Funny Examples of People Getting Shamed by Servers In Foreign Countries

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The obvious needs to be said: other places around the world aren’t like where you live. Things that seem normal to you, may seem outrageous to a foreigner. Comedian Andy Haynes fired up a brilliant thread over on Twitter about the experiences people from all over the world had while traveling. We have collected the best responses below, so scroll down and check them out!

I’m in Paris and I ordered an oat milk latte and the waiter said no.

First day in Paris this Summer I was behind an another American guy who was showing the barista how to make the drink he wanted on his phone & the barista muttered “I’m not going to be here tomorrow,” & the American asked why & barista said “I’m going to kill myself.”

At the local French bakery: "Can I have the Montagnard without butter?" The French manager: "You can but I feel sorry for you"

Vegetarian friend in the S. of France: can you make this pasta w/o the meat? Server: *genuine confusion* we COULD….but why would we???

My French baker: "I don't do gluten free. This is a gluten place."

A friend in Venice asked for almond milk in her cappuccino and got asked to leave the cafe

In France this summer, I asked for a Caesar salad without chicken in French - I was very proud of myself. The waiter raised his eyebrow and responded in English: “That is certainly … a choice.” All shade. I loved it there.

When I first moved to Spain I was standing behind 2 Americans in a coffee shop and one asked her friend, "How do you say skim milk in Spanish?" Her friend replied "Do you see any fat Spaniards? Drink the milk!!!"

We were in Scotland and ordered mochas with oat milk. A very dark chocolatey coffee arrived. They thought we said withoot milk.

A friend from the cosmopolitan part of Norway ordered "coffee to go" at a cafe in my more agricultural part of the country. The older woman taking the order said very loudly and slowly, "Our coffee DOES NOT GO."

in Paris, I asked our concierge where we could find a vegan restaurant. He said, “Not here.” In Brussels, I asked the waiter if he had a vegetable hiding somewhere in the back of the kitchen and he said, “You’re in the wrong country.”

i always hear this story: in france, my stepmom asked for coffee with her meal, and each time she tried, the waiter was like, “surely, madame, you mean after”

Was just in France and had this experience… Waiter: “how do you want your steak cooked?” My friend: “medium-well” Waiter: “that does not exist”

When I was in Ireland, I ordered a Paddy's and coke, and the bartender said no. He gave me a glass of Paddy's and a glass of Coke znd I was told I could make it myself. To him the mix was sacrilegious. Lol

I had someone ask for a slice of lemon for their tea; I said “ madam this is Somerset, we don’t do cocktails” . Straight over her head. ( we do have lemon btw, but she was very Hyacinth)

My first time in Paris, ordered red wine. Waiter brought white. We asked for red again. He said, if you want wine, you will drink what I bring you.

I used to work for a French chef - he said no to a lot of things. If I wanted fully cooked eggs after a brunch shift, he made someone else cook them foe me as a compromise

My last trip to Paris, we purchased a small souvenir at Notre Dame. The clerk handed us a bag…me trying to be eco-friendly, gave it back to him. He gave me a very loud French scoff “pfft” and threw the bag on the floor.

I stopped in a Paris shop really hungry without any lunch and asked for some cheese. The Parisian said, “What kind of cheese?” I said, “Any.” He said, “Then no.”

When I lived in Paris a friend came to visit (from Toronto) and she ordered a stead "well done". The waiter said "No" and shook his head in disgust. Wouldn't take her order until she chose a different item. The French have standards when it comes to food!

On our first night in Paris, my then-girlfriend (now wife) and I went to a restaurant, ordered our food & then tried to order a bottle of wine. The waiter listened to our wine order, then said "No. You cannot have that. You will have this one" & picked a different bottle for us

In Paris I asked for a vegetarian menu and the waitress said nothing, she walked away laughing. She walked to the counter, told them, then laughed with colleagues. She brought me the specials menu, corrected my French pronunciation and congratulated me on being funny and English.

In my most authentic Parisian encounter a woman was selling chicken salad rolls. I asked if I could have a plain salad roll. She responded that she sold chicken salad rolls and that if I wanted a salad roll I should buy a bloody chicken salad roll and take the bloody chicken out.

At the Toulouse airport, just watched a woman try to order oat milk in English for her coffee. Barista kept hearing “hot milk.” Emotions escalated to the point where I had to intervene and explain what oat milk was, and this French man was absolutely pissed to learn it exists

Have you encountered similar situations while traveling abroad? Let us know in the comments below!

25 thoughts on “Funny Examples of People Getting Shamed by Servers In Foreign Countries”

  2. I have to assume that most of these are Americans. We are such idiots when it comes to travel…
    In the years that I spent traveling in Europe, Africa, and Asia for work, being polite to my host country’s servers and asking questions always resulted in great food, a lesson in life, and a new friend.

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  4. Interesting how many of these involve vegan or dairy-free issues. Years and years ago, I gave up red meat but I stopped there. But I kept dairy, eggs, & seafood open because I knew each and every time I left a large American city, my options would be drastically limited. Sure I’ll order some vegan stuff if I’m someplace where it’s readily available but if I went to a restaurant in Paris or a truckstop in a very rural isolated place, I’d still find something to eat.

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  6. Looks like most these above happened in Paris =’)
    As a Parisian, may I say that if you go to the big “Brasseries” near Opera or The Louvre where hordes of tourists seem to enjoy to pile up, then, unsurprisingly, you met get servers that do not particularly enjoy their job, as well as outrageous prices. If you go off the beaten track, you’ll find lively and friendly bars all over Paris. Actually, best to avoid the “Brasseries”.

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  8. I never had trouble as a vegetarian in France, but I’m willing to eat cheese, which is one of the crowns of French food.

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  9. Technically, with oat milk is without milk, so no harm is done.
    On a different issue,I had an interesting experience in an Italian restaurant when the couple next to me asked the waiter to slice their pizza. The waiter just took the knife and the fork, put them in the man‘s hand and said ‚there you go sir!‘

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  10. When I first whent to France in the 1980s and went in cafes they made a point of not speaking English even if they could.
    Now, they wont speak french, so they can practice….

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  11. ….also, just so you dont feel special, the parisians are rude to each other, and people from all over france, not just you

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  12. It seems more a vegan bash thing? Thats why I travel without going to restaurants. Btw in Paris are surely a lot of fine vegan restaurants/cafes! With a bit of preparation: go better directly there.

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  13. Actually joke aside, the french lack of customer service is a result of the socialist soceity. A bit like in the Soviet Union.

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  14. T0B1 — not bashing, just not playing along as if it’s some moral superiority to be vegan. Americans have made a bloodsport out of virtue signaling, and average Europeans don’t waste their time accommodating it. The French were quite vocal last summer about rejecting wokeism that was infecting their education systems.
    And going to France and Italy and then ordering gluten-free, soy-based, meatless substitutes — because you know better — is insulting as hell.

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  15. Lots of French bashing here 😂
    But yeah even in Paris things are very last century regarding food. 6 years ago I searched whole Gare de l’Est for a veggie sandwich. Jambon on everything !! This year exactly the same. Only thing I got was a Italian style ciabata with mozzarella & tomato.

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  16. Do you have any ideas what European tourists go through in the USA?? Having cheese and God knows what kind of dressing on every salad? Or chicken with pasta? Or Pineapple pizza? Thank God they expect it and is all part of new memories but why don t you expect what is the norm abroad?

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  18. It would only have been better if the waiter whipped out a pair of gloves and slapped your silly American face…..

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  21. Name , you seem to assume that every dietary restriction is by choice.

    That’s far from the case – and as a European, I can assure you that Europeans are quite well aware of that.

    I meet more European vegans and vegetarians that I do American – so the “insult” is, for a large part, wholly imagined.

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  22. Mark, you clearly haven’t met many American vegans. They’re abysmal, self-righteous, religious in their convictions and morally preening about it. Having that outlook in the land of McDonald’s and Applebee’s is one thing. Taking it with you to France and Italy, and insisting on telling a proper chef — in a region where cuisine is not just sustenance but a celebration — what he/she should serve is ultimate chutzpah.

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  23. One of the view joys left in travel (now that flying is so awful) is seeing a new culture & trying new food. Why go if you’re expecting it to be the same as in the US? Experiment & enjoy!
    Btw, I have close friends who moved to France years ago. They are vegan & never have problems eating out – and they live in the countryside!

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  24. I was traveling in Canada on the Canadian National Railroad in the late 1970’s – early 1980’s from Vancouver to Toronto. I ordered a breakfast item called the “Rapido”, which was toast, orange juice & coffee. I asked for dark toast, thinking I would get whole wheat bread. Instead, I got 2 pieces of burned toast.

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  25. In my country (Austria) “Ice Coffee” means Coffee with cream and vanilla ice.
    On my first big trip abroad (Hong Kong) I aksed the waiter if they serve it. He said “sure, sure”.

    It was a big surprise for me, when he brought me a glass of black coffee with ice cubes in it. I’m not sure who of us two found it more disgusting…

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