The Popular Restaurant Starter Chefs Won't Order

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When your restaurant order consists of a carb-heavy dish drenched in rich sauce, or a plate of protein so crusted in rock salt it would make Salt Bae blush, it feels right to get your greens in by putting away a quick house salad first. The house salad may not be the most exciting menu option, but a little fiber seems like the right move — and surely a simple plate of lettuce, carrot, and red onion is innocuous enough, right? Odd as it may be, the house salad is actually one of those foods you should never order, according to chefs. 

Folks who order a house salad to kick off the meal often do it in an effort to be health-conscious; however, people who work in kitchens say it's probably not doing much good for your gut. Unless you're at an establishment that has a strong focus on fresh produce, there's no promise that the vegetables — especially the greens — will be fresh. While a tomato or cucumber can stand up to a taste test when a bit overripe, it's game over when the lettuce has gone off. If the base greens are soft, slimy, or brown or red in hue, this is a good indicator that lettuce has gone bad. To make up for this unfortunate reality, house salads are often drowned in heavy dressings that tend to be high in fat and sugar. What's more, it's not uncommon for a house salad to be finished with toppers like shredded cheese or croutons, which can be difficult to digest and add calories.

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Aside from the fact that ordering a house salad isn't necessarily the freshest or healthiest option for you, the real travesty is that it might not be all that tasty either. One of the biggest complaints chefs have about a restaurant's house salad is the lack of imagination. Since a house salad typically incorporates the most accessible vegetable options within a restaurant's kitchen, it tends to color within conventional lines, often relying on vegetables like iceberg lettuce — which has a nice crunch but offers little in the way of nutrition or flavor. 

Even at more upscale restaurants, the house salad generally isn't a great representation of the establishment or the chef's culinary vision. If you're looking to have a new experience or try something exciting, it's unlikely that you'll find these revelations in a house salad. Of all the reasons you shouldn't order a salad at a restaurant, perhaps the most glaring is that it's often a complete and total rip-off. In a world where restaurant food is marked up around 300%, it becomes impossible to ignore the fact that you can probably make something way better at home (any of our 58 best salad recipes is a good place to start). However, if you're really itching to order a salad the next time you're out to dinner, a filling Cobb salad or an option with beets and goat cheese are typically chef-approved because they contain a wider range of ingredients and offer more interesting textures and flavors than what the usual house salad provides.