Set your story in the lowest rated restaurant in town.

Posted in Fluff on Oct 25, 2022

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✍️ 52 stories

“You Wait” by Frank Duryea

Submitted to Contest #141

You sat at the table waiting for me. When the candlelight in front of you blew out from a wayward gust of wind through the window, you weren’t mad. The white overhead lights filled the room enough that the candle of faint scent hadn’t mattered. You were mad that I was late. The waiter came over to you for the second time. And he said, “You should-a move, I-a swear. Or at least-a order.” So you stared at him. After processing the fake accent, you looked around. You knew that there was no one to take the table if you left, the only othe...

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“Bobo's Bistro” by Debra Koffski

Submitted to Contest #141

My Aunt Barbara (aka Bobo) always wanted to have her own small cafe where she imagined would be crowded every day with locals enjoying their day with good food and friends. For years she hosted Sunday dinner and everyone always said the food was so good she needed her own restaurant. She beamed at those words, and literally took them to heart. The thing you should know about our family was this. They were liars, all of them. They wouldn't agree with that statement because they didn't consider it lying. They told themselves that they wer...

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“The Fated Feast” by Nell Hall

Submitted to Contest #141

It was an unfortunate and disappointing series of events that had led to James standing in a deserted car park, all alone, at 1am on a Wednesday morning. He had spent the majority of his day at the warehouse, where he had worked a twelve hour shift in a stiflingly hot room with only half an hours reprieve. And to make matters worse: he had forgotten his lunch. Walking home had been agonising. Sweat ran down his face, his back ached, his legs shook with exhaustion. Not to mention the hunger pangs, cramping his stomach with every step. Only th...

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“An Indecent Promotional Stunt” by Cody Cooper

Submitted to Contest #141

No wine glasses or set of utensils in Los Angeles Pizzeria were in use. The only other items on any of the tables were red and white checkerboard patterned cloths used as decorative cover. The tables devoid of any food, drink, or other personal effects from customers. The wooden chairs on each side of the table – empty. The air void of the aroma of any cooking food or any men with way too much cologne for their midday date. The only noise throughout the building was Charlie’s pen on the account...

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“The Dare ” by Camille M

Submitted to Contest #141

The half illuminated pink neon sign hanging from the ramshackle building across the street had an ominous feeling about it. The small windows were blacked by filth and pieces of trash were tumbling around the entrance, blown by the evening wind. I had been staring at the sign which consisted of a quarter of a lime dangling from the word PINK for the past haft hour with disgust. Only a crazy person would want to set foot in that restaurant. You would have to be starving for weeks to even think of going in there. As I crossed the street, I rea...

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“We doin' this?” by Mickey Carroll

Submitted to Contest #141

Abigail stood outside the Fu Yu Chinese restaurant, pacing back and forth and checking her phone for nothing in particular.Every passing minute she seemed to become a little more nervous. Keep it together, Abby, she thought to herself. He agreed to come. So, just… breathe.For the third time since her sister had dropped her off at the restaurant, she took the Aloha Coconut flavored ChapStick from her purse and applied it to her lips. Then put it back into her purse, and ran her hands over her round belly.She was wearing a black Deftones t-shi...

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“STAR OF THE DAY” by Debbie Curtin

Submitted to Contest #141

It was the beautifully crafted wooden sign in the distance that caught my eye. Arriving, I pulled in, parked in front of the diner, shut the car off and sat for a moment. It was still early, but these places open at the crack of dawn. Always. So, I wanted to get the feel of this business before I went on to my next writing assignment. It was to be a visit of two eateries in one day. My first one was the local diner, The Bauernof, and the second one was the newly opened restaurant on the other side of town, Regal Royalty. I heard that new pla...

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“I'm crying inside.” by Ali Hamzah

Submitted to Contest #141

I’m crying inside. That’s the title of the story and that’s how I’ve felt for a long time. I’m a waiter at this dead beat restaurant in this bustling city. Ironic that we have barely anyone who enter our restaurant; but I don’t blame them because I wouldn’t too. My uncle is in charge of this restaurant and there was a day when he told me to stand at the opening doors with some flyers. I told him “Do I really have to? Barely anyone wants to enter our restaurant. It’s so old and kinda musty here. Besides, everybody’s going to the mall up the...

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“Bobby's Place” by Lala Ahmad

Submitted to Contest #141

South of Boston, in the very much American state of Massachusetts, nestled between the sea and four old irrelevant towns, rested Plymouth. If Plymouth could be described to a fortunate individual who had never heard of the place, one could use the following analogy: Think of a merchant on the silk road, who has travelled the known world for years hearing stories of what was to be the most beautiful of princesses of the richest of kingdoms. He crosses the desert, he crosses the worst and most dangerous terrain one could think of, and h...

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“Isla Luna” by Annette C

Submitted to Contest #141

The restaurant was located near the river. Out-front Tim, the owner and chef, planted a flower garden with several evergreens to give the restaurant a look of hominess. In the middle of the parking area was a willow tree big enough to cover all parked cars from the direct rays of the sun—all two cars, one belonging to Tim, the other to his cousin Marge. The dated outdoor seating reeked of river water. It was said that the river drew its malodour from the many bodies that were dumped into it by the local mobster who owned half the restaurants...

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“Key Lime over the Coconut Cream” by Max MacRae

Submitted to Contest #141

"You know this place has been a no fly zone since the health department came in earlier this year eh? Not to mention the reviews on google.""Yeah, and what of it?""Nothing." Will knew Kim loved this place and he knew Kim would overreact if he said anything bad about this restaurant called "restaurant."Kim was a bit hesitant about bringing his buddy Will to the restaurant called restaurant on the corner of Younge and Hillsdale because Will was sometimes too happy when Kim wanted to be glum, but Will had been a good friend to Kim since he move...

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“Restaurant in garage” by Parneet Brar

Submitted to Contest #141

In the woods somewhere in Canada, few years back I went to this town in summer. Me and my Fiance were staying in a cabin in the woods next to the river. I was starving, and my throat was dry like barren piece of land waiting for rain since long time. The water in taps was non potable, and my last bottle of water had just a drop left in it. While staring at my empty bottle of water, I found this pamphlet underneath it with pictures of delicious looking food items, milkshakes and juices on it. In the end there was phone number to place orders....

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“The Promise” by Kara Beth Baker

Submitted to Contest #141

The Promise 1313 words As I awoke to the brightness, of the sun coming up through the bus window, I rubbed my eyes and looked out the window. ‘More cows than people’ I chuckled to myself..just like Eddie said there’d be. I wondered how much further we had to go to get to my destination. I was headed towards a small town in Pennsylvania. In fact, Eddie said it was a tiny town. So I figured what I had to do wouldn’t take long. I tilted my head back and drifted back off to sleep.. ...

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“Can I speak to the manager?” by Layla Robinson

Submitted to Contest #141

It generally takes me about 20 minutes to find a cafe or restaurant to dine in. I start with Google recommendations, searching for the general term ‘restaurants near me’ before my sparking tastebuds narrow it down to the flavour I desire at the time. The images of Indian dishes make my mouth water, especially when I think about warm garlic naan covered in melted butter, then a photo of pulled pork tacos with super fresh slaw from a popular Mexican restaurant draws my attention. But most of the time, it’s Asian cuisine that makes my s...

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“Spoiled Rotten” by Hayden Morrison

Submitted to Contest #141

I, Georgia Olivia Mendoza, have made a mistake. A mistake that may follow me for the rest of my life- changing everything as I know it. But to talk about this mistake, I must first talk about somebody near and dear to my heart. Harold Chen is the love of my life. Um…or ‘was’, maybe. I mean, I still love him, but it’s totally possible he no longer loves me back…anyway, Harold and I have been dating for the last five years or so, ever since we graduated from college. That’s actually where we met- each realizing we liked the other, but not mak...

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Set your story in the lowest rated restaurant in town.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 52 stories

“You Wait” by Frank Duryea

“Bobo's Bistro” by Debra Koffski

“The Fated Feast” by Nell Hall

“An Indecent Promotional Stunt” by Cody Cooper

“The Dare ” by Camille M

“We doin' this?” by Mickey Carroll

“STAR OF THE DAY” by Debbie Curtin

“I'm crying inside.” by Ali Hamzah

“Bobby's Place” by Lala Ahmad

“Isla Luna” by Annette C

“Key Lime over the Coconut Cream” by Max MacRae

“Restaurant in garage” by Parneet Brar

“The Promise” by Kara Beth Baker

“Can I speak to the manager?” by Layla Robinson

“Spoiled Rotten” by Hayden Morrison

🌟 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: