The Cheesecake Factory

This Cheesecake Factory is very similar to their other Atlanta locations: decent drinks, good menu, and delicious cakes.
I just took my date to this location tonight, so my review will be based off my isolated-​experience: this restaurant was good, and does deserve my 4-​star review.
The main reason I took «one star off» is, like my fellow consumers, the Cheesecake reservation system sucks (in my opinion). Granted, this location is next to Perimeter Mall, and the restaurant is always overwhelm with customers (so I don’t blame them for not implementing a tradition «Call-​ahead reservation system».
Thus, I will leave my review with a question to the Cheesecake Factory management: At peak customer-​traffic time, is there any way that you can improve the crowded-​ness of your Customer Waiting Line? Just tonight, I had to pass 20+ people just to get to your hostess…
(just my two-​cents)

I went here with my boyfriend for our usual Friday night date assuming this would be great seeing they have a good reputation and I’ve been to other locations before that were good.
We were sat at a very small table a foot away from another couple on one side and two chatty teenagers on the other which made the both of us uncomfortable due to lack of privacy and very little room. The server didn’t seem to be very experienced.
The bread they brought us was so hard on the outside we couldn’t eat it. We then decided to start off with a Calamari appetizer which wasn’t up to par — way too chewy and room temperature.
I ordered the Eggplant Parmesan and he ordered the Filet Mignon — mine was tolerable to eat but still soggy, and the Pesto Noodles that come with it were just plain unsalted spaghetti noodles covered in pesto and there was so much on my plate it was overwhelming and added to the eggplant sogginess. I took one bite of them.
His on the other hand was absolutely awful. When they brought out my huge plate of food the only thing they brought him was his one piece of steak, completely forgetting a steak knife and also forgetting his side of fries. This made me feel like I couldn’t eat yet making my meal cold which in turn made an awkward situation for both of us. To top it off, his steak was ordered medium rare, but came out completely pink, cold, and chewy like an uncooked piece of bacon — it was absolutely disgusting. When the server came back my boyfriend returned his steak to be cooked correctly (the server even looked shocked by it and said he wouldn’t eat it). While his steak was being «re-​cooked» his fries were brought to him, but by the time the steak got back the fries were cold, and on top of that the steak came back out as raw as the first time! He didn’t take but 2 bites. It was a $ 30 steak.
My boyfriend is very passive, and was so over the experience and wanting to get out of there he just paid the bill and left. On the way home I found out the bill was $ 85. I started feeling bad seeing as it was my idea, and my boyfriend had to pay for a meal he took no more than 5 bites of, as he doesn’t even eat Calamari. I decided to call back up there and see what they could do to compensate for our horrible experience. The manager did not offer to help and told me it’s our fault for not saying anything and he would’ve had to see the steak himself. I have worked in restaurants and know he could’ve helped make the situation better in some way. And to top it off, my boyfriend has been throwing up sick with food poisoning all day. I will be contacting their corporate office. Will never be back.