charcuterie Board. I Literally Had To Peel The Plastic Off
Child of the Stars 3 weeks ago
I can kind of wrap my mind around the egotistical need to serve your food in some ridiculous, over-the-top serving method. But this is just...stupid. I can literally buy this in the cafeteria at work.
#3
Our Hummus Was Delivered On… An Art Canvas?
We ordered a hummus plate at a very normal hotel bar in the Midwest. This was brought out without context?
Tucker Cahooter 3 weeks ago
The next step will be to mount it on the wall, behind a rope barricade, so that you can admire it (without being allowed to eat it of course). Maybe they will even supply one of those audio headset things so you can listen to an expert describe how this dish was created, and compare it to other works by the same chef
Sarah 3 weeks ago
But no photos allowed, the flash will destroy its integrity
Load More Replies... Ray Ceeya (RayCeeYa) 3 weeks ago
Note to self: If I ever establish a restaurant in space, use sticky food in the menu.
AP 3 weeks ago
maybe I'm alone on this one, but I kinda like it. I'd rather have this than the dirty nasty VHS "plate"
Lil be lil 3 weeks ago
This is where I apply the tip under a full glass of water trick, I have talents too!
Huddo's sister 3 weeks ago
How do they stop it from falling off the canvas before you can eat it?
There is a moment of confusion that occurs in modern dining. You are seated at a trendy gastropub with exposed brick walls and Edison bulbs. You order the house burger with rustic fries. You are hungry and ready to eat. But when the server arrives they do not place a plate in front of you. Instead they deposit a roofing slate, a miniature shopping cart or perhaps a garden shovel. You look at the server. The server looks at you. You are expected to eat your dinner off a piece of hardware store equipment.
This is not a hallucination. It is a global epidemic of plating gone wrong. It has sparked a massive online movement known as We Want Plates. This community chronicles the absolute worst offenders in the restaurant world. They have documented bread served in slippers and sausages hanging from miniature clotheslines.
#4
Hope You Haven't Already Seen This One A Million Times
Tucker Cahooter 3 weeks ago
An extra $1 charge will be added to your bill if they find afterwards that it wasn't rewound
#5
I Mean I Think The Round Base Is Technically A Plate?
Restaurant in Guadalajara, Mexico. This used to be a great place to taste amazing gourmet Mexican food, but now this is just sad and expensive
#6
I Love Scraping The Nonstick Coating
Ray Ceeya (RayCeeYa) 3 weeks ago
It's fine. The Teflon is organically neutral. It will pass on through. for the most part. As far as we can tell.
Beth Wheeler 3 weeks ago
There's a reason why you use silicone spatulas and spoons on non-stick cookware which I stopped buying a few years ago. Now it's all cast iron, stainless steel and porcelain coated.
Jamie Girard 3 weeks ago
This feels lazy. Like "we cooked it in this pan and don't want to have to wash another dish" lazy.
Joe Methuen 3 weeks ago
PFAs (forever chemicals) will be transferred from Teflon type pans to the food cooked in them
While these images are objectively funny they also point to a bizarre shift in how we value food. We have moved from dining to performance art where the vessel matters more than the meal. You might wonder why a chef would choose to serve spaghetti on a ping pong paddle. The answer lies in a field of study called gastrophysics. This is the science of eating and how our environment affects our perception of flavor.
#7
This Japanese Guest Did Not Enjoy The Food At Alton Towers Resort... (To Be Fair, They Have A Point!)
Fraxinus excelsior 3 weeks ago
To the rest of the world, I,on behalf of the UK,apologise for this abomination of a fry up.
AngelWolfe 3 weeks ago
I wholeheartedly add to this apology, the rest of the UK are deeply ashamed at Alton Towers.
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L.V 3 weeks ago
Well, to be fair, imagine the mess if the beans were on that piece of cardboard
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#8
Scallops Served On A Bed Of Wood Chips
Ray Ceeya (RayCeeYa) 3 weeks ago
This is the first one so far that is an actual health code violation but I can't wait yo see what's next.
Barbara Wilcock 3 weeks ago
And looking at the scallops I wouldn't eat them aswell
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Kid Murray 3 weeks ago (edited)
Because a lot of people who go to expensive, exclusive restaurants are pretentious, clueless, gasbags who are impressed by c**p like this, as long as it's incredibly expensive.
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#9
Serving Dessert On A Cast Of The Chef's Sneaker
Tucker Cahooter 3 weeks ago
I would demand that the server take it back and present it on the chef's actual shoe, not some crappy plaster cast of it
Lil be lil 3 weeks ago
I hate stepping in gum and then trying to scrape the gum off! That's what this is only I guess some high end Chef version of that. Not sure if you should be insulted.
Professor Charles Spence at Oxford University has spent years studying this. His research shows that the weight, texture and color of the tableware change how we taste food. Heavy cutlery makes food feel more premium. Rough textures can make food taste saltier. By using heavy slates or wooden boards restaurants are trying to hack your brain.
#10
I Can’t Even Pour The Syrup On Or It’ll Get Everywhere ??
#11
Roasted Brussels Sprouts Served In A Toilet
From a restaurant called “The Meat Wagon” in Las Vegas, Nevada USA
Jamie Girard 3 weeks ago
Well, I wouldn't mind as long as I can take the "bowl" home after dinner.
#12
Strange Way To Eat Strawberries And Cream
Beth Wheeler 3 weeks ago
They froze it in the bottle and then either cut or broke the bottle. NOPE NOT HAPPENING
They want you to perceive the meal as more artisanal and authentic. They are trying to justify the twenty dollar price tag on a burger by serving it on a slab of granite that weighs as much as a small child. There is also the undeniable influence of social media. We live in the age of the Instagram eat.
#13
This Meatball Martini That Was Served
Ray Ceeya (RayCeeYa) 3 weeks ago
I know it's said in the title but if I saw that I would literally be "What Even Is This?"
Stephanie A Mutti 3 weeks ago
This one is a cute idea as long as it's an appetizer and not a beverage
Antoinette the Red 3 weeks ago
I was going say a nice hunk of Italian bread for all that sauce!
Load More Replies... Jamie Girard 3 weeks ago
Yeah, that's great. I have no idea. But also, I'm not pay $25 for this.
#14
Dumpling On A Skull On A Board
Blue Bunny of Happiness 3 weeks ago
It looks like it has pool for drainage from the skull’s sinuses.
WindySwede 3 weeks ago
op: "Actually yes lol it was a pig’s brain dumpling and it was actually rly rly good lol"
Load More Replies... Tucker Cahooter 3 weeks ago
Looks like a burgeoning new market for drought-affected farmers to exploit
Kid Murray 3 weeks ago
Like every expensive restaurant. I'd take a really well-made sandwich over anything on the menu at one of these ridiculous crapshacks.
Load More Replies... #15
When The Waiter Said “I’ll Just Go And Get Your Vegetables” I Didn’t Expect This
Sunday roast in a rural English pub
A white plate is classic but it does not necessarily stop the scroll. A milkshake served in a mason jar covered in donuts and sparklers gets likes. A steak served on a clipboard gets shared. Restaurants are designing dishes specifically to go viral. The absurdity is the point. If you take a picture of your food because it is ridiculous the restaurant gets free advertising. They are trading your dignity for brand awareness.
#16
Check Out Those Knife Marks. Is That Sanitary For Next Customer?
Kid Murray 3 weeks ago
With all the cuts in the wood, that's a bacterial nightmare.
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Novlette Williams 3 weeks ago
Nope. Calling the health department. Do you know the bacteria count on this?
#17
Linguine Fishbowl
WindySwede 3 weeks ago
If it was a Filet mignon, yes. But otherwise there is a plate under the bowl?
Load More Replies... kissmychakram 3 weeks ago
At least they've provided a plate for you to dump it out on. Which isn't always the case. Still ridiculous.
JudyfromAccounts 3 weeks ago
Thinking of the cost of the bowl and the difficulty in washing it, you already know this is some over priced pasta.
#18
My Ceasar Salad On A Log….split In Twain
Sarah 3 weeks ago (edited)
I always argue with my brother. I think ordering a salad is complete waste of money. He orders and then reaches over to my plate for some Of my steak!! But his point is.. to make decent salad at home means buying ingredients that’ll just go to waste as won’t be all used up .. whole block Parmesan/ lettuce etc .i still Won’t pay for a salad. Don’t see the point . Will Often get as a side dish anyway on plate with whatever main I’ve ordered
Colleen Glim 3 weeks ago
The same log from above. I wonder. Chocolate flavoured Caesar salad or Caesar salad flavoured chocolate?
However there are serious downsides to this trend beyond just looking silly. The most obvious issue is hygiene. A ceramic plate is a miracle of engineering. It is non-porous and can be blasted with high heat in a dishwasher to kill bacteria. Wood boards are a different story. They are porous and can develop cracks where bacteria love to hide. A report from Birmingham City Council actually fined a restaurant for serving food on wooden boards that were unfit for use. When you eat off a cracked wooden paddle you might be getting a side of E. coli with your artisanal sliders.
#19
There Is A Plate Right There. What Is The Point?
Tucker Cahooter 3 weeks ago
Well as a kid I didn't like my different foodstuffs to be touching so maybe quite a few people would appreciate that
Ace 3 weeks ago
While I'm sure you're not the only one, your "quite a few" is probably so vanishingly small that it's doubtful anyone who was ever served something like this would actually think that way. One of my first thoughts would be "why are they making so much more washing up?"
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#20
Easily One Of The Worst Salads I’ve Ever Had…
Colleen Glim 3 weeks ago
So canned peaches and slimy bits on a bed of lettuce with a dodgy looking sauce. Got it 👍
#21
A First For Me: Had My Burger And Chips Served To Me In A Lunchbox That Was Burning Hot
Then we have the physics of the situation. The rim of a plate is one of the most important inventions in the history of civilization. It keeps the gravy where it belongs. When you serve steak and peppercorn sauce on a flat piece of slate there is no containment system. The sauce follows the laws of gravity and ends up in your lap.
#22
A Little Too Transparent About The Portion Sizes Maybe?
Fellfromthemoon 3 weeks ago
The first one yet served in actual kitchenware that can be properly washed.
Billo66 3 weeks ago (edited)
I don't measure by volume anyway when cooking. I measure by weight, usually grams. Except liquids of course.
WindySwede 3 weeks ago
I weight water and milk with scale also, depending on. but more exact and less dishing. (no smol measurement devices)
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T'Mar of Vulcan 3 weeks ago
Imperial measurements are usually on the other side.
Load More Replies... #23
Fish Are Friends Not Food
Dawn Woolley 3 weeks ago
Quite apart from the unforgivable cruelty to animals, I'm a very short person. This would have been above chin level for me. Try eating food with a knife and fork with your elbows up around your ears
#24
I Brought Myself Here
ƒιѕн 3 weeks ago
Tuna sushi tower, looks disgusting. Made with Tempura flakes, Tuna, Crab Salad, Avocado, Rice, Tobiko (flying fish roe) of three different colors, and Spicy mayo.
This is what the We Want Plates movement fights for. They are not just being grumpy traditionalists. They are fighting for the functionality of dining. They believe that you should be able to eat your meal without requiring a hazmat suit or a degree in fluid dynamics.
#25
Served In A Jar
Szechuan noodles served to us in a high-end resort in Sharm El Sheikh (Egypt), resort is called Meraki, some of the worst presentation ever.
Daisydaisy 3 weeks ago
These pictures are making me realise what a BRILLIANT idea plates and bowls are!
WindySwede 3 weeks ago
or the things that are left in the dishwasher after everything is rinsed.. 🤢
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Alex 3 weeks ago
Funnily, at my University they had a Café that did this. It was prepared beforehand and only microwaved. Not great, but really cheap.
L.V 3 weeks ago
Yeah my appreciation of this dish would depend a lot on how much it was and where I are it. Uni café, sure! Fancy resort, absolutely not!
Load More Replies... #26
We Want (The Other 3/4s Of The) Plate
Huddo's sister 3 weeks ago
Any crockery with a crack (unless glazed again after) is against food safety standards in Australia (I never really thought about it until I had to do a food handling course).
Eggwodd 3 weeks ago
What I can't take it that they are all charging extra for that stupid cr@p
Lil be lil 3 weeks ago
They're replacing the dishwasher with a robot and need the money.
Load More Replies... #27
It Arrived In A Chocolate Bowl, Which Was Promptly Smashed On The Table
elesar18 6 days ago
it's on a plastic placemat (hopefuly not the one they ate the rest of the meal on..). Still a weird idea, but at least not directly on the table.
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The trend has reached a point of self-parody. We have seen croquettes served inside a plaster bust of a Greek philosopher. We have seen bacon hanging from clips like laundry drying in the wind. This implies the bacon is wet which is a disturbing thought on its own. It feels like chefs are bored. They have mastered the cooking part so now they are just seeing what they can get away with. They are testing the limits of human patience.
#28
Brownie And Ice Cream On A Slice Of Wood With A Big Crack In It
Lil be lil 3 weeks ago
The dishwasher quit so they had the lumber jack cut A few quick plates out back.
#29
Sushi On A Ceramic Hat
#30
This Is How They Served Me A Fish... It Was Good Though
Agfox 3 weeks ago (edited)
Who wants to order something & have it looking at you when it arrives? Thinking about it, something on the menu at the Restaurant at the End of the Universe
Fransanchez 3 weeks ago
We have this dish in Spain, sea bream or sea bass completely covered with corse sea salt and oven baked, it's very tasty. It might be something like that x
Antoinette the Red 3 weeks ago
OK, so the rest of the meal is under the blanket of salt?
Load More Replies... Hopefully the pendulum will swing back. There is a quiet dignity in a white ceramic plate. It frames the food without screaming for attention. It holds the sauce. It is clean. It does not require you to eat off a shoe. Until that day comes we must remain vigilant. We must continue to ask the server if the shovel has been sterilized. And we must continue to demand that our food be served on the one thing designed to hold it. A plate.
#31
Wrong Kind Of Plate!
Huddo's sister 3 weeks ago
I was thinking it was good it wasn't overcooked for once. What I see on most US cooking shows is way too solid.
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#32
Who Needs Plates When There Are Dysfunctional Metal To Go Boxes
#33
Service With Sole
#34
It’s Not Even A Real Cast Iron Pan. It’s Plastic!
#35
Steak Served In A Deep Bowl On Top Of Fries. Had To Ask For A Plate So I Could Actually Cut It
#36
Burger On A Couple Of Bent Licence Plates
#37
Salsa Platter At A Local Mexican Joint
JudyfromAccounts 3 weeks ago
This is normal in Mexico and South America. The bottles have just small holes and you only need a few drops on a chip. It's sauce, not salsa.
Huddo's sister 3 weeks ago
I guess it being in bottles would avoid the problem of leftover salsa that has been dipped in being given to others, like another article mentioned, but still needs a plate.
#38
A Glass That Can Only Be Kept In Its Dock In A Certain Way? This Is A We Want Cups Situation
#39
Today’s Lunch, Served On Some Building Materials
Tucker Cahooter 3 weeks ago
Hurry up then and finish so that the builder waiting outside can continue constructing the scaffolding,
Sarah 3 weeks ago (edited)
Not even equal and I hate top crusts so that’s the worst half to pick
Load More Replies... #40
Chicken Parm On A Plank
FoxThatHasFennecaphobia 3 weeks ago
If you just look at the image without context, it looks like pizza, some assembly required.
#41
Alchemist, Copenhagen
Kid Murray 3 weeks ago
Chicken feet with bubonic plague is what it looks like.
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Norfolk and good 3 weeks ago
Eating chicken feet is common in many parts of the world. I don't think they're usually served like this though.
#42
"Went To A Coffee Shop, The Food Was Served On A Broken Plate And The Straw Was Made Out Of Pasta"
Alex 3 weeks ago
since plastic straws don't exist anymore in large parts of europe, using pasta is not unusual.
Stephanie A Mutti 3 weeks ago
They are the right solution. Paper disintegrates. Pasta takes a lot longer.
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Biytemii 3 weeks ago
Hey I worked in Jersey when they switched everyone to paper straws..... It was the worst time to drink anything lol me and my husband were running a couple dunkins out there at the time. We handed the paper ones out for like 2 days and gave up. People hated them lmao we just said s***w it and started giving the plastic ones again
#43
Relatively Mild I Suppose
#44
Most Of The Dishes Were Served On Plates But This One, Inexplicably, Was On A Little Tree
Jamie Girard 3 weeks ago
All that flash for one roll? That's how they justify marking up the price!
#45
Ice Cream In An Egg Carton
Tucker Cahooter 3 weeks ago
No doubt in another part of the same restaurant a patron has been served eggs in an ice cream container
#46
A Mini Staircase Of Chicken Bite Appetizers
Child of the Stars 3 weeks ago
Metal and ceramic are pretty easy to sanitize in a restaurant dishwasher, but yeah, things like wood can't be sanitized and nothing should ever be served on anything broken, chipped, or c*****d.
Load More Replies... #47
You've Won... But At What Cost?
#48
Chicken Burger In A Shovel In New Zealand
Colleen Glim 3 weeks ago
I think it’s squid ink. Doesn’t make it anymore appetizing though
Load More Replies... #49
How Am I Supposed To Scoop This Out With Chips?
JudyfromAccounts 3 weeks ago
You don't scoop ceviche with chips, you use a fork (or spoon). You could dip a chip if you want to. They're more like garnish. Could still be served in a wider vessel.
#50
Cheese Ball In Monopoly Shoe
#51
Whoever Thought About This Has Never Eaten Onion Rings
Beth Wheeler 3 weeks ago
I love onion rings but don't order them maybe a couple of times a year because I rarely eat anything fried.
#52
Birria On A “Traditional Mexican Clothesline”
Huddo's sister 3 weeks ago
I don't even like wooden pegs on my cloths, because they are porous and if they have been left in the wet for too long they go black and leave marks. No way I want them on my food, where presumably they get reused.
#53
Fries Stuffed In A Mini Pitcher
Kid Murray 3 weeks ago
Wow, seven fries. I'm stuffed! This is why people open pizzerias across the street from expensive restaurants.
JudyfromAccounts 3 weeks ago
Six or so fries is not a side. It's a bougie appetizer that costs $20.00. Curse all who were involved in this!
#54
The “Board” Is Not Even Wood, It’s Ceramic…
#55
Found This Ridiculousness In The Specials Of A Restaurant Near Me
Add New Image
What do you think ?
Auntriarch 3 weeks ago
I had a sorbet served on a flat pebble once. Looking back, it seems relatively sensible.
arthbach 3 weeks ago
I have reached the stage in life where I'm quite prepared to say to the waiter, "Please take this back to the kitchen, and put it on a plate." If the food has been put on an unhygienic surface, I'll shake my head at the waiter, and say, "Please let the chef know their presentation skills need to be informed by food hygiene standards." then I'd leave.
Mel in Georgia 3 weeks ago
The weirder the presentation is, the more likely someone will make a post about it. All advertising is good advertising, right? But most of these would make me want to avoid the restaurant entirely.
TCW Sam Vimes 3 weeks ago
If I see that kind of BS in a restaurant, I look for another one. I'm all for creativity, but only with the food, not the way it's serverd
Auntriarch 3 weeks ago
I had a sorbet served on a flat pebble once. Looking back, it seems relatively sensible.
arthbach 3 weeks ago
I have reached the stage in life where I'm quite prepared to say to the waiter, "Please take this back to the kitchen, and put it on a plate." If the food has been put on an unhygienic surface, I'll shake my head at the waiter, and say, "Please let the chef know their presentation skills need to be informed by food hygiene standards." then I'd leave.
Mel in Georgia 3 weeks ago
The weirder the presentation is, the more likely someone will make a post about it. All advertising is good advertising, right? But most of these would make me want to avoid the restaurant entirely.
TCW Sam Vimes 3 weeks ago
If I see that kind of BS in a restaurant, I look for another one. I'm all for creativity, but only with the food, not the way it's serverd
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