Applebee’s

Anyone who reads my reviews knows I’m pretty anti-​chain restaurant. I worked the entire summer airbrushing t-​shirts. Ten hour shift. On my feet the entire time. After working said shift this Applebee’s became a post-​shift hang out for cheap food (half price appetizers) and ice cold beer for me and my fellow artists. No craft beer after working noon to ten post meridian, I craved the national macro pale ales. The service was always spot on as we sat at the bar. I’ll give Applebee’s credit, they’re at least trying to bring the foodie trends into their menu. Some of the appetizers I had were: Brew pub pretzels & beer cheese, sriracha shrimp, sweet potato fries and a few burgers. All heavy and greasy like you’d expect but not bad for half price.
CONS: The local craft beer on tap is pretty non-​existent. There were also no Iowa distilleries represented in the spirits. (No Templeton, but Templeton doesn’t count anyway because they were exposed to be misleading marketing hocus-​pocus frauds. Still bitter about that, look it up.)
CHANCE OF RETURN: ⁹⁄₁₀ (only during the summer after part time gig)

I ate here for the first time in about a year (first time since the new manager took over).
The food was decidedly better, in fact everything came out properly cooked and looked very appetizing. The service was also much better than in the past. We walked right in, were greeted promptly, and our food was delivered correctly.
This location recently added the tableside electronic ordering /​bill pay, and a few new drinks and food options. These were welcome additions.
Where this location struggles (and ultimately why I still give it 3 stars) is that parking is a nightmare, and the place needs a thorough cleaning. Keep in mind that there are precious few reliable food options in Altoona, IA — so I understand that this place gets heavy use. That still doesn’t explain why there were used napkins under our table, and the bathrooms were dirty on a random week night.
If you are out for a casual meal in Altoona, this place is totally acceptable. If it’s a Thurs — Sat night after about 5:30pm, I would have a back up plan. They just don’t have the parking or the staff to deal with the crowds of people when it’s busy.

So for the past year or so the service and the food has been lousy. Tonight was a different story. They have a new manager and they kept the good employees and got some new ones. The service and wait has always been poor but they have flipped it around and it’s gotten so much better. The food is super quick and on the plus side the new menu has some nice flavor. The management is committed to turn the restaurant around and it shows. I recommend giving it a second chance now. I was pretty surprised. I recommend the lemon Apple chicken off the new menu. It was filling, had great bold flavors, and low in calories.

I have gone to the Apple Bees three times in 4 years, in Altoona. I have had a bad meal each time. I thought with time it might get a little better. LoL LoL. This time it was a Riblet meal, Dried out, no food and the fries tasted bad… And for the price, you have to be F@#king kidding me.

I keep trying and trying this Applebee’s. It never gets better. This was the last time. It’s 2:00 on a Thursday afternoon, my steak is tasteless, and rubbery. My mashed potatoes have no flavor, I had to add butter just to get them down. My veggies had no seasoning and were limp. The cook here sucks. My spouse ordered median rare, gets well done to the point it’s burnt. The fries are burnt. It’s ridiculous. My dog wouldn’t even eat this food. Worst Applebee’s in town!

I always enjoy going to Applebees to satisfy my late night cravings for comfort food, especially when they have their half off appetizers. I have been to this particular location multiple times. This Applebee’s is no different from any other I’ve been to, they are calm with their low light atmosphere and have friendly staff. Food is always good. For mr personally, I enjoy eating their appetizers more than their entrees. Also their desserts are great if you are still able to eat after a big meal.

I’ve yet to have a good experience at Applebee’s and this place did not disappoint. We had two hours between soccer games to enjoy lunch and it turned into a scramble to get fed in time.
After taking our order we waited about 45 min to get our food. Our waitress was MIA. Other tables coming and going. The manager even delivered some of our food eventually and did he say anything? No.
We had multiple groups and the checks were mixed up. More time lost. And they didn’t do anything to remedy the situation.
The food was OK but not enough to overcome this experience.

The star is for my frozen lemonade only. This was the most uninspiring boring freezer food I have tasted in a long time. Applebees with all the world chefs out there you don’t have to serve flavorless crap to hard working Americans. I think the chef is 18 and thinks the garbage he is sending out is good I’m sooo glad I didn’t pay for this meal! I won’t be back until major changes take place here fresh ingredients! Use them! the breaded boneless chicken nuggets tasted like they were in the freezer for a year. I really used to like applebees what happened?