Trying out a new restaurant is always a risk. But you can minimize the chances of a disastrous meal by avoiding a few key dishes. Famous chefs like Gordon Ramsay, Anthony Bourdain , and other culinary professionals from across the globe have strict rules they live by to avoid a bad restaurant experience. Maybe a particular dish is unlikely to be fresh, or it's notoriously overpriced — or not even what it claims to be. If you're unsure about a restaurant's quality, it's best to steer clear of the following menu items...
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00:00Trying out a new restaurant is always a risk, but you can minimize the chances of a disastrous
00:05meal by avoiding a few key dishes.
00:07Famous chefs like Gordon Ramsay, Anthony Bourdain, and other culinary professionals from across
00:11the globe have strict rules they live by to avoid a bad restaurant experience.
00:16Maybe a particular dish is unlikely to be fresh, or it's notoriously overpriced, or
00:20not even what it claims to be.
00:22If you're unsure about a restaurant's quality, it's best to steer clear of the following
00:26menu items.
00:27Cheap Kobe Beef
00:29Kobe beef is the best of the best, so if a Kobe beef dish sounds too good to be true,
00:34it probably is.
00:35Real Kobe beef doesn't come cheap, and is only sold at a small number of restaurants
00:39in the U.S.
00:40So if you're in a restaurant offering Kobe for a surprisingly low price, be skeptical.
00:45Felix Tai, executive chef of Pounder's Restaurant in Oahu, says you're likely not getting the
00:50real deal.
00:51You're probably getting Wagyu beef, since all Kobe beef is Wagyu, but not all Wagyu
00:55is Kobe beef.
00:57The labeling is used very loosely in the United States.
01:00Chicken
01:01This might come as a surprise, since it's such a common and beloved protein, but chefs
01:06tend to avoid ordering chicken when dining out.
01:08One executive chef from West Hollywood told Reader's Digest,
01:10"...I will order almost anything when I go out, but never chicken, because it tends to
01:15be overcooked at most restaurants."
01:16In a Food Network survey, chefs across the country agreed, noting that chicken is also
01:21typically the most overpriced and the least interesting item on the menu.
01:26The bread basket
01:27The complimentary bread typically looks better than it really is, but it might also be a
01:31health hazard.
01:32It's hard to resist.
01:33You arrive at the restaurant starving, and suddenly that incredible-looking basket of
01:37bread makes its way to your table, and fortunately, it may have just been on your neighbor's table.
01:42According to that same Food Network chef's survey, it's not uncommon for uneaten bread
01:46to make its way to multiple tables, in fact.
01:48And that's why chefs avoid it.
01:50Deborah Ginsberg, author of Waiting, The True Confessions of a Waitress, echoed this revelation
01:55on Inside Edition.
01:56"...bread tends to circulate from table to table."
01:59"...are you saying that sometimes when the bread comes, this bread may have been at another
02:03table?"
02:04"...it might have."
02:05Eggs Benedict
02:06Who doesn't love a leisurely brunch with friends?
02:09It's a meal beloved by many, but a lot of chefs reportedly despise making it, so unless
02:14you're at a trusted spot that specializes in it, the quality of your meal may reflect
02:18that.
02:19Anthony Bourdain, in his 2000 book Kitchen Confidential, says that cooks, quote, "'hate'
02:23brunch, especially on Sundays."
02:25Brunch menus are an open invitation to the cost-conscious chef, a dumping ground for
02:29the odd bits left over from Friday and Saturday nights.
02:31"'One of the tragedies of my life is that I'm really good at it, so, you know, after
02:35I screw up this TV career, I know there's always a brunch job waiting for me, maybe
02:38that's why I hate it so much.'"
02:40Bourdain says that the brunch classic Eggs Benedict, in particular, with its generous
02:44coating of hollandaise sauce, is to be avoided.
02:46Bacteria love hollandaise, and nobody I know has ever made hollandaise to order.
02:52Fish on Mondays
02:54Ordering fish in a restaurant is always a gamble.
02:56If it's freshly caught, it's heavenly.
02:58Frozen?
02:59Not so much.
03:00It's important to know where your fish comes from and when it was caught.
03:03In Kitchen Confidential, Bourdain wrote that in many parts of the country, unless you're
03:06in a restaurant that specializes in fresh fish, it's best not to order it on a Monday.
03:11Many fish markets are closed over the weekend, so if a fish is on the menu on Monday night,
03:15there's a good chance it was purchased on Friday.
03:17But Bourdain has since walked back that recommendation a bit, clarifying for Tech Insider that restaurant
03:22standards and customer attitudes regarding fish quality have changed tremendously since
03:26the year 2000.
03:27But he says at low-end local restaurants and, quote, fake Irish pubs, it's still a solid
03:32tip.
03:33The specials
03:34When dining at a new restaurant, always take a look at the specials.
03:38If there are too many to count, it's best to avoid them entirely.
03:41Gordon Ramsay told the Daily Mail,
03:43"...Specials are there to disappear throughout the evening.
03:45When they list 10 specials, that's not special."
03:48Ramsay says it's also best to avoid any dishes labeled famous, or the best, calling this
03:53tactic a suspicious boast that is in no way a guarantee of quality.
03:58Wow.
03:59Denver's best pizza.
04:00That is a bold statement.
04:02Oh my god.
04:05Trippin' in Greece.
04:07Yikes.