Restaurant staff are sharing the most outrageous reasons people have sent food back

The people working in the restaurant industry are truly heroes of our time.

Anybody who has ever braved a professional kitchen or waited tables will know that whilst the majority of punters are simply out there looking for some grub and a good time, every service there will be somebody determined to make your life as hard as physically possible.

From sending back a plate because their own hair is on it to returning their food to the kitchen because it’s ‘too hot and needs to cool down’, restaurant staff are sharing the weirdest, most eye-brow raising and downright outrageous reasons that people have complained under their watch.

And trust us, the whole conversation will make you feel like a thoroughly good person in comparison.

Restaurant staff are sharing why they’ve had food sent back (Credit: Alamy)

Taking to Reddit thread, @KitchenConfidential, someone asked: “What’s the weirdest reason you’ve had someone send food back?”

From there, the floodgates really opened.

“Someone sent back eggs Benedict because the hollandaise was “too flavourful”,” wrote one person in the comments.

Meanwhile, on the other end of the spectrum, another shared: “Someone sent a meal back because it ‘didn’t taste of anything’ and it turned out they had Covid”.

“Had someone send back a New York strip for being ‘too meaty’,” said a third. “Still can’t wrap my head around that one”.

Of all the reasons to send back steak, ‘too meaty’ is a new one (Credit: Alamy)

As a fourth wrote: “Lady sent food back to the kitchen so we could cool it down since it was too hot… Server just left it in the window for a few minutes and then took it back”.

At least it was an easy fix, ey?

In another situation we absolutely cannot relate to, a fellow Redditor told of the time a punter complained about being given a generous portion of potatoes.

“A guy got mad that he felt he was served ‘too much food’ since his portion of the brunch potatoes was bigger than the table next to him,” they wrote.

“He asked to speak to the manager to complain about it and made me take his plate back and bring it out with fewer potatoes”.

Too many potatoes… said no-one ever (Credit: Alamy)

Rivalling all of the above for the top spot, another wrote: “I saw three of the dumbest reasons to send food back.

“1 spinach risotto was too green. 2. beef tartare was raw. 3. person was allergic to a shape of pasta”.

Anyone else dreaming up a penne allergy right now to ensure they’re always served spaghetti?

As bizarre as all of these complaints are, our favourite incident might well be the completely bald chef, who was confronted about a hair in the food he’d served.

“A woman sent back her pancakes because she found a long black hair in it… My hair was short, blonde and curly at the time,” said the waiter of the restaurant.

“The guy who made the pancakes had a shaved head. No one else handled their food, but guess who had long black hair? Her”.

Yeah that hair in your food is actually *yours* (Credit: Alamy)

We don’t know about you, but we’re going to be tipping substantially more after reading this thread.

Godspeed, restaurant staff – we don’t deserve you.