Insider tips from the restaurant industry

The specials might not be the freshest, Restaurants might not have your preferred milk alternative, The food isn't usually made from scratch, Loud music is there for a reason, The waiter is a salesperson, You might not want to eat out on holidays, The staff can hear you, Restaurants often mark up the second-least-expensive wine bottle, Salads can be some of the least healthy menu items, The food contains a ton of butter and salt, Condiment bottles could have germs, The kitchen is chaotic, Wait times might be made up, You should always double-check the bill, Regulars might get special treatment, You can judge a restaurant's cleanliness by the state of the bathroom

While you're sitting down at a table and enjoying your meal at a restaurant, there are so many other things happening behind the scenes that are only known by people who've worked in the food industry. From fast-food chains to fine dining restaurants, there are secrets that these establishments don't want you to know, and you'd be pretty surprised to find out why.

So, do you dare to discover what they are? Check out this gallery. 

The specials might not be the freshest

The specials might not be the freshest, Restaurants might not have your preferred milk alternative, The food isn't usually made from scratch, Loud music is there for a reason, The waiter is a salesperson, You might not want to eat out on holidays, The staff can hear you, Restaurants often mark up the second-least-expensive wine bottle, Salads can be some of the least healthy menu items, The food contains a ton of butter and salt, Condiment bottles could have germs, The kitchen is chaotic, Wait times might be made up, You should always double-check the bill, Regulars might get special treatment, You can judge a restaurant's cleanliness by the state of the bathroom

In order to prevent food waste, most specials are made of ingredients that are days old and need to be used up. However, that doesn't mean you shouldn't order the specials, as restaurants aren't allowed to serve you food that has gone bad.

Restaurants might not have your preferred milk alternative

The specials might not be the freshest, Restaurants might not have your preferred milk alternative, The food isn't usually made from scratch, Loud music is there for a reason, The waiter is a salesperson, You might not want to eat out on holidays, The staff can hear you, Restaurants often mark up the second-least-expensive wine bottle, Salads can be some of the least healthy menu items, The food contains a ton of butter and salt, Condiment bottles could have germs, The kitchen is chaotic, Wait times might be made up, You should always double-check the bill, Regulars might get special treatment, You can judge a restaurant's cleanliness by the state of the bathroom

With so many different kinds of milk alternative these days, it's hard for restaurants to keep up. Don't expect them to have things like cashew or even skim milk. 

The food isn't usually made from scratch

The specials might not be the freshest, Restaurants might not have your preferred milk alternative, The food isn't usually made from scratch, Loud music is there for a reason, The waiter is a salesperson, You might not want to eat out on holidays, The staff can hear you, Restaurants often mark up the second-least-expensive wine bottle, Salads can be some of the least healthy menu items, The food contains a ton of butter and salt, Condiment bottles could have germs, The kitchen is chaotic, Wait times might be made up, You should always double-check the bill, Regulars might get special treatment, You can judge a restaurant's cleanliness by the state of the bathroom

While many restaurants make food from scratch, chain restaurants don't have as many freshly made meals. For example, sauces or stews are often frozen, vacuum-sealed, and heated up before being served. 

Loud music is there for a reason

The specials might not be the freshest, Restaurants might not have your preferred milk alternative, The food isn't usually made from scratch, Loud music is there for a reason, The waiter is a salesperson, You might not want to eat out on holidays, The staff can hear you, Restaurants often mark up the second-least-expensive wine bottle, Salads can be some of the least healthy menu items, The food contains a ton of butter and salt, Condiment bottles could have germs, The kitchen is chaotic, Wait times might be made up, You should always double-check the bill, Regulars might get special treatment, You can judge a restaurant's cleanliness by the state of the bathroom

Some restaurants play loud music to make you order more food, eat faster, and leave sooner. If you manage to tune out the music and concentrate, you'll only order what you want. 

The waiter is a salesperson

The specials might not be the freshest, Restaurants might not have your preferred milk alternative, The food isn't usually made from scratch, Loud music is there for a reason, The waiter is a salesperson, You might not want to eat out on holidays, The staff can hear you, Restaurants often mark up the second-least-expensive wine bottle, Salads can be some of the least healthy menu items, The food contains a ton of butter and salt, Condiment bottles could have germs, The kitchen is chaotic, Wait times might be made up, You should always double-check the bill, Regulars might get special treatment, You can judge a restaurant's cleanliness by the state of the bathroom

Waiters are trained to make suggestions that increase the bill. That's why they'll recommend that you add a cocktail, fries, or any other side dish.

You might not want to eat out on holidays

The specials might not be the freshest, Restaurants might not have your preferred milk alternative, The food isn't usually made from scratch, Loud music is there for a reason, The waiter is a salesperson, You might not want to eat out on holidays, The staff can hear you, Restaurants often mark up the second-least-expensive wine bottle, Salads can be some of the least healthy menu items, The food contains a ton of butter and salt, Condiment bottles could have germs, The kitchen is chaotic, Wait times might be made up, You should always double-check the bill, Regulars might get special treatment, You can judge a restaurant's cleanliness by the state of the bathroom

Most places raise the prices on the menu on big holidays like Mother's Day and Valentine's Day. It's a busy day for the restaurant, so don't expect the food quality to be any better either. 

The staff can hear you

The specials might not be the freshest, Restaurants might not have your preferred milk alternative, The food isn't usually made from scratch, Loud music is there for a reason, The waiter is a salesperson, You might not want to eat out on holidays, The staff can hear you, Restaurants often mark up the second-least-expensive wine bottle, Salads can be some of the least healthy menu items, The food contains a ton of butter and salt, Condiment bottles could have germs, The kitchen is chaotic, Wait times might be made up, You should always double-check the bill, Regulars might get special treatment, You can judge a restaurant's cleanliness by the state of the bathroom

While the restaurant may be loud, you'd be surprised at how much the servers can actually hear from your private conversations.

Restaurants often mark up the second-least-expensive wine bottle

The specials might not be the freshest, Restaurants might not have your preferred milk alternative, The food isn't usually made from scratch, Loud music is there for a reason, The waiter is a salesperson, You might not want to eat out on holidays, The staff can hear you, Restaurants often mark up the second-least-expensive wine bottle, Salads can be some of the least healthy menu items, The food contains a ton of butter and salt, Condiment bottles could have germs, The kitchen is chaotic, Wait times might be made up, You should always double-check the bill, Regulars might get special treatment, You can judge a restaurant's cleanliness by the state of the bathroom

Wine sales are a significant part of restaurants' income, so pricing wine bottles is pure strategy. Many customers won't feel comfortable ordering the least expensive bottle, so the second-least-expensive is usually the go-to. That's why that specific bottle will be marked up. 

Salads can be some of the least healthy menu items

The specials might not be the freshest, Restaurants might not have your preferred milk alternative, The food isn't usually made from scratch, Loud music is there for a reason, The waiter is a salesperson, You might not want to eat out on holidays, The staff can hear you, Restaurants often mark up the second-least-expensive wine bottle, Salads can be some of the least healthy menu items, The food contains a ton of butter and salt, Condiment bottles could have germs, The kitchen is chaotic, Wait times might be made up, You should always double-check the bill, Regulars might get special treatment, You can judge a restaurant's cleanliness by the state of the bathroom

You might think ordering a salad is the healthiest and "lightest" option on the menu, but that's not always the case. Some restaurants will add plenty of fattening ingredients to their salads, such as high-calorie dressings. 

The food contains a ton of butter and salt

The specials might not be the freshest, Restaurants might not have your preferred milk alternative, The food isn't usually made from scratch, Loud music is there for a reason, The waiter is a salesperson, You might not want to eat out on holidays, The staff can hear you, Restaurants often mark up the second-least-expensive wine bottle, Salads can be some of the least healthy menu items, The food contains a ton of butter and salt, Condiment bottles could have germs, The kitchen is chaotic, Wait times might be made up, You should always double-check the bill, Regulars might get special treatment, You can judge a restaurant's cleanliness by the state of the bathroom

If you've ever tried to recreate a restaurant dish at home, it might have been challenging to get the same richness and flavor. This is because restaurants often use a ton of butter and salt, which is pretty unhealthy when consumed regularly.  

Condiment bottles could have germs

The specials might not be the freshest, Restaurants might not have your preferred milk alternative, The food isn't usually made from scratch, Loud music is there for a reason, The waiter is a salesperson, You might not want to eat out on holidays, The staff can hear you, Restaurants often mark up the second-least-expensive wine bottle, Salads can be some of the least healthy menu items, The food contains a ton of butter and salt, Condiment bottles could have germs, The kitchen is chaotic, Wait times might be made up, You should always double-check the bill, Regulars might get special treatment, You can judge a restaurant's cleanliness by the state of the bathroom

The condiment bottles on the restaurant tables might have never been washed, which means they'll have plenty of germs. You might want to give that ketchup a second thought. 

The kitchen is chaotic

The specials might not be the freshest, Restaurants might not have your preferred milk alternative, The food isn't usually made from scratch, Loud music is there for a reason, The waiter is a salesperson, You might not want to eat out on holidays, The staff can hear you, Restaurants often mark up the second-least-expensive wine bottle, Salads can be some of the least healthy menu items, The food contains a ton of butter and salt, Condiment bottles could have germs, The kitchen is chaotic, Wait times might be made up, You should always double-check the bill, Regulars might get special treatment, You can judge a restaurant's cleanliness by the state of the bathroom

While most dining areas are organized and even sophisticated, the kitchen is actually chaotic. Don't be surprised if there's stress, yelling, and rushing behind those swinging doors. 

Wait times might be made up

The specials might not be the freshest, Restaurants might not have your preferred milk alternative, The food isn't usually made from scratch, Loud music is there for a reason, The waiter is a salesperson, You might not want to eat out on holidays, The staff can hear you, Restaurants often mark up the second-least-expensive wine bottle, Salads can be some of the least healthy menu items, The food contains a ton of butter and salt, Condiment bottles could have germs, The kitchen is chaotic, Wait times might be made up, You should always double-check the bill, Regulars might get special treatment, You can judge a restaurant's cleanliness by the state of the bathroom

Usually wait times are just guesses based on average customer dining time and the restaurant environment. In the end, it will typically be shorter than the amount of time they give you.

You should always double-check the bill

The specials might not be the freshest, Restaurants might not have your preferred milk alternative, The food isn't usually made from scratch, Loud music is there for a reason, The waiter is a salesperson, You might not want to eat out on holidays, The staff can hear you, Restaurants often mark up the second-least-expensive wine bottle, Salads can be some of the least healthy menu items, The food contains a ton of butter and salt, Condiment bottles could have germs, The kitchen is chaotic, Wait times might be made up, You should always double-check the bill, Regulars might get special treatment, You can judge a restaurant's cleanliness by the state of the bathroom

Errors can happen, which means you might be charged for items you didn't order. Do yourself a favor and double-check the bill before paying.

Regulars might get special treatment

The specials might not be the freshest, Restaurants might not have your preferred milk alternative, The food isn't usually made from scratch, Loud music is there for a reason, The waiter is a salesperson, You might not want to eat out on holidays, The staff can hear you, Restaurants often mark up the second-least-expensive wine bottle, Salads can be some of the least healthy menu items, The food contains a ton of butter and salt, Condiment bottles could have germs, The kitchen is chaotic, Wait times might be made up, You should always double-check the bill, Regulars might get special treatment, You can judge a restaurant's cleanliness by the state of the bathroom

Regular customers will get special treatment from the staff, so don't be surprised if you see another table get a round of free drinks or faster attention. It's always a good idea to get friendly with the staff if you plan to visit the restaurant again.  

You can judge a restaurant's cleanliness by the state of the bathroom

The specials might not be the freshest, Restaurants might not have your preferred milk alternative, The food isn't usually made from scratch, Loud music is there for a reason, The waiter is a salesperson, You might not want to eat out on holidays, The staff can hear you, Restaurants often mark up the second-least-expensive wine bottle, Salads can be some of the least healthy menu items, The food contains a ton of butter and salt, Condiment bottles could have germs, The kitchen is chaotic, Wait times might be made up, You should always double-check the bill, Regulars might get special treatment, You can judge a restaurant's cleanliness by the state of the bathroom

The bathroom of any restaurant is a good judge of what the kitchen looks like. If it's in a questionable state, then you should probably leave.

Sources: (Eat This, Not That!) (Mashed)

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