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.

Separate Checks

September 18, 2009 Diner Stories

Oh how I love getting to work right before the dinner rush comes. Pick up a few tables from lazy servers who stroll in 15 to 20 minutes late coffee in hand. I myself enjoy stealing those tables and picking up the extra 50 to 60 bucks. But of course not on this day. I […]

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Hell’s Bells

September 4, 2009 Non-Stories

Hey Dev, I am allergic to several foods and one night I ordered my usual at my former fav Mexican restaurant. I asked for no bell peppers and I always tell them that it will make me very sick (hospital sick) if they are in the dish. This time they forgot and left the peppers […]

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Barfer At The Burger Joint

August 13, 2009 Illness/Medical Stories

After a pleasant day out shopping with my sister, we decided to have lunch at a Big Chain Burger joint. We were seated mere feet away from the restrooms (this is key). We ordered our food and began to enjoy. About half way through, I heard a violent coughing begin at a table behind me. […]

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Bartender Chats With Her Chums

August 9, 2009 Server Stories

This was a good ten years ago, but I remember it well. Up front, I want to say that I tip based on service. Give me great service, you get more than 20%. Lesser service, and the percentage goes down. Only one time have I left no tip – and this is why. Me and […]

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Cheapskates Sent Postcards

July 12, 2009 Tipping & Etiquette Stories

Many years ago while working at a very popular restaurant that had a 2 hour wait on a Sat night, the servers and I got together after work and decided we couldn’t run after patrons who stiffed us, but we came up with an idea that worked. Mind you, this was before the ATM/check card […]

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Mother’s Day At The Yellow Round-Up

July 3, 2009 Odds & Ends Stories

A few years ago my family decided to take me out for Mother’s Day Brunch. Since they did not make reservations anywhere and I wanted everyone to be able to get what they liked, we chose what I’ll call the “Yellow Round-Up.” It was an unusually warm Spring day and half of the restaurant did […]

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Flustered Waitress

June 30, 2009 Server Stories

A short time back my grandparents took my mother, my fiancé and my sister and myself out to breakfast a chain restaurant that specializes in breakfast food. We arrived to see that this restaurant was packed as usual, but we were all seated promptly. Our waitress took our drink orders, brought them back and proceeded […]

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Request For Inside Table

June 23, 2009 Non-Stories

Hey Dev, We just returned from a wonderful dinner out with our two sons and their girlfriends. My husband made reservations earlier in the day. Our entire party arrived early and checked in. We waited in the bar for approximately 5 minutes, which was fine. It was a cool evening and the hostess took us […]

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Deciding What To Select On The Menu

June 23, 2009 Non-Stories

We’ve all been in the situation where everyone else is ready to order but we just can’t make up our mind on what to select from the menu. So we tell the server to take everyone else’s order first. The pressure mounts as almost everybody has placed their order and we still haven’t made a […]

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A Hairy Ordeal

June 18, 2009 Food & Drink Stories

My hairy ordeal happened in a local establishment that I used to frequent quite often. This day I decided to order a grilled cheese. They make a fabulous grilled cheese using three different cheeses and sour dough bread. It’s awesome. Well it was. I had just taken a couple of bites when I noticed something […]

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Almost Hell For Another Diner, Not For Me

June 16, 2009 Illness/Medical Stories

Wife and I and our best friends (he a doctor) were having dinner at a famous steakhouse in Brooklyn (no names here, let’s just call the place Peter L.). We were digging into our steak and as a family was leaving the room, an older gentleman collapsed, motionless, to the floor on the way out. […]

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“Slow” Oven Troubles Toddler

June 12, 2009 Kid Stories

When our son was about 18 months old, my wife and I thought we might try taking him out to a restaurant. He was a generally quiet, well-behaved kid, even at that age, and we made sure we brought lots of quiet activities and even some Cheerios and other toddler snacks for the wait. We […]

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