These Hilarious Restaurant Signs Will Make You Cry With Laughter

We only have two explanations for why this ended up happening. Either 1) the cook who usually makes the soup of the day at this restaurant was sick that day. No one else could make soup quite like him, so they poured a few bottles of whiskey into a pot, heated it up and served it. Or 2) they have an award-winning recipe for a whiskey soup that defies expectations. Because, let’s face it, we’re expecting the worst.

Some restaurants and cafes have bizarre stipulations that allow customers to receive some sort of discount. Some cafes knock off a dollar if the customer says please when they ask for their coffee on the way to work. Then there is this restaurant, which is offering to take 10% of your bill. There is one condition though: you have to say “meow” 10 times when you order! “Why,” you ask? We have no idea. It’s just hilarious to imagine a restaurant full of customers pretending to be cats.

It is well documented that you can get some real bang for your buck at McDonald’s. However, when this hungry customer showed up at the golden arches, they couldn’t believe what was being offered to them. Normally, $1 for any size soft drink would sound like a great deal. Look a little closer though, and you’ll see that the marketing team put up a 5 by accident, instead of an S. 50ft drink, anyone?

We have an inkling as to what the writer of this restaurant sign may have been alluding to, but we’re not going to spell it out for you. It is obviously a pun. Some people just can’t help but get off their seats and do a little dance. It seems like one of the cooks at this particular restaurant couldn’t help but do the Hokey Pokey while he was preparing the salads. Thankfully though, he got over his addiction.

It’s a normal thing: many independent restaurants close for a brief period of time for a variety of reasons. Some owners/chefs choose to go on vacation, which means that all systems shut down. This restaurant simply closed for a brief period due to renovation. We think that the writer of this sign meant “sorry for the inconvenience.” Then again, maybe they got complaints that the food was giving customers actual incontinence. In that case, sorry for the actual inconvenience!

Like McDonald’s, KFC is right up there at the forefront of fast food restaurants and is probably the most iconic deep-fried chicken outlet on the planet. So you would expect them to be able to get their welcome signs right. Of course, they meant to write on this sign “Unbeatable Feast.” However, all it took was the omission of one valuable letter, “B” in “unbeatable,” and this restaurant becomes an instant laughing stock. We’re still going to eat there though, without question.

Sometimes, a sign doesn’t have to be relephant where its restaurant is concerned (see what we did there?) Signs can just be a pun, the kind of joke that only dad’s tell, but we can’t help but laugh at it anyway. It might not seem obvious, but you can tell if an eatery is worth trying out if they have some charm or a sense of humor. El Arroyo has both of these in abundance; in mammoth quantities, if you will.

It seems like fast food chain Wendy’s also doesn’t take itself too seriously these days. There was a time when working in these culinary institutions was held in much higher regard. Nowadays, there is a stereotype that only certain types of people work at these sort fast-food joints. In fact, the stigma is also bleeding into restaurants, in general. At least Wendy’s are aware of this stereotype and are prepared to hire people who appreciate a little bit of sarcasm.

Many restaurants like to pride themselves on the fact that they stay open for six days of the week, or maybe even every single day of the week. However, we have come across a restaurant that claims to be open for not six, not seven, but EIGHT days of the week. Not only that, but they also manage to close every Sunday too! It appears that this restaurant has one more day in their week than others, it is called “Not-a-day.”

This sign clearly demonstrates a problem with the fast-food industry. Restaurants pride themselves on delivering their meals fast that they sometimes forget to maintain the quality of their food. It’s safe to say that a lot of fast food is both fast and cheap. However, whether it is good or not is often up to debate. Why can’t restaurants tick all three boxes? To be honest, as long as the food is good, we don’t care if it’s cheap or fast.

There seems to be a day dedicated to everyone these days. There’s obviously Mother’s Day and Father’s Day, but did you ever stop to consider those individuals who might know that they had a child with someone? As you can see on this welcome sign, the writer has targeted some of the prime stereotypes of reckless daddies: “poolboys, milkmen, and tv repair guys.” So, if you work in any of those professions, this special day might actually be dedicated to you!

Normally, a drinks menu just shows you a list of the beverages, both alcoholic and non-alcoholic, that are available to buy. However, this restaurant decided to accompany the names of the drinks with an image of each, showing the way they look in a cup that includes some ice. The only problem comes when over half the drinks look the same on the menu. The restaurant would’ve been better off accompanying each drink with a bottle rather than this.

We’ve all been there before. You were working extremely hard on your maths equations in class, and all of a sudden, an instinct sinks in. You need some help, your mind has gone into overdrive and you just can’t figure out the answer. So what do you do? You call the teacher for assistance. However, instead of referring to her as “Mrs. What’s-Her-Mame” as you should, you subconsciously say “Mom” by accident and the entire class laughs at you. This sign is dead on.

It looks like somebody woke up on the wrong side of the bed today. This restaurant must have a tendency to have a daily special. However, we just caught the one day that the chef decided that there would be no special on the menu. Maybe he was fed up with the customers, so it was his way of punishing them. We just want to reassure all regular eaters at “GNTRBT” that you are special, and you deserve better than this.

In this day and age, virtually any experience can be reviewed online. If you go on vacation and stay in a hotel, you can give an online account of how good or bad it was. The same applies to any restaurant. So when this team of cooks went on Yelp and found a scathing review about their popular meatball sandwich, they felt compelled to make a point that only one person on the planet actually hated it.

Once again, El Arroyo just can’t put down their thinking cap. One of the restaurant’s workers sat down one day and genuinely thought to themselves, “do dogs see police dogs and think ‘Oh No, it’s the cops?'” It’s a good question, but we think we know the answer to that one. However, we’re not going to share our thoughts on the matter. All we’ll say is that dogs have proven to be useful investigators. You can make your own mind up on that one.

Imagine the scenario: you have your own little eatery with what you believe to be the finest soup on the block. However, another restaurant opened up just across the road from you. Word on the street is that people prefer their soup of the day. So what do you do to revert back to the status quo? It’s plain and simple. You have a battle of the soup masters to determine who runs this neighborhood. We think we’ve found the winner.

Do you remember Good Guy Greg? He was one of the most iconic faces on the internet when memes started to truly take off. You know the guy; cool as a cucumber, tilting his head back with a cigarette in his mouth. It was a way of presenting someone who was Mr. Dependable and didn’t even have to work hard at it. This cafe used the meme to their advantage with the goal of aiming their coffee at a more meme-centric audience.

Everyone wishes that they had some sort of superhuman ability. Whether it is to fly or to become invisible, we’ve all had dream of doing the impossible. Many believe that Jesus Christ was able to turn water into wine. Then there is one righteous member of staff at El Arroyo who has the innate skills of turning tacos into breakfast. Although it doesn’t sound as farfetched as parting the Red Sea, we would still like to see it happen.

It’s one of the ugliest truths about society: everyone is connected through the power of money. Everyone needs to live and as a result, seeks support from others. Restaurants need customers to keep going and the people who work at those restaurants need money to feed themselves, as well as their loved ones. The customers of those restaurants go to those restaurants because they also need to eat. It’s a vicious cycle, but this sign sums it up in just seven words.

Most normal restaurants provide menus with a variety of options to please as many tastes and dietary requirements as possible. Some people like carb-based meals, others are looking for some protein in their lives. Some people are vegans/vegetarians, and some are not. However, here’s a situation where a traditional menu has been substituted for a cool little questionnaire. The only problem is that basically, every outcome ends up with meat. So, for those of you who don’t eat meat, stay clear.

It’s so true. El Arroyo has revealed an undisputed truth once again. Look, relationships require lots of giving, time, patience and loyalty. You need to be a good listener and be able to make compromises. However, one of the most important requirements for a successful relationship is understanding what each other wants to eat. If you can master the art of selecting good places to go out to eat on a day to day basis, then your love will surely last.

Sometimes, words just aren’t enough. You might just need a diagram to accompany that message in order to get your point across. At most swimming pools, you have signs telling swimmers to not dive in the shallow end, with a picture of someone diving with a red circle around it and a line going through. It looks like this bar has had some rowdy customers in recent times and decided to design a similar looking sign. Whatever it takes to create a friendly atmosphere.

Like all art forms, poetry is subjective and will affect people in different ways. The likelihood is though that Shakespeare, Frost, and Bukowski would be turning in their graves if they saw this ghastly excuse of a poem at the Alex restaurant. However, the writer of this piece even admits in their own poem that it is a difficult art form to master. This doesn’t take anything away from the obvious passion they have for their own bacon and steaks.

Many casual fans will recognize this nifty little pun from the song “Anaconda” by rapper Nicki Minaj. However, many young people don’t realize that the line actually came from the classic Hip-Hop song “Baby Got Back” by Sir Mix-A-Lot. So the line has actually been in the pop subconscious long before Nicki even got a record deal. We expect nothing less from the staff at El Arroyo, who have proven time and time again that they are true pop aficionados.

Everyone wants to have a healthy working relationship with their boss. Ever seen the movie Horrible Bosses? No one wants to get into those situations with the people above them. So when one member of staff was told by his boss to write “something witty and thought-provoking” on the welcome board, he took the order word for word. He even wrote in parenthesis that this is what his boss told him to write. Either this person is trying to be funny or needs to listen a little better.

Not only does El Arroyo’s writers specialize in cheesy dad jokes and philosophical insights, they give their customers little brainteasers to chew on while they wait for their meal. So what would you rather do: fight 100 duck-sized horses or 1 horse-sized duck? To be honest, we’d prefer the former. We can imagine these little horses galloping around our feet almost like a classier version of dogs. Not as fierce as a horse-sized horse, but with the same charm. Just kick ’em.

Probably not the best pun that the writers at El Arroyo have ever written, but we get what they were intending. However, someone who avoids “meet” could also be a social vegetarian. A social vegan is more like somebody who completely avoids all living things. A social vegetarian is more selective about who they mingle with. Maybe we’re getting a little carried away with the metaphor, but El Arroyo has the ability to get us thinking about the most trivial things.

One of the members of staff at a restaurant called The Redhead happens to also be a maths genius. His boss gives him carte-blanche to write whatever he wants on the welcome board. So he uses it as an opportunity to teach his customers while they chug down some beers. By the end of the lecture though, he realized that his class was too drunk to remember what they learned, so he simply wrote “x = whiskey.”

There are many restaurants and cafes that are themed and hark back to a variety of classic eras. There are 20s themed bars, 80s restaurants, old-school American diners, and jazz bars that feel like they came out of the 50s. Then there’s a fascinating little restaurant that is specifically set in 1995; a time when WiFi was not a thing and as the writer suggests, customers actually had to talk to each other, face to face. Or, maybe they just didn’t have a router fitted yet.

Here’s another classic from the charming staff of El Arroyo. In this particular sign, they have cited inspiration from Russian dolls, also known as, Babushkas. These dolls are known for opening up and having smaller versions inside the bigger versions. This keeps going until you reach the tiniest version and it is practically impossible to open any more. This is why this particular joke works so well, as Russian dolls are literally “full of themselves.” Ironically, they appear to be fairly modest.

The concept of Karma has been used in various corners of modern culture. It has arisen in movies, songs, and as you can see in this image, restaurants. Although we’re not sure if this eatery actually subscribes to the Eastern philosophy, it seems like the principle they have provided in their sign works well with the theme of the restaurant. “You will be served what you deserve” appears to be a reference to the more common phrase “what goes around comes around.”

To be honest, we were unaware that society was on the verge of collapse. However, this restaurant owner seems to have a reliable source telling them that it might just be the right time to close their store. We’re pretty sure they meant that they were just closing for the evening. At any rate though, things must’ve gotten pretty bad in this neighborhood for such desperate measures to be taken. We’re looking out the window right now and everything seems to be fine.

The puns just keep on coming! Just to clarify for those who might not get the joke: the term “mean” in mathematics is basically another way of saying average, depending on the context. So when one of the staff members at El Arroyo wrote the joke “My math teacher called me average. How mean!”, they knew that it would only make people laugh who were familiar with the term. This goes to show that even something as mundane as math can be fun, at times.

Religious and ethical reasons aside, is there really an acceptable reason not to love bacon? It is pretty much the most delectable piece of food on the planet. A gift from a higher plain, some might say. It appears that this restaurant is extra passionate about their bacon and are even prepared to alienate potential customers who for one reason or another, don’t eat it. It’s a bold statement, but maybe it does more good than bad for the company.

Instagram has become a thriving platform for all the foodies out there who don’t just love the taste of what they are eating, but the look of it. We become so mesmerized by our dishes that we can’t help but freeze them in time with the art of photography and share our pics with the world. There is one restaurant by the name of Racket that gives the most fitting of freebies for their customers: a free concussion.

This sign from El Arroyo highlights an ugly truth about today’s society. The world we live in has gone crazy with political correctness that it’s difficult to say anything these days without offending somebody. There are many situations now where it is becoming increasingly difficult to even say “Merry Christmas.” Afraid to alienate those who do no celebrate, institutions are finding ways to be all-inclusive. This sign hits that message home in the most sarcastic way.

Whether you have just had a horrible day at work or received great news from a close relative, it seems like going out for a beer is the perfect solution. There isn’t a time where meeting some friends at your local bar isn’t an instant mood pick me up, and this joint definitely plays on their customers’ heartstrings using that analogy. To be completely honest, we would be lying if we said we were not convinced by this sign in the slightest.

Chances are, if you are in a happy, healthy relationship, you would choose to celebrate the most romantic day of the year in a surrounding much different to a local bar. Instead of trying to convince mushy couples to hold hands in the smokey pub, the owners of this place were smart enough to understand that on Valentines Day, their number one target audience is made of those who are single and unhappy with their current situation.

This Chinese restaurant better have its lights fixed – and fast – since they would most likely lose a huge cut of their diners with a sign like this. Since the light in the letters “D” and “Y” stopped working, a hilarious outcome appeared – the restaurant sign reads the word “nasty.” This could very well be a fair warning made by someone who dined at this restaurant and wanted to avenge the food poisoning he received right after leaving the restaurant.

To be fair, if you are going to drink – even if it is only one beer and fully intend on splurging on a pizza right afterward – you should not drive. That is why you should not mind that this place provides you with a drink and meal – but no parking. It is probably best to just skip on taking the car and hop into a taxi instead of risking losing your driver’s license and putting the lives of others at risk.

An oft derided fashion choice is the socks with sandals look, most likely because sandals are specifically designed to be worn without socks. Some intrepid dresses, however, choose to venture out attired as such either due to laziness or chronically cold feet. This restaurant has made it its mission to stop these fashion offenders in their tracks, fearing that the unsightly trend will ruin the appetites of their patrons. Perhaps they should just provide slippers so everyone can keep their feet warm.

As the hipster movement continues its forward march into the depths of America, those original souls who were rehabilitating neglected neighborhoods before anyone else found them desirable. These urban pioneers gained a reputation for their love of the obscure, who would abandon each movement the moment it went mainstream in order to seek out something else that hadn’t yet been discovered by the general populace. Unfortunately, these harbingers of innovation also gained a reputation for being snobs.

In an homage to the Snoop Dogg from days gone by, this Vietnamese restaurant was happy to capitalize on one of his famous phrases in this clever pun. Though a good pho restaurant needs no clever names in order to win over the hearts of its customers, it never hurts when one manages to evoke a chuckle or two. As the aromatic soup continues to win fans across the USA, eventually names like this might became a necessity.

They say that all good things come to an end, but as this restaurant sign points out, food is one of the few great offerings from life that doesn’t foretell an ending. Our friends and partners may come and go, but food will always be the one thing we can’t survive without. Well, maybe water too, but at least its another substance that comes without all of this negativity. Nobody needs that kind of sadness in their lives.

If you are not going to willingly enter a restaurant and order a glass of wine, this sign guarantees you will do so by playing on your heartstrings. And really, is there a better way to make someone do something than guilt trip them? Clearly, whoever was put in charge of writing this sign does not think so. Studies show that once buying one glass of wine, diners are easily tempted to order another. For this reason, a marketing message regarding wine is wise in terms of profit.

Working out is a way of living for some. Certain people, especially those who get into the habit of exercising daily, cannot imagine a day that goes by without a morning jog, an afternoon weightlifting session and an hour-long visit to the gym at night. However, those who find breaking a sweat to be tiring and unnecessary absolutely dread it. And in all truthfulness, most people would agree that splurging on a piece of pie and latte is much preferable than attending a pilates class.

It is important to read the fine print whenever provided with reading material since the information given out in too-small to read letters is what the business desperately did not want you to find out, but had to reveal. This is a well-known marketing technique meant to divert the consumer’s eyes from something that would stop them from buying the product, and that is exactly what the sign below is trying to do. We wonder how many people it worked on…

Sometimes keeping things simple is the best thing that you can do when trying to sell. If mimes make an entire living out of passing a message without uttering as much as a single word, surely a sign could do just as well with only one word. And while we have to applaud the attempt at extreme minimalism, there is no denying a different word could have been used to emphasize just how wonderful the food inside the restaurant is.

If this brilliant sign worked, this concept could be gold for the restaurant in the picture. Just imagine – the chef could decide which product he wanted to get rid of every day, and would instruct the board painter to brainwash passersby to come into the restaurant and demand whatever he wanted to run out. We can only speak for ourselves when we say the sign definitely has an effect, as we personally cannot wait to get our hands on a piece of crunchy bacon.

There is a common misconception that Chinese people eat cats, along with many other animals that are often perceived as pets. Different countries around the world do have various eating habits and ethnic cuisine the Western world does not see eye to eye with, but there is no need to hop on over to the local Chinese restaurant with accusations whenever your cat goes missing. Having said that, the sign in the picture below is still pretty hilarious.

If the owner of the restaurant would not eat in it, it would be a pretty clear sign that there is something horribly wrong with the place. Having said that, it is still not what you would expect to read on a sign placed strategically outside the restaurant, as a quote from the owner is not exactly a fool-proof guarantee this place is worth splurging on for lunch. At least the sign is honest about its references, which is somewhat reassuring.

If there was ever a sign that could entice a fight between a loving couple casually strolling down the street, this would most likely be it. The “prove that you love me” statement is worn out, it can often be heard in sitcoms as a way of nagging. The owner of this restaurant was smart enough to have this sign printed out in huge letters above a bold red background. That way, no one will miss it and will have to buy the next round out of guilt.

Many restaurants that are family-friendly offer a babysitting service for parents who would love nothing more than having a little apart time from their infants. Since having kids is a job that requires around the clock care, it is nice to know you get a short break from the constant need to look over your shoulder. However, this place does not offer such services, and even gives off the ultimate threat of giving the customers coffee and teaching them to swear if someone will leave their child unattended.

The pavement in the picture looks drenching wet from rain as it is, so we would have probably sought out a dry place to pass the time and turn to the restaurant on the left whether it had the sign out or not. Still, you have to appreciate the joking approach that was taken to entice pedestrians and make them want to check out this place that offers “nice drinks.” If you had to pick between walking towards the unknown (quite possibly bears) or a drink, we’ll go for the latter.

It looks like Burger King has decided to take a page out of El Arroyo’s book – putting up a new sign each day to make passersby think that they have a sense of humor. Apparently, Spongebob Squarepants of all people is the boss of this particular chain. We strongly doubt it. However, if he did, we can’t imagine wanting to drop by for a burger. For a start, the burgers that his staff are serving must be incredibly soggy!

One thing is for sure, if there is one thing that the people at El Arroyo love to write about on their welcome signs, it is one particular food item – tacos. This makes sense, seeing that the restaurant prides itself on its Tex-Mex bundles of joy. In fact, we could probably have an entire slideshow dedicated to El Arroyo’s signs that are purely dedicated to all things taco. However, this one is probably our favorite, mainly due to the fact that it’s true.

There are many things out there that people are willing to eat or drink for the right price. Try a plate of snails, a bottle of tequila with a worm buried at the bottom or a plate of fried locusts. The list of acquired tastes goes on and on and on. However, we don’t think that this restaurant is going to get too many customers based on their slightly confusing sign: “Eat Jessica’s Family.” Maybe Hannibal Lecter will eat here. With that said, he is a fictional character.

Here is another restaurant that cannibals might have a great time at. Imagine a place where the main ingredient of your favorite burger was actually people. Yeah, we wouldn’t go if you paid us. We get what the marketing team at this Wendy’s chain were trying to do. What they mean is that their staff and customer service are the keys to their success. Or maybe it’s the great atmosphere created by the customers. No, we’re still confused.

Once again, the squad of geniuses at El Arroyo have an earth-shattering observation. There is no denying that the song “Kung Fu Fighting” by Carl Douglas is one of the most iconic songs of the disco era. However, have you ever stopped to think about the lyrics? “Everybody was Kung Fu Fighting.” Now, Mr. Douglas, we have to side with El Arroyo on this one. There is no chance in hell that every single person on the planet in 1974 was trained in such martial arts.

One particular restaurant that is consistently churning out funny signs is Austin, Texas’s very own El Arroyo. Take this sign, for example, which used the seasons to comedic effect! For this person, winter fat was gone, but spring rolls were just around the corner!

Not only are the writers of El Arroyo’s welcome signs masters of the cheeky pun, as well as the silly dad jokes; they also like to delve into philosophy every once in a while. Many have come out of the Austin-based restaurant feeling like they have learned a thing or two. When you think about it, they are right: clapping is a little bit like hitting yourself because you like something. Make sure you don’t like it too much though, otherwise you might break your wrist.

Sometimes, all it takes is a picture of a velociraptor looking like it’s thinking hard to bring in the customers. Jokes aside, the image would be meaningless without the message that accompanies it. Seriously, how could you turn down a slice of pizza for $1? This restaurant went on to make the point that this is one of those rare pizzerias that sell their pizzas at such a cheap price. Whether this works or not, there is no denying that one member of staff here is an extremely talented illustrator.