Chili's Grill & Bar — Restaurant in Delaware

Haven't been to a Chili's in a VERY long time!

EVERYTHING was PERFECT from our Server to the food and beverage!

UPDATE...

The ABOVE review is OLD!

If ZERO stars were an option, I'd have GLADLY given a ZERO STAR RATING!

On Saturday night, October 21, 2023, at the Chili's located in the Fashion Center Boulevard in Newark, DE, everything changed for the WORST!

Let me begin by saying that I, too, worked in restaurants; mainly as Server and Host. It IS a truly THANKLESS job, and my husband and I ALWAYS go out of our way to tip well (starting at 30%!), give compliments; etc..., BUT this time...

I wish I had taken MORE pics of the PIG PEN that surrounded us, but I figured I'd leave the photo count at three or four. Thank GOD none of us had to use the bathroom! If the "front of the house" looks like a landfill, then can you only imagine what the KITCHEN and BATHROOMS look like?! 😱😱😱

The FOOD (and company, of course!) were the ONLY delightful parts of this visit! The rest of the experience, from the Host (who wasn't even AT the stand when hubby and I walked in to "sign-in"), to the end of the meal and payment, was ABOMINABLE and quite SHOCKING for Chili's:

The disgusting and highly disorganized entrance and dining room areas were an immediate turnoff

The Hostess looked bothered

It was blatantly obvious that NO ONE communicated about our party of four (4) for 9:30-9:45 p.m

We had to WAIT TEN EXTRA MINUTES for our table to be "cleaned" and "set"

We were NOT "beveraged" within the first 1-2 minutes of being seated

It took FOREVER just to have someone come over and ACKNOWLEDGE us

The stupid game things on the tables are PETRIE DISHES of GERMS, BACTERIA; etc... When was the LAST time these were PROPERLY cleaned and sanitized?!

Those same, stupid consoles are USELESS when it comes to placing orders and paying. With how incredibly rude, incompetent and clueless our Server was, we'd have been better off ORDERING FROM THE TABLE CONSOLE!

Our friends also ordered Mozzarella sticks, BUT they STILL WEREN'T DONE by the time the BILL arrived!

The meal seemed "rushed" after awhile. We weren't even offered dessert and coffee. Apparently, this Chili's didn't even HAVE coffee that evening? Or was that a LIE because our Server (and the rest of the Staff for that matter) were just too damn LAZY to MAKE a FRESH pot?

Splitting the bill was a COLOSSAL nightmare!

NO ONE seemed to be WORKING TOGETHER as a TEAM

The "Manager" was too damn busy watching some stupid football game, so we didn't even BOTHER to call him over to the table

NO "Bottomless Chips", either?!

I can easily go on and on, but I think this is enough right here. It's going to take an AWFUL LOT OF CONVINCING to get ANY of us to return to ANY Chili's anytime soon (and this is coming from someone whose FAMILY also frequents Chili's back home in Downingtown, PA!).

Personally, I was ALWAYS a FAN of Chili's. Now, I'm anything BUT! 🤬🤬

11-2-23

So I'm being referred to some STUPID FAQ link in order for Chili's to "further investigate" my complaint?! As IF I have ALL DAY to sit there and read which FAQ directly relates to my issue? What kind of "Customer/Guest Service" is THAT?!

I ALREADY explained the issues in this review. What MORE is there to "investigate"? Did I not make myself clear?

If a "Manager" REALLY wants to speak with me, he or she can provide DIRECT CONTACT information like managers used to back in the days of old.

A stupid FAQ link to address a lousy experience... WOW! That's some top-notch guest/customer service, isn't it, folks?!

Forget it! My friends and I simply won't be returning to Chili's anytime soon, and we'll be sure to...

Disappointing Experience at Chili's, Christiana Mall

I recently visited Chili's at Christiana Mall with my family, including my 2-year-old grandson. The restaurant is quite large, with over 200 seats, yet it was only about 35% full. Despite this, we had to wait 15 minutes to be seated, even though many clean tables were available.

Once seated, it took another 10 minutes before our server came to take our order. We ordered both drinks and food right away. My grandson's meal arrived after 30 minutes, but the rest of us waited a full hour for our food. When I politely asked the waitress if they were understaffed, she immediately referred me to the manager.

Unfortunately, the issues didn't stop there. My wife’s fajitas were missing their fixings, my grandson's quesadilla was excessively greasy, and my daughter felt unwell after eating the chicken crispers. On the positive side, the fries were quite good.

The manager arrived quickly and after I asked for the fajita fixings and inquired about the long wait times she attributed the delay to two large parties, totaling 34 people. She offered us a free dessert, which felt like a generic apology rather than a meaningful gesture. To top it off, I had to seek out the manager to get our check, as the waitress had vanished and there was no follow-up or acknowledgment of the poor service.

Chili's Management: For a restaurant with over 200 seats, handling a couple of large parties along with regular customers should be manageable. The fact that the restaurant was less than half full makes this experience even more frustrating. This seems like a clear issue with management, staffing, and training. Instead of offering a free dessert, focusing on improving service and customer experience would be a better approach.

Fellow Customers: I've dined at many Chili's locations and generally appreciate the consistent, decent quality of food and service, especially for a casual dining chain. However, this visit was a significant disappointment. While I don't expect fine dining at Chili's, I do expect competent service and acceptable food quality. Unfortunately, this location failed on both fronts, and I won’t be returning to a Chili’s for a while because of...

Update: Dined Friday 9/5/25 Great meal and service. We were seated promptly and they were not too busy. Our server Tara was wonderful, very attentive and knowledgeable of menu items. Margarita of the month was pretty good and I’m not usually a mango fan. Much better experience than last time we were at this specific location.

5 mo Prior: The Lemon Drop Margarita was amazing, perfect blend of sweet and tangy! It is their margarita of the month.

Our server was so attentive and nice, 5⭐️ for her! I hate that I can’t remember her name, I think it started with a “D”??

Only real issue we had was my steak, ordered it medium, came extra well done and was visibly dry. I let our server know and she promptly took it to get my dish remade, a food runner had initially brought our food out. I’m normally not one to send food back but this was just way too well done. The new one was cooked perfect. The booth seat also felt a little sticky to touch and I noticed them re-wiping tables after people sat down. Otherwise Resturant was clean.

My daughter (17yo) said they have the best Mac & cheese. The Fries were good and crispy, not soggy. Chicken Crispers were a bit tough but otherwise not dry. Broccoli was tender and perfect. Chips and salsa are always our go to appetizer, love how fresh the chips and salsa are.

We arrived shortly before 5pm on a Sunday and they were already on a wait, our wait was not very long though and the quoted time was accurate which I appreciate. However the host did not put my name in right (put Krista instead of Kristin)so she was a bit confused when I went up when we got our text as she couldn’t find my name, she could have handled it better instead of telling me she didn’t have my name down even when I showed her the text, she started saying names and I was like “I’m pretty sure that’s supposed to be me, “Krista”, you even mentioned that a server had the same...