Here's What A House Salad Reveals About A Restaurant

There are plenty of serious restaurant red flags that can tell you all you need to know about an establishment. Dirty parking lot? Maybe consider somewhere else to eat. A restaurant menu that's packed with multiple cuisines? Turn tail and run the other way. But according to two experts we spoke with, there is one surprising menu item that can give you loads of insight into what you can expect from the rest of the food — and whether it's worth your hard-earned dough.

Hakki Akdeniz, American restauranteur and entrepreneur, and founder of Mira Mediterranean, said that before your entrée ever gets to the table, you can make an educated guess about the quality of the fare by judging how much effort is put into the first course. "You can tell a lot about the level of attention to detail in the kitchen by looking at a house salad," he said. There is no one way to make a house salad, but however it may be conceptualized, it should be vibrant, tasty, and fresh. "I'll overlook it if it seems like an afterthought, like a platter of mixed greens," Akdeniz said. "But you can tell when a salad was prepared with purpose as opposed to merely fill the menu."

Karen Schloss, owner of Diaz Schloss Communications, and hospitality industry PR and marketing expert, also judges a restaurant by its house salad — and how it serves a standard classic cocktail. "When I go to a restaurant that's new to me and if they've expressed interest in working together, I always order two things: a Maker's Mark Manhattan and a house salad," she said. "Both tell me what I need to know about the bar/kitchen."

A house salad isn't necessarily meant to be a showstopper, but it should be appetizing and balanced (It should also be echelons above the restaurant abomination that is an overpriced restaurant wedge salad). Karen Schloss pointed out some questions to ask yourself when first tasting the dish to gauge whether or not cooks are exercising attention to detail with all the menu items. "Is the salad over/underdressed?" she said. "Are the greens fresh and crisp?"

On that note, do the veggies look vibrant and inviting? The answers to these queries can give you a glimpse into what you can expect from a restaurant's cuisine overall. Another question to ask yourself when a house salad is presented: Do the croutons look like they were prepared thoughtfully, or dumped out of a bag? If you are leaning towards the latter, you're right to wonder about what else the back of the house might be cutting corners on.

Still, sometimes, even a humble house salad can impress — especially at an establishment with a chef who takes pride in enhancing every aspect of the dining experience. Hakki Akdeniz said, "The 'basic' foods can occasionally be the ones that most showcase the chef's talent." When even the simplest dish is crafted with care, it not only confirms that your money has been well spent, but it's an indication that you are in for a treat when the rest of your meal comes out.