The Cheesecake Factory — Restaurant in Brandon

I recently went to the Cheesecake Factory at Brandon Town Mall, and let me tell you, it was a complete letdown compared to my previous experience in Naples, Florida. I had a reservation, but they still made me wait an extra 45 minutes! After 25 minutes of sitting around, I got anxious and asked about my table, only to be told my best bet was to sit at the bar for faster service. Fine, I thought, but when I got there, the bartenders were too busy pouring drinks to care about the diners. It was infuriating! Sitting at the bar was a joke—no silverware, no menu, just a suggestion to sit there that turned out to be a huge mistake. I should have waited longer for a proper table. After another 25 minutes, I had to hunt down the menu myself, and when I finally got it, it was like I was invisible to the bartender. 10 minutes later, she finally bothered to ask for my drink order, but I wanted food first. She just brushed me off, saying she'd check back. What a disaster! I finally decided to order a glass of wine, along with crab bites as an appetizer and shepherd's pie for dinner, thinking it would be efficient to get everything sorted at once. The bartender didn’t even bother to ask what kind of wine I wanted and just grabbed a random bottle, forcing me to specify Merlot. She poured me a measly half glass without a word, and when I questioned the amount, she had the audacity to say it was standard. After tasting it, I asked for a larger glass, which took forever to arrive. Meanwhile, my crab bites came out burnt to a crisp, looking and smelling terrible. When I pointed this out, the bartender completely ignored me. Eventually, a server came by, and when I explained the issue, she looked at me like I was crazy. Only after I insisted did the bartender finally acknowledge the problem and tell the server to take them back. It took another 20 minutes for the crab cakes to return, leaving me feeling utterly frustrated and debating whether to stay or leave. I kept sipping my nearly empty wine while waiting, and just as I was about to give up and pay my bill, the crab cakes finally showed up, looking decent and tasting good. Yet, the waitress didn’t even ask if I enjoyed them, which just added to the ridiculousness of the whole experience. Dining alone made this bizarre situation even worse. My shepherd's pie finally arrived after an agonizing wait of 1 hr & 20 minutes since I first sat down. I can't stress enough how infuriating that wait was; my wine was almost gone by the time the waitress finally noticed my empty glass and asked about my missing dish. I was furious after shelling out $15 for a glass of wine, only to be pressured into a second, racking up a ridiculous $30 for two. The crab cakes were a disgrace, tasting like they were just reheated leftovers, and when I asked for a box, the waitress carelessly tossed it to me as if I were a nuisance. The whole check process was infuriating; I felt completely ignored when she didn’t even bother to offer dessert. This experience has been a harsh wake-up call about dining at the bar, where bartenders seem more interested in raking in tips from fancy drinks than actually serving customers. I’m not after a free meal, but the utter lack of attention to food quality and customer care is unacceptable. The Cheesecake Factory in Brandon, Florida, has given me the worst dining experience imaginable. Being the only customer at the bar, I felt utterly disrespected and overlooked. Maybe if I had someone with me, I would have received better service, but that’s no excuse for the blatant neglect I faced. This visit has left a sour taste in my mouth about the Cheesecake Factory brand, and I’m now wary of dining at any of their locations. The quality of service, food freshness, and overall experience was shockingly bad. I don’t want compensation or an apology; I just need to vent my frustration. While I’m glad others have had good experiences, I can only mourn the fact that mine was a complete disaster. The franchise owner must address this situation...

My first experience at this Cheesecake Factory location was great—good service, delicious food, and quick turnaround times. I was genuinely impressed and excited to return. Unfortunately, my second visit, when I brought my entire family, was a major disappointment.

The restaurant was only about half full when we arrived, yet we still waited nearly 10 minutes for a table. Once seated in a back corner booth, we immediately noticed small plates stuck to the table surface and an unpleasant film left behind—definitely not a clean feel to start with. To make matters worse, one family member found dried food stuck to the back of their fork, and there were visible food remnants on the booth seat where we were placed.

We ordered drinks and two appetizers: the seafood dip and fried calamari. It took almost 30 minutes for them to arrive, and both were lukewarm at best. Our drinks came out mostly filled with ice, with very little actual beverage. Bread service was nonexistent until our entrees arrived—nearly an hour later.

As for the entrées, they left a lot to be desired:

My daughter ordered the Chicken Katsu special and asked for mushrooms to be swapped with broccoli. The substitution came as half a stalk of steamed broccoli—on a separate plate, not incorporated into the dish.

Another family member got a chicken Caesar salad with cold, flavorless chicken, barely any dressing, and what looked like a half portion.

The fried chicken club salad initially looked promising but had a large tomato with the stem still attached and over-fried, dry chicken.

I had the mac and cheese burger, which was cooked medium rare as requested, but had absolutely no seasoning. The fries were cold and borderline stale, and the “mac and cheese” element was more of a small patty with a hint of dried-out sauce. No ranch was brought, despite the request.

The final bill was over $150, which would be fine if the food and experience matched the price—but it didn’t. I had hyped up this restaurant to my family based on my previous visit, and I honestly felt the need to apologize to them afterward.

This location seems to be inconsistent, and given the number of other options available in the area, I don’t see myself returning any time soon.

Pros:

Good past experience (service and food were once solid)

Wide-ranging menu options

Comfortable booth seating

Cons:

Inconsistent food quality

Long wait times despite low capacity

Unclean table and visibly dirty utensils

Food remnants on booth seating

Appetizers and entrees served cold or poorly prepared

Overuse of ice in drinks

High price point with poor value

Lackluster customer service on second visit

Hopefully management will take these issues seriously and work to improve cleanliness, food quality, and...

The food and service was great. What was not great was me being a witness to racial profiling by the General Manger, Christopher Nichols. Two African American guys in their early 20s walked into the restaurant, and went to the bar to order drinks. Apparently, this restaurant has had a slew of individuals walk out on bills. For this reason, Mr. Nichols decides to go the bar where the two guys were, and stares at them while they order drinks. My husband and I were in the path of Mr. Nichols, and thought he was staring at us, which immediately made us uncomfortable. We then realized he was staring at the two guys. After staring at them for so long, one of the guys asked Mr. Nichols why he was staring at them. Mr. Nichols tells the young man that he "looks" like a person who walked out on a bill before and that he wanted him to leave the restaurant. The young man said he was not leaving, so Mr. Nichols continued to stare at him, harass and talk down to him before calling the cops. The young man was calm the entire time, which I applauded. My husband and I were done eating, but we decided to wait until the cop came, to make sure the situation was handled properly and presented accurately. Once the cop came, he spoke to both parties and wrote an incident report. The cop told Mr. Nichols that he can't cite the young man for trespassing, because he did not do anything wrong. The cop was very empathetic towards the young man, and did not agree with the actions of Mr. Nichols. This is another case of mistaken identity and racial profiling that could have gone wrong. The young men told the cops they were not even from the area, and that it was their first time in the restaurant. They told Mr. Nichols that as well, but he was so set on kicking them out of the restaurant, that he did not want to hear what they had to say. Mr. Nichols actions were unbecoming of a leader, and my husband expressed this to him. He antagonized those young men with his aggressive and childish behavior. He is a poor representation of a General Manager, and should not be the face of any Cheesecake Factory. His lack of professionalism and leadership skills were appalling. We let him know that we would be writing a review and plan to contact Cheesecake Factory's corporate office. This 1 star review is a reflection of the General Manager only, and not the food or service. Our waiter was great, and she too, along with other employees and customers, were also appalled by the actions of Mr. Nichols and thanked my husband for voicing his concerns about the siutation to Mr. Nichols. Cheesecake Factory needs...