Applebee's Grill + Bar — Restaurant in Delaware

3/4 kids meals had to be sent back because the pizzas were cold in the center and the cheese wasn't even melted. We haven't been in an Applebee's in years. The quality has gone down. The spinach artichoke dip just wasn't what it used to be and the burger meat tasted bad and like it was from a frozen pattie.

I paid with cash and our waitress short - changed me and just walked away. I got her attention and questioned her about it and she belittled it because she thought it was a small amount of money. She said they don't carry change. For some reason she said the register was in the back- like that was an excuse not to get money from it. She said that no one has ever had a problem with it in the past. I'm not sure why she thought she could decide if I wanted my money back or not. The manager wouldn't come out to speak to me. Apparently they were short staffed and he was working on the "line". He offered, through her, to take my name to call me. I just walked out. I did not feel good about actually getting a call back and the issue needed to be resolved right there.

Unfortunately, the waitress did not seem to understand that it wasn't the amount of money I was upset about, but the lack of transparency and integrity. Stealing is stealing and lack of character is lack of character. You don't get to decide if you're going to give people their money back or not.

The change was supposed to be part of her tip. So I told her that she lost that part. I had a mental debate if I should have docked her more on tip (it would have been 20%) but I didn't. I'm not sure what will come of this experience for her, but I hope she can...

We are so disappointed. The service and food were both terrible. First, it took ages to get our drinks, and it was not busy in the restaurant, only a few tables. We ordered appetizers and one of the items was wrong. When we mentioned it to the waiter, he was unbothered and asked us if we wanted to put in another order. He then said he'd bring us the correct item - we never got it.

He wanted us to order everything at once (drinks and food), which we had no problem with. But we asked that they not have the dinner come out right after the appetizers, which is a reasonable request. The waiter assured us they would wait. Our dinners came out about 5 minutes after our appetizers. We hadn't even finished passing around the appetizers to everyone at the table. When we asked the waiter why the dinners came out so soon, he laughed at us and walked away.

We ordered 5 burgers and every one was awful! Two of them were made incorrectly. All of them were extremely overcooked, dry, and insanely salty. All of our buns were very, very stale and so dry.

When we first placed our order, we asked for ketchup, salt, and pepper. The waiter never brought it. One of our group had to walk up to the wait staff station to get it herself. The waiter didn't come over to check on us or anything until we were paying the bill.

We have always been big Applebee's fans and go frequently, and have been to this specific location several times. Having worked in food service, we're not ones to complain about food quality or service usually, because we know what it's like! But our experience today...

Update 3-20-24: Management has taken care of the wait staff that had been causing issues. There isn't anymore standing around while wait staff is working so hard. Other staffer's are now pulling their weight. No more Yelling and foul language it has ended. Staff has been removed. Better environment for customers to enjoy their meals. There have been quite a few special throughout the year with the menu also.

A very big improvement to the atmosphere. Good Job Applebee's, To Harvey the Manager of Rehoboth Beach. 😉

Old review: I have to say this place needs a extreme cleaning. The place should close for a weekend and steam clean the entire place. From carpet, seats, window, patio, bathrooms, etc. There have been black ants by the window sills where I have sat. Other insects have been seen also fog the place. The entrance is always cluttered with a bunch of boxes where customers are supposed to sit waiting for there tables. The staff can be seen sitting there on their phones. Some of the staff can be heard using foul language, yelling going on from the front to the back. Arguments between staffing. It is not making for a pleasant environment for dining. I have seen wait staff having to clear their own tables while other staff stand around doing nothing. These women are working there feet off. Then others stand up front chatting or in the back by the carry out area. Watching aimlessly instead of helping to clear tables or sweep up messes made by children that parents could careless are throwing food on the floor. The menu needs an update too. The food is...