Dinners From Hell offers true stories about restaurant dining disasters written by diners, servers and chefs.

We've all had those dining experiences when things went dreadfully wrong. Perhaps it was a social blunder, an obnoxious customer, a waiter or waitress with an attitude, a temperamental chef, an embarrassing faux pas, or a food or beverage incident. Find out what others have had to endure by reading stories about dinners gone bad.

The Largest Heifer In The Herd

April 18, 2009 Diner Stories

When I was in college I waited tables at a popular local Mexican restaurant. We typically had a pretty good lunch rush, so handling the bigger sections could be a challenge, which our management realized. As they were all former servers they were awesome when it came to backing us up. One afternoon I was […]

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Kids On The Hoof

April 16, 2009 Kid Stories

My co-workers and I had gone to eat a quick lunch at a “family-friendly” steak/chicken restaurant while attending a conference in Arizona. Now, when I say “family-friendly” I mean kids can order kid style meals there and maybe get a balloon, but otherwise it was an sort of an adult atmosphere. This wasn’t one of […]

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Orders Switched By Sloppy Slob

April 15, 2009 Fast Food Stories

This happened a long time ago but it is hard to forget this. An employee who can’t keep orders right is one thing, but what this employee at a B. Castle in Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti area, Michigan did was very inexcusable. Way back in about 1985 or ’86 (back then this fast foods restaurant was only […]

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Birthday Dinner Not A Piece Of Cake

April 11, 2009 Odds & Ends Stories

My sister had recently started college on the East Coast, thousands of miles away from home and from any friends she had. Her birthday was fast approaching and in an effort to make sure she had someone to celebrate the day with, I flew out to Boston to take her out for the weekend. We […]

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Service Runs Cold

April 11, 2009 Fast Food Stories

A friend of mine and I are constantly swapping stories of weird and unusual things that happen to us at drive-thru’s. This story is just one of MANY that have occurred at various locations of the same fast food restaurant. Let my begin by saying that I almost never eat fast food. About 90% of […]

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Server Dishes Out Discrimination

April 10, 2009 Server Stories

Some years ago my partner and I had our worst dining experience ever. I have a short memory for such things, but this one was so appalling, I still recall it vividly. We chose to go to a moderately-expensive Italian eatery in the suburban area where we were living… we had eaten at this place […]

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No Buffer Zone

April 8, 2009 Non-Stories

Hey Dev, Hi there. This always happens to us: we go to a restaurant, I ask for a booth, which I prefer, and even if the entiiiiiiiiiiiire restaurant is virtually empty, they invariably stick us in the booth right next to other people. Why is this done???? I like to have a buffer zone between […]

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The Family From Hell

April 3, 2009 Diner Stories

I was working at a not that great $15 plate chain restaurant one evening. The restaurant closed at midnight. I was pretty busy up until midnight and did not have time to do my cleanup and side chores that all chain restaurants require of servants. Just as I was about to begin my duties, at […]

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Diner Stewed Over Steak

March 18, 2009 Diner Stories

I was managing a very busy steakhouse one Saturday evening, and a server informed me of an overcooked steak that had been sent back to the kitchen at one of his tables. Although regrettable, it does happen and I approached the table to make apologies and let them know their steak would be out very […]

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GUMbo Soup

March 16, 2009 Non-Stories

Hey Dev, My sister and I were dining for lunch at my former fav restaurant. All was ok until my soup came out. Well long story short there was a wad of blue gum in my soup. I had to spend the rest of my day at urgent care getting tests done on diseases I […]

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Birthday Bust

February 17, 2009 Couples Stories

My parents invited my wife and me out for dinner at a nice restaurant to celebrate my birthday. Since my wife was going to be in the part of town where the restaurant was located with her girlfriend “Anna” to attend an art fair anyway, Anna agreed to drive her to the fair. Afterwards they […]

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Rost In Translation

January 12, 2009 Non-Stories

Traveling in Eastern Asia affords one the opportunity to try many wonderful cuisines which would be difficult to find in Western countries, especially in their authentic forms. Meal description translations on menus don’t always come out as intended, however, and the outcome can humorously portray the food in an unappealing way. One such example is […]

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