There are a lot of great Lakeland restaurants out there, but when trying out a new place, you might accidentally miss the mark. You need to be on the lookout for signs that show you that the place you’re dining at is a good one, and that you wouldn’t be wasting your time or your money by dining there. Here is a list of signs that we’ve compiled to help you figure out if the restaurant you’re dining at is a good one or not.

A Clean Bathroom

It has often been said that how a restaurant cleans its bathrooms show how they clean their kitchens. If you’re dining out in a fancy restaurant and you see that the bathrooms have been poorly maintained, it might be safe to say that this particular restaurant has poor attention to detail. A good restaurant pays attention to every detail inside the establishment and treats everything of equal importance, from the kitchen to the dining area to the bathrooms.

A Seasonal Menu

If you’re looking at the menu and you see that the food items available contain ingredients that are off-season, there is a very good chance that it isn’t fresh, and you might be dealing with a reheated frozen meal. Ingredients like strawberries, asparagus, and fresh corn are seasonal, and if a restaurant is claiming fresh ingredients in a recipe during its off-season, it might not be a very good restaurant. A good restaurant makes changes to its menu to accommodate the changing of the seasons.

The Servers Are Happy and Attentive

Happy and attentive servers are good indicators that you’re dining in a good restaurant. They don’t keep you waiting, and if you ask for a glass of water or an extra fork, they don’t act as if you’ve personally offended them. In line with attention to detail, a good restaurant trains its waitstaff to be attentive to the diners to provide a seemingly effortless dining experience. If you’re dining out and you find that you don’t have to ask the servers to refill your water glass or take away your empty plates because they intuitively know when to help, then you’ve probably picked a good restaurant.

The Food

Of course, the hallmark of a great restaurant is the food itself. The Lakeland restaurants you’re dining at might have everything listed above, but all of it would be useless if the food itself isn’t good. If you’re dining out in places that are accommodating, have wonderful staff, and great food to boot, then sit back and enjoy your evening out, because you’re dining in a restaurant that takes care of its customers.