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 diner, a waiter or waitress with an attitude, 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.

A Fungus Among Us

September 11, 2010 Sanitation Stories

My wife and I went to eat at a Spanish restaurant in the Tampa, Florida area. It was nicely appointed with Spanish paintings on the wall; subdued lighting, good service and tasty food made for a pleasant dining experience. While we were enjoying our meals I felt a drop of liquid that had fallen onto my [...]

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Bothered By Slow Service & A Well-Done Burger

July 2, 2010 Server Stories

In the town I was in, there was a bar that just opened that was supposed to have great burgers. I went there, and this is where the fun got started. Once entering the bar, I was seated by a waitress that was obviously in a rush. I looked around and saw there was only [...]

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Gun-Toting Thugs Rob Restaurant

June 11, 2010 Odds & Ends Stories

I was the opening manager for a restaurant in downtown Washington D.C. many years ago. The restaurant was one of a chain that was very popular in the Washington area at the time. We opened at 7:00 AM for breakfast, which meant I had to get there at about 5:15 AM to open the store [...]

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Emergency Evacuation

May 28, 2010 Accident & Mishap Stories

It was a Saturday afternoon at the restaurant where I work. It was usually busy on Saturdays and today was no exception. It was also the middle of summer and on this particular Saturday we were very busy, not slammed, but still pretty hectic. It was quite hot in both the restaurant and the kitchen [...]

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The Wicked Witch

May 22, 2010 Tipping & Etiquette Stories

Back in college, the large group of my girlfriends and I would get together once a week and go out to eat. We were usually broke, but we always enjoyed ourselves… best of times. That is until the brother of one of the girls started dating The Wicked Witch. The sister would invite the brother’s [...]

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Waitress Can’t Be Bothered

May 22, 2010 Server Stories

I was once told by a friend who worked as a manager for a restaurant that she hired an extremely lazy waitress. Not only did she find any excuse in the book to try to avoid work as much as possible, she made a serious lack of judgement when dealing with a table. When a [...]

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We’re Not Moving

May 16, 2010 Diner Stories

Our restaurant presents live musical performances on Fridays and Saturdays; usually upbeat jazz and R&B. These shows are very, very popular, and we encourage people (via our website and press releases) to call the restaurant to reserve a seat. I was in the middle of seating a whole lot of people on a Friday night; [...]

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On A Slow Boat To China

May 12, 2010 Diner Stories

After spending the last 18 of my 32 years in the restaurant business in the Chinese restaurant niche, I’ve become astounded at the way some older men, particularly veterans, are like dinosaurs when it comes to their racist remarks. For the record, my heritage is German; I’m not Asian-looking at all (rather very WASPy) but [...]

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What’s The Butter For?

May 9, 2010 Illness & Medical Stories

I was working on a slow Friday night in a small family owned B.B.Q. place in Cincinnati, Ohio. It was getting close to closing time when a family of 3 (mom, dad and a small child) came in and sat down at one of my booths. It was almost 10pm and I thought nothing of [...]

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Some Like It Hot

May 7, 2010 Food & Drink Stories

I’m a server who’s been working in Chinese restaurants for years, even though I’m not Chinese. I had a group of four customers who’re older who used to come in at least once a week — and commence immediately telling me and anyone who’d listen that every single thing they got was “ice cold.” Except [...]

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