Chili's Grill & Bar — Restaurant in Citrus Park

OK, let me start off by saying that me rating Chili's a 4 star is RARE, especially based off my past experiences at this place. I used to be a complete lover of Chili's until it started going downhill and service had been subpar no matter the location I visited....well, until yesterday! We came here for a birthday lunch with my coworkers/friends and Chili's really made for a special experience for the birthday diva. :). We were greeted by Miranda and taken to a booth per our request. Miranda was so friendly and welcoming which helped to set a great tone for the lunch experience. Immediately upon sitting down, we were greeted by our waitress, Jakel, who asked if we were on lunch and said she'd take good care of us given we were on lunch and celebrating a birthday. She was so friendly and attentive. She made sure we were all taken well care of. She made the birthday diva feel extra special and even surprised her with ice cream with a candle and a birthday song with her fellow wait staff. When lunch arrived she made certain that she came by and asked how everything tasted and if we needed anything. Brought us out to-go boxes and cups for our drinks and even brought us each a bag of chips and salsa as icing on the cake. I do have to say that I love me some Chili's chips and salsa so it was nice to take these back to the office and home to enjoy later. We spoke to Jakel a bit about our past experiences with Chili's and complimented her on her service to us on this visit. This was by far and definitely the BEST experience I've had at Chili's and any other restaurant in a very long time in regards to service. You can truly tell that Jakel takes the customer's experience to heart and truly enjoys what she does. She treats her customers as though she were the one dining and giving them the experience that she would expect. THANK YOU Jakel for our wonderful lunch at the Citrus Park location. Next time we are in the mood for Chili's we will definitely be to this location and ask for Jakel to be our server. I hope that Chili's guest relations and management see this review and give some sort of recognition to Jakel for her great service because they really do have a great employee.

Note: Only reason why it isn’t 5 stars is because my grilled chicken salad lacked enough...

Yes, I know Chili's is not a steak house. But in case you are craving for beef, Long Horn is a much better choice, just a little bit more money.

I ordered the Rib Eye steak, medium rare temp. When it was served, I had to do a double take. The steak looks, pale. Not charred, not brown, but a pale grey color. Cut it open, the meat inside is very light in color. Not the typical darker beef color. It looks like, pork chop.

The meat is quite lean, and not very tender as rib eye should be. First I thought if they had cooked a piece of boneless porkchop, but from the shape and cut, it cannot be. It is a piece of beef rib eye.

So the only conclusions are: (a) Chili's used a lower grade beef. USDA Select, may be. It is leaner and also cheaper. Typically sold at discount supermarket. It is a grade I seldom would buy at the grocery store. (b) Chili's pre-cook the steak in brine and then toss it on the grill to give the surface a bit of char.

I'm not completely against precook (aka sous vide) if it done right. But Chili's may have taken the route to simply cut the cooking time. Have a batch of steak in a brine bath without vacuum seal. When customer order a steak, just take one out and put on the the grill plate. Quick and easy.

The problem, however, is the grill plate is no where hot enough compared with a gas/charcoal grill. So by the time the surface of the steak is hot enough, the center tends to over cooked. And precook in a brine bath also let all the beef flavor leached out. You end up with a blend, kind of tasteless, white piece of meat.

At the end of the day, if i want to decent piece of steak, go...

Poor service from bartender Heather. This has been my Chili’s for over 10 yrs and all the previous bartenders were awesome. Never had an issue. Main reason to come here was for the 2 for 1 Moscatos. I came here today with my girlfriend and sister for the two for one draft beers and margaritas (since they don’t have my wine). Well my gf moved to citrus park almost two years ago and has tried this one THREE times even after having bad experiences. This last time was THE WORST! My Girlfriend, my sister, and I come up to the bar. Heather the Bartender never cracked a smile I proceed to confirm they no longer serve moscato which she rudely says “uhm no” I then asks for a Mai Tai. She acts irritated and disgusted “idk I I haven’t made a Mai Tai in 10 years!” So I decide to look for something else while my gf ordered herself and my sister beers. She asks us what else and my gf follows up with “you guys still have the two for ones right?” Another snarky face and teeth suck and eye roll. “No we don’t!” “WOW since when?” “Since April 1st!” Of course with attitude! I’m thinking lady it’s the 19th of April not the 19th year!! So we chose to go somewhere else. This is the second time we have dealt with this bartender’s her attitude. While walking out my gf said “hey, pointer, next time just google the drink”Chili’s at Citrus Park I will not recommend or bring family or friends to this location EVER. They SPOTTED the 2 for 1 for a financial reason so hey nasty bartender Heather count your days. BTW Heather is the name Chili’s gave me...