Set your story in the lowest rated restaurant in town.

Posted in Fluff on Oct 25, 2022

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✍️ 52 stories

“Medium Rare” by Don Tucker

Submitted to Contest #141

Back in the sixties, Roland’s Steakhouse was the best restaurant in town. People came from far and wide to devour any cut of meat they wanted while drinking the best wines in the city. A rustic wood interior with high ceilings offset by the white tablecloths throughout the dining room. Long gone are the days that Roland’s was considered the fanciest spot in town and a must stop for celebrities and politicians that happened to be in town. When you first walk into the restaurant, guests are greeted by a wall covered in framed pictures of my gr...

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“Passing By” by Michael Reeves

Submitted to Contest #141

(Note: I am African American. Certain words get said in this story but do not repeat. There is language, death, and violence. There is physical violence, and never call someone Colored or Negro. Enjoy the story!) You are about to read the story of my life, and it is not my favorite story to tell. It took place in 1890. It has a start and a finish, neither of which is happy. I feel angst, wondering if it could have taken a safer turn as I mean this. My name is Ted, and my brother is named Kevin. We are African Americans, and everyone thou...

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“Casa Cosy” by Dylan Pritchard

Submitted to Contest #141

When Claire turned up at Casa Cosy – the worst restaurant in town - she knew she was going to lose her job.She stared into the window and saw plastic seating covered in moss, dirty tablecloths. She turned and looked at where she should have been, The Imperial, drooping in garlands of pink and red geranium. She knew who must’ve got that job but stopped herself obsessing over him and her professional failures: a career that started as a journalist, then a respectable food critic was now ending with a trip to Casa Cosy. &...

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“Flies” by Minerva Noiropp

Submitted to Contest #141

Melissa unlocked the front doors. Opening them, she tucked a door stopper in with a gnarled toe.Not a person was to be seen.Positioning herself at the table nearest the door, she pulled out her laptop, looking at her website. Once again, shock flooded through her. Though no one had been to eat, alleged recent customers had left cruel reviews without stars.Melissa mused over once again how she would pay the rent that month. No one had been in to eat in 3 weeks and the rent was due next week. There were still the food suppliers to pay as well....

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“First Date” by Erika Fisher

Submitted to Contest #141

It looked like a dump. The smell of cigarettes lingered in the air outside. But it was all Brandon could afford on such short notice. He still couldn’t believe Dolores had said yes to him when he asked her out on a date. Her arm was tucked into his elbow and, unlike the restaurant, she smelled amazing. She was absolutely exquisite. Which made his stomach sink when he looked back up to where he was taking her.With his other hand, Brandon googled and began to read the online reviews of The Beef Hut. The reviews were mixed, but the top review c...

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“The Lowest Rated Restaurant in Town” by John Steckley

Submitted to Contest #141

It was Paul’s first Friday night in the new town to which he had just moved. The company that had hired him promised him a better job than the one he had worked at for ten years in the big city that was his hometown. He felt that his life was going to change for the better. He was going out to dinner. Friday night dinners in restaurants had been established as a ritual for him over a very long time. He felt that there was no reason why he shouldn’t continue the practice here. There was a restaurant, Diana’s Diner ...

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“The Nachos Look Good” by Kristina Raynor

Submitted to Contest #141

"Today's the day, Sam. Today's the day we finally do it." “What if they’re onto us?” I replied, my eyebrows wiggling as I tracked a shifty-looking fellow who shuffled past the giant window of the infamous Coyote Café for the third time in less than a minute. Though it was common for people to need to work up the nerve to eat at the worst-rated restaurant in Seattle, this guy seemed to be looking for someone, and I didn’t trust how roughly he kept yanking on the leash of a dopey-looking Dalmatian who couldn’t stop trying to gobble dog biscuit...

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“Rated” by Lizzie Gilchrest

Submitted to Contest #141

I sat nestled in my favorite spot in the Wildwood Grove Library, a warm cup of peppermint tea sitting in my hand. The steam fogged up my round rose-gold glasses which were resting on the tip of my nose. My gray cat, Chesterfield, slept coiled under my book. It was a peaceful moment indeed. The smells of tea and freshly printed books, the sound of pages turning, and the feeling of warmth and safety in this cold, cold winter. Before I knew it I was the last person in the library besides Ms. Talbot. I looked up from my book, Anne of Green...

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“The Blue Mermaid” by Courtney Renee

Submitted to Contest #141

Grandmother June was what people call a giver. There wasn’t a moment she was around where she wasn’t baking something to gift, pressing a dollar bill into my tiny hand, or scouring her cupboards for something to send a visitor off with, even if it was just a 20% off coupon for the department store. If she was breathing, she was giving. I didn’t think much about it until she wasn’t anymore. It’s funny how life works that way, we don’t notice things until we lose them. Fresh baked cookies, dollar bills, and coupons suddenly held more value.&nb...

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“Rat-A-Toohey” by Susan Gore

Submitted to Contest #141

Bali; Not the highest rating holiday hot spot on my agenda, but, a great place to visit non the less. Shopping here is a must. Barter to your hearts content, every woman's mecca. The hotels and apartments are of a high quality that caters for all budget levels, and all manner of accomodation. Frequenting this island on a yearly basis with friends and family, I have become quite familiar with the shopping and dining outlets. One particular evening, our group of four were wandering aimlessly along and decided that we were ready to eat, drink...

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“Rendezvous” by Oriana Claramay

Submitted to Contest #141

The air was reminiscent of summer nights, an undercurrent of buzzing that shook the creaky boards and a thin veil of heat, with the exception of their nuance. The buzzing was not a rhythm that subtly weaved into the chaos heat had invited, but instead an absolutely distasteful sound that had violated her ears. It fluctuated in volume and pitch so often, setting her heart into a nervous melody. On the other hand, the heat felt more like an itchy blanket, and coupled with the moisture that hung in the air, it felt more like a mockery of the fa...

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“Breaking Bread” by Thomas Auen

Submitted to Contest #141

Every summer since turning six, Phil spent time with his grandmother on her Nebraska farm. The beginning of these pastoral seasons would send his mind dancing as he watched from the window of his parents’ sedan. The trek from Minneapolis took them down twists and turns as cornfields swallowed up the horizon while they inched farther from suburbia and into the rolling rural hills. Once there, he become “nana’s” Philly, her sidekick and student. He would rise early with her to assist in the daily rituals. There were kitchen duties in t...

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“Chips on everything... and with” by Richard Woods

Submitted to Contest #141

EVERYONE knew it as the greasy spoon. But it wasn't fair. It had a five star hygiene rating for a start. And never did I get a spoon that was greasy. Not clean perhaps but never greasy. Even that is probably unfair since I do not recall complaining. And I would have. Bert, we all knew him as Bert. So far as I know he was 153 years old and had been running this East Anglian caff (sorry but it did not deserve an 'e' never mind an acute accent) with its surprising name for most of those years. Without changing the menu. Oh yes, that name – Mons...

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“Another Time” by Freya Matheson

Submitted to Contest #141

"Is your soup any good? We can send it back if it's bad." "No, it's fine! I really like it, actually." There's a blob that resembles chicken nestled in the broth, but I decide to ignore it. People don't know how to deal with vegetarians on first dates. I get it. Especially because this guy really looks like he wants a burger. "So tell me about your family. Like, where are they from? Where are you from, I mean?" I fucking hate this question. "Oh, I'm actually from New York. Queens." Maybe my smile doesn't look as suicidal as I think...

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“The Rice Bowl” by Mattea Wise

Submitted to Contest #141

Carla put her elbows on the counter and rested her head in her hands. She blew out a breath and hoped no one was around to see her frustration. Or her desperation. She knew no one would see, because only she and the children were still in the restaurant. Yang Li, her chef, and Sun Yin, her waitress, had gone home for the evening. She’d had to let the other staff go, so it was just the three of them running the place now. With The Rice Bowl gaining a reputation as the worst restaurant in town, there wasn’t enough business to support the fifte...

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Set your story in the lowest rated restaurant in town.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 52 stories

“Medium Rare” by Don Tucker

“Passing By” by Michael Reeves

“Casa Cosy” by Dylan Pritchard

“Flies” by Minerva Noiropp

“First Date” by Erika Fisher

“The Lowest Rated Restaurant in Town” by John Steckley

“The Nachos Look Good” by Kristina Raynor

“Rated” by Lizzie Gilchrest

“The Blue Mermaid” by Courtney Renee

“Rat-A-Toohey” by Susan Gore

“Rendezvous” by Oriana Claramay

“Breaking Bread” by Thomas Auen

“Chips on everything... and with” by Richard Woods

“Another Time” by Freya Matheson

“The Rice Bowl” by Mattea Wise

🌟 Similar prompts

Write about someone who critiques things for a living, or acts like they do.

Start your story with someone receiving a one-star review.

Write a story about someone struggling to swallow some harsh (but fair) constructive criticism.

Write about a character named after one of our contest’s judges.

Contest #141

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

177

Contest entries

111

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: