Restaurant-Goers Are Sharing 19 Dining Trends That Have Gotten Way Out Of Hand In 2024
We've finally put behind us the annoying dining trends of charcoal food, gold leaves sprinkled on everything, truffle oil drowned food, and expensive avocado toast when it's just...toast. Even though those once-loved, now-loathed dining experiences have died, they've been replaced with stranger trends.
Here are some responses from Reddit users that want to see these new trends gone:
1.Everything Has Wagyu
"I see it everywhere now. At the butcher for $99 a pound. At Costco ffs. I ate at a nice steakhouse the other night that had "American dry-aged Wagyu ribeye" on the menu for $140. Server talked my ear off about how it came from some magical organic cattle ranch in Idaho and was sole sourced from there. This was in Houston mind you, where you can still get an amazing ribeye for $40-$50. I politely declined the sales pitch and ordered a normal, non-Wagyu ribeye and it was fantastic. I thought Wagyu comes from Japan and they literally give beer to the cows and give them massages every day. "American Wagyu Ribeye" sounds like a marketing gimmick to me." —Hairy_Ad4969
2.Treating Servers Poorly
"I work at an Italian place and as soon as I get to most tables they just look at me and ignore what I said and say, 'bread'. Or 'can we get bread.' That’s my new name now guys. Bread."
"Please be kind to your servers. They’re people too."
3.Parents Not Cleaning Up Their Children's Mess
"100% agreed. It’s so frustrating how some parents allow their kids to throw food around as if they own the place. What also gets to me is when kids are running around getting in everyone’s way, and the parents just let them. It’s like, you’re out in a public space not you’re own home. Control your kids."
4.Taking Photos Of Your Food
"I get posting pictures of food you made, but to post pics of food you just paid money for is just silly. Getting upset over not being able to do it is even more silly. Can you imagine if in 1999 someone brought you a picture of their lunch and was like 'hey check this out, do you like it?'"
5.Fancy Looking Food That Doesn't Taste Good
"For instance, I once took my wife to a really nice seafood place on our first beach vacation together. The place was super well-reviewed and supposedly about the cream of the crop that people like us can get in. Yet, at the end of the day, the food really didn’t taste any better than what I could’ve gotten at Captain D’s."
6.People Who Overly Modify Their Food
"Most mods are fine but when someone tries to change something essential to the dish in a fucked up way it’s kind of upsetting. At my work, we have these prawn rolls with breaded prawns and I’ve had to make them with chicken tenders instead of prawns. Or poke bowls with mashed potatoes or pasta instead of rice or greens. Stuff like that is way too far"
7.Garnishes On Every Single Dish
"My friends and I have been having a debate over flower garnishes after going to a restaurant where almost every dish had some sort of flower on it. I absolutely despise flowers as garnishes. If I have to order my chicken parm without flowers, I get aggravated."
8.Everything Is Lettuce Wrapped
"I went to this super upscale burger joint, the kind of place that opens at 9 p.m. and closes at 2 a.m. Their GF option was a lettuce wrap. Okay, cool. Let's do this. They brought out a huge platter where my single patty with the toppings sat lovingly on top of a single, see-through leaf of iceberg. One leaf. On a platter made for a shareable appetizer."
9.Oversized Portions
"I really hope these oversized portions are going to die. What a fuckin waste to have an 8 pound burrito with fries, 3 servings of meat, a whole corn on the cob, 4 avocados, etc in it. People eat 1/8 of it just to get the picture and high of ordering the damn monstrosity. Stop with all this bs food waste!!!"
10.Deconstructed Food
"‘Deconstructed’ gets me. Like normally this cabbage, vegetables, and pork would be all nicely wrapped up in an egg roll I can pick up and eat. Now it’s deconstructed and I need a bowl and utensils."
11.Burgers That Are Too Big To Eat
"Burgers should be very flat and overly cooked. I don't want a giant meatball of a burger with some artisan cut of beef. If I wanted beef I'd have a nice steak. My burgers are just the textural middle of a magical blend of condiments."
12."Elevated" Dishes
"I hate when fancy restaurants have mac and cheese as a side and to make it worth their ridiculous price tag they add over-the-top ingredients to it like lump crabmeat, truffle shavings, etc. It’s completely unnecessary."
13.Food Served On Anything But A Normal Plate
Reddit page We Want Plates is dedicated to showcasing the most ridiculous food served on anything BUT plates from tree stumps to legos, and even food served inside a boot.
In response to the soup served in measuring cup, Reddit user tacotacotacorock said, "Flashbacks to my bachelor years. This was one of my go-to bowls when I was too lazy to do the dishes. Microwave safe, has a handle you can just pour the excess liquid into your mouth. What's not to like? Seriously though this has some major vibes of some dude who forgot to do the dishes or couldn't be bothered to do them."
More Food Served On Anything But A Normal Plate...
14.QR Code Menus
"Pretty much the title. I hate being forced to take my phone out at every restaurant these days. It's a chore. Luckily most places have a paper menu somewhere if you ask for it, but most waiters treat you like an ass if you ask for it. Like god forbid my phone be out of battery or the service is bad."
15.The Term "Handcrafted" Added To Everything On The Menu
"The term 'handcrafted,' as in handcrafted burgers, handcrafted coffee drinks at convenience stores, etc. Seeing handcrafted makes me want to gag."
16.Wedge Salads
"My partner has a deep hatred for wedge salads. He thinks it’s lazy and he shouldn’t have to chop up his own salad just to evenly distribute the dressing. His passion and love language is cooking so I think it’s also about his feeling like it has a lack of care. It genuinely irks him. I can’t say I’m the biggest fan either. Iceberg lettuce alone is off-putting. Watery, nutritionally empty matched with the heaviness of blue cheese and bacon. The crunch is nice, but I think I agree with him."
17.Restaurants That Are Too Loud
"Last year I was at an upscale sports bar kind of place with some coworkers and the music was so loud we were yelling into the ear of the person next to us. It was like 6 on a Monday. I asked the waitress if the music was always this loud and if there was any chance they could turn it down and she acted like I’d asked the most outrageous question ever. Then she lied and told me they’d turned it down. We’d have spent more time and money there if we could have carried on a conversation. Is it just to flip tables faster?"
18.Charging For Food Modifications
"I went to a restaurant once with a friend. I ordered a burger and told them to hold the tomato. My friend also got a burger and said to the waiter 'oh, give me his tomato.' Our bill came, my friend was charged $0.50 for 'extra tomato'...but I didn't get a '$0.50' discount for 'no tomato.' We questioned the charge and the server said that's just how the computer does it. We weren't going to fight over 50¢, but we found it funny."
19.Burgers On Brioche Buns
"I just don't understand the popularity/trend and I can't be the only one who feels this way. Don't get me wrong, I can get down on some brioche, but why on earth use it for burgers and the like? It's far too soft a bread, not nearly enough integrity to stand up to a hefty burger! I swear, every time I make a burger or order one with a brioche bun, it always ends up either crumbling or soaked to the point of structural failure! Down with brioche buns!"
And Finally, Just One More Food Served On Anything But A Normal Plate...
H/T: /r/WeWantPlates, /r/KitchenConfidential, /r/Showerthoughts, /r/salads, /r/AskReddit, /r/rant, /r/Cooking, /r/glutenfree, /r/unpopularopinion, /r/Serverlife, /r/TrueOffMyChest, and /r/photography
