Worst restaurant experience you've ever had?

[Prunepicker]

Oh, here's another.

The Olive Garden on the south side. The waitstaff cut in front of us
several times on the way to the table. The same when we left, I was
brushed by a waiter without so much as an excuse me. I know they
have a lot to do and are very busy but that's no excuse for being
downright rude.

When I paid the bill the waitress kept the change instead of returning it.
When I asked for my change she said, "it's only 35 cents." I told it didn't
matter if it was 1 cent, it's my money! She slammed the money on the
table and stormed off. That tends to be a problem at other places, too.
I left her a 10% tip. I was tempted to leave her the 35 cents.

The manager, Mike Turner, was very nice and seemed concerned.

[so1rfan]

Believe it or not: Cattleman's. Went during lunch and the food was just not very good, service was terrible. Instead of salad dressing we got a huge plop of mayonaise, steaks were rubbery. Such a disappointment to my out of state guests.

[LordGerald]

Believe it or not: Cattleman's. Went during lunch and the food was just not very good, service was terrible. Instead of salad dressing we got a huge plop of mayonaise, steaks were rubbery. Such a disappointment to my out of state guests.

That wasn't mayonnaise. It's Cattlemen's house dressing.

[positano]

Vast.

"One of our party has yet to join us, but we'll go ahead and order cocktails and appetizers."

"Sorry...(words to the effect of 'you'll have to order apps at the same time as your entree", accompanied by some nonsensical reason)."

Finalized with a mediocre meal, wherein the substitute for creative flavor was salt. I'm a food nut, and completely understand the ups and downs of preparing a good meal on a consistent basis, but I will not return to Vast, nor will I recommend it.

[mmitch1031]

This may be a very unpopular post, but mine is unquestionably Charlestons in Edmond. It was a little over 9 years ago, I had just become a father for the first time. My wife decided we should eat at Charlestons for my first Father's Day. To give a little background Dean Blevins was in the booth right next to us. I ordered the chicken fried steak. When I received it, it was frozen solid. Had not been in any heat source for even 10 seconds. It had piping hot gravy over it, so I couldn't tell it was frozen. The gravy had thawed it enough for me to cut a bite off. I tried to eat it and immediately realized it was frozen and spit it out. I flagged the waiter down and explained the issue so they brought me another serving of chicken fried steak. I had completely lost my appetite so I asked to take it home. Meanwhile at the Blevins table they had at least 3 waiters catering to their every need. When they finished the came over to package their take home items, placed them in a bag. For me, the waiter walked by and without slowing down threw a Styrofoam container on my table. I put the cooked meal in the container, we received the check. Not only were we billed for my meal, they charged me for two. I asked for the manager, explained the situation and he looked at me incredulously and said you took a bite of the first one. Again, explained how frozen it was and he said he would adjust my ticket. They removed one of the chicken fried steaks and expected me to pay for the rest even though I had not touched the 2nd one. I was furious, but paid the check.. I have never and will never go back.

[Just the facts]

Believe it or not: Cattleman's. Went during lunch and the food was just not very good, service was terrible. Instead of salad dressing we got a huge plop of mayonaise, steaks were rubbery. Such a disappointment to my out of state guests.

We ate at Cattleman's on our last trip to OKC. Once was enough for me. It definitively did not live up to the hype and I sure wouldn't take someone new to OKC there.

[Bellaboo]

We ate at Cattleman's on our last trip to OKC. Once was enough for me. It definitively did not live up to the hype and I sure wouldn't take someone new to OKC there.

Cattlemens has sucked for years.......

[Pete]

Along the lines of a similar post I just made, I often wonder when old places like Cattleman's fail to meet expectations it's a matter of the old world overlapping with the new, and not faring well in comparison.

There is no question standards have been raised in terms of restaurants and rather than Cattleman's getting worse, perhaps it's as it always has been and that we just have much better places to which compare? Or maybe there was the occasional great meal but that it never was as consistent as we'd like to remember?

It's easy to wax nostalgic about places long closed because we don't have the present to disrupt our romanticized views.


And yes, I fully realize lots of people are going to swear up and down it used to be miles better and it's all gone down hill since X, but that is almost always said about every single restaurant, even the newer varieties. Not every restaurant can possibly be declining.

I would suggest that we simply choose to cast a warm glow over almost all our past and food memories are the most unreliable of all.

[Roger S]

There is no question standards have been raised in terms of restaurants and rather than Cattleman's getting worse, perhaps it's as it always has been and that we just have much better places to which compare? Or maybe there was the occasional great meal but that it never was as consistent as we'd like to remember?

It's easy to wax nostalgic about places long closed because we don't have the present to disrupt our romanticized views.

I think you're pretty right on here. Using Cattlemen's once again as an example.

When I grew up eating at Cattlemen's there were no prime steakhouses like Mahogany, Red Prime, or The Ranch..... Now that I've dined at those establishments I consider Cattlemen's to be the Western Sizzlin of steaks compared to those places and Western Sizzlin is pretty much inedible for me now.

[Pete]

Also, the rarity of eating out just 20-25 years ago has to have a heavy influence.

As kids we almost never ate out; as in maybe once a month, including getting a carryout pizza. That certainly was the norm for almost everyone at that time.

So, every restaurant meal was a big deal and seemed fantastic. I remember going to Nicolosi's on 10th and thinking it was the best food ever created. In reality, it probably was decent at absolute best and a place that I would never eat at today given the thousands of good choices.

Heck, McDonald's was a massive big deal and now you frequently hear kids complain about being tired of it -- and just about every other place, too.


Things are only new and interesting for a short period of time. Once you get used to them, they never seem to live up to the original experiences.

[MsDarkstar]

My worst restaurant experience, hands down, was several years ago at Othello's on Campus Corner. My cousin & I were there for dinner on a busy Friday night and while waiting for our entrees we found a cockroach crawling across our table. We then noticed several more on the wall by our booth. We flagged down our waitress, who was very rude about our discovery and begrudgingly agreed to send the manager to us. The manager finally came over and we were told that the exterminator had made their regular visit to spray that morning & "that always drives out the bugs so it's not surprising to see some" and would we like to move to a different table. Of course, by then we were completely grossed out and didn't want to eat ANYTHING prepared there. Our food was delivered while the manager was talking to us, and we refused it and said we were just going to leave. The manager said ok and instructed the waitress to go get our bill and told us we could pay up front. We couldn't believe he actually expected us to pay for meals we weren't eating and we hadn't ordered drinks, just water. We said as much and were told that we ordered the food, and it was our choice not his that we weren't going to eat it. At that, we very politely told him we would NOT be paying for anything and that if he made an issue out of it, we'd announce to everyone there that the place was infested with roaches. That of course got his attention and he let us go without another word. Never ever have I had such a horrible experience at a restaurant since.

[RadicalModerate]

My worst restaurant experience, hands down, was several years ago at Othello's on Campus Corner. of course got his attention and he let us go without another word. Never ever have I had such a horrible experience at a restaurant since.

I used to be acquainted with The Plumber To The Stars (in norman). One time his wife, the bookkeeper, said Othello's was the worst. Your excellent story lends veracity to her rumor.

Prior to that, my worst Restaurant Experience was attempting to measure the kitchen area at Molly Murphey's for a new paint job.

Still . . . in retrospect . . . Mother's Day at Bellini's in Edmond ('round 'bout mebbe a decade/decade-and-a-half back down the road ?) comes close in terms of Worstness: We waited and waited and waited and waited at the table, with no service, until I felt forced to gently and courteously confront a member of the waitstaff with my concern about the lack of service for our six or eight person entourage. In a confidential manner, I asked to speak to The Manager. I think the waitperson could tell that an opportunity for customer satisfaction improvement was at hand. I asked The Manager if I could speak with him in his office in order to avoid a scene. We went to this tiny broom closetesque cubicle with a primitive computer atop something resembling a desk (replete with an old-tyme fone) and I expressed my disappointment with the service provided. Our entire meal wound up being comped.

So, I suppose that it was both the worst of times and the best of times at the same time.
I can't remember if I left a tip or not, yet I probably did.

[soonerguru]

It's hard to say about Othello's because it's had several different owners over the last decade. I always liked going there for the booze and atmosphere first, food second.

[soonerguru]

Also, the rarity of eating out just 20-25 years ago has to have a heavy influence.

As kids we almost never ate out; as in maybe once a month, including getting a carryout pizza. That certainly was the norm for almost everyone at that time.

So, every restaurant meal was a big deal and seemed fantastic. I remember going to Nicolosi's on 10th and thinking it was the best food ever created. In reality, it probably was decent at absolute best and a place that I would never eat at today given the thousands of good choices.

Heck, McDonald's was a massive big deal and now you frequently hear kids complain about being tired of it -- and just about every other place, too.


Things are only new and interesting for a short period of time. Once you get used to them, they never seem to live up to the original experiences.

Haha. I remember eating at Applegate's Landing in Norman in the late 1970s and thinking it was the nicest restaurant I'd ever seen. I have distinctly fond memories of having Long John Silver's on Friday nights (and for some reason that memory is connected to OU basketball during the Billy Tubbs era). I also fondly remember Pizza Shuttle, although my taste in pizza has certainly grown beyond that fare.

Speaking of vanished Norman restaurants, the holy trinity for me of lost Norman establishments is the Town Tavern, Denco Cafe, and Border Crossing. Those restaurants, particularly the latter two, were better than just about anything that exists in Norman today. And yes, I like Pepe's, but the Border Crossing in its prime was superb.

[soonerguru]

Cattlemens has sucked for years.......

Cattlemen's is what it is. It is NOT fine dining. It is not a "serious" steakhouse. To me Cattlemen's is a fun and campy family restaurant with fairly high-quality food. It's kinda the modern equivalent of what a good cafeteria was when we were growing up.

We go there twice a month. Frankly, for what you get, it's pretty cheap. We've spent more at lesser establishments. Part of the fun is the atmosphere, and the food is GOOD, not great. But it is reliably what it is. I've made peace with Cattlemen's. It is not a great steakhouse, but it's a good restaurant with campy charm (that tourists absolutely love).

[Prunepicker]

One terrible I experienced in my youth at many restaurants was this sign.
I knew what it meant but didn't, and still don't, understand why people
are this way.

[OKCretro]

hate to tell this story but its just kind of a heads up.

Ordered take out at Iguana Cafe in NH plaza about a month ago. I called it in at 8:00, gave order and they said it would be ready in 20-30 minutes. So i showed up at 8:30, waited at the bar for my food. I left at 8:50 and still no food. They claimed they had just gotten a big table. It shouldnt take 50+ minutes to make 2 mexican dishes...

[BillyOcean]

Vast. Place sucks in every aspect other than the view. Hopefully, it will be re-branded or under different managment in the next year or so.

[rezman]

One terrible I experienced in my youth at many restaurants was this sign.
I knew what it meant but didn't, and still don't, understand why people
are this way.

Do you mean why do people feel the need to post these signs? ... There is a current thread just a few doors down dealing with "Gratuities". Much of the discussion focuses on weather or not the server deserves a certain amount of tip. ... basically the behavior of the server. The servers conduct is in direct relation to the amount of tip received. But no one has mentioned the behavior of some of the customers. If they come in my business acting like they own the place and treat me like crap, then I reserve the right to refuse them service. Their conduct is in direct relation to them getting served or getting shown the door.

[kevinpate]

...
the holy trinity for me of lost Norman establishments is the Town Tavern, Denco Cafe, and Border Crossing. Those restaurants, particularly the latter two, were better than just about anything that exists in Norman today. And yes, I like Pepe's, but the Border Crossing in its prime was superb.

I readily agree on Town Tavern and Denco, but for me Border Crossing was a place I tended to only go if I was outvoted by still wanted to enjoy the company of certain folks.

[boscorama]

One terrible I experienced in my youth at many restaurants was this sign.
I knew what it meant but didn't, and still don't, understand why people
are this way.

I was surprised to see that sign again in Oregon restaurants, not long ago.

[Prunepicker]

Do you mean why do people feel the need to these signs?

No. And after reading the rest of your post I mean, "hell no!"
Racism is repulsive and there is no responsible reason to embrace it.
Maybe you're young, that is under 40+, and don't understand the
gravity of what racism was and what the sign meant to innocent
bystanders. It was aimed at people of color, mostly African Americans
and often toward Mexicans and Asians. Racism has no place in our
world. No place whatsoever.

I honestly can't believe you tried to lump gratuities and weather in this
post. Are you serious? Do you not understand the seriousness of
racism?

[Prunepicker]

I was surprised to see that sign again in Oregon restaurants, not long ago.

And Oregon of all places. I saw the same sign in an Asian restaurant about
12 years ago. I quit dining there.

If I were to name one thing I hate it'd have to be racism. Racism is so repulsive.
And this is coming from someone who can't stand hate. Not that it matters to
the haters.

[rezman]

No. And after reading the rest of your post I mean, "hell no!"
Racism is repulsive and there is no responsible reason to embrace it.
Maybe you're young, that is under 40+, and don't understand the
gravity of what racism was and what the sign meant to innocent
bystanders. It was aimed at people of color, mostly African Americans
and often toward Mexicans and Asians. Racism has no place in our
world. No place whatsoever.

I honestly can't believe you tried to lump gratuities and weather in this
post. Are you serious? Do you not understand the seriousness of
racism?

What? ... Really? Where was racism even mentioned until you brought it up?

I'm talking about when someone comes into a place of business and acts like a complete jackass and expects to be waited on. Whatever the type of retail establishment. Obviously it means something entirely different to you, but that's your problem. Don't push your racial bullsh*t off on the rest of us. ... And your wrong. I'm on the 50+ side and have seen it too.

[Prunepicker]

... Where was racism even mentioned until you brought it up?

That was the sole purpose of the sign.