BellaOnline Forums Food and Wine Etiquette Don't take your shoes off!

Hubby and I went out to eat tonight to Macaroni Grill - admittedly not a 4 star restaurant, but nice enough for us (anything without a playground is a step up in my book!)

Anyway, we are sitting at a table, and I glance around to see where our waitress is, and notice a mom and teen daughter (guessing because of ages) sitting in the booth next to us. The teen has her shoes OFF and is sitting cross legged with her bare feet in the booth's seat.

To me, this is just wrong! You do not take your shoes off in a public restaurant, and you especially do not put your bare feet where someone else might be sitting. Ack!

That does sound disgusting in a restaurant. I saw someone barefooted the other day in the grocery store. I don't understand what has become of people these days. I live in Los Angeles and the outfits I see on people is just shocking at times.

That does seem inappropriate for both foot odor and hygiene reasons. I can only imagine that maybe she had flip flops on and wasn't thinking about it? Maybe restaurants should have a sign saying "no shirt no shoes no flip flops no service" But flip flops seem to be becoming very standard. Think of those girls who wore flip flops to meet the President ...

Has anyone seen people out with their slippers on? I think that's becoming the "new shoe", next thing you know people will be wearing their pajamas out to the store too.

Where i live people do wear their pajamas out to shop, and on the bus. and even to the bank

What's next then if people are already walking around in pajamas and slippers?

Michelle, i take off my shoes and cross my legs like you described. I had no idea some people might find it gross. My feet are clean. My shoes aren't. Am I supposed to put my dirty shoes on the booth?

Personally, I don't think it's appropriate to put your feet, w/ or w/out shoes on the seat.

I mean, if it is not proper etiquette to put your elbows on the table, how can it be proper to put your feet up on the seat where someone else is going to be sitting?

And you say "my feet are clean, my shoes aren't". Your feet have been in those dirty shoes. So if it is a closed in shoe - then its a stinky feet problem,and if it is a sandal type thing, then we are talking dirt and dust.

We wash our hands before meals (hopefully), if we start going barefoot in restaurants, then we'll need to wach our feet, too.

i guess i will have to be the black sheep here. I see nothing wrong with it. Nor with elbows on the table. I always hesitate to post in this forum b/c it seems i am the black sheep in everything ever posted here.

LOL Jilly, we love you anyway!

I may be coming off a bit harhser than normal because of my hed, and I'm alsostrgulling w/ an internal probpem.

Nothing likee taking yu miond of younrproblems than by jump-ing ion somenes else!

drugs are kciking in, hving a hard timenty-ping right now - thigkni'll sleep.

sometimes i put my elbows on the table, talk with food in my mouth, and have been known to put one foot under the knee of the other leg. I don't like people taking their shoes off and putting their feet up on the chair, but then again, I am wearing clothes so there is a barrier between me and possible fungus.

With a closed toe shoe, open toe or what have you the only thing I am really concerned with is if the person has a fungus that can be spread.

so better to be safe than sorry.. but then again, it's a personal choice.

and black sheep can be so much fun Jilly

Ok Jilly, I'm ready to join you in the black sheep club, but probably for different reasons. When I go into a restaurant I assume that things are not sterile. The table has probably been cleaned with a dirty towel, we all know the lemons have been touched by everyone, and the seats that we are sitting on could have been (stop reading here if you get upset easily...) urinated on by someone there before us. Sorry if you think that it is gross, these things do happen. It doesn't stop me from eating out, I just won't eat directly off of the table or sit directly on the seat. I wear clothes that protect me and I wash my hands as much as possible. Our bodies adjust to germs and we all manage. So here's the part of not wearing shoes that I question: if the tables and seats have germs, imagine what the floor has! But if your sitting in a seat and not walking on the floor, and no one sees your feet, well... I don't think it's my business if someone does it discreetly.

I think elbows on the table are fine sanitary wise - I'm pretty sure historically the reason people didn't do it was to keep their body safe from the unsanitary table. So it's sort of a "don't eat food that's fallen on the floor" issue which no longer is of concern.

But I do think feet on the booth is a sanitary issue - and as others mentioned it's even more serious if it's bare feet up there. Fungus and other nasty things can be in feet

So it's a double problem. If you put your feet up there not only are you exposing others to your foot fungal germs - but you could easily pick up something really nasty from other people who had done that before you. Fungal issues can take a long time to heal up from.

So I don't think of it as etiquette like "don't clap to your own toast". I think of it as etiquette like "cook chicken before you eat it"

I wouldn't worry about some ones feet, im fully clothed. I would worry more about where my silverware was last, or how clean the food is. Has any one ever watched Busted on the job?
Where people go as far as blowing their nose, or spitting on your food, one guy was caught peeing in the coffee, dropping food on the floor and putting back on the plate. people do some outrages unimaginable stuff to restaurant and fast food, food that you eat.

Yep, if you knew what they can get up to in Mac Donald or Wendys, may put you off eating there for a wee while!!

I totally agree with Rosie - those are actual concerns in my mind. I could care less about the feet.

I think we have situational etiquette, and while that may be sad, it's true. Would anyone behave the same at McD's as at a four-star gourmet white linen restaurant? Without looking silly?

I've read often that one of the main reasons for manners is so that we don't offend other people or make them feel uncomfortable. Of course, today, we don't even have to leave home to offend vast numbers of people.

So, as a country girl who rarely even wears shoes in my own house, I am not easily offended by feet in seats. And, at a casual restaurant, I have probably sat cross-legged with my feet in the booth seat.

Anyway, as to germs, we have to hope we have an antibody or two protecting us from some of them. I can't think of the specific gross things I might come in contact with or I'll never push a shopping cart or eat out again.

I was thinking about this some more. For example, I would never walk barefoot in a tile bathroom in a restaurant. Purely for sanitary reasons - both for my own feet taking on disease and my feet then giving disease to others.

Would any of you walk barefoot in a public restroom at a restaurant? Or would you consider that healthy?

In terms of food safety, I definitely think the better the restaurant, the better the cooks take pride in and take care of their food. When we go to high end restaurants and Bob goes into the kitchen to take photos and talk with the chef, the chefs are VERY proud of what they are making and would never dream of damaging the food. I imagine that at McDonalds people have far less pride. So a lot of food safety is based on where you tend to eat. I'm not saying anywhere is 100% safe - but really, not all homes are 100% safe either. There are definitely home cooks who are less than sanitary too.

If you watch "Busted on the Job" you will see that even in 5 star restaurants, if its not the chef that does the unimaginable to your food Just watch what the people do to your food, who are serving it to you.
As far as walking bear footed in a restaurant bathroom, i wouldn't do that any more than i would walk bear footed out doors. I've seen people spit on the ground among other stuff.

Also i don't think i would be very comfortable with a restaurant that aloud the public to be coming and going into the kitchen. At any time for any reason

Hi, first time replier to the etiquette board! I haven't noticed that in a restaurant, but I have seen it in my church!!

For the one's who think their feet are clean... not if you are wearing flip flops!! No way feet are clean after walking around in flip flops or sandals all day! And how many times do we mindlessly touch the booth seat where we are sitting? Ewwww!!!!

Jilly, I am a new-guy here and personally think a range of views are needed. Please don't stop posting.
Also, another old saying is that, if you feel you need to impress your friends................change your friends.....
Take care guys.
Ken

Also, I have just reread my post and it sounds a little rude.
The changing your friends reference was to the "Black Sheep" comment, not to the original message.
Oh Dear, I'm off to a bad start.

Hi Ken, welcome to the forum, we hope that you enjoy your stay!
Rosie
That eyeball is eye catching lol

I know this is an old subject but I wanted to chime in anyway. Jill, I agree that I find nothing wrong with elbows on the table. Here's my take: it depends where you are and what you do in certain restaurants. For example, here in Texas, there's a lot of sandles worn most of the year and when people are in restaurants that have outdoors eating areas, I see a lot of feet exposed. Its just the norm here. Also, they seem to wear a lot of fancy pajamas and houseslippers, but get this with socks. (smile)

So, it just depends I guess. I see some people pick their teeth with a toothpick and one time a person using it flicked a piece of food out. Now, what's the etiquette there? The restaurants give you toothpicks but you just might get flinged with some debree nearby from someone seated next to you. Hmmm.

ChippyChap, that eye is creeping me out. But in a fun way....welcome.

I sometimes take off my shoes too. But, I do not put them up onto the seat...that's just rude! I do make sure that my feet are clean though! If I'm coming off a 5-mile hike on a warm day....better keep the shoes on!!

Rainview, please remove blatant advertising links from your posts, or I will assume that your posts are for Spam purposes only.

Back to the original topic, since I started this thing and my second post seems to have been Ambien induced (judging by my spelling and the fact that I don't remember it!)...

I did mention in my first post that this was Macaroni Grill. Now I realize that this restaurant is not one of Zagat's 5 stars, but it is generally seen as a "nicer" restaurant to eat at. It is kind of like, we take the kids to Olive Garden, but Macaroni Grill is just for us as a couple.

So I'm not fussing about people slipping their flip-flops off at McDonald's. (Where there is a Playland, and kids take their shoes off anyway). This is where people come for business lunches, dates, evenings out, etc. I just didn't want to sit there with my husband on our one night out in like 6 months, and have to smell that girl's feet!! Not an appetizing beginner for my meal.

Oh and Rosie, I think when Lisa mentioned Bob going into the kitchen to take pictures - it was as his job being a reporter. I'm pretty sure Lisa said that they do reviews on restaurants. So she wasn't just saying he could wander in with his Sanyo and click off a few pictures.

Oh thanks for telling me Michelle
Lisa never mentioned that, { that i know of}
I never knew Bob was a reporter, How about that

Well, I'm astonished! I've never seen anyone in a shop in their pyjamas, although I know plenty people who will put jeans and a sweater over the top if they are just going to the local shop. I'm going to give it a try and see what happens, though think I'll wait for spring.

No, no, no Marianne!

You need to do it now - right now, in flannel PJs with fuzzy bunny slippers.

That is the only true way to wear pajamas out in public!

Pajamas are the least of our worries in the library. We don't have to worry about blocking the porn sites because some of the women come in dressed with just enough on not to get arrested. (Joke folks, we are required by law to have filters on the Internet computers. Thank Al Gore for that one.)

I only wear shoes when I go out. When you come to my home the first thing you see is a pile of shoes by the door because everyone takes them off when they enter. Not required, we just prefer barefoot.

That said, I would never put my barefeet on a booth bench or chair in a restaurant. My husband has a foot fungus from Vietnam that comes back regularly. Would you want to put your barefoot on a bench where he had his barefoot?

The saying "No Shoes, No Shirt, No Service" does not mean that after you enter an establishment you can begin shedding your attire. Appropriate clothing applies to the entire ensemble for the entire public outing. If your feet hurt make a mental note to not wear those shoes again. If your flip flops flip onto the floor it would be best to slide it back onto your foot rather than sitting cross-legged.

I too never wear shoes except when I have to be in public and then I wear flip flops, even in winter if I can get away with it. I have no problem with elbows on tables, talking with food in the mouth or bare feet at the table because I NEVER eat out.

I have seen what sometimes goes on in kitchens and to food. It can be dropped on the floor and put back on plates, people spitting in it after it had been returned with a complaint then sent back out. Nasty things, nasty people!

As for cutlery and crockery well, unless I know I have washed and rinsed it, I don't eat off of it!

Sounds a bit OCD but I am not, just particular about my food and how it is cooked and presented.

I also save a fortune and I am also a black sheep!

Peace

I put my feet on my chair when I eat but I do that in my own home not while I am a guest in someone's house and certainly not while I am in a restaurant.

I also put my feet on my chair when I watch television but I do not when I watch a movie in a theatre.

And when I'm in my house I always stay in my pajama but when I go out I put some clothes on (i may look like a bum sometimes but at least its clothes not pjs).

I think in our modern pandemic world that people are giving a lot more thought to the things they touch and how they can be infected by others. Bare feet are probably right up on that list. You can't get COVID through your toes, but if you use your hands at all to touch your shoes, now you are transferring disease to your hands, which so often touches the face or mouth.