It is not just about the food but the ambiance. A restaurant doesn’t have to be fancy or formal. It only needs to be decent.
The pleasure of eating does not only involve the taste buds. It is the combination of everything that enters through all the senses that create the sensation of appetite over mere hunger. It takes all five senses to create an appetite and it only one irritant to ruin it.
Here are some of the most disgusting things you may encounter in a restaurant:
1. Dirty Fingernails
The most important body part of a waiter is his hands. You only see his face when he is getting your order. As most of your attention will be focused on your food from then on, you will only be staring at your order when it is served and the hands that placed it on the table.
Dirty fingernails will definitely turn you off. It would be well and good if you can forget about it and stick to your delicious meal. But, if the image of the waiter’s dirt-filled nails keeps on popping up then, you may not have the appetite to eat your food.
2. Gum under the Table
Things are going great until you had to start exploring the table with your hands as you wait for your order. Suddenly, you felt something sticky underneath the table. It’s a gum.
Right after figuring that out, your pizza arrives. Can you still eat it with your hands even after you’ve washed? Will you use a fork and knife instead? Or, can you even eat at all?
3. Hair on the Food
Finding a strand of hair embedded in the semi-melted cheese on your pizza is disgusting. You probably won’t eat that slice anymore and you will scrutinize and inspect each slice thereafter with the diligence of an airport customs official.
Can you imagine missing that strand and discover it in your mouth as it fails to sink all the way in with one end sticking to the back portion of your tongue?
4. No Toilet Paper
If a toilet doesn’t have toilet paper then you can simply request a roll. But, it would be hard to ask for toilet paper when you are already finished and just about to wipe and clean up.
5. Unflushed Toilet
A restaurant crew should be assigned to check on the toilet bowls from time to time because nothing is more disgusting than seeing someone’s waste floating like a chocolate bar in the toilet bowl.
Can you still manage to eat a kebab after that?
6. Greasy Plates and Utensils
Kitchen assistants who are assigned to washing dishes and utensils should make sure that they are thoroughly cleaned.
It is a very big turn-off if you grab hold of greasy spoons, forks, and knives or see fingerprints on your glass and plate.
7. Sticky Floor
Another turn-off is a sticky floor. You won’t have that much problem when you are wearing shoes or sneakers.
Women who are wearing slippers will be very uncomfortable because there is always that possibility that they might step on the sticky floor with their bare feet in case their slippers gets stuck.
8. Exposed Cleaning Equipment
Restaurant personnel should never leave their cleaning equipment like brooms and mops in the eating area. These are eyesores that can ruin one’s appetite.
The wet mop will exude the smell of stale water. The dirty broom will let loose specs of dust that can go to the food.
The trash bags of the bins should not be replaced within the dining area. The whole bin should be taken outside through the backdoor for trash bag replacement. Replacing the trash bags inside the restaurant will release a lot of germs that will certainly land on served food.
9. Kitchen Personnel with no Gloves and Hairnets
People working on the food set-up should be wearing gloves and hairnets all the time. It is very hard to set-up sandwiches and salads with the use of forks and thongs. The kitchen personnel will have to use his hands at some point and he should be wearing gloves.
Hairnets should be worn and it’s not just about strands falling off and landing on the food. Long strands of hair can brush through the food during food preparation.
10. Wet Toilet Floor
The toilet’s floor should be inspected and mopped dry if it’s wet.
The toilet floor can only be wet by water from the urinal or the toilet bowl. Regardless of where it came from, it will be disgusting especially in the women’s comfort room where some will be walking in slippers.
The finest restaurants like Harvester and The Keg never miss on these slip-ups because they know that a single incident will ruin everything they have worked hard for. So, if you are very particular about issues on proper sanitation and clean presentation, only rely on the time-tested establishments.
