The Cheesecake Factory — Restaurant in Austin

The Cheesecake Factory is always on our list for meals when we have friends and family visiting. My dad was quite excited to be having a meal again so we decided to go last night (Sunday 21st August). The wait was not too bad for 6:15 pm - only 20 minutes.....and plenty more people came in after us so we felt lucky. We sat at the "tables" not a "booth" so that was the first disappointment, although understandable. The booths are just a little more private and comfy. Our waiter greeted us fairly quickly and took our drink order, we also saw that it may be getting busier so we quickly ordered everyone's favorite, the thing my dad was waiting to order, "Avocado Spring Rolls" and 2 orders of them, please! We were informed that they were already sold out of them. What? 6:30 at dinnertime - out of the appetizers that they are famous for, and the item plastered all over the digital boards as we waited in the lobby..... We had to quickly scan the menu for an alternative. We decided on the Cheeseburger spring rolls plus the "Crispy" Brussels Sprouts - we absolutely love Brussels sprouts and everywhere we have ever had them, they are delicious - how can you not love them? As we waited for the appetizers we scanned the menus quickly to order. After looking, and deciding - and looking and deciding - the waiter didn't return for a while - so it is easy to reconsider an item for dinner - quite annoying but - He finally came by again to let us know the appetizer would be arriving soon, he dashed off again. He came back and we ordered. The appetizers arrived. Cheeseburger Spring Rolls - a measly 5 small pieces - okay but not amazing. Definitely not the Avocado Spring Rolls. Crispy Brussels Sprouts - Arrived in a small cast iron bowl on a very hot plate - Not crispy at all - kind of soggy and chewy with a few crispy loose leaves. Probably the least favorite Brussels sprouts I'd ever had at a restaurant. After many apologies, the well-awaited food showed up. Okay: Chicken Madeira - Usually amazing! Presentation - nah! Temperature - not good. the Madeira gravy is usually smothering and warm - there were only 5 stems of asparagus - 5! thin little pieces sprawled across the many many mushrooms - almost too many. The chicken breast was thin, not plump and juicy like before. Still okay but not $24 good. Fish & Chips - In a large clumsy basket! Not easy to eat from a basket, try a large plate. The "Crispy" fish was soggy in parts. The fries were not hot. Chicken Littles - Well definitely not "little" which was not a problem - there were too many chicken strips - almost overwhelming. But the not-so-great thing was that the pile of huge mashed potatoes was not hot also just like the fries on the F&C. Fried Shrimp Platter - A great big basket appeared - lots of giant fried shrimp - not a golden color but a dark golden color. The shrimp were so hot that I burned the roof of my mouth, they were fried too long and the shrimp inside was not juicy, although cooked. The fries that they were sitting on top of were cool, not hot. The meals were obviously sitting in a line somewhere in the kitchen waiting for final additions to the plates before serving. So disappointing. We have been frequenting this place, this particular location for years, and other locations across the country. I cannot say I will be in a hurry to visit this place again, there are just too many great smaller restaurants that are not "chains" If you cannot keep the standard with your restaurant then you should not charge so much for your food. Your customers are willing to pay the excess for something good in return. Very disappointed. Customers, you should definitely try a smaller restaurant chain or local restaurant before going here. I will order cheesecake to go because let's face it nobody does cheesecake; like The Cheesecake Factory. If you can't do the same with all your other foods & specialties, then go back to being the bakery that started it all, that way you will never have to apologize and disappoint...

I originally thought that I would have to leave a 1 star review due to the way I was treated upon arrival today by two of the greeter/hosts. But I am beyond relieved that my initial negative experience & first impression was turned into a positive one in the end. I want to sincerely thank managers Daniel & Felipe, as well as our server Fabulous for going above & beyond to accommodate myself & my large party of 13! Unfortunately the restaurants policy does not allow RSVP’s for parties larger than 6, & you can’t combine reservations to fit one group. Knowing this I called ahead of time & spoke with Jazz, who assured me that as long as my party arrives before 1:30-2pm on 12/9, we would have no issues being seated. I told her I would be celebrating a special occasion with a group of about 15. She reassured me that if we arrived @ my requested time of 12:30pm, that it would be no problem because that’s well before their peak busiest hours, & the restaurant would be just opening not long before. I arrived on time along with my party. Parking was down right terrible & they reserved 8 of the front spaces for To go orders, that remained empty during my visit. One of my guest requires handicap parking & still had to park a far distance away from the restaurant after circling the lot a few times. Once I checked in I was greeted by Jazz & another male @ the front counter. I explained that I had called ahead of time & what I was told. Jazz blatantly lied & denied that I ever spoke with her. She also gave me a fake last name over the phone. It was indeed THAT Jazz whom I spoke w/ & that was the first name provided to me on the phone call. She & the male host were rude & not interested in accommodating my party from the start. The male host spoke to me aggressively & told me that He’s “not sure what restaurant I called, but I didn’t call there & I didn’t speak w/Jazz. & REGARDLESS of what I SAY I was told over the phone, We don’t seat large parties of more than 6! I can try to find a table for you but it will be 45min to an hour wait & your party will be split into two groups & seated nowhere near one another. That’s the best I can do for you!” He stood throwing his hands up & shrugging his shoulders in a oh well type of way. He & Jazz both stood firm in their position, never once offered to get a manager & basically said take it or leave it! I went outside to relay the bad news to my waiting group of family & friends. We traveled an hour in traffic from Bastrop to get there & now I’m being told we have to wait an hour & sit apart. LUCKILY when I went back inside, Daniel the manager happened to be there. He was an instant breath of fresh air! He was smiling & greeted me with a welcoming attitude. I explained to him what happened. He immediately told me no worries & asked that I allow him 1min to get a table ready. We did not have to wait or split up after all. He listened to me & apologized on behalf of his staff who were rude to me. He assured me that I would be taken care of, & I was! Felipe another manager joined Daniel in assisting me & my group with getting seated & even cleared a space for my gifts. They congratulated me & were so warm & attentive. Fabulous our server was on his A GAME! He had a system in place that helped him easily manage my party & didn’t mess up on one single thing. He even kept track of all of the split checks. He repeatedly checked on us, offered refills & made sure we had all that we needed. I am so extremely grateful & thankful for Daniel, Felipe & Fabulous! My baby shower brunch turned out to be amazing thanks to those three. I would’ve given 5 stars, but had to take off for my initial experience w/ Jazz & the other guy. The chicken tenders had no seasoning but my waffle was downright...

There may be good times to be had here. There is good food to be eaten here. It begins with fresh water and delicious complimentary breads [see BREADPIC]. Ask for lemon wedges on the side and at first glance you'll find they brought you too many. That's where you're wrong. Use one in the traditional way, lightly squeezed and plopped in your water. The others you're going to eat with the bread. "I'm sorry, you want me to eat lemon?" That's right, including the skin and the seeds. "That's ridiculous, I'm not doing that. Not in public, anyway." Oh, but that's where the bread comes in. Hollow out some of the lovely bread and surreptitiously hide a lemon wedge inside. Then you can eat your bread with lemon and the other patrons will be none the wiser. This is the way, the only way, and as it is such so also as such is it unto you. Now, the menu here is huge, do be careful. My dear companion and I ordered the Sheepherder's Pie and the Kale & Quinoa Salad, both good choices, and reasonably priced. However, we had filled up on the water, bread, and lemons, so in the end we uncharacteristically had to ask for doggy bags. ("Doggy bags" is a phrase no one says anymore, but I really like it because it sounds so stupid. That makes it all the more fitting for a moderately fancy restaurant like the Cheesecake Factory. As a general rule of thumb, it is best to be as "unsophisticated" as possible when in a nice restaurant: intentionally and ridiculously mispronounce culinary terms; talk with your mouth full; hide lemons in your bread; eat with your fingers and don't be afraid to get nasty—not just with your food but with your conversation, too.) Our waitress quickly did the doggy bagging for us in the back and brought us back a nice little bag housing nice little black plastic boxes housing our leftovers. "Alexa" was a good waitress—friendly, attentive without being too intrusive, generous with the lemons—and we were glad to have her instead of the guy with the huge beard who we imagined leaves beard shavings hidden among the chocolate shavings atop many of the cheesecakes he serves. I thoroughly enjoyed this memorable dining experience—my sleepy companion rested her head on my shoulder and we chatted and laughed and broke bread together and left satisfied with plenty of leftovers for the morrow. Those leftovers lasted, by the way. We ate that refreshing salad on three separate occasions, if you can believe that, and I ate the cold leftover Sheepherder's Pie for breakfast. "You nasty." No no, it was pretty okay. A few days later we ended up having even more leftovers from the Cheesecake Factory after my dear companion ate there with another dear friend of hers. We had Steak Medallions and some Crispy Chicken pasta dish, both of which were reheated in the oven and still perfectly delicious. I also picked up a slice of Key Lime Cheesecake for my dear companion on the way over, for she'd been to the Cheesecake Factory two times in one week and both times failed to eat her favorite cheesecake, which was, as she might...