Do Restaurants Want Us To Be Miserable? These Signs Point To Yes

These are the worst offenders, from QR codes to calorie counts on menus.

Trends are fickle, changing with the latest viral TikTok or a celebrity-endorsed photo. And while some trends have hung around way past their expiration date (ahem, expensive matcha drinks and truffle oil-drowned everything), diners can’t wait to see numerous restaurant fads thrown out with the stale bread.

Here are a few of the most annoying dining new trends according to food journalists, bloggers and chefs across the country.

QR Code Menus

Among the most polarizing is the pandemic hangover of QR code menus. It once eliminated the need for grubby, grimy germ spreading, but now, diners would much rather flip through menu pages than scroll and squint to read one.

“Diners are there for the experience, conversation and atmosphere of the restaurant, and having to pull out a phone to browse a menu detracts from it,” said chef Suhan Lee.