Applebee's Grill + Bar — Restaurant in Covington

Applebees is one of the very few non cuisine - specific restaurants in Covington, and for the most part? They do an admirable job. A little too emphatic when it comes to meat for my tastes, but seemingly this is something most people enjoy. I believe I'm in the minority on this issue. My one real complaint is ( go figure ) that there aren't more dishes that are not based on the meat component. I'll go with vegetable based soup, and a well made grilled cheese assuming I have cheese choices. Since this isn't a meal that Applebees would be the best choice for, I've been blazing through the appetizer menu & it's working out marvelously!! My go to is an order of white queso and tortilla chips with a " side " of spinach artichoke dip ( also served with tortilla chips ). This comes in under $10, is a huge meal for one or shareable by a couple, and it's filling enough to hold past & through dinner right up until making late night Carbonara!! Oh, my second & only other complaint... ?? Sure, this is pretty but I do like all of what I pay for... The portion size of the queso dip varies far too much in a few ways. One is that sometimes the queso is perfectly mild and just the right hint of heat, just so & then people like me, who can't handle heat at all, can enjoy it... But then one order will be screaming hot and I really suffer when that happens. I'll be in physical pain for around 24 hours - not worth it. Another queso issue? It's impossible to predict the portion size. It will range between around 1.5 cups all the way to .25 of a cup, for the same price. I've complained about the portions a few times with no response yet. I'll either get an answer or will need a new Covington restaurant to visit. I want to know where I stand as a customer. All in all, I still think soccer is the bomb, and female soccer teams are...

Okay, this Applebee's seriously needs to step it up. I placed a "Carside To Go" order for one dessert item at 6:35 pm. I left the house immediately and got to the restaurant around 6:55 pm, according to Google maps. When I got to the restaurant, every single "Carside To Go" space was taken (by Door Dash drivers, incidentally - I know this because the hostess said, "Are you guys all waiting for Door Dash orders?" to the three other individuals waiting in the foyer area, and they all nodded.)

Anyway, I parked and went inside to grab my food, sure it wouldn't take that long. Well, I was wrong. All of the Door Dash drivers that were seated in the foyer, even one guy who arrived after me, received their much larger orders before I did. I did make my displeasure politely known to the hostess and the manager (?) who seemed to be running around getting the orders together.

The hostess tried to explain that maybe my order was placed later than the other orders that were picked up - well, that is possible, but 20-plus minutes to get one dessert item together seems unreasonable to me. It's not a question of staffing - there were plenty of employees visibly doing incidental tasks (as I've noticed the last couple of times I've been there).

Needless to say, when I got home and discovered that the one of the main ingredients in my dessert was missing, I was NOT happy. Why call it a "Butter Pecan Blondie" if you're not going to include the maple-butter topping. To add insult to injury, I did receive a menu, a flyer with special offers, and a napkin/silverware packet in the bag with my incomplete dessert item.

Get your stuff together, Applebee's.

Please note - the pictures included are inside the restaurant during...

I'm so disappointed in this place. Some of the issues are corporate but others are local management. I decided to eat there for lunch just after 11:00am. They had about six people in the restaurant so I ate at the bar.

When you look over the menu, you'll see that it's extremely difficult to eat anything healthy. Even their so called healthy/lighter fare salad has corn or Caesar dressing. I don't remember finding one food item that wasn't packed with carbs! They even have double crunch wings. Seriously! Let's pack on double the breading. No one will figure out that there isn't much meat.

My vegetables were fine but the chicken was obviously frozen before it was cooked. It was what I call "Applebee's Rubbery" due to be frozen (maybe too long).

A couple came in and sat at the bar then another guy came in and sat nearby. All three were obviously regulars. The bartender was nice but she spent most of her time catering to the regulars. They were loud and one was pretty obnoxious. The bartender made their drinks without them asking, which was cool for her to remember but I'm guessing they are long time regulars. They acted like it was their bar and carried on like they were at home in their own living rooms. One appeared to be intoxicated before he arrived so he repeated every story that he yelled out. I couldn't wait to leave.

Any bar trying to make a profit knows that you have to continually bring in new business or it will eventually fail. You must control the regulars or ask them to move along. They are keeping new customers away. They aren't the lifeblood of a bar, they...