The Cheesecake Factory

I have held off writing this review for a long time. I have eaten here on several occasions and I can’t figure out why. The service is OK. The people seem friendly but over worked. Long time to get refills and such. The atmosphere is super cool. Pretty dark but enough light to get it done. The menu is monstrous. Maybe that’s the problem. They make so many things they don’t have time to get great at anything. I’ve had club sandwiches, steak burgers, fish and it is all just so so. When the bill comes I honestly ask myself every time why do we keep coming back. It isn’t terrible but for the price I should be blown away. Also it is extremely loud inside. Always. If this place lowered the prices it would be worth more stars but at what they charge it isn’t worth it. We only go to they take out line to order cheesecake to go now and that is just fine. The cheesecake is amazing.

The wait at this location is very long. Doesn’t matter if it’s lunch or dinner, weeknight or weekend. It really doesn’t seem to matter if it’s even crowded, it just seems to take forever to get a table. OBVIOUSLY, if you are only going to get a slice for dessert, as we have, it’s much quicker, and that is a different review. The cheesecake is good. Very good. The rest of the food is the bigger issue. I have yet to have an entrée that blew me away, The prices are higher than average, and I think you must pay for the name or the novelty, because I don’t think the quality of food is worth it. We will go there solely for dessert from now on.

I really enjoy the food here but sometimes, the waiting time to get seated is extremely long. This time, the wait time was 1 hour and 30 minutes to get seated and maybe another 20 minutes to receive the food. I ordered the Chinese chicken salad, one of my favorite salads at Cheesecake Factory. I also ordered the Vanilla Bean cheesecake as a desert. Another part I dislike is that the food, especially the cheesecake, is very expensive compared to the cost of production. Yet, I definitely recommend people visit this restaurant.

Perfect for a special occasion. Lots of food! Be prepared to take some home, or share with someone because the portions are generous. Cheesecake– need I say more?

Service is horrible and management doesn’t care. Had bad service two days in a row; I won’t be bothered a third time as my lesson has been learned. The staff is rude or just flat out ignores you and management doesn’t care. Avoid and just go to Pappadeaux’s.

I think this is the smallest Cheesecake Factory that I’ve been to. Such being the case, this place is packed to the brim (at least on Saturdays), so beware and plan accordingly.
No reservations.
Happy hour is M-​F 4 – 6. $ 5 for a good variety of favorite appetizers (they’re the full size), and $ 5 for draft? And a good price for specific mixed drinks too.
Bathrooms are clean!
Food comes out quickly.
They offer complimentary valet for patrons, so you don’t go driving in that huge lots for 20 mins!

I LOVE the Cheesecake Factory but I cannot rate higher than 2 stars for my latest experience. First, let me clarify that I work in the restraunt industry and I am also an avid cook. I know food prep and I know when its bad.
We called ahead and were quoted a 45 – 1 hour wait but when we got there, we were quoted 20 – 30 which was excellent. However, we were seated at an incredibly small table where one wall was booths and the other were chairs. Besides the 2 of us, there were 3 other people on the booth seating and it was cramped to say the least. I understand you want to seat as many tables as possible, but breaking up a 4 top for a 2 top is not a solution when they have no elbow room.
Bread and butter were meager, disappointing as they used to have harty portions. We placed our orders after much debate – he got catfish, I got some pasta (can’t recall the name, it was a penne pasta with mushrooms and wine sauce.) I asked to substitute noodles for angel hair and our server was happy to do so. Sadly, my pasta was AWFUL. The noodles were so overcooked, it was hard to chew them they were so sticky and crunchy all at one. The sauce was also improperly reduced and still had a bitter, acrid aftertaste that told me they had not cooked out the alcohol. After lots of debate, I finally sent it back and ordered a burger instead. The burger was good, but I asked for it to be cooked medium well and it was well done to say the least. My fiancé’s catfish was good but he found multiple «corn hairs» in his vegetables (which tells me they did not shuck the corn properly) and his fish’s breading fell away when he touched a piece. Really disappointing, considering our bill was about $ 70 with the tip.
The only reason this isn’t 1 Star is because our server was superb. I believe her name was Charlie — long blond hair, very sweet. She was very apologetic and speedy and kept our drinks full. Such a shame their staff seems to be amazing on the floor but sub-​par at best in the kitchen.

I know you’re hungry, and I know the idea of over 100 choices on a menu sounds like a great idea. But just don’t do it. This place is highly over priced for extremely mediocre food. I ordered pizza, I mean, how do you manage to ruin that? Well it was completely soggy except for the crust. Inedible. I am pretty sure everything is frozen then cooked. The only saving grace was their salad. I would have tried their cheesecakes which admittedly looked rather amazing, but I was too grossed out by the pizza and the state of my friends fried fish tacos.
On another note their service was pretty on top of their game, and continuously refilled our drinks. They seemed pretty organized even though it was fairly busy. I would be tempted to go back and try the cheesecake. But honestly other than that, I know it is convenient, but just go to a non chain in town.

Me and my bestie came here yesterday for dinner. It was so packed! We opted for any seat in the house because we were starving. We didn’t care whether it be inside or outside in the heated patio. The wait was only 15 mins and we ended up with the «heated patios». Let me tell ya it was like 48 degrees and not enough fire torches. I was freezing my fingers off. Bestie had a sangria and not even that could keep her warm. Other than that. The service was kind of slow. There was a lot of lag time from us getting the menu to getting the orders in. But our server did do a good job serving us though. He kept my sweet tea cup always full. I had Evelyn’s pasta. My fav always. The olives weren’t cut to bits here. That’s a good thing. I just flicked them to the side more easily. However I don’t like that big fat pasta cylinders. The flavor just doesn’t incorporate well with the light sauce drizzle. That’s just my opinion. I miss the old squiggly pasta they had. Overall dinner here was great. ‘Twas a great night in Birmingham!

Presentation 9. Choices 10. Quality 5. Taste inconsistent 3. Service 7. Just what you would expect.

Who knew happy hour could be this happy! We were clearly distracted as our sole purpose for even going to the factory was to share a slice of cheesecake in the midst of our celebration. We however, got lured in and found our way to a high top table in the bar area. The happy hour menu danced in our faces with TONS of reasonably priced/​shareable options. We were pleased to see low cocktail prices and ordered a few (cosmo and iced tea). My, oh my, compliments to the bartender– his concoctions were made promptly and tasty. While we were waiting, though we knew we only wanted cheesecake, we went ahead and ordered the buffalo blast appetizer. WHY– we only wanted cheesecake, but still managed to be led by our sense of instant hunger. Needless to say, they were good and gone in 45 minutes between the two of us. We agree the blasts might as well be a full meal versus an appetizer– they are so filing and CF definitely doesn’t skimp on quantity. I would recommend an order of these and maybe a side item or side salad as your meal. Though full, we finally ordered our white chocolate raspberry cheesecake… to go!
Overall, I would say that Cheesecake Factory has one of the best happy hours in town with lots of app/​snack/​meal options as well as a special bar menu. The restaurant crowd was not obnoxious by far, but rather quiet. If you can make it down 280 between 4−6pm M-​F, you’re sure to leave happy, stuffed or worse; both. My only advice, don’t do what we did, stick to your plan and only go for what you planned to go for… cheesecake.

No! Skip it, nothing but slow service, slow food, and rude management. If you want corporate, crap food, then sure go here.

When you want a large selection of items on the menu (Salads, Appetizers, Italian, Burgers, Cajun, Asian Fusion, Steaks, Comfort, Desert, etc.) go here. If I want consistency in drinks and food, I’m never dissapointed. If its crowded and you don’t mind a slightly busy atmosphere, first come first serve in the bar area! If you’re too full for dessert, some meals are dinosaur portions, take the cheesecake home for layer. It keeps very well. Anyways, I agree wholeheartedly with other reviewers… certainly consistent in quality!

Just stopped in for some cheesecake and a drink, great service! Great atmosphere, great drinks and amazing cheesecake! Will come again for sure!

I try to avoid the Summit and Summit restaurants like the plague, but I was spending time with my Mother and we were there, and hungry, so Cheesecake Factory it was this past Saturday.
No line, no waiting, and out on the covered patio we went. It did seem like our food and drinks took a hot minute to be delivered. I guess they were bumpin’ inside. It was fine though. She had a piña colada and I a strawberry daiquiri (what is this, the beach?) and both were tasty. HOWEVER, prices are not marked and thus we paid $ 11 per drink. $ 11 at a chain restaurant? For ice and rum? Who are you kidding TCF? This ain’t Collins Bar or Bottega or something. This is rinkydink Cheesecake Factory.
I had the Farfelle Garlic Chicken Mushroom Something Something Pasta dish and it was really good. And SUCH a large portion I had enough for lunch again the next day, split with another person. Mom enjoyed her food too.
It was a pleasant surprise for a chain place. Great food. Our waitress was sweet as pie and it was a good experience. I wouldn’t go out of my way for it, but if I were there shopping, then yes. Hit it up!

If you’re smart don’t go to the cheesecake factory during dinner hours unless you wish to wait at the minimum 45 minutes. I went during lunch and was seated right away. They have a little lunch menu which is very handy given that their regular menu is so extensive. I went with the Mexican lettuce wraps which came in the shape of tacos making it easier to eat. Also, I had a white sangria. The sangria had mostly oranges in it for the fruit and was good. But what made me the happiest was the gluten-​free Godiva chocolate cheesecake. With good service and good food I can’t complain.

I had an awful experiment with my to go meal but they manager assured me he would take care of everything he offered to remake the food (which I declined) and gave me a refund he even through in a free slice of cheesecake for all my trouble.

I normally don’t eat at Cheesecake Factories because the food is chain food, but these guys really helped me out when I called just before their closing time as I was traveling through town, and they made the food and then handed it to me 45 minutes after they closed. I very much appreciated that and it made my night as I had been busy with work all day and did not have time to eat, and wanted to get to my next hotel in Tuscaloosa.
The food may not be what I would normally eat, but these guys made up for anything by helping me out.

Do you like eating sugar in the dark? Come here!
But seriously, if I have to pull out my phone to read the menu, YOUR LIGHTS ARE TOO LOW.
Cheesecake factory does cheesecake pretty well, and they should… it’s their name. However, everything else this franchise does, it fails at.
Even stopping in for dessert and coffee, I find myself completely let down. This last time, I ordered a Carmel Macchiato and it came to the table with not only caramel as expected, but sugar added as well? It should be plenty sweet with just the caramel, but even if the person making it felt like it should be sweeter, give me the OPTION to add the sweetener. I nearly gagged trying to finish the lukewarm drink.
I just don’t have anything good to say about this place. The cheesecake almost redeems it, but there are plenty of cheesecake factory franchises that deserve business more than this one.

Consistent. ALWAYS consistently great!
The cheese cake factory started out selling cheesecake. They expanded the business with meals and kept the cheesecake. The reality is that most people go for the entrees and the cheesecake is just a bonus. I rarely even eat cheesecake at the Cheesecake Factory.
I mentioned the Cheesecake Factory is consistent. My other favorite attribute is the expansive menu. Most restaurant cut down on menu items to help a kitchen produce more smoothly and efficiently. At the Cheesecake Factory you pay a bit more but you got a ton of menu options. The expansive menu is great for groups because there is something for everyone.
The food is generally very good. I find that the cheese cake factory is better than other more specialized restaurants. For example, the Cheesecake Factory can make better Cajun inspired cuisine than a Cajun restaurant. (Such as Cajun steamer)
The interior is nicely decorated; the lightly is casual and comfortable. They have outdoor seating which is nice during the evening when the sub sets.
A few things enter my mind when considering flaws. First, the menu is full of advertisements. Second, it’s a bit more expensive for comparable dishes at other restaurants. Finally, it gets very crowded and the wait can get pretty long on the weekends.
In conclusion, the cheesecake is a great «go-​to» spot for friends and family. They have something to satisfy everyone, and they do so consistently. It’s a franchise and it’s not really anything spectacular, but it is among the best in the area.