The COVID-19 pandemic has challenged the world in a multitude of ways. The tourism and hospitality sector is particularly susceptible to such a crisis. In particular, the foodservice segment of the tourism and hospitality sector has struggled significantly. Therefore, this study examines the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the foodservice industry and consumer behaviour in Chittagong, Bangladesh. Due to the explorative nature, this research follows an interpretive paradigm and qualitative methodology. Two methods were used to collect data-a) Netnography and b) an online open questionnaire. Participants were selected through a purposive sampling technique using pre-assigned criteria. The gathered data were analysed using a six-stage thematic data analysis. The study findings that during the COVID-19 outbreak, guests' perception of risk influenced their assessment of food service quality. Customers would give businesses a negative rating for service quality if they noticed that they were not following government-mandated social distancing rules; conversely, if businesses followed the process to the letter, customers would give them a high rating. During the review, however, it was discovered that the risk of COVID-19 had no impact on the decision-making of some clients. Due to their connections to the establishments and because COVID-19 was a natural disaster beyond their control, customers ordered food and services through online platforms, using food apps, websites and so on during the pandemic. Moreover, the study proposed several recommendations for the future research and managerial bodies.