Applebee’s

Service: Four of us arrived around 7:00 and were seated promptly. Our waitress arrived quickly for the drink orders. After she left, it was awhile before we saw her again. She apologized when she came back and the rest of our visit was very timely with everything.
Food: We all ordered a beef and potatoe dish, chicken quesadilla, spin art with chips, and lemon Chx with cranberry rice. The chicken quesadilla got a great review and our waitress said it is her favorite item on the menu. The beef and potatoe dish was good but the portion was smaller than expected. The spin art was a hit as well.
What peaked my interest the most was the drink menu, specifically the rasberry Cosmo and bourbon berry drink. I didn’t try either but if like to. The blonde brownie dessert also sounded pretty good too.

I must say I’ve been pretty impressed with Applebee’s lately. Friendly staff and really good food. It’s getting pricier everytime but the food is worth it. Keep it up!

The 2 for $ 20 is a good deal. The taco wonton chicken is good. But wait so long…

Everything is good just really processed. Waitstaff is usually fast and friendly. Not authentic food, drink specials aren’t that great.

Always a fail safe place to grab a bite to eat. The staff often seems aloof at this location in particular for whatever reason, but years ago (10 or so) I remember having the best service ever up to that point in time. It’s close to the mall and other stores on Merle Hay so that makes it even more convenient. Prices have seemed to go up in recent years but so has the quality of food, in my opinion. Love the spinach artichoke dip! Half price appetizers after 9 p.m.

Merl Hay location.
I have not been here in a long time and the menu has changed. It was still overly huge and what a mess to try and read and navigate.
According to other Unilocal reviews it looks like it went downhill for a short time but is how a bit better. ***They use MSG in their food like its going out of style. See note at end***
The waitress was nice and was fairly on top of everything. We had a mudslide which I have always enjoyed from Applebees cause last I knew they were still using real ice cream which many places dont.
We had an app, a starter, food before food… Salsa Verde Nachos
Choice of shredded brisket or pulled pork, spicy queso blanco, pico, fresh jalapenos. $ 10.99
This could have been a meal in its own. We all enjoyed the pulled pork but picked off the jalapenos.
Then the main meals came out a little awhile later.
I thought that it took them a little longer than they should have considering it was not that busy.
Our meals came out all together: Bonus; One person noticed the nuts on her meal, and she cant eat the nuts, bummer: Plus: the waitress snagged it right up and said we could fix that no problem and disappeared back to the kitchen with it.
The only bummer after that was how long we ate in front of her before she was able to bring the meal back out fixed… and it was just a salad.
We had Grilled Shrimp ‘N Spinach Salad: Spinach, crisp bacon, roasted red peppers, red onions, toasted almonds and hot bacon vinaigrette topped with grilled shrimp. (This is the one we had to have the nuts removed.)
Also at the table was a big burger FRANWHICH. This burger came with onion rings and fries and by purchasing it there was a donation made to a fundraiser.
I had the 4-​Cheese Mac & Cheese with Honey Pepper Chicken Tenders
Honey pepper balances the richness of this dish by giving a sweet and savory flavor to our breaded chicken tenders. They’re served atop a mound of our indulgent 4-​Cheese Mac & Cheese loaded with Applewood smoked bacon. — This is a huge helping. I had to box up half of it. It was a little oily in the bottom of the bowl but nothing that couldn’t be overlooked as the taste and the chicken and bacon made up for it. I am glad I only ate a small portion.
Last but not least was Cedar Salmon
A variety of spring vegetables sit atop steamed potatoes. Then it all meets rich, delicious salmon grilled with cedar seasoning, finished with a creamy white wine & lemon artichoke spread. This was also a great gluten free option.
So the quality of the food was pretty good. I hadn’t been there in a long time and was happy with the new choices of meals. Lots and lots of choices on an over sized menu. What a mess. It did seem to take a long time for us to get the correction on the salad just to remove the nuts. However it was a little busy and we all did enjoy our meals once we all had them.
****Only thing that we wish (all four of us) was that we knew what was in ALL our meals that gave us gas. I am guessing MSG. I am not shy to tell you that before we got our meals one of our guests was sharing that something always upset their stomach the last time they ate at this chain. Later that evening it was obvious that there was something that was in all our meals that gave us bloating and gas. So this might be something you want to keep in mind. A lot of what I am reading online says Applebees uses MSG in almost all their food. I don’t think they will be on the top of my list to visit due to how upset all our stomachs were after this one visit. I can share that one of us made a run for the bathroom that night. *****

August 2015 Update — — -
Well, well, looks like management got the message. the old menu is mostly back… portion sizes have increased to match the price… service was on the money… and the food was GREAT!
Two for $ 20 menu can’t be beat… get the ribs as a platter ($ 2more) and you get a fat portion of ribs… Chinese chicken salad is A+…as far as chain restaurant food goes, Applebee’s is kicken-​it!
PS. Churro S’Mores are very odd… chocolate sauce is runny and weak.“Churro’s” are more like cinnamon doughnuts. We ate the doughnuts, but couldn’t stomach the chocolate.
PSS. Onion Rings are not very good… very corporate… picture perfect rings and crust… definitely a frozen «food product»…big, thick rings, but onions inside were thin and tough… pretty flavorless… except for the salt…
Original Review Below — — -
Portions have shrunk, prices have gone up, quality/​taste has gone nowhere at best.
A hamburger, fries and water will set you back $ 10…and it’s mediocre… for $ 5 you can eat the same thing at Wendy’s…and I think Wendy’s has them beat…
This is what happens when you hire your staff based upon how little they’re willing to work for, rather than how they will perform. Constant turnover of low paid, low skilled staff leads to no one really being good at what they do… the first step towards closing the doors on the business.

Went today with some friends some of the items on the menu seemed like they just didn’t go together not really much to chose from they had good deals I orderd pasta and it tasted really weird and sweet but the sandwitch was good it just depends on what you order I would recommend the siracha shrimp the drinks are way expensive and they don’t label the price spent 20 $ on two drinks I would go agian just pick a different item and yes I would recommend this Applebee’s but I wouldn’t say it’s the greatest

Some of the staff here are great and others are horrible. There is an older gentleman server that is weird and creepy. He kept calling me Mom and it was very strange just because I have kids doesn’t mean you can call me mom. There are some other severs that are very good this place is totally hit or miss depending on who is working.

It’s Applebees. Not much different than any other Applebee’s out there, but the service here was definitely a step above any of the other Applebee’s I had been too. The 2 for $ 20 is a good deal and there are some other good values on the menu. The only problem is it’s Applebees. A restaurant chain that just seems a little confused about what it is.

It’s a chain. Good food and bartender was top notch! They Have a white brownie dessert which is light and flavorful. Good for a quick bite and can accommodate all pallets

Just don’t. Cold, bad food, carbonated water instead of Sierra Mist and terrible service. Just keep driving… lots of other options in the area!

New and approved menu is awesome. Tom T is by far best server there. We will definitely go back soon!

I really want to like this Applebee’s! It is close to home and with a young child that does not do well sitting down somewhere to eat the car side to go is a great option. The last 3 times we have ordered out the food has been horrible! First time food was completely wrong and burger was not well done. Second time it was mostly right but the burger was uneatable. The burger was bright red and «bleeding «. Called and talked to manager and he suggested to put it in the microwave! Really?! He then offered a coupon for a free meal. The third time we used the coupon and we ordered the burger very well done and I don’t want any red or pink. It still wasn’t completely cooked. This burger would still be eatable by most peoples standards but not mine. After 5 years, we keep giving them chance after chance to redeem themselves. No hope. We have never had any problems with the waitresses (car side to go) they have all been great!

Food and service were both better then I expect out of an Applebees.
I really hate that this is the first place that we at in Des Moines and would have rather gone to a non chain restaurant. If I were the driver this would have been the last place we went when there are a bunch of one of a kind places within a few miles. Being that I am not a fan of chains, I will stop my rant and say that if you like applebees style food then it was better then others that I have been to.

Food is average for Applebees… When you go there there are never enough booths to sit at and if you happen to get one, there is a very large chance that there is still food or napkins under the table that some child threw there while they had a hissy fit and no one bothered to clean it up or even try to hide it.
You can often times find most of the servers hanging out in a corner talking to one another, talking to severs who are off duty, or a few of the male servers will come in drunk or high on a regular basis.
When we moved here a year or two ago the service was good but since then it has drastically fallen and we prefer to go to the Jordan Creek location now if we go to Applebees.
If you do go to the Merle Hay location best servers are Kari or Lindsey!