Why Restaurant Workers Almost Never Order Salads, According To Reddit

If you've ever worked in a restaurant, you've likely experienced how the back of house life can change you into a more meaningful diner. This might manifest in the way you tip or in the patience you exhibit towards staff, but it also may dictate the foods you choose to order — and, more importantly, the foods you avoid. Working in a restaurant can give you a behind-the-scenes glimpse into everything, good and bad, but this leads many industry veterans to skip certain menu staples when eating. According to Reddit, salads are one of the most frequently skipped items among those who have experience in food service.

Salads might seem like a safe, unproblematic dish, but the hidden health risks can be substantial. One Redditor commented on this, noting that "the amount of times there was a recall on lettuce was actually crazy," to the point where their restaurant removed salads from its menus to avoid the stress and hassle the frequent recalls caused. Another industry insider explained that "any chef knows salads are the worst," adding that there's often not enough time to wash the lettuce and that salads may sit out for too long. These are both red flags that can lead to foodborne illness like Listeria, E. coli, and salmonella, as well as cross-contamination. If that isn't enough to deter you from ordering a salad, we don't know what is.

You may have thought that bagged salad greens or all-you-can-eat salad bars are the riskiest ways to consume a salad, but really, any salad can pose a risk to your health if it hasn't been washed, stored, or handled properly. Even your favorite fancy, reputable restaurant might be evading necessary food safety rules. One former employee noted on Reddit that across multiple restaurants they'd worked in, "none washed their produce," not even one that had received a near-perfect health inspection score. Because it's impossible to know what's going behind every restaurant's kitchen door, many treat salad as an item you should order with caution — and you should, too.

If you're not willing to give up your greens, you may at least reconsider ordering salads from fast food chains. Since fast food salads often rely on frozen inventory and pre-bagged salad mixes, there is a higher chance that your salad won't be very fresh. This goes for fast-casual restaurants, too. As one former Olive Garden employee commented, restaurants often "cut corners, have frozen or expired produce, and use unsafe food handling practices." Ultimately, if you're not 100% sure about how a kitchen prepares their salads, it's probably best to skip the greens and make a salad at home.