Diners have their favorite restaurants to go to when they don't feel like preparing dinner at home after a long day at work.
There's something comforting about hitting your go-to dining establishment and greeting familiar faces and favorite entrees.
And while customers are quick to rave about and recommend the restaurants to friends and family, they can be just as passionate about the places they avoid like the plague for various reasons.
Curious to hear about these nightmare establishments, Redditor PuzzleheadedFix8972 asked:
"What restaurants do you refuse to go to and why?"
For most Redditors, buffets are a no-go.
A Customer's Touch
"Golden Corral. Walked into one once in Florida. A small kid walking past the food bar was putting his hand in every tray he passed. Out we go."
– Ardothbey
"I am mildly surprised Golden Corral wasn't a victim of the pandemic. Like who on earth would eat there from March 2020 on?"
– Robbylution
The Buffet Worker
"I knew a girl who worked at a buffet. On busy days they would have an employee hover looking for gross people. People using the serving spoon to take a little taste to see if they like it, grab food try it and don't like it and put it back, fingers in pudding all kinds of nasty sh*t. I don't eat at them anymore."
– Yaniji1923
Pro Tip
"Go right when they first open. Actually, show up before they open and be the first one in, that’s about as close to safe as you can be."
– YoghurtSnodgrass
Chain restaurants are not any better according to these folks.
Boo To Applebee's
"Applebee’s - was a fry cook there."
– Jfonzy
"Was a server there. What a temple to mediocrity."
– budda_belly
"Applebee's - when I'm too lazy to use my own microwave."
– FlattenInnertube
Fallen Quality
"Panera Bread, extremely overpriced, bland food."
– wyoflyboy68
"Thing is it used to be really good. Then they got bought by a VC and did a speed run into serving the cheapest, food-like meals ever to squeeze as much margin as possible out of the place."
"It’s like that scene in The Founder when his future wife convinced Ray Kroc to sell powdered milkshakes instead of the real deal. The VC that bought Panera did that with the entire menu."
– Doctor_Kat
People Don't Go For The Food
" Hooters. Waiting 45 minutes for a hamburger and baked beans and then immediately having diarrhea doesn't do anything for me."
– bravesgeek
"It's because they put all of their effort into the gimmick of "HoT wOmAn!!!" instead of serving actually good food."
– AverageFurryFemboy
Fake Italian
"Olive Garden."
"They know why."
– liltrixxy
"My friend’s mom is a little old lady from Sicily and her favorite restaurant is Olive Garden."
"Totally not joking."
– YinzaJagoff
"Because it's a loud place were everytime you clean your plate someone comes out and puts more on it just like any Italian dinner."
– Zkenny13
"They All Suck"
"Noodle & Company and Chili’s I honestly don’t know what I am supposed to order in either of these restaurants. They got so many things and they all suck."
"Oh and Pizza Hut because their pizza sucks."
– Soup_and_Rice
It can't get any worse than some fast food joints.
Do They Do Chicken Right?
"KFC. I dont know why but I get sick an hour later every time."
"Churches doesn't do this."
"Popeyes doesn't do this."
– Wolfman01a
"I went to KFC once and i took ONE bite of the chicken and literal blood was coming out. Ordered another one. SAME THING. Ordered another one! Guess what.. SAME THING. Never going to KFC ever again."
– Reddit
Bad Reputations
"Subway - because of food poisoning & there are better sub places in our town."
"Golden Corral - food has always been subpar & I always felt sick after leaving…and not due to overeating."
– amyria
"This is also my two for the same reasons. I got food poisoned by subway twice in a row 20 years ago. Never been back, never will be back."
"Golden corral is so bad. I won't go for any reason. Not even because old great uncle whoever wants to see all the relatives and I'll make him sad if I don't come and get free food. If I wanted to serve people food of that low quality, I could just go to Sam's club and hit the freezer isle. Most of their items are the same processed heat and serve junk."
– Illogical-logical
Have It Your Way
"Will pass on BK. It's always been the participation trophy of fast food."
"Wendy's has gone downhill severely, especially the wait times (I might be overly critical because I worked there one summer)."
– zoinks690
Panda Express used to be my favorite default mall food court choice.
Until I got sick from their beef broccoli once and felt bloated for hours. I realized that with age, my body wasn't able to break down everything I was consuming there.
As a teenage patron everything there used to be so flavorful.
But then my tastes changed after I found out why eating there is the worst thing for your body.
Their highly-caloric dishes are also known to be extremely high in sodium, which if eaten frequently can lead to all sorts of health issues–including obesity and heart disease.
Buh-bye, P.E.
