‘Busy on a Monday night’: diners reveal telltale signs of a good restaurant

For some restaurants, the clues to their quality are obvious: one or three Michelin stars next to the entrance, expensive tasting menus and glowing press reviews, for example.

But what are the signs of quality for more mundane restaurants? Eateries where we’re more likely to walk off the street for a spontaneous treat?

The clues may be less obvious, but they are there, as comments posted on an online forum revealed – from being busy on traditionally quiet days of the week to serving quality bread baskets.

These examples and many more were served in one Ask Reddit forum after user ‘halfblood_god’, asked, ‘What are some green flags in restaurants?’

Diners responded quickly, with a flurry of common telltale signs strongly suggesting a mouthwatering experience is on the way.

‘Odd-Concentrate-6585’ contributed to the debate with, ‘They could fit more chairs and tables in it, but chose not to.’

Keeping with the theme of the number of diners in attendance, “Jarek86” wrote “busy on a Monday night,” while “pr0ph3t_0f_m3rcy” agreed, “Same, now Sunday for me too.”

In the same vein, llcucf80 said Tuesday night is the night to look forward to.

Their reasoning rings true – after all, it’s harder to get a restaurant full on days when fewer people are out.

Echoing this sentiment, “Biddilybong” wrote, “I never eat in a non-busy restaurant in an unfamiliar city.”

Another commenter recommended observing where the guests come from.

‘Ok_Whatever_Buddy’ commented, ‘When you walk into a restaurant that serves food from another country and everyone there – working and dining – is from that country.

“In my experience, that means you’re about to have a great meal.”

“DutchHasAPlan_1899” said their green flag was a “small menu, clean, and the menu isn’t tacky,” in a comment that earned 1,800 Reddit votes of approval.

Fellow Redditor “Behold-Roast-Beef” said it’s the salt and pepper shakers that guests should look at.

“Check the salt and pepper shakers,” they wrote. This is the easiest way to tell if management cares in a restaurant.

“If there’s a dead ant in the salt and pepper shakers, or looks congealed, this spot cuts some pretty basic corners.”

While “High_Life_Pony yelled, “An even greener flag is if they don’t have salt and pepper shakers on every table.”

More focused on the preliminary offering, StudsTurkleton recommended paying attention to whether the restaurant is “doing the basics right.”

They wrote, “If they serve a bread basket, is it good bread or some lousy store-bought, mass-produced bun?”

‘Is their coffee good? These are easy to get right if you care. If you are cheap or worthless in these things, then there is a lack of care or austerity.”

They added, “If they don’t pay attention to the supporting players, I doubt they’re doing anything right with the stars of the show.”

Other Redditors focused more on the restaurant environment, turning their attention to the restrooms and even the smell of the overall establishment.

“RealPala” said, “a clean bathroom,” while “MCI21” added, “chefs clean the kitchen.”

While ‘Esme-Weatherwaxes’ wrote: ‘A place that smells nice when you enter. The best restaurants I’ve ever been to all smell fantastic as soon as you open the door.’

For others, the telltale “green flag” signs were aimed at staff.

A chef writing on the forum said a sign is seeing staff eating the food – “especially bits left over from service.”

Writing under the name “PhabioRants,” they added, “Seriously, I’m a career chef. We see and make the same food day in and day out, and if the staff are still excited to eat it, it’s always a good sign.

‘Also a healthy work-social dynamic. If the employees clearly dislike each other, chances are they are too busy giving you the best of themselves.’

In a third suggestion, “Aldous_Hoaxley” said, “The same people are still working there more than 20 years later, that means they treat their employees well.”

‘Really not sure’ added: ‘Servers who get excited when talking about the menu, recommending an item that isn’t the most expensive.’

Price was not a common theme in the thread. However, “Apart-Bathroom7811” said another good sign was a restaurant that “doesn’t offer coupons, Groupons or other deals.”

In a more controversial trail of posts, some diners suggested green flags that could be red flags to others.

Referring to Chinese restaurants in particular, ‘OrdoMalaise’ said: ‘Absolutely horrible, gruff, rude service in a Chinese restaurant.

“The more they openly despise you, the better the food.”

In a similar post, “powerhower” agreed: “If I find a three-star Chinese restaurant on Yelp, and all the negative reviews say how rude they were, I’ll go straight there.”

Echoing their sentiments, ‘Honestnt’ suggested the same goes for small, cheap cafes and restaurants in the UK known as ‘greasy spoons’.

They noted, “The duality of the greasy spoon. Has this table been cleaned in the last decade? No idea? Am I about to eat great food for a good price? A hundred percent.’

In a similar vein, “theplaidiator” said, “Some of the best wings I’ve had in years came out of a 20×30 cinder block building in the worst part of town with two plywood tables in it.”

And’ JRockThumper said, ‘If it’s a hole in the wall it looks like a bomb went off inside, half the tables are covered with toys/schoolwork from the owners kids, a sticky note with an A+ health – and safety rating… no joke, when you see all these signs just know you’re about to eat the best food of your life.”

The Ask Reddit question was clearly not an easy one to answer, with many differing opinions on the forum.

‘SomeGuy200019’ commented: ‘I love how half of the answers are “it looks nice/has etiquette” and the other half is “if it looks like it should have closed 50 years ago you get up about to be half the best meal of your life”.’