"Waldorf Salad" is the third episode of the second series of the British television sitcom Fawlty Towers.

[1] The episode revolves around the arrival of the Hamiltons, who bribe Basil into preparing a meal for them, despite Terry the chef having left the hotel.

While Mrs Hamilton is British, her husband is American, and gives vent to a list of complaints about their travels from London, when compared to the United States.

Because of their late arrival, Mr Hamilton asks Basil to bribe the cook to keep the kitchen open so they can have a meal after they have unpacked.

Later, Basil reads a letter to the Hamiltons, supposedly from Terry, that places all the blame on the chef, but during the performance the unattended steaks start to burn.

Basil stalks out of the hotel, only to return seconds later after he realises it is raining, and requests a room and breakfast in bed, complete with a Waldorf salad and "lashings of hot screwdriver".

The episode, which was originally titled "USA",[3] was filmed on 21 January 1979 in Studio 1 of the BBC Television Centre.

[4][5] Co-writer John Cleese believed that "the English don't know how to complain", a preposition that inspired this episode.

[7] Bird had previously appeared in the 1973 Comedy Playhouse pilot "Elementary, My Dear Watson", which starred John Cleese as Sherlock Holmes.