The menu is dirty
If a dirty parking lot or a building in a general state of disrepair is not enough of a red flag for you to keep on driving, let’s move on the dirty menus. Menus with food stains, breadcrumbs, torn pages, or excessively worn out, are a clear indication that they are not properly cleaned, and that the restaurant does not put much emphasis on details. Unfortunately, not being detail-oriented can speak to the whole operation, in that you might be in a restaurant where the service is not so great.
Menus should be cleaned regularly, between uses and patrons should receive freshly cleaned ones the minute they sit at the table. If employees don’t have the time to do that, then you shouldn’t waste your time eating there either. Speaking of dirty things, check out 10 Gross Things Hotels Are Still Doing to Save Cash Despite the Pandemic.
The building is in a poor state
Nice restaurants located in old but well-maintained buildings give the place a certain personality and charm. It’s like eating in a place with a story that makes the experience even more interesting. On the other hand, eating in an old and decrepit restaurant with torn wallpaper, chipped paint, or stains all over the walls and carpets is anything but charming. “Everyone might have a story about ‘a little hole in the wall’ where the food was great, that’s the exception and not the rule,” Guinn warns.
The general state of a place can speak volumes about the owners, management and employees and their waning attention to cleanliness and to maintaining a hygienic environment for their own health and that of their customers.
