Applebee’s

Saturday night we went to 3 different restaurants, we were starving and didn’t want to wait the 40+ minutes everybody was quoting us. So in a last ditch effort to get some food into our hangry bellies, we decided to go to Applebee’s.
There was no wait, but the dining area was pretty full. I didn’t have high hopes for the evening after it took almost 10 minutes before anyone even acknowledged us after sitting down. We ordered our drinks and then it was another 10+ minutes before our waiter ever came back! He was super nice, so I feel bad but he just seemed so awkward and just didn’t seem to have a good flow. He took our orders, and after a few minutes we received only the mozzarella sticks of our build your own appetizer… He came back and verified we ordered mozzarella sticks (but didn’t confirm the second option — pretzels w/​beer cheese) so when he brought us the 4 mozz sticks on a plate and took off, we were confused if we were going to get the rest of our appetizer? Finally the pretzels and beer cheese did come. It seemed really awkward to me – if I was a waiter and only delivering half of an order I feel like an acknowledgement such as «the rest will be on it’s way in a moment» would be appropriate.
Then we got out entrees — I ordered the triple bacon burger which was supposed to have bacon, cheese, and barbecue bacon ranch. When the burger came it didn’t have the bacon ranch and seemed to be just a plain bacon burger. That wouldn’t have been an issue except we were still charged for the triple bacon burger price! Also, the burger was REALLY dry. I ordered it with a little pink and it was close to well-​done. My boyfriend said his jalapeño burger was just «okay». All in all, the food was sub-​par. The poor waiter was just so awkward and clumsy the whole experience was just really awkward. I don’t know if he was just really new at waiting tables or what. I did notice while we were waiting on our food that a lot of the tables seemed to be having similar issues. I overheard that one table just never received one of their entrees. It seemed like the waitstaff just wasn’t making their rounds like one would expect.
It’s been years since I’ve been to an Applebee’s and I don’t think after this experience we’ll be going back any time soon! Womp womp.

I’ve been to this Applebee’s a couple of times now and I’ve never had a problem. Everyone is very friendly and the food is cooked right. I love it. My current server, Brett, is great. Two thumbs up.

I’ll start off by saying the roos there was great and the arrive was great also. The waitress Stephanie was awesome. The only thing I didn’t like about resturant was the manger and how doesn’t take care of his staff. Mostly when they complain about the drunk guts there grabbing or slapping there asses. I don’t take kindly to that kind of shit. Ya’ll need to get ya’ll act together and take care of your staff. Instead all you do is tell staff to just deal with it. If they feel uncomfortable about that you should tell the drunks to leave. All ya’ll are concerned about money and making sure everyone is having good time.

I will start out by saying I have never been a fan of Applebee’s. However, I received a gift card and decided to give them another chance, after being away for several years. I looked online at the various menus and chose to go with brisket nachos. I couldn’t believe someone thought to put two of my most favorite things together. I should have been a little more thoughtful of my choice, perhaps. Anyway, I go to pick up my order along with my sons order of chicken tenders with french fries, and I’m greeted by a very polite waitress. I get home and my husband is immediately taken aback by how large the container for my nachos is. However, when we opened it we were greeted by about 100 tortilla chips, 20 of which had cheese on them, and *maybe* 1 ounce of brisket meat. It was awful. My son enjoyed his chicken at least. I will not be back.

I hadn’t been to an Applebee’s in a long time prior to this, so I was glad to have such an enjoyable experience on this particular visit.
This location was very attractive inside and out, and I got a sense that they were really trying to rise above the somewhat negative association some diners attribute to their chain. Our service was friendly, and came back occasionally to ensure we were fine. The 2 for $ 25 deal was stellar, and we both picked the mac and cheese/​bacon/​chicken entrée; it did not disappoint! Applebee’s tends to not give out coupons, though if you look at the pricing, you can see why: it’s pretty affordable all the time, and the mixed drinks are a good deal as well.
I’d like to mention that I mistakenly believed later in the evening that I had misplaced my phone and left it at the restaurant. While that turned out not to be the case (I eventually found it elsewhere), the staff here were incredibly helpful and patient with me as I tried to retrace my steps to locate it. Thanks, Applebee’s.
This place may not be the pinnacle of dining, though they provided a good solid experience for me and I will definitely return.
Overall: 4.0 stars
— — — — –
Pros:
— Food is great, and some of the options are quite different from other chains.
— Pricing is reasonable.
— Excellent service on this occasion.
— Attractive interior/​exterior, and easy parking.
Cons:
— Could have been more callbacks as my lady friend and I ran out of our drinks at one point, though this can happen anywhere.
— Staff members did seem to be congregating in a booth near us, and as a former server, I can tell you that hanging out while on shift is frowned upon by managers everywhere. Wasn’t really hurting anyone on this occasion, though.

car side to go. I had one of the most friendliest servers (Evan)come out to the car to bring my food. I had a huge order for 9 people. The server took the time to ask me how my day was going, joked with me about being the one sent to get lunch for the entire office and then asked which order was mine and then told me it was a good choice. I ordered blackened Tilapia, baked potato w/​bacon & cheese and garden veggies. Everything was perfectly cooked.
It seems the trick to ccar side t go is to go early. I ordered at 11:30, food was ready and piping hot at 11:55 as promised.
Tipped Evan well for being so nice and handling my food quickly. :)

After 10pm, there aren’t that many choices left in richmond. But if you’re hungry, you get desperate. So the boyfriend and I figure that we haven’t been to an Applebee’s in years… and that night after trying to eat our meal, we found out why it’s been so long. Everything in the appetizer sampler tasted like it was from the walmart frozen food section. I had the riblets, which were as thin as cardboard, but tasted more bland. I tried to fill myself up by eating the fries, but they had this weird artificial after taste to them. Lesson learned.
The waitress was really nice though.

I went to this restaurant tonight hoping to get a good meal while I sat and read a bit of a new book. The host had the personality of a turnip. He mumbled lazily as he pulled me through the restaurant looking around in a really confused manner before dumping me off next to the bar (full of people that had just gotten off work and were there for happy hour) at a six person table. When I asked if it was possible for a quieter table I thought I might have broken his brain. He seemed a little dumbfounded and then mentioned that he was following ‘the rotation’ (which I get but common sense, eh?) before leading me off to a spot just behind his stand. This was a particularly awkward seating arrangement as it turned out… The little guy, clearly bored out of his skull, spent the entire duration of my meal flopping around the entrance area and alternatively laying vacant eyed across his stand so that he was — 5 feet from me — facing me exactly, nothing between us, oddly looming, staring… weird. Awkward, Uncomfortable… check please?
The waiter seemed disenchanted with his work (I can’t really blame him), but was generally nice, though not terribly attentive… When I ordered I got the wrong meal out the first time, sent it back… the second time it came back the bun was so soggy I could have squeezed a shot glass full of liquid from it. Other than that, the food wasn’t too bad. I probably won’t be going back to that Applebee’s too soon though…