America's filthiest restaurants: Is your state among the worst ranked? (2024)

Your state may be a haven for restaurant health hazards, from hair landing in food to rat infestations.

An analysis ofTripadvisorreviewshas revealed thatNew Jersey tops the listwith the highest number of negative reviews, particularly for uncleanliness, hair in food, and vermin.

A notable omission from the top 10 list that may surprise many was New Jersey's eastward neighbor, New York City, known for its staggering rat problem.

Florida and Californiaranked second and third dirtiest based on the number of negative reviews that included the words ‘dirty restaurant.’

New Jersey is home to an estimated 16,000 restaurants, the tenth-highest number in the nation.

Yet, according to Tripadvisor, it leads the pack in reviews using the term ‘dirty restaurant,’ with 320,520 reviews.

According to the analysis, it is also home to the hairiest food. More than 1,800 reviews cited ‘hair in food.’

Taking the second spot on the list is Florida, with 4,560 ‘dirty restaurant’ reviews.

Nearly 1,700 reviews say diners found hair in their food. And 636 reviews named rats and roaches somewhere in restaurants.

While New Jersey and Florida topped the list for reviews naming ‘dirty restaurants’ and ‘hair in food’, diners out west were more likely to spot vermin while they ate.

California had the third-highest number of reviews, including ‘dirty restaurant.’ While rats and roaches may not have been on the menus, they were namechecked in over 960 online reviews for restaurants in the state.

Even high-end establishments are not exempt from the vermin problem. The Sky Terrace at the upscale W Hotel in Hollywood was infested with rats.

Staff thereencountered mice and rats on multiple occasions scurrying across the basem*nt of the hotel, leaving feces, urine, and bite marks around stored food and flour.

Arizona takes spot number four with 1,759 reviews, including ‘dirty restaurant’, 639 reviews, ‘hair in food,’ and 443 reviews, including ‘rats and roaches.’ A somewhat unexpected addition to the list, Arizona has far fewer restaurants than the top three states on the list and a far smaller population.

Arizona’s Family, a news outlet in the state, gathers up some of the worst restaurant offenders in Maricopa County to inform its readers which dining establishments do not pass the smell test.

In February, AZFamily reported that investigators at RnR Restaurant in Scottsdale found rodent droppings in the food and in food storage areas. That same week, investigators found several other restaurants in the area were not sanitizing cooking utensils properly or cooking meat to full doneness.

Texas comes in at number five with 1,068 ‘dirty restaurant’ reviews, 471 ‘hair in food’ reviews, and 232 ‘rats and roaches’ reviews.

Louisiana comes in at number six with 951 reviews, including the term ‘dirty restaurant,’ as well as 412 ‘hair in food’ reviews and 399 ‘rats and roaches’ reviews.

Last summer, inspectors at more than two dozen New Orleans restaurants found roaches, flies, dirty equipment, spoiled food or other critical violations.

At number seven comes Alabama, with 918 reviews, including ‘dirty restaurant,’ 404 ‘hair in food’ reviews, and 141 ‘rats and roaches’ reviews.

The number eight spot goes to Maryland with 884 ‘dirty restaurant’ reviews, 436 reviews naming ‘hair in food,’ and 201 reviews citing ‘rats and roaches.’

Number nine goes to Nevada's 881 ‘dirty restaurant’ reviews, 579 ‘hair in food’ reviews, and 414 ‘rats and roaches’ reviews.

Rounding out the list is Georgia, with 856 ‘dirty restaurant’ reviews, 375 ‘hair in food’ reviews, and 216 reviews, including ‘rats and roaches.’

The analysis did not name specific restaurants or give an estimate as to how many were part of a chain, such as Olive Garden or Chili’s, and how many were mom-and-pop businesses.

But research into the phenomenon of dirty dining has shown that nonchain restaurants haveconsistently more inspection violations than chain restaurants, regardless of how often they’re inspected.

This could be due to the different kinds of food chain restaurants and non-chains sell. Chain restaurants, fast food restaurants specifically, typically serve food that is less perishable and requires less preparation than in non-chain restaurants, which translates to fewer food-borne illnesses and fewer inspection violations.

Non-chain restaurants use more raw ingredients to make their food, opening the door for more poisoning risk. Chain restaurants also tend to have standarized food preparation protocols than non-chains.