25 Menu Items Customers Should Skip, According To Chain Restaurant Employees

A Redditor recently asked chain restaurant workers to reveal insider information warning customers what NOT to order off the menu. Employees who had worked long enough to make significant observations of how unpleasant certain beverage options are or questionable food dishes are responded with their opinions. We’ve rounded up some of the most concering recommendations of food that workers advise to avoid at all costs and listed them in the gallery below.

#1

Image source: Waanchor, mcslippinz/reddit

Avoid Starbucks cold brew from a tap. This also means Nitro.
Not a single person who closes knows how to clean the filter and I PROMISE you your drink is running thru hair and mold caught in the filter.

#2

Image source: Tensor3, Ian Rutherford/flickr

Tim Horton’s slogan of “always fresh” actually means “always frozen”.

#3

Image source: Environmental-Bit335, Mike Mozart/flickr

Red lobster microwaves the pasta in plastic bags. Not sure what they are made out of but I doubt that can be healthy.

#4

Image source: SabresHerd007, Mike Mozart/flickr

I worked at McDonald’s in Highschool for 3 years back in the late 90’s and it was such a ridiculously clean store. We cleaned the soda machines every single night, we cleaned the grills every night, we cleaned the oil regularly, we cleaned the ice cream machine every single night. Our machine was never broken regularly, and if it did really break then it was down for a minimal amount of time depending on the time of day or if it was the weekend. We never messed with people’s food. We were high as s**t in the grill for sure but we never ever ever messed with food. We were one of the biggest and busiest stores in my city too.

It’s always so disheartening to hear how disgusting things are in kitchens in restaurants.

#5

Image source: _mcfly, mush m./flickr

Subway! Our store was super clean and run by normal responsible people so no real issues there but if a store makes the tuna the way corporate wants you to it’s just WAY too much mayonnaise. We did half the amount and it was fine/good but I bet other stores just follow the directions.

#6

Image source: Particular-Leaderr, El Gran Dee/flickr

Wendy’s FrEsH never FrOzEn burgers. They come frozen half the time.

#7

Image source: MA3XON, Mike Mozart/flickr

Applebees- your mashed potatoes are microwaved. Also your skillet meals are only “sizzling” because they tell us to put a piece of ice on it as we are walking it to your table so you can visibly see it.

#8

Image source: deduz00, Olivie Strauss/unsplash

Anything listed as “seasonal” but still on the menu yearround usually just old ingredients they’re trying to get rid of.

#9

Image source: Kshi-dragonfly, Adrian Hernandez/unsplash

Not food but the ice those ice machines almost never get properly cleaned.

#10

Image source: ChatGPT-GaslightBot, jopplop/reddit

Ranch dressing. It usually comes in a large plastic container, loaded with preservatives, and is brought out to a warm kitchen multiple times a week for months.

If a restaurant manages to get to the bottom of their ranch container, then the top will always be engulfed with a yellow sticky paste that all future ranch glides over to reach your sauce cup. Yuck.

On top of that, if it’s coming from a DC in California, it often sits in a 130F box and cooks and cools the entire way through the entire desert.

#11

Image source: PepeSilviaConspiracy, Mike Mozart/flickr

I have worked at:

Chipotle

Steak N Shake

Subway

Tropical Smoothie Cafe

QDoba

Jimmy Johns

I would rather starve than eat at a Subway. That place is nasty. In particular the seafood salad or sensation or whatever it was (which I don’t think they do anymore) and the meatball sub are exceptionally nasty. But it’s all gross. Not clean. Cheap a*s ingredients and not real bread.

Chipotle was super clean when I worked there 20 or so years ago… but their food was also good 20 years ago… and now not so much. So I don’t eat there. But it was fantastic back in the day.

Jimmy Johns was very clean, I still love Jimmy.

Steak n shake – do not order chicken tenders. They take longer to cook than we can wait on a drive through timer so they get precooked and sit out far too long

#12

Image source: NoNipNicCage, bottledwater699/reddit

Don’t order slushes from Sonic. The machine is difficult to clean, so it’s not done as often as it should be. Everything else is pretty clean though.

#13

Image source: 2worms, Carrie A./flickr

If you’re getting any fountain beverage anywhere, cross your fingers that the staff clean the spigots. They get moldy if not cleaned regularly.

#14

Image source: Its_Curse, Shoshanah/flickr

I’d avoid the chicken anything at Panera. Ours was shredded by the dishwasher guy who did not wear gloves and would stop shredding, handle the dishes, then go right back to shredding without washing his hands at all.

I also always gave the soups the side eye. Sitting in luke warm water for hours – sometimes all day if it wasn’t a popular flavor – until someone ordered one. I’m just not sure about that.

Edit: Dishwasher GUY 😂 Sorry y’all. He was a person who operated the dishwasher appliance and also shredded the chicken for some reason. .

#15

Image source: kikazztknmz, Hasnain Shafique/unsplash

Applebee’s, don’t order a steak when they’re really busy. Common phrase in the kitchen was “mark it and mic it”, as in put grill marks on both sides, then nuke it in the microwave to keep those 12 minutes ticket times rolling. Bourbon Street steak medium rare is safe enough though since it finishes on a skillet.

#16

Image source: turkleton__, huhrat/reddit

Least cleaned in most restaurants are ice machines and soda guns.

#17

Image source: KayderossKid, justgrimes/flickr

I used to work at McDonald’s and I’m surprised the McRib hasn’t killed people yet. Weird-looking pork patties sitting in old BBQ sauce for HOURS without being cleaned or changed.

#18

Image source: i__hate__stairs, Blue MauMau/flickr

I’ve worked a lot of fast food. The big thing is never eat at a restaurant that doesn’t have a full parking lot at lunch or dinner time. They’re guaranteed to be using outdated products, selling leftovers, and making weird substitutions or leaving things out. Managing inventory is a nightmare in a dead shop.

So remember that the next time you pull into Long John Silver’s at noon and there’s only two cars.

#19

Image source: xNesku, 123meyeah/reddit

I never worked fast food, but please do not ever get the freshly squeezed orange juice at Sam’s Club.

I used to work there and the horrors I would see.

The juicer thinks they’re immune because they have gloves on. They wear the same gloves from the start of the shift until the end. Going to the bathroom with it, picking up stuff from the floor with it, scratching their a*s with it, etc. .

#20

Image source: Kind-Elderberry-4096, Ahmet Kurt/unsplash

Definitely not the soup.
Anything left over that’s still edible but not pretty good in the soup.
Over-steamed veggies? In the Soup.
Miscellaneous left overs? In the Soup.

#21

Worked at The Cheesecake Factory in college. Honestly would go back and eat there now — I never saw any mishandling of food/bevs. The soup is made fresh every day btw — it’s all hella good so don’t sleep on it! The broccoli cheddar and chicken tortilla are 10/10!

Image source: herecomestrebel

#22

Image source: Bliptown, Victor Björkund/flickr

I worked at red lobster for a while between undergrad and law school. I would not order anything from there. There’s no way I’d probably even step foot in one. Jesus Christ that place is gross as f**k.

#23

Image source: Siaburque, Paddys_dollars/reddit

Don’t order the chicken wings at Outback. Slow turnover means it’s usually rancid.

#24

Image source: StumblinThroughLife, Venice_Beach_218/reddit

Wendy’s chili was the only sus thing. It’s never really put away or cleaned or refilled. The pot’s just always there….

#25

Image source: bergskey, JJBers/flickr

A couple years ago burger king changed the chicken sandwiches to raw chicken. The person i know that worked there said when they are busy they pretty much never temp them to make sure they are fully cooked and after having raw ones returned, they didnt bother to fully sanitize the work stations.