Skip to main content Skip to header navigation

Reddit chefs reveal what fancy dishes not to buy in a high-end restaurant

For most of us, fine dining is hardly an everyday occurrence. It may be something you reserve for an anniversary or a special date night, when you can justify blowing the big bucks on a tiny salad and an overpriced bottle of wine. It’s all about the experience, right?

But there’s something so frustrating about spending your paycheck on a fine meal that isn’t up to par. Not all five-star dishes are created equal. Fortunately Redditors have done the legwork for you by aiming an important question at the chefs of Reddit: “What’s the most overrated food served in many high-end restaurants?”

Steer clear of these 10 overrated and possibly overpriced foods when dining fine: 

1. Caprese salad

Image: Pixabay

Reddit says: “It’s cheese and tomatos. Make it yourself.”

2. Crème brûlée

Image: Pixabay

Reddit says: “Creme brûlée and chocolate mousse. They are both incredibly easy and cheap to make, but I feel like chefs say they are very difficult, etc., so they can up charge through the roof. I made large creme brûlées for a restaurant for a long time, $2.16 a piece to make. Sold them for $12. Seriously.”

3. Escargot

Image: Pixabay

Reddit says: “You can make them at home in a few minutes for just a couple of bucks, and they taste exactly the same.”

4. Filet mignon

Image: Pixabay

Reddit says: “There’s less of it, so it’s more expensive, and while it’s more tender, Ribeye has much more flavor.”

5. Gluten-free entrées

Image: Pixabay

Reddit says: “I think it’s usually whatever tends to be the fad at the time… Right about now it’s gluten-free foods… 99% of the time most people will pay out the a**hole for the label of something that is gluten-free, without really knowing what gluten is, where it comes from, and how it affects your body.”

6. Kobe beef burgers

Image: Pixabay

Reddit says: “Kobe beef burgers/sliders. The reason Kobe and Wagyu beef are so prized is because they have a large amount of fat distributed all throughout the meat. When you grind meat, the fat gets mixed all around, so even cheap beef can make a damn good burger. Don’t pay $45 for a good burger when there’s probably a place a few blocks down that sell fantastic burgers for $10.”

7. Lobster bisque

Image: Pixabay

Reddit says: “Most restaurants use seafood base and crab meat.”

8. Polenta

Image: Pixabay

Reddit says: “Sounds fancy, but it’s just grits.”

9. Tilapia

Image: Pixabay

Reddit says: “Tilapia has become a popular dish in restaurants the last few years. You know why you didn’t see tilapia dishes everywhere a few years back? Because it’s terrible. They used to just call it ‘fish,’ but now they call it by its name and double the price by putting a sauce on top to pretend it has a flavor.”

10. Truffled mac ‘n’ cheese

Image: Pixabay

Reddit says: “Former pro chef here, worked for a half dozen Beard award winning chef/owners over a decade career. Anytime you see ‘Truffled’ as a descriptive on a menu, like fries, mac and cheese, potatoes, etc., but there’s no ACTUAL truffles in or on the dish, it’s a red flag. They are just drizzling synthetically scented ‘truffle’ oil on the dish, which has about as much to do with actual truffles as Lemon Pledge does with citrus fruit.”

More recipes

3 Impressive cocktail-glass party appetizers to wow your guests
One-Pot Wonder: A rustic winter spin on chicken
21 Delicious ways to cook with lamb all year long

Leave a Comment

Comments are closed.