Small restaurants, delis, and food trucks are using AI image generators to create menu photos - and the results are so unsettling that customers say they've lost their appetite entirely. The trend has sparked a backlash on X, where a technology reporter argued that AI is destroying the tradition of "folk graphic design" at small eateries, and where commenters are sharing images of menu items that look less like food and more like deep-sea anomalies.
The reporter backed the claim with photos from a deli serving instant noodles topped with what he described as a previously undocumented species of headless and tailless shrimp. Plenty of others joined the thread with their own evidence. Anyone with trypophobia - disgust at clustered patterns of holes and bumps - should be warned: the alien textures on some of these dishes may put you off dining out permanently.
From amateur charm to AI nightmare fuel
Amateur menu design was never always polished, but it had charm. Even unflattering food photography had a certain honesty: you knew what you were getting. With AI-generated imagery, that bargain falls apart. Can you demand a refund when your meal doesn't arrive topped with a slightly radioactive-looking creature?
The reactions online range from disgust to outright refusal. "This is a matter of detail orientation and quality control. If this is the level of your attention to detail and your ability to manage quality control, no way am I putting anything you make in my mouth," one person wrote. Another was less diplomatic: "I hope all the restaurants who do this are preparing for bankruptcy within the year because nobody wants to eat radioactive food that looks like it was made by brain-damaged space aliens."
A third commentator put the frustration plainly: "I just don't understand what was wrong with whatever this deli already had before generative AI, only like what, two or three years ago? An old photo is better than this. Written text without a picture is surely better than this."
Why small businesses are cutting corners
Large brands generally avoid AI-generated imagery because they don't want to associate themselves with AI slop - Coca-Cola and Skechers being notable exceptions. Design agencies remain in business because companies with reputations to protect know better than to risk making customers ill.
But smaller businesses that might have hired a freelancer or handled design in-house see generative tools as a time saver. The trade-off is clear: the effort required to take a real photo is far less costly than the risk of creeping out potential customers with visuals that look like a biology experiment gone wrong. Restaurants that hope AI menus will save time might want to reconsider - because the internet is documenting these images and sharing them with thousands of people who are actively deciding where to eat.
This isn't just a niche aesthetic complaint. It's a warning for creatives about how fallen-good tools can be mishandled by people without design training. For designers and artists, the backlash is a reminder of where quality control still matters - and why staying in the loop matters.
Why this matters for creatives
The AI menu phenomenon shows what happens when generative tools get adopted by people who lack design judgment. It also highlights an opportunity for trained creatives, who can position themselves as the professionals who ensure quality output - something that is more valuable than ever.
The websites are clear: businesses need design skills to avoid the kinds of images that are turning customers away. For creatives, the conversation about AI-generated content is an opportunity to show how expertise and taste fit into generative workflows.
Restaurant owners who use AI imagery without curating the output are effectively telling customers they don't care enough to present their food honestly - and a growing chorus of diners are answering back with their wallets.
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