Ordering fish is always a gamble. A fresh catch is lovely but old fish is thoroughly uninspiring. If you're ordering fish on Mondays, be particularly cautious as seafood markets aren’t open at the weekend. Monday’s fish special may be fresh from the freezer – or worse, it’s been hanging around in the fridge. Ask the waiter when it was sourced so you don’t end up with a dish that’s fishy (in a bad way).

Ordering oysters can be a risky business, especially in the warmer months. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 80,000 people suffer from infection caused by vibrio bacteria from the seafood every year. The safest bet is to avoid them altogether unless you’re at a coastal restaurant or somewhere highly reputable.

The unsuspecting health food often found in salads is an extremely risky ingredient. While they're packed with nutrients, the beans are sprouted in warm, humid conditions which encourage bacteria to flourish. In the past, sprouts contaminated with E. coli have caused serious illness and even deaths. Enjoy them in your own home so you know you’re consuming the ready-to-eat kind or that they’re cooked thoroughly.

If you order the second cheapest wine in a bid to not look miserly, restaurants are wise to your tricks. This is often the bottle restaurants pay the least for. They put the cheapest wholesale wine second on the menu to make more profit from it because people are more likely to order it. Stick with the house wine, it’s usually the best value. Read our guide to everything you wanted to know about wine but were too afraid to ask.

Next time you’re ordering a drink at a restaurant, hold the ice. Many popular places, both low-end and high-end, have been found to clean their ice machines scarily infrequently. Waiters and kitchen staff have even admitted to seeing mould in machines. Getting sick from ice is rare but that doesn’t make the thought any more appetising. Horrified by this? Read more secrets from the takeout industry.

Restaurant specials are one-off dishes a chef has created just for an evening. They are usually a way of using up leftover ingredients or produce on the turn. While they can be a great (and delicious) way to avoid food waste, consider the offering. If it seems too eclectic or a random combination of flavours, definitely avoid. Sauce is a classic trick to hide bad food.

If dish names includes adjectives such as 'famous' or 'world's best', run a mile. It'll come as no surprise that it probably isn't the world's best pizza or bruschetta, and that lasagna is famous according to who? If a restaurant has to get overly creative with a dish’s name to sell it, leave it alone. Decode more menu speak and terms with our handy guide.

If you thought that bread basket delivered to your table was prepared just for you, you're wrong. Celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain once let slip that the practice of recycling – where bread baskets are circulated from table to table – does happen, potentially even in the most classy establishments. What you’re served could be your neighbour's leftovers, at best stale and at worse covered in germs.

Top chefs know to avoid ordering chicken when they’re out as it's often overcooked and the most boring dish on the menu. In an effort to make sure guests don’t get food poisoning, restaurants err too far on the safe side and overcook it. Branch out and try something new instead.

Eating out is an opportunity to try something new and be surprised. As more restaurants expand their horizons, conjuring up new dishes and recreating old ones, it’s fun and exciting to get involved. Step away from the chicken salad and opt for something completely different. There’s all to gain and nothing to lose. For some inspiration, read our list of the world's most incredible foods you have to try once in your lifetime.

Pizza is a big money maker for restaurants as ingredients cost very little and can be sold on at a high mark-up. If you’re at a speciality pizza restaurant which makes its own dough and offers artisan meats and cheeses then great. However, if you’re at a sports bar and they want $20 (£15) for something frozen and of supermarket quality, don’t do it. For places worth spending the cash, check out our guide to the best pizza joint in every state.

We get it. You’re after something hearty and the 'home-style' meat loaf on the menu is calling your name. The problem with restaurant meat loaf is that it's often packed with filler and scrimps on meat. The dish is then covered in rich, sugary tomato sauce so you don’t notice. If you really want it, check it’s actually homemade. Or, just make your own – give our top recipe a go.

When the bottled ketchup that lives on the table at your local burger joint runs out, don’t think the dregs go to waste. At the end of shifts, staff combine leftover sauce to make full bottles. Although it’s good to be thrifty, there’s no way of telling how long it's really been out. Stay safe and avoid communal ketchup, particularly ones that taste sour. If you want to know the best burger and fries spot in your state, take a look here.

White truffle and caviar are deliciously extravagant foods which, if you have a taste for them, you’re better off enjoying at home. The mark-up on these ingredients in a restaurant, compared to at wholesale, is astronomical and neither require much skill on the part of the chef. Discover 30 of the world's most expensive ingredients here.

Just like the specials, the soup of the day is a nifty way for chefs to whizz up a profit from leftover ingredients before they go off. Also, double check whether yesterday’s soup du jour was the same as today's, says British chef Gordon Ramsay. If yesterday’s special was the same, it might be the case that you’re ordering soup of the month.

Read more: How long you can safely store your favourite foods

A house-made veggie burger would be a cracking order, if it wasn’t for the sad fact most sports bars, diners and meat-focused restaurants order their veggie dishes – often frozen – from wholesale, rather than preparing them from scratch. A farm-to-table or vegetarian restaurant is your best bet if you're in the market for one of these.

Read more: Brilliant beef-free burgers simply too tasty to miss

Of course you’re tempted to order a Wagyu beef and venison burger with a truffle centre, topped with caviar and duck egg – a fancy meal at a low price tag you must be thinking. However, in reality there’s no need to pay a lot for a good burger. The best burgers are made with chuck, brisket or ribs. Grinding up expensive meat is a waste. Plus all those luxury toppings may come in very small quantities and not be of the quality you’re led to believe.

Read more: Top chefs reveal their secrets for the perfect steak