How to spot a tourist trap restaurant – heed the warning signs

Go ahead and 86 these places from your travel menu.

Even the savviest of jet-setters can slip into a tourist-trap restaurant while on vacation — but it doesn’t have to, experts say.

Six vital signs will tell you whether a restaurant will pass the proverbial smell test, culinary insiders told HuffPo.

Here are six tips to know to avoid scams – and get a good meal somewhere else instead.

Overload

If an owner or worker is on the street trying to get customers in the door like a businessman desperate to close a deal, you’re looking at a tourist trap, warned Okan Kizilbayir, executive chef at The Ritz-Carlton Amelia Island.

Jared Hucks, chef-owner of The Alden in Atlanta, agrees, adding that fake factories — usually in tourist areas — often have telltale signs that they’re not the real thing.

“I avoid every place IN “off the beaten path” with menus in multiple languages ​​posted in front of the restaurant, he told the Huffington Post.

Bigger does not mean better

The patisserie’s executive chef, Claudia Martinez, told the media that she keeps an eye out for big slop joints in highly touristy areas. Specifically, be on the lookout for “larger-scale operations, over 200 locations, typically in city centers.”

“I want to make sure my money is being spent on people working hard to market their local cuisine – not mass-market corporations or tourist traps buying food that’s already made.”

A Cheesecake Factory style menu

An abundance of offerings to suit almost any kitchen style is another big caveat, according to publicity pro Taryn Scher.

She told the Huffington Post to look for “generic, anywhere, US” offerings like burgers “” rather than more imaginative, locally driven menu items.

Scher assumed dollar bills on the wall are another no-no.

A half-baked dessert menu

It may be in your best interest to go back to the back of the menu before you sit down, experts advise.

Martinez pointed out that “classic cheesecake, molten lava cake, key lime pie — these are usually not made at home.” Ice cream, too, is a sign that your after-dinner indulgence is being outsourced.

“If there are cakes on display either on menus with pictures, or external signs of cakes, especially in a restaurant that seats over 200 people, that usually means they are supplied by commercial bakers,” she told the outlet. .

Gift shop

If you’re first greeted with merchandise like at the Hard Rock Cafe rather than a host or hostess, chances are your actual meal won’t be the main event, according to Kizilbayir. He also warned to be wary of the Instagram crowd as well.

“People have a sign to take pictures of and the restaurant is displaying more merchandise than what they should be selling, which is good food,” he told Huff Post.

It is very crowded

Overwhelming crowds don’t necessarily bode well for a restaurant’s grandeur, Kizilbayir added. Instead, it’s often a sign that fraud is taking place.

“It’s the circle of life: Tourists come to the city. They show the historical sites, the museums, the gardens. They get hungry. Then the tour guide takes a busload of tourists to a place that looks attractive,” he said.

“Tourists leave these places with bad food in their stomachs, but the guide gets a share of the profits. It’s an easy turn. â€

Kizilbayir added that it is a travesty how so many countries sell their soul to please the masses.

“You can’t serve good quality food to so many people at the same time, so as a restaurant, you have to cut corners,” he said.

“You make the food or drinks look ‘bombastic’. You bring out cakes with lit candles, play ‘folk music’ loudly, have servers sing in strange outfits or hats.