IHOP — Restaurant in Costa Mesa

Unfortunately, my visit to this restaurant was extremely disappointing.

I arrived around 11 AM and there was no host at the front desk, so I had to wait for a while. When a staff member finally showed up — the one who usually handles payments — he walked me to a table but refused to take my order, saying it wasn’t his responsibility. I had to wait even longer for a server to show up.

When the waitress finally came, I told her I was on a short lunch break and asked if the food could be prepared quickly. She kindly agreed and said it was possible. However, after 20 minutes of waiting, my order still wasn’t ready.

Since I was running out of time, I went to the service counter to check on it. They told me the food was ready and would be brought out any minute. But it didn’t come. I returned to the counter again and asked them to pack the food to go instead.

At that point, the staff started showing their frustration, saying I was being impatient and that since the food was already plated for dine-in, they now had to waste time repackaging it. So apparently, they value their time, but not the customer’s.

When I pointed out that their behavior was unacceptable, the same employee who had refused to take my order earlier got involved again and became rude, raising his voice and speaking in a very disrespectful and unprofessional way. Other guests witnessed this, but the staff clearly didn’t care. Even after I mentioned I would leave a review, they continued arguing instead of simply packing my order and moving on to other customers.

I find this level of service completely unacceptable. I used to have breakfast at this restaurant chain regularly because the food is genuinely good, but I will definitely not return to this particular location.

To be fair, they didn’t charge me for the meal — which I appreciate as a small gesture after everything — but I still left hungry, my lunch break wasted on waiting, arguing, and ending up in a terrible mood. Also, I’m giving this place a one-star rating because I never actually got to enjoy the food — and by the time I finally had a chance to try it, it was cold and not tasty at all.

I’m also attaching a photo of how the food was packed. As you can see, the presentation was very poor and...

This is my favorite IHOP location. And I am not he only person that thinks so. Here is why. They are often times or most of the time pretty busy, but the wait usually isn't longer than 15-20 minutes because there restaurant is relatively pretty big and can accommodate a large number of people for dining. Their waiters and waitresses are extremely friendly and go out of their way to make your visit a memorable one. Their restaurant is always clean and the food is always as it looks in the menu. If you are not satisfied than they will make it again until you are satisfied. The manager is awesome and always smiling walking around making sure that you are happy with what you ordered. I come here at least twice a month and have been returning for the last 5 years. They also have this gentleman there on Sundays that makes balloon animals and anything else you want for a reasonable price depending on what you want him to make. Let me add that this guy is amazing because some of the things I have seen him make is just unbelievable. It's got to take alot of skill to do what I have seen him do. Also the have recently renovated the place and it's just beautiful. It make you feel good to eat at such a pleasant spot. I also want to mention that the menu has many items to offer so there is a little of everything for everyone. And of course if you are looking for breakfast you might have a problem deciding because there are so many choices it will blow your mind. This is definitely a 5star restaurant. I highly recommend visiting them if you are in the neighborhood. I will be back on Sunday to try a different breakfast plate. Thank you guys for the wonderful 5...

When we Fisrt arrived the host greeted us and took us to our table. Once there the table was dirty but host got on it and cleaned it right away. While cleaning the table our waitress Karla took our drink order. She brought back our coffees and asked if we were ready to order. I asked of they served breakfast sandwiches and said yes "ham and cheese" I asked her "just ham and cheese?". I asked in case there was mayo, egg, etc. My sister made a comment like "oh bc there are sandwiches" and completely gets cut off by the waitress and she states "do you need more time to order" with an attitude which we both agreed was rude however still ordered. Seems like she was in a rush. She had around 3 tables which she did not attend to because another costumer had to get up and ask for his receipt as well as getting a box. Followed up with us once just to tell us she would be going on break and then left the check. Seems like she either was upset at the host for whatever reason bc she kept looking at her direction and someone was talking bad about the host which I believe was Karla from where theyget the food area. The host sat another customer near us which I over heard the guest ask if she can have a window seat instead. Karla (who was on break now) goes up to the host and tells her. No that's no one's section and this is my section do not seat them there. Which is pretty rude especially to say in front of customers. Once we were done got up and left. Just...