You sit down at a restaurant, starving, menu open, and you feel like you have the whole world on a plate. Literally. The problem? No one knows what dishes to avoid better than seasoned chefs, and many have foods they steer clear of no matter what, even at the fanciest of restaurants. It may be because the food usually isn’t fresh, or it may simply be that certain dishes are never as exciting as you think they’re going to be.
Think chefs order freely when they dine out? Think again. There’s an unspoken insider code in professional kitchens, and once you crack it, you’ll never look at a restaurant menu the same way. Let’s dive in.
1. Plain Chicken Breast
Here’s the thing about chicken breast. It sounds safe. Predictable. Almost comforting in its blandness. But that’s exactly the problem.
Chef Luke Shaffer says he never orders chicken breast when dining out. His reasoning? The odds simply aren’t in your favor, as it may just come out “sawdust dry.” Most restaurants have something far more interesting to offer, so you can save the bland, boring chicken breast for when you’re at home.
Executive chef Ryan Ososky of The Church Key in West Hollywood shares the sentiment: “I will order almost anything when I go out – but never chicken because it tends to be overcooked at most restaurants.” Many restaurants end up overcooking their chicken precisely because they want to make absolutely sure it is fully cooked. Better overcooked than full of salmonella, after all.
Chef Susan Yurish of the Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts concurred, adding that you can probably find a more interesting protein on the menu. If you’re really craving chicken, she recommends opting for a chicken thigh, which will offer more flavor than a chicken breast.
2. Restaurant Salads
Salads look innocent. Fresh greens, a little dressing, maybe a crouton or two. What could go wrong? Quite a lot, according to professionals who actually understand what happens behind closed kitchen doors.
Not only can restaurant salads often not be as fresh as you’d like, but if they’ve been sitting out for a while, they could be a breeding ground for bacteria. On top of that, they’re often highly overpriced for what they are, leading you to pay more for way less.
Food safety experts warn that salads, sprouts, and deli meats pose foodborne illness risks despite their healthy reputation. Leafy greens now cause more outbreaks than hamburgers. That’s not a typo. Leafy greens contaminated with STEC were the source of 40 outbreaks in the U.S. and Canada during 2009 to 2018 alone.
Chef Nina Swasdikiati of Ping Pong Thai says: “Rarely am I ever impressed with restaurant salads, and often leave thinking, ‘I paid $15 for this; I could have made it in two seconds for much less than that.'” That about sums it up.
3. Hollandaise Sauce (and Eggs Benedict)
Eggs Benedict is the crown jewel of brunch menus everywhere. That glossy, buttery hollandaise pooling over a perfectly poached egg looks absolutely stunning. Honestly, it’s one of those dishes that makes you feel fancy on a Sunday morning. But chefs know the ugly truth behind it.
Chef Dickerson clarified: “Don’t get me wrong, I love a good Benedict, but hollandaise sauce is temperamental, especially during a busy brunch rush. If it’s not made to order or held just right, you can end up with a broken sauce or something that’s been sitting too long.”
Hollandaise sauce is one of the most commonly avoided items. It’s rarely made fresh due to its complexity and the high risk of food poisoning if not handled correctly. Chefs know that such sauces are often pre-made and may sit out longer than is safe, making them a breeding ground for bacteria.
Along the lines of sitting too long, hollandaise is one of the unhealthiest menu items at some restaurants, not only due to excess calories, but also because of a real health risk. If the hollandaise is left at the incorrect temperature, the raw egg yolks contained within can go bad, potentially resulting in a bad case of salmonella-related food poisoning.
4. The Daily Special
It sounds so enticing, doesn’t it? “Today’s special.” The server leans over with a conspiratorial smile, and suddenly you feel like you’re getting something exclusive, something chosen just for tonight. Let’s be real though.
Executive chef Alberto Morreale of Farmer’s Bottega in San Diego says: “When I go out to eat at other restaurants, I never order the specials. Some restaurants put together their specials for the day based on what’s about to expire or what they’re trying to get rid of faster.”
Chefs tend to avoid specials on the menu as they’re all too aware that the dish is usually constructed of ingredients the restaurant is about to throw out. This doesn’t mean they’re unsafe to eat, but it could leave you with a plate of food that feels flat and lacking in punch. If the restaurant has more than a couple of specials, this is also a major red flag, indicating they’re taking a scattergun approach to their menu.
5. Raw Oysters
Raw oysters are glamorous. They feel like a scene from a Parisian bistro. The problem is that they come with real, documented, and very unpleasant consequences if something goes wrong.
Cordon Bleu-trained chef Mark Nichols was blunt about it: “If handled and stored incorrectly, raw oysters can kill you.” That’s not dramatic language. That’s a genuine warning.
According to the CDC, a total of 80 people infected with an outbreak strain of Salmonella were reported from 23 states in the 2025 oyster outbreak alone. Illnesses started on dates ranging from June to December 2025. Of 68 people with information available, half were hospitalized. No deaths were reported in that particular outbreak.
In February 2025, the FDA issued an alert about norovirus in oysters after the Louisiana Department of Health issued a recall for certain oysters due to norovirus. It was the latest in a long string of FDA alerts involving oysters and other shellfish spanning more than 13 months. The pattern is hard to ignore.
6. Anything with “Truffle” on a Non-Fine-Dining Menu
You see the word “truffle” and suddenly the dish sounds luxurious, elevated, worth the extra price. That reaction is entirely by design, and most chefs see right through it.
Pastry chef Saura Kline of Local Jones in Denver advises: “Never order anything that has the word ‘truffle’ in it.” Unless you’re at a high-class fine-dining restaurant, this usually means truffle oil, which is very rarely made with actual truffles. It tends to be used aggressively and will immediately increase the price of any dish, regardless of actual quality.
As food critics and culinary writers have noted, truffle oil is “mostly made from cheap oils and synthetic flavoring” and has little to do with real truffles. Think of it as perfume pretending to be the flower itself. James Beard Award-winning chef Michael Schwartz explained that restaurants put truffle on a dish partly because it’s fashionable, and it gives them the ability to charge guests an extra $20.
7. Restaurant Soup
A warm bowl of soup feels wholesome, comforting, like something your grandmother made. In a restaurant, however, it tells a very different story, one that seasoned chefs would rather not participate in.
Chef Gordon Ramsay is very clear about avoiding soup in restaurants, mainly because it can be a canny way for chefs to use up old ingredients. Restaurants also have a tendency to serve their soup of the day several days in a row. This is done to decrease food waste, but it can result in you ordering a fairly expensive dish that’s neither special nor fresh.
Chef Jack Stein, chef director at Rick Stein Restaurants, agrees. “Personally, I think soup is better at home than at restaurants.” Soups in restaurants can often lack vibrancy, leaning too heavily into saltiness to give them flavor. Plus, they can be a little uncreative.
8. Risotto
Risotto is one of those dishes that looks straightforward on a menu but is actually one of the most unforgiving preparations in the culinary world. Done right, it’s magnificent. Done lazily, it tastes like gluey rice paste. Guess which version most restaurants serve?
Brian Motyka, executive chef of Longman and Eagle in Chicago, is direct: “For me personally, the number one main dish I never order at a restaurant is any sort of risotto. While there are always exceptions, most of the time risottos are pre-cooked, heated up, finished with cream (which is a big no), and then over-cooked beyond the al dente texture that you’re looking for.”
Think of making proper risotto like conducting an orchestra. Every element needs constant attention, perfect timing, and cannot be rushed. Motyka himself says: “If you find a restaurant that is cooking their rice to order, then go ahead and order it!” The key word being “if.”
9. Fettuccine Alfredo
Fettuccine Alfredo is perhaps the most reliable order on any Italian-American menu. Creamy, cheesy, carb-loaded comfort food at its most predictable. Predictable being the operative word here.
Whether it’s chicken Alfredo or just straight-up fettuccine Alfredo, you might want to avoid this Italian-American staple next time you’re craving carbs. According to Chef Susan Yurish, there are so many other ways to elevate pasta, and Alfredo sauce isn’t going to do it for you.
I think there’s an even bigger issue. Authentic Italian pasta “al burro” – the Roman original behind Alfredo – is a deceptively elegant dish. What most restaurants serve is a pale imitation loaded with heavy cream and industrial cheese. It’s the culinary equivalent of buying a knock-off watch at a market stall. If you’re reluctant to give up your beloved Alfredo just yet, at least try to ensure you’re getting authentic Italian Alfredo sauce.
10. Anything Outside a Restaurant’s Obvious Specialty
Imagine walking into a famous steakhouse and ordering sushi. Or strolling into a sushi bar and asking for a rack of ribs. It sounds absurd when put that way, yet diners do the equivalent of this all the time, every single night, all over the world.
If a restaurant is known for its steaks, ordering sushi there might not be the best idea. Chefs know that restaurants specialize for a reason and that ordering dishes outside a restaurant’s recognized strengths can lead to disappointing experiences. A place focused on certain types of dishes will have the best ingredients and the most trained staff for those items. Venturing beyond this scope often means the dish won’t receive the same level of care or expertise. Chefs recommend sticking to what the restaurant does best.
Chef Jacoby Ponder, an Atlanta-based chef and former finalist on Food Network’s Chopped, says he wouldn’t order something like a burger at a seafood restaurant. “This could be a problem for many reasons. For example, there are more than likely only one or two fryers in the back, which means everything is likely to be fried in the same oil. I would much rather stick to the main attraction rather than deviate.”
11. Over-Complicated Fusion Dishes
Fusion cuisine had its glorious moment in the 1990s. It was creative, rule-breaking, exciting. Some of those experiments became classics. Others became cautionary tales served on a single large plate with seven unrelated sauces.
Pause before you order a menu item that attempts to throw two very different cuisines together, like a burrito and sushi, or ramen and a burger. Chef Peter He, head chef at Meili in Brooklyn, notes he personally avoids these complicated dishes that try to fuse five cuisines onto one plate. “They often sound exciting on the menu but rarely deliver balance or depth. I’d rather have one cuisine done well than a confusing mix of flavors that feels like it’s trying too hard.”
Trending foods, as tempting as they might be, aren’t worth your time according to multiple chefs. Chef Dickerson said that if a dish looks like it was made more for Instagram than for eating, it’s a hard pass. That instinct, I think, is worth trusting every single time you pick up a menu.
The next time you sit down at a restaurant and feel the pull of the daily special, the truffle fries, or the elaborate fusion platter, remember that the people who know kitchens best have already made their decision. They skip it. And so can you. What’s your personal “never again” restaurant dish?
