These are the cues that can signal you should seek a better meal elsewhere.

For those who travel to eat, meals while away from home are precious.

In other words, a tourist trap restaurant.

A woman in a striped blouse enjoys a meal and raises a glass of wine in a toast at an outdoor restaurant. Another person's hand holding a glass is in the foreground

What is a tourist trap restaurant?

Sadly, this can also include famous institutions.

Executive pastry chefClaudia MartinezandTop ChefcontestantHector Santiago both James Beard semifinalists feel thatintentis what defines a tourist trap.

A person with a backpack stands in front of a street food stall featuring various dishes displayed on overhead menus

To me, one of the best parts of traveling is immersing yourself somewhere to live like a local.

A Whole Lot Of Come Hither

All six experts HuffPost spoke to listed this as their No.

1 warning: beware a loud, overeager welcome, starting with decor.

Outdoor seating at a seaside cafe overlooking crystal-clear water and distant traditional windmills in Mykonos, Greece, with tables adorned with purple flowers

And most are generally pretty loud, she added.

Okan Kizilbayir, chef de cuisine at The Ritz-Carlton, Amelia Island, agrees with the latter.

Size Matters

Another example of how bigger isnt always better is when it comes to menu size.

Bright neon signs outside Planet Hollywood and nearby establishments, featuring vivid handprints and text, creating a vibrant nightlife ambiance

One of Kizilbayirs peeves is Too many items on the menu!

And too many different styles or regions.

You cant get everything from an area on one plate!

Two people sitting at a table in a restaurant reading menus; one has long dark hair and the other has short dark hair and a beard

But as a pastry chef, Martinez knows how to recognize tourist traps by their after-meal sweets.

Classic cheesecake, molten lava cake, key lime pie … these arent usually made in-house, she shared.

Ice cream is also usually brought in by a restaurant supplier unless otherwise stated.

A lavish dessert buffet with various pastries, puddings, cakes, and custards arranged in a sophisticated presentation

Too-perfect sliced cakes and pies are also signs of mass production.

Scher gauges by available drinks.

Look at the wine list, the cocktails, beers … thatll tell you a lot about a restaurant!

Shrimp and vegetables being cooked on a teppanyaki grill with flames and steam rising in the background

Spectacle And Superlatives

On the other side of the humdrum spectrum are the spots that are irresistibly photogenic.

Additionally, he spears what he calls stupid tableside shows, not to be confused with genteel tableside presentation.

He defines these shows as food served with lowbrow or loutish style to get attention.

Four people dine at a cozy restaurant with large windows, surrounded by wooden furniture and décor with a vintage charm

1 for anything in their city but dont say where they earned that nod.

Well, same goes for the clientele.

Thats why Kizilbayir keeps his distance from restaurants that specialize in serving group tours.

Its the circle of life: Tourists come to the city.

They show the historic places, museums, gardens.

They start to get hungry.

Then, the tour guide takes a busload of tourists to a place that looks attractive, he said.

You make the food or drinks look bombastic.

Its an easy turn, he admitted.

But thats why, during his travels, Hucks seeks out restaurants devoid of tourists like himself.

Santiago also avoids restaurants with too many other fellow tourists.

I look for where the locals are.

Are the reviews written in the local language?

If Im going to Portugal, reviews that are all in English are a red flag.

I look at what people are wearing in pictures.

In Europe, you dress up to go out to dinner.