Dolly's — Restaurant in Anderson Township

I don't normally write reviews of "Chain Restaurants" because at the end of the day you can't expect much from value driven chain restaurants. The last several experiences here were so bad it defies that logic, and is worthy of public advisement. We were DECADES long patrons of Frisch's in Milford, Loveland and Fairfax. We saw the declination of those restaurants over the last four years and were not surprised when the doors started to shutter Company wide the last year. The Company that purchased that chain from the Meier family ran that franchise literally into the ground. No one was surprised they closed up as is the way capitalism works when you fail your customers and employees. Over the decades we made many friends with the staff at those venues so we were happy to see some of the staff were hired to work at the location in Anderson on Beechmont Ave. Knowing the staff landed on their feet at Dolly's was motivation enough to drive past 120 other restaurants on our way to visit them here. After this third trip that won't happen again. Today we had a party of seven and were seated at a table meant for four people with chairs on either end with a high chair. We asked them to add a table and they acted like we were asking for DNA of their first born child. It was FREEZING cold in the atrium and we asked the server to advise management to adjust the temp. We were seated at 1230 and one of the party ordered the breakfast bar. We were advised by our service "professional" that they weren't taking anymore bar orders for the day since they were getting ready to close it. Umm what? Drink order was taken and they were served. Still freezing so we asked the server we have known for twenty years if HE could help us get the temp raised some in the atrium area. You could tell he was having an AWFUL day as he didn't bother to even respond. After an additional 10 minutes we decided we weren't going to drop 130.00 on breakfast while catching pneumonia at the same time. We decided to leave. I informed our server we were heading out since it was clear the staff there has ZERO regard for the comfort of their customers. The saddest thing is no one CARED or even attempted to correct the problem as a party of SEVEN decades long clients were walking out the door. The restaurant was about 45% occupied so there was literally no excuse for this type of lackluster performance. I was personally embarrassed for the server that we have known for all these years because I KNOW he didn't sign up for this level of professional negligence. The first two stops were not great but I chalked it up to "hey they're new and learning the ropes". That time has come and went. I really want to like this place so we can support the people we enjoyed at the other locations across all those years... three strikes and you're out as they say. If you want over priced food, low quality food, served by a staff that doesn't care an iota about service, than come on in. We won't be driving past those other 120...

We finally got around to trying the replacement for Frisch's. Upon entering the restaurant noticed that the layout was the same as Frisch's. Noticed that the carpet was very worn/dated. We arrived just after the main lunch time and restaurant didn't appear to be crowded at all (Thursday around 1:00 PM). We were seated promptly and our drink order taken quickly and drinks served fast. I decided to try the Signature Burger (Replacement for Big Boy). My wife decided to try the Fish Sandwich. The Signatur Burger actually compared favorably to the Big Boy. The tartar sauce was not much different, but the size of the burger was much bigger that the old Big Boy. It was closer to a Super Big Boy that to the original. The Fish Sandwich on the other hand was a disappointment. The size of the fish filet was similar to the Frisch's Fish Sandwich, but the actual amount of fish was very thin. It was mostly breading. It did have a lot of pickles on it.

The atmosphere of the restaurant was kind of dreary. We noticed that there was a space for free lollypops for children but was empty. This contributed to the dreary atmosphere. I can't say if we will be...

Couldn't say anything about the "atmosphere since I didn't go inside. I figured a 3 was neutral.

I used the drive-thru to compare the old Frisch's vs the new Dolly's. The service was MUCH faster. They responded as soon as I was near the microphone/speaker. Order was correct and hot when I opened it at home. They use Styrofoam instead of cardboard (maybe holds the heat longer?). The onion rings were hot and the breading was crisp and tasty. The include a dipping sauce which has a little spicey touch. Not unpleasantly spicey, just different (I liked it). The last few onion rings from the old Frisch's at this location were greasy, the batter was crumbling off, and the onion was limp. I ordered the Super-Dolly. It, too, was hot. It weighed a ton! There were 4 burger patties instead of 2 patties on the Super Big Boy. Lot's of pickles, cheese, lettuce and special sauce (tasted like Frisch's tartar sauce). I had a difficult time getting in my mouth, which is saying something! I couldn't eat the whole sandwich! The coleslaw was terrible. Dry and no flavor at all.

Next test will be their...