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What’s important is the quality of the food, not what it’s served on. Right? Wrong! Sometimes, when you’re at a fancy restaurant, waiters serve your meal on such weird things and in such strange food containers that you pay more attention to them than your dinner. Those are the times that it’s acceptable to bombard your friends with pictures of your food, instead of eating it.

There’s a whole community of regular people and dedicated foodies who have banded together to form the online group ‘We Want Plates.’ Their mission is all in their name — they want restaurants serving food on actual plates, not on “bits of wood and roof tiles, chips in mugs and drinks in jam jars.” This is an internet community that loathes hipster things and trends, and “crusades” for the right to have their food brought to them on plates, as Mother Nature intended.

Keep scrolling and let us know in the comments what bad designs of food serving you found to be the most amusing. Let us know if you’ve seen something even weirder! Remember to upvote the worst food serving designs and ideas and share them with your friends. And after you’re done, have a look at Bored Panda’s other lists about restaurants that have gone too far with food serving and trying to impress customers too hard. Some of these eateries are beyond saving, don’t you think?

More info: wewantplates.com | Reddit | Facebook | Instagram |Twitter

#1

Self-Aware Absurdity? Apple Pastry Desert Served On An Image Of A Plate.... On An iPad

Self-Aware Absurdity? Apple Pastry Desert Served On An Image Of A Plate.... On An iPad

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#2

A Meringue Served On A Magnetically Levitated Pillow

A Meringue Served On A Magnetically Levitated Pillow

It took over 5 minutes for them to get the pillow to hover. I nearly fell asleep.

Couldnt_think_of_a , essjay2009 Report

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bronmargaret avatar
Magpie
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Much respect to the staff that got it to the table without losing it. But again the hygiene issues.

bronmargaret avatar
Magpie
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

And yes I get the "so light it is floating on air " reference...but meringues should have that effect in themselves.

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rachaelrandall_1 avatar
Xmayze
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is at the Fat Duck, Hesten Blumenthals restaurant. Yes it may seem a lot but it is a completely immersive dining experience and has been taken out of context here.

shane-harris42 avatar
Wyomudder
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Most of these are taken out of context. People will find anything they can twist around and be the first to post, gloating at how great they are because of it.

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nvi08140 avatar
The Girl on Fire
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is the best on the list. At least it actually looks cool rather than trashy, even if it is unnecessary

max_lombardi_mi avatar
Max L.
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

That probably costs like it's served on the ISS levitating for natural reasons.

banjopeppers avatar
Banjo Peppers
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

“Nearly fell asleep” it was five minutes, calm your dramatic butt down.

kalleyjb avatar
Lois Grace
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

That's what you get for eating at pretentious places like this! lol

suzanneparvin avatar
Suzanne Parvin
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

F*****g stupid...any place that serves this has awful food. Next time served on a uranium-325 cake.

camilla_m_drakenborg avatar
Camilla Melander Drakenborg
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Hey thats a Heston Blumenthal floating pillow desert! Saw it on Masterchef Australia lol :)

toshnefertiti avatar
Nefertiti
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This was on MasterChef. Well at least the guy who created this

nikki-ty avatar
nikki ty
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I'm the ultimate nerd. When I see a ray of sunshine I wave my arms around and croon "photons". I should love this, but the pillow is ugly. How about a floating metal plate? Sheeesh I'd try to buy the whole display if it weren't so ungainly. Great idea though!

ursula_nieuwenhuizen avatar
Ursula Nieuwenhuizen
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Saw that on Masterchef australia It was the final challenge Ridiculous !

susanpetzer01 avatar
Susan
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Like my friend would say - thanks for the sample. Now where's the rest?

amytilling avatar
Doubanji
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is so much more acceptable than the others so far, mainly it's just large & impracticle...

krois-pe-el avatar
Slune
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

A fat fart and the duvet is hovering.....5 minutes!?

diana4words avatar
Diana Crawford
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Too much cotton on a desert that already looks like cotton yuck!

sokching77 avatar
Desiré Yen
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This was in Masterchef Australia 2018, in the final with Sashi and Ben, awesome and yummy!!!

helene_oldemark avatar
Helene Oldemark
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

That's a Heston Blumenthal dessert. Nothing is normal with Heston Blumenthal, the guy's a genius.

michelle_muirhead avatar
Michelle Muirhead
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

How do you eat it? Just grab it off the pillow? I can imagine doing so would spoil the equilibrium and it would take off or fall down.

pugpug avatar
Pug Pug
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I dont even know what Meringue is. To fancy for me to go to this place

monika-soffronow avatar
Monika Soffronow
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

"To say it’s pricey is an understatement: prospective diners currently have to shell out £325 up front for a ‘ticket’ that allows access to the 17-course itinerary." (https://www.squaremeal.co.uk/restaurants/the-fat-duck_720) This is for the very richest of the planet. For the ones that never themselves make a cup of tea at home. Yes, it must be quite an experience but that is a lot of money for one meal.

ewing-clare avatar
Clare E
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I know quite a few people who are not "the richest of the planet" who have been because they saved up for a treat or special occasion.

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Monika Soffronow
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4 years ago

This comment has been deleted.

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Bored Panda reached out to Ross McGinnes, the founder of the ‘We Want Plates’ community: “I started the campaign in 2015 after a friend posted a picture of an average-sized steak on Facebook, which had been served to him on a large chopping board. It was captioned, unironically, "That is a big meal!" It wasn't a big meal — he'd fallen for all this style-over-content hipster gastropub nonsense. I searched Twitter for an account which would allow me to vent my spleen with like-minded people, but found nothing. We Want Plates was born. Four years later we have over 150,000 followers on Twitter, and three quarters of a million across all social media platforms.”

McGinnes noted that some restaurants put food on strange things, because they want to try to stand out from the crowd. “My local pub used to do a great Sunday roast: twelve quid, piled high, tasted great and yes, it came on a plate. One weekend they added a quirky offering to the menu: little sandwiches, pies, dainty cakes and mini milkshakes served on a miniature picnic bench. The benches, painted bright pink and yellow, sat on top of tables seating actual grown adults. And what was the first thing these infantilized diners did? It wasn’t try the food — it was whip out their phones and take a picture.”

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#3

My Bread Served Inside Roadkill

My Bread Served Inside Roadkill

urdsrevenge Report

#4

Cheese Foam That Is Spooned Onto The Back Of Your Hand By The Waiter And Then You Have To Lick It Off

Cheese Foam That Is Spooned Onto The Back Of Your Hand By The Waiter And Then You Have To Lick It Off

prisongovernor Report

“Over the following months the picnic benches became increasingly popular, coinciding with the specials board becoming progressively smaller, before it eventually disappeared altogether. I sat there one Sunday, watching bench after garish bench emerge from the kitchen like a technicolor carnival of idiocy, before my usual roast arrived. The meat was cold and the potatoes were burnt. It was once their main Sunday trade, but the traditional roast had died an unpalatable death. But that’s OK because they were doing a roaring trade with the benches, right?  Sure, until the pub down the road started doing them too. Then the one around the corner. Before you know it, everyone’s doing the same ‘quirky’ thing, except it’s not ‘quirky’ any more because you can’t move for mini picnic benches and now all their roast dinners are rubbish to boot.”

The creator of ‘We Want Plates’ listed how there are plenty of examples of food served on bizarre things, such as beef Wellington on barbed wire, tempura in a shoe, sandwiches in a phone box, and a chutney cupboard. “The worst I've encountered personally was when I was served a piece of cake on a table tennis bat in Barcelona around 2008. It still gives me sleepless nights.”

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#5

So These Motherf**** Actually Gave Me A Plate... Upside Down

So These Motherf**** Actually Gave Me A Plate... Upside Down

Jotapeme Report

#6

"I Put Fries In An Enclosed Bowl So They Steam And Get Soggy" - Some Prick Cook

"I Put Fries In An Enclosed Bowl So They Steam And Get Soggy" - Some Prick Cook

reddit.com Report

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jksimm515 avatar
Koalamonster
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

So you shove it all in there and don't give them a plate so they can actually eat it? Just... that's just annoying. At least with some of the other nonsense you don't have to excavate layers of food.

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The ‘We Want Plates’ community is very popular in the internet realm. Nearly 95,000 people follow the group on Facebook, another 20,000 on Instagram, and almost 156,000 on Twitter; while the plate-lovers’ subreddit has more than 509,000 members.

Lesley Lassiter from the Nashville Scene wonders whether the only reason restaurants put so much effort in presenting food is that the owners want to get popular online and get more customers. Naturally, this backfires more often than not because the presentation is impractical and just plain bizarre. There’s also the added question of money: do restaurants jack up their prices just because they spent an inordinate amount of cash on random things for serving food on?

The next time you’re out for dinner with your friends at your local artsy restaurant, watch their reactions when everything leaves the kitchen served on twigs, logs, and leaves. If your friends’ eyes light up and they start posting photos online, they might just be a ‘We Want Plates’ enthusiast.

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#9

My Boyfriend Was Just Served A Bloody Mary In A Fry Basket

My Boyfriend Was Just Served A Bloody Mary In A Fry Basket

I_Crush_Your_Head Report

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alexandra-murphy8 avatar
Neon Petra
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

That looks really, really unappetising. In a fry basket would look cool, but guys... it's a liquid. Let it stay in a glass.

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#10

Ravioli On A Clothesline, As You Do

Ravioli On A Clothesline, As You Do

corkboy Report

#11

Curry On A Chopping Board

Curry On A Chopping Board

skelto Report

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wandile dludlu
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It would have made better sense to have the rice on the board and curry in the bowl

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#12

It Has A Plate... But Still

It Has A Plate... But Still

Realwomprat Report

#13

This Dessert Trend Needs To Stop

This Dessert Trend Needs To Stop

ochad Report

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nanashi
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I can't even begin to think how to consume those without making a mess

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#15

This Is The Most Awful Thing Ever. Broccoli Impaled On A Metal... Thing?

This Is The Most Awful Thing Ever. Broccoli Impaled On A Metal... Thing?

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Lenka Fedor
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I think it supposed to be a tree. Like from the Lord of the rings. :) :) :)

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#16

Self Cleaning Bowl

Self Cleaning Bowl

WeWantPlates Report

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#19

Raspberry Ice Cream On A Twig, In A Hole Drilled Into A Rock

Raspberry Ice Cream On A Twig, In A Hole Drilled Into A Rock

neo3237 Report

#20

Love It When Sand Gets In My Soup

Love It When Sand Gets In My Soup

WeWantPlates Report

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alexandra-murphy8 avatar
Neon Petra
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Who thought this would be a good idea? The soup looks like vomit and the sand looks like that stuff they use to clean up vomit with.

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#22

My Parents Sent Me This Picture From Their Vacation In Italy

My Parents Sent Me This Picture From Their Vacation In Italy

MajesticHoneydew Report

#24

My Wife's Cocktail Was Served In A Hollow Stone And Had To Be Drunk Through The Hole, Without A Straw

My Wife's Cocktail Was Served In A Hollow Stone And Had To Be Drunk Through The Hole, Without A Straw

MrMagicMoves Report

#27

Our Appetizer In A Shoe. They Refused My Request To Try It On Or Take It Home.

Our Appetizer In A Shoe. They Refused My Request To Try It On Or Take It Home.

adullploy Report

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kyoulover1 avatar
Rinpai
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I think the most insulting thing is that they think 3 tots is enough for a serving.

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#28

Horrifying

Horrifying

TheBeatles2 Report

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Valerie Lessard
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

this is one of those tiny portion restaurants where you're supposed to eat at home first

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#29

Someone I Know Got Her Food On Some Kind Of Bone

Someone I Know Got Her Food On Some Kind Of Bone

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jksimm515 avatar
Koalamonster
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I want to know what kind of bone that is!!! Also if it's easy to clean/ sanitize.... but mostly what it came out of.

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#30

Literaly 6 Nachos For The Whole Table

Literaly 6 Nachos For The Whole Table

mmonzeob Report

Note: this post originally had 88 images. It’s been shortened to the top 30 images based on user votes.