'I found a bandaid in my pizza': Restaurant goers (and employees) recall the most disgusting thing they ever saw dining out

Author image for Jesse Kessenheimer
Jesse Kessenheimer • Writer and Editor
Aug 20, 2023 12:00 AM EDT

We got to restaurants to enjoy food that we didn't make in our own home. Not only are the professions chefs usually do a lot better than us amateurs in the kitchen, but it feels nice to be doted on every now and then. However, there are a few uncontrollable factors in a restaurant that don't exist in your own home and anyone that's worked in the industry knows that there are unspeakable horrors that occur past the hostess counter.

For starters, restaurants can be pretty disgusting if left unchecked. Although they're supposed to be monitored by health code enforcers, a lot of restaurants actually have terrible hygiene– besides, even if you do go to a nice restaurant, it doesn't mean that you won't encounter some garbage humans along the way. 

There are tons of people out there who are scarred for life from disgusting restaurant experiences that'll really make you lose your appetite. So step right up and scroll onward if you're not feeling squeamish, for these are the Internet's most haunting, grimy, and gross restaurant stories, delivered straight to your table and fresh from the oven. For more unappetizing tales, check out this story of an overworked employee who bailed on a boss that refused to promote him, finding a better job, making more money, and ghosting the company that took advantage of him.

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  • 01
    Rectangle - r/AskReddit. Posted by u/stevesmd 1 day ago What's the most disgusting thing you have seen in a restaurant?
    via stevesmd
  • 02
    Vertebrate - MountainHipie 1 day ago Condensation above a buffet turning brown and dripping back down on the food.
    via MountainHipie
  • 03
    Font - CJRedbeard. 1 day ago Seen a cockroach fall out of the ceiling as i finished my Mexican food. It fell from a can light and hit about 1 foot from my plate and then scurried off.
    via CJRedbeard
  • 04
    Mammal - tuotone75 1 day ago Someone changing their kids diaper in the booth then leaving it on the table when they left.
    via tuotone75
  • 05
    Rectangle - NeverGoneToo Far 1 day ago Buddy ordered a burger. Took two bites then tasted something strange. It was a band aid. A used band aid.
    via NeverGoneTooFar
  • 06
    Rectangle - molly_203 1 day ago Ded cockroach in the salt shaker. I served at the restaurant, and my grandma found it when her and my grandpa came in for lunch. They did not come in for lunch anymore.
    via molly_203
  • 07
    Font - Sleestak714 1 day ago A napkin run across a floor. It was really a rat that somehow had a napkin draped over it but it was surreal and super funny to watch. We'd joke about eating at the place that held napkin races any time no one could come up with a place to eat then usually someone would be like "Naww, let's just hit up
    via sleestak714
  • 08
    Font - Danger Dave 1 day ago 2 2 S Super Rat, Super Rat Wears a napkin like a hat He can't seem to find the door Runs around the restaurant floor Look out! It is the Super Rat.
    via Danger_Dave_
  • 09
    Font - Magic_ass1 1 day ago Working at a restaurant I pulled back the slushie machine because I smelled something off coming from behind. The smell was black mold. I quit on the spot and reported the restaurant to the health authority.
    via Magic_as1
  • 10
    Font - AnastasiaSheppard 15 hr. ago . I've seen a video of a soup bar in a grocery (fill your own container) where a guy lifts each ladle out of the soup, takes a good slurp from the ladle, then put it back - for all 4- 5 soups. Then just walked away without buying any lol.
    via AnastasiaSheppard
  • 11
    Rectangle - nanspud 1 day ago A woman changing her baby's diaper on one of the tables. Before you throw hate at me, there were changing tables in both bathrooms.
    via nanspud
  • 12
    Font - J__M__G 1 day ago edited 1 day ago I WAS A SERVER IN A RESTAURANT AND A CUSTOMER DID THIS TO ME. I saw it from across the room and didn't say anything because I was honestly just too shocked to move. She pushed everyone's food to the side and just changed a #2 diaper in the middle of all the plates. I mean, wtf. Then didn't even leave a tip.
    via J__M__G
  • 13
    Font - BlueCoat YellowBoots 1 day ago I've seen them leave the dirty diapers behind as well. Sunday lunch rush, go figure.
    via BlueCoatYellowBoots
  • 14
    Smile - TeacherPatti 1 day ago Along these lines, please don't put your baby on the bar while it is only wearing a rather...wet looking diaper and also it's like 11pm on New Year's Eve. Thanks!
    via TeacherPatti
  • 15
    Font - moparguy_alec. 1 day ago Watched a kid take a spoonful of cookie dough and eat it then put the spoon back in the container. This was one of those build your own frozen yogurt places with 100 different toppings.
    via moparguy_alec
  • 16
    Font - rahyveshachr. 1 day ago My mom and her sisters found a bandaid in a pizza once. The manager wouldn't refund them so they stood outside the door and told everyone who walked in. They got their refund.
    via rahyveshachr
  • 17
    Font - um8medoit 1 day ago. . edited 1 day ago Party of 10. White table cloth restaurant. Party leaves. When we approached to clear the table, they had used the corner of one table cloth to wipe their babies shy 253.
    via um8medoit
  • 18
    Font - solo_shot1st 1 day ago In the past 20 years I've witnessed two different family members eat two different burritos from two different restaurants and spit out thick metal staples. Like the kind that you'd see on an industrial sized bag of shredded lettuce or something. Luckily neither of them got pierced, or god forbid, SWALLOW, them.
    via solo_shot1st
  • 19
    Font - darkphalanxset. 1 day ago In-N-Out in SoCal. Saw a man chow down on his double- double, then immediately throw up into his red tray. He just kinda sat there shocked, and nobody else seemed to notice but me. It was surreal honestly.
    via darkphalanxset
  • 20
    Font - cardinalbard 1 day ago Not me, but I'm friends with a health inspector. He told me that one time he saw a mummified mouse hanging from a drop ceiling in the kitchen. He immediately shut down the kitchen and ceased operations until cleanliness was improved.
    via cardinalbard
  • 21
    Font - dot5621 1 day ago Was hired on at a place. My first shift I saw the dessert and shake station was a mess... I started to clean up, I opened lowboy and saw what I thought was someone had dumped like a 5lb bag of oreo crumbles. Was not oreos.. Was a mound of mold. I think I was the first person to open the lowboy in a minute.
    via dot5621
  • 22
    Font - Baldphotog 1 day ago Someone clipping toe nails inside McDonald's for everyone to see and yes, the foot was directly on the table....
    via Baldphotog
  • 23
    Rectangle - Puzzleheaded_Scar930 1 day ago Two pieces of fried chicken held together by a single piece of hair. We called it dingleberry chicken. Happened like 25 years ago.
    via Puzzleheaded_Scar930
  • 24
    Mammal - neuromancertr. 1 day ago Not in the restaurant, but ordered from the restaurant. Boss' wife ordered meatballs on pilaf. One of the meatballs was moving
    via neuromancertr
  • 25
    Human body - Crackedin5ths 1 day ago Worms squiggling around a toilet in a bathroom. (Indoors)
    via Crackedin5ths
  • 26
    Font - labowskichris. 1 day ago I used to make deliveries to a bunch of places in downtown urban locations...several Jamaican bakeries. All but one were immaculately clean. The other one...oh my gods, so gross. There was always a guy in back chopping chicken into pieces and throwing them into a 5-gal home depot bucket that always had flies buzzing around and landing. Sometimes pieces would fall on the floor and they'd just pick them up and throw them in the bucket.
    via labowskichris
  • 27
    Font - VirusFlashy6997 - 23 hr. ago A lady with her kids. One about 11- 12 month old must have had a really bad cold as snot was pouring out it's nose like a tap, mother then proceeded to clamp her mouth over said kids nose and suck out the contents and swallowed it all. ↑ 10 ↓ Reply Share coldravenge 22 hr. ago Uhm how do I unread this?
    via VirusFlashy6997
  • 28
    Insect - PUBLIC HEALTH INSPECTION NOTICE CLOSED
    via u/canva

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workplace-stories gross haunting askreddit restaurant ask dinner disgusting reddit thread stories Reddit dining fine dining
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