The Cheesecake Factory — Restaurant in Carlsbad

I came here at 9:30 and ordered my food to-go. I ordered the gumbo. The cashier seemed nice at first. It was a very long wait. Last time I ordered from here they forgot the chicken. So, this time I checked before leaving.

They forgot the shrimp this time. I informed her of this. She immediately walked off saying she'll ask for a side of shrimp instead of just taking the gumbo to have it fixed. She came back and told me it'll be right out.

I asked, "Will it be cooked the same...? Will it taste the same?" Her response was, "yeah, you can just throw it in." I asked, "is that how they usually make it?" She says, "yeah!" So I say, "oh okay" fully accepting this as fact. She brings out the shrimp. I open the container to check it. It's pan seared (overcooked looking) shrimp with the tails still on. I say, "uhh, the tails are still on...😅" She says, "you could pull them off." Not knowing how to respond I just say, "uhhh.... 😅" She then says, "I could take a knife and cut them off for youuuu"

Wondering if this really happening I start to look around for hidden cameras.

With a complete attitude shift she says, "I'm just trying to be accommodating, ma'am. 😤😒"

In response I could only laugh and cover my face in embarrassment. She was a completely different person.

I politely ask, "actually, can I just get my money back...? 😅" She says, "Let me get my manager!" And runs off.

The manager comes over, "hi! I heard they gave you the wrong shrimp?" "Yeah...." I respond. He takes the food, "let me fix that for you!" Completely ignoring any previous request for a refund. So I just say, "If you could just have it made correctly with everything included....?😅" "Sure, no problem!" He replied as he walked off.

I wait nervously questioning if I even wanted the food. With the weird way people were behaving I was scared to eat anything and wish I had stood my ground on asking for that refund. They seem wacko enough to tamper with people's food just because they're having a bad day.

He comes out with the food and says, "Here ya go ma'am! I even had them add extra shrimp for you!"

Weird, I don't want extra shrimp. I just want it made correctly. Now the proportions are going to be off? Whatever. I just awkwardly nodded my head and said, "okay...." as he awkwardly placed the food down probably due to sensing my own awkwardness.

I checked the food and it looks completely different from the previous one they gave me. The original looked normal, but it was just missing shrimp. I get the gumbo all the time from various locations. This is the only location that's really weird. The second gumbo they gave me looked strange like curry. I struggled for a few minutes asking myself and my mom if I should just get a refund. She said, "yeah, but I'm always paranoid about my food. Get one if you want." I asked my friend on the phone who I sent a picture of the gumbo to, but he was responding extremely slowly. My mom got tired of waiting and started walk out so I followed her. Finally, my friend says, "yeah, I'd ask for my money back. Even my coworker says he wouldn't trust that!" And they both started laughing and sneering at the picture of the food. I told them it was too late because I already left the building. Because the place took so long we left when they closed.

I now have food in the fridge I'm too afraid to eat. I'm hoping to get a refund tomorrow. Also, they didn't provide any complimentary bread which I know they had because I saw waiters walking around with them. I also ordered the crispy crab bites, I tried those because we didn't go through a whole ordeal with them and have them brought back to the kitchen to be tampered with. They were burnt on the outside and undercooked on the inside. Raw dough coating. Not good. This is also something I've always gotten for years so I know how they're supposed to taste.

Long story short, don't trust this place. The people here are ghetto. Drive further for a better location. It's not worth dealing with these people.

(See Yelp for my...

• KITCHEN MANGER: CASSANDRA HAWKINS *

My husband and I with our infant is visiting from Hawa'ii for Mother's Day Weekend. My Aunty and Uncle decided to treat us to lunch at Cheesecake Factory. We arrived at 12:30 pm and the Restaurant was at 30% capacity. My uncle also surprised me by inviting my cousin visiting from Montana that I haven't seen in more than 4 years. Because my cousin was running late we decided to put in our orders early.

My Aunty ordered a Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad, Uncle had the Spaghetti and Meatballs, I went with the Shrimp Scampi and my Husband ordered the Shepard's Pie. My cousin arrived 156 minutes later and ordered the Chicken Pasta. About 10 minutes passed and my uncle and cousin received their meal followed by everyone else's. My Aunty who ordered the Salad received her meal last.

I asked our Server why did his order come first when he ordered last. She said the Kitchen Manager will come out to speak to us. She came out shortly after, without introducing herself and started with the Kitchen was instructed to fire everything to come out together. That was her first attempt to explain why the food came out late. So I asked her why did they do that without communicating to us first. That's where she said his order went in as a singular so they make that right away while the computer read our 4 entrees firing at 4 different times. I also asked why did my Aunty's Salad come out last, she said the chicken was too thick then said the chicken was put down last blaming the line cook.

Rather than getting defensive to me she could have acknowledged my concern with an apology. Mind you, as she is explaining to me she is making arm and hand gestures. Which I interpreted as semi-aggressive as it was apparent she was losing her cool. My family was starting to feel uncomfortable at that point I said to the Kitchen Manager, well you have an inefficient system and she left abruptly. Not only had she forgot to introduce herself, she made it awkward having to communicate to her from the other side of the table.

After finishing our meals we asked for the bill and still yet no table touch from the Kitchen Manager. Upon leaving I had asked for her name. It's a shame the Service at this location is horrible and my first Mother's Day lunch experience with my family was horrific. I hope no other Mother's/Families experience what we did. Now I can see why this location has low stars and...

Albeit, most reviews are critical about the function of the restaurant rather than the experience, this review will be about the latter. It's located by the Dave and Buster's on the lower floor. You can enter either from inside or from the outside, walk up to the large circular desk nearby the cheesecake shop (for all of your cheesecake needs), and this is where they will ask for your name and party.

I would call for a reservation 3 hours in advance minimum on the busy nights, because I once waited an hour to be seated with a party of 6.

The inside is a typical cheesecake factory signature look, with a romantic ambiance, wooden polish everywhere you look.

The bathrooms are nice, but aren't very large. The men's has one toilet and two urinals. I'm not sure about the ladies room, but it's probably only got 2 toilets max. Hand dispensers are not motion activated they need to be pushed, even though the sinks have motion sensors.

Sitting outside is fine, and is recommended if you want a guaranteed immediate seating. I went with a party of 8 once, and they had a very large table set up. Did we end up sitting there? NOPE. The waitress had us sit divided in two tables, 4 people each. HOW RUDE. This is a reoccurring theme at this restaurant.

The waiters and waitresses, the managers, they are all inexperienced. This is supposed to be the "impersonating 4 star restaurant". It is not. I went once and they ran out of 4 types of cheesecake.

It is poorly managed, but it also does poorly with service. I used to work in the fast food business, and I gave better service than this place! You ask for condiments and you'll never receive them without asking more than twice.

The servers also raise their voice when speaking to you. I've seen them roll their eyes at other customers, as annoyed as they are.

The reason why this is still a 3 star is because the food is good. Good. Not great, not Anthony Bourdain amazing, but just good. They can actually make a MEDIUM steak, just ask for it and you'll know what I'm talking about.

I guess if you want the best experience, sit outside, don't ask for much from the server, and ask which cheesecakes are...