The 22 worst types of people to encounter in restaurants

You're all dressed up and thrilled to be leaving the kids at home with the babysitter while you splash some serious cash at your favourite restaurant with your significant other.

That is, until you encounter these dreaded diners.

From the waitstaff abuser to the defiant phone caller and the communal dining thief, here are the worst people to come across in a restaurant, according to Thrillist.com. We've picked our 22 favourites from the list.

Admit it, we've all probably been an offender at some point in our lives.

1. The freeloader who has expensive taste but wants to split the bill evenly. Come on ...
2. The menu over-pronouncer who calls prosciutto "pra-shoot", thinking he sounds impressive.
3. The scrooge who gives as minimal a tip as possible.
4. The communal dining thief who nicks your chips and takes sips from your drink without asking.
5. The serial mobile phone user who insists on talking loudly despite sitting with three other people, and who gets way too personal. We don't need to know about the ins and outs of your sex life.
6. The abuser of waitstaff who is just being so rude it's making everyone in the room cringe.
7. The party table where they're making a racket but it's all a bit pretentious and we're not convinced they're actually having THAT much fun.
8. The slob if you've spent a lot of your pay packet on an expensive restaurant, you may want to rethink the thongs and white singlet.
9. The business traveller who's clearly with an escort - you're not fooling anyone, buddy.
10. The guilt-tripping vegan who glares at you while you bite into your steak before breaking into a rant about the cruel practices of slaughterhouses.
11. The joined-at-the-hip couple who feed each other and sit practically on top of each other.
12. The diner who always orders the same, unadventurous thing, a burger at a Thai restaurant, how is this possible? Time to explore some more dishes!
13. The awkward blind date that's so uncomfortable it makes everyone else on edge too.
14. The selfie-obsessed woman who just HAS to get a photo of her making a duck face while eating duck ...
15. The over-the-top-noisy nose-blower. It's time to take it to the bathroom, dude.
16. The farter. You're avoiding eye contact with everyone but we could tell it was you from that shift you made in the seat.
17. The constant smoker who leaves you sitting alone while they take about 10 cigarette breaks during dinner.
18. The eavesdroppers who have run out of things to say to each other so decide to zip it and listen in on what the neighbouring diners are talking about.
19. The guy who spends the whole night hitting on the waitress.
20. The substituter who wants the salmon, but with a side of cauliflower instead of the corn, and a different type of cheese of course ...
21. The woman who's always cold, despite being a frequent visitor to the restaurant. You should know the deal by now.
22. The marriage proposal gone wrong - the rejection just kills the mood.

Source: News.com.au, 5 December 2013