The Type Of Fish That Restaurant Workers Rarely Order, According To Reddit

Depending on whom you ask, there are plenty of dishes you should never order at seafood restaurants, either for food safety or environmental reasons. Whether it’s stone crabs that have been overfished or if you walk into a seafood restaurant that simply smells a bit off, it’s important to be aware of both the menu and of your surroundings when dining out, especially for seafood. But there are some factors that don’t always have the most obvious clues. While it’s not unheard of to find an occasional worm here or there in any type of fish, there’s one that is more commonly reported to have a large amount of visible parasites, like nematodes and worms that can be harmful to humans if ingested while still alive.

According to Reddit, swordfish is one of nine dishes that restaurant workers never order. While some diners love the large trophy fish with a long pointed nose for its meaty texture and distinct lack of “fishy,” oceanic flavor, it turns out it’s one of the fish most avoided by restaurant professionals. In the AskReddit subreddit, a user posted a question inquiring as to which dishes chefs avoid when eating out, and the answer that replied with swordfish has 1,200 upvotes. That Redditor states, “I’ve seen a chef cutting up and cleaning one before and it’s not pretty. Let’s jut say a fish that size picks up a good deal of parasites during its lifetime, and they all start jumping ship at once when they figure out their host is dead.” 

It’s not just mystery users on Reddit. Even Anthony Bourdain said to skip eating swordfish. In the same comment thread, another Reddit user agreed about avoiding swordfish, saying, “after the fish has been descaled and whatnot you’ll see [the worms] kind of drilling up out of the skin and falling on the prep table. They all die pretty quickly and aren’t an issue when the fish has been prepped and cooked, but it’s still disturbing to watch nonetheless.” A gruesome visual, indeed. 

While swordfish are found in areas all over the world, many are concentrated in the Mediterranean and the Atlantic, and both populations show high levels of parasitic infections. Increasingly warming ocean waters also contribute to the prevalence of parasites in swordfish. Common parasites like the worm that causes anisakis are found in the flesh of swordfish. 

Cooking the fish to a high enough temperature of 145 degrees Fahrenheit will kill the parasite, but it’s not necessarily something that most of us are eager to eat, dead or alive. Freezing to a very cold temperature of negative four degrees Fahrenheit for seven days also kills the parasites, even the parasitic larvae that are too small to be seen by the naked eye, but similar to cooking, not everyone wants to consume dead parasites.