Applebee's Grill + Bar — Restaurant in Easley

PLEASE READ!! AITA, Quite literally at a lost for words, I've been coming to this applebees since I've lived in easley (16 years). Today was a VERY different experience than what we were used to, if i could do less than 1 star i would, I ordered a 8 Oz sirloin steak (medium RARE), mashed potatoes and broccoli. I had to turn away the steak TWICE bc it was cooked well done and burnt both times!! The 2nd time I turned it away a manager came and assessed the situation. I was going to just eat the potatoes and broccoli and be on my way but the manager INSISTED on cooking it how I ordered it (and also states that it will be comped). During this time the other 2 people I came with had already finished their meals and were waiting on me. A 3rd steak comes out and it is better so I enjoy my meal after finally waiting for almost an hour. I finish my meal and it comes time to pay, we notice that the order was placed THREE times and only 2 of them were compensated, while we were under the impression that my meal would be free for the inconvenience. Out comes a different manager than the one who cooked my steak and tries to explain that there was nothing wrong with the first one and "cut it himself" (which I find hard to believe because when the waiter brought it out he literally described it as being "well done" and there is no mistaking well done for medical rare. I wish I had taken a picture because the situation was laughable.) I digress, this 2nd manager then tries to explain that the 2 steaks that were burnt were comped but the 3rd one (that was insisted be made) had to be paid for. This is the first time I've heard of this. We explained that it overall was an inconvenience because of having to wait TWICE for a steak that was over cooked but also that the 2 other guests I was with had finished their meals well before I got my 3rd steak. I felt like this situation was handled very poorly by this 2nd manager and became very hostile not just towards myself when I was trying to calmly explain but also with my mother. HOWEVER, I would like to express that none of this had anything to do with our waitress (CAITLIN), she was actually quite lovely and profusely apologetic when she came to check on us in the midst of our "Steak-gate". So yeah, Applebee's in...

Applebee's (at least here) seems to be in a bit of decline. Maybe it was the time of day and lighting, but it just seemed kind of old. In addition, there was an odd musty smell in the room that I couldn't place. The surfaces felt a tad sticky, even when wiped down, and that sort of thing.

The waitress (who was the big bright spot here - very attentive and the definition of professional waitstaff) brought us our menus and it took a while to decode and find things. Whoever did the menu design I think decided to use it as a testing ground for what could be done. The older menu style was much more to my liking.

While waiting for the food we noticed our silverware still had crusted food on some of them. I asked for more, but they had the same. Since one of us had a hamburger we managed to cobble together a working set for 3 out of that.

The food came quickly and was good, if a tad salty (but the cajun spices are all about the salt, so that was to be expected). Nothing jumped out at me as spectacular though. It was decent, it was hot, and it filled us up.

Our waitress was so good I feel bad about leaving a 3 star review. I wish we could review restaurant building, waitress, and food separately, but this will have to do.

Would I go again? I wouldn't go out of my way to avoid it, but it wouldn't be at the top of my list. It has decent food and, at least in our case, a good waitress, but it...

Waitress reliably checked back in throughout our visit to see if anything was needed or of concern. She was polite and personable. Points of improvement here: Serve plates when the guests order a shared appetizer like the combination app. This did not happen for us The spinache dip was not toasted but scorched and tasted burned. Don't leave it so long or manually toast the tops with a proper torch if you can't watch the oven. The Cole slaw tasted old, if you make it ahead of time don't do it too far in advance. Give more than the single napkin that comes with the silverware. I ordered ribs and somehow the one napkin was supposed to last the entire service. Provide wet napkins at least for people who ordered finger foods and things like ribs. The bathrooms are too dirty and cramped. Washing one's hands in those conditions the middle of dining is disturbing to think about. The alternative was using the condensation from my cup and the extra napkins we had to ask for just to get my fingers clean. Also the mashed potatoes do not taste instant, which is a good start, but they had a texture like they were great and smooth at first and then lost enough moisture from sitting and became were paste like. Possibly even reheated loosing additional moisture?

I know it's an Applebee's and it is a chain but you can do better with what you have without changing a lot except your...