Nate
There’s a certain expectation when you go out to eat: you sit down, order your food, and—call us old-fashioned—it shows up on a plate. Not a wooden plank, not a tiny shovel, not a literal rock from someone’s backyard. A plate. It’s not that hard. But according to the legendary We Want Plates subreddit, it’s apparently a dying art.
This corner of the internet is where people post the most outrageous examples of restaurants going out of their way to make food “creative.” It’s where style crushes function, and fries get served in things you’d normally find in your garage.
If you’ve ever rolled your eyes at a burger precariously stacked on a mini wagon wheel or a steak laid gently across a samurai sword, this post is for you. Here are the wildest, weirdest, and most unnecessarily over-the-top food presentations people actually paid for—and yes, every single one made someone yell, “We want plates!”
1. “Friend got her dinner served in two mugs”
2. “Linguine fishbowl”
3. “Found this ridiculousness in the specials of a restaurant near me”
4. “Who doesn’t want ice cream with kitchen plumbing”
5. “French Fries On A Shovel”
6. “Not a chance”
“I don’t believe Bloody Marys should be served after 2pm (and then, only at brunch), but there is no way I’m getting my dinner served ON one. (Also that’s $60 Canadian).”
7. “Hummus, served in shovel. Fitting, I guess, since the word itself does derive from the word for ‘soil'”
8. “clothesline birria tacos”
9. “Onion Ring tower (Fords Garage)”
10. “Cocktail served in an oyster shell”
11. “Had to pick the grains of uncooked rice off the bottom before I ate it”
12. “Meatball Ferris Wheel”
13. “Friend’s Pasta Dish in Rome”
“Honestly not sure how I would react to be handed a shovel of pasta for dinner???
Afraid I don’t have the restaurant name.”
14. “Cheezilla”
15. “Pudding on rock”
“Peruvian restaurant in New York. Awesome. But pudding on rock.”
16. “This dish a restaurant in Delft, Netherlands serves.”
17. “Plant based tuna”
18. “Nice sandwich but the mashed potato channel is an atrocity”
19. “Butter served on a rock – Sandholt, Iceland”
“Is it even fancy if you don’t have a butter rock?”
20. “Steak and eggs my friend got served last week”
“Steak & eggs served on a wooden cutting board. By the time my friend finished the meal, steak juices had made their way half way across the table. Also -1 points for the overcooked eggs”
21. “Yes the board had huge splits on it”
22. “It’s called ‘czenak'”
23. “I’ve heard of Sh*t on a Shingle but this is ridiculous”
“Omakase dish of sweet potatoes and sashimi”
24. “Texas Style Beef Brisket. Note the circular indent designed to contain the gravy. A plate would have been perfectly acceptable as it spilled over anyway.”
25. “Felt like little piggy”
26. “all jokes aside an excellent meal at Mita in DC”
“bite on a box”
27. “hooked bacon”
“the company that took over ownership of the bar I work at has opened another bar. they are (apparently) repurposing our old german pretzel hangers.
cannot wait to see the price of these lol (I hope people understand that bc I work there I don’t super want to divulge the bar due to my current state of anonymity on this, my favorite app)”
28. “Mashtini?”
“Girlfriend’s banquet came with mashed potatoes served in martini glasses”
29. “On newspaper – wouldn’t the grease soak through?”
30. “Rolling pin hummus”
31. “Special Sunday Bloody Mary at Linger Lodge”
32. “Stupid board at a brunch spot”
33. “Burger w/ coaster”
34. “bathroom tile waffle”
35. “A cauldron of pasta”
“I was chasing this thing in circles before I gave up, wet a napkin in the bathroom and stuck this bad boy to the table”
36. “Rather have a plant than the bucket”
37. “New Mexican Spot in High Point”
“Not a plate and took up a lot of space on the table. Taste was amazing.”
38.
39. “NOOOOO GOD WHY”
“I can’t imagine this gets cleaned well”
40. “I found em.”
