The Cheesecake Factory — Restaurant in Edina

We just experienced one of the most disgusting situations. We were there to celebrate my daughter's birthday with just a dessert. So, We were brought to a booth and as we went to sit I noticed the bench on one side was damp. Ok, I figured they just wiped the bench down and forgot to dry it. So, I grabbed a napkin to wipe it dry and brush off what I thought was "crumbs". Gross but I didn't think much of it until we kept smelling puke. So we used our phone flashlight to look under the table and sure enough! we saw a fresh puddle of puke under the table! Not only was it all over the bottom of our shoes but also on the back of our pants! Now we realized why the bench was wet. Those "crumbs" were leftover chunks-DISGUSTING!! If the clean up crew had taken just 1 extra minute to simply look under tables, thoroughly clean up after each group of people, I'm sure they would have noticed the smell like we did. Heck even block off that table for a while to better clean. It really shouldn't be too difficult to simply check under tables for fallen food, dry benches after wiping, and to prepare for the best experience for the next group of ppl who are spending their hard earned money there. We got up immediately and left the table, told the host and she barely said sorry, was emotionless and just offered to move us. There was no way we were going to stay with puke all over us! We should have left right then and there but my daughter still wanted a dessert for her birthday. Thankfully her and her friends who were on the other side of the table didn't get puke on them so reluctantly we decided to just order our dessert to go quick. And then, the woman at the to-go counter seemed annoyed that we walked up to order, like I interrupted her? there was no one else in line. I mean wow! Not a good experience at all. I normally don't give bad reviews like this but this is the worst experience I probably ever had. Sadly it was easy to notice that this place has really gone downhill since the last time we visited in 2020. Not only that, the bathrooms were a mess and no paper towels which we told someone they needed to be refilled. I realize it was a busy night, but yikes! I do not plan to go back to that...

Normally, I would speak highly of Cheesecake Factory as we have had many excellent dining experiences with them. However, this recent experience was not great. We went as a delayed Valentine's Day dinner for lunch, and we arrived 10 minutes after they opened. Service was the typical nice experience and reasonably prompt. When the food arrived, I immediately noticed that the plate was barely warm, which was unusual. The food wasn't steaming, and it didn't look like it had sat too long and cooled before being delivered to the table. I have decades of experience with R&D, management, food prep, and service, and I cook Cheesecake Factory style pasta at home from scratch..... I believe my meal was called Italian sausage and mushrooms with a bunch of other things listed, but I didn't have a single mushroom in my dish and my wife's food was also missing an obvious ingredient, but she isn't a fan of peas anyway so she didn't see it as an issue. I waited until our server, Christian, came back and asked how we were doing. I nicely pointed out the missing ingredients, and he volunteered to go get me the missing mushrooms. Kitchen issues aren't the responsibility of the server, so I was careful not to assign any responsibility to him. In his hurry to get my mushrooms, I didn't have the opportunity to mention that the food was only so so temperature wise. About 4 minutes later, he came back with some half sautéed mushrooms, so I asked if they had some new people in the kitchen. He assured me that they were experienced and not new. I didn't ask for anything, but I sort of expected that for all the below standard achievements that we would be getting a little off of our bill. We paid full price and a $10 tip. The tip I was happy to pay, the full bill, nearly $60, was a serious disappointment. Before paying, I did walk around looking for a manager, but I didn't find one. Again, it was not our typical experience, and in the past, when we had even a minor issue, it was addressed exceedingly well to the point where we have turned down some offers as not being necessary. My wife prefers me to cook for her over going out, but sometimes I just want to exchange 💰 for a nice meal that I didn't...

I wanted to take my niece to lunch to celebrate her birthday and The Cheesecake Factory was a good halfway mark for both of us. I hadn't been to a TCF for decades and that was in Chicago. Admittedly, my expectations weren't very high. I kind of put this chain up there with the others located in or around a shopping mall.

Color me impressed! We had reservations for 2 PM solely because I anticipated it might be crowded, but that wasn't the case. I was greeted warmly by the host and provided the option to either wait for my guest or sit immediately. I opted to wait and as soon as my guest arrived we were seated immediately in a very nice large booth. Our server was personable, professional, knowledgeable and attentive. I like to make sure I'm getting enough protein in my meals and so I opted to review the menu ahead of time. Holy Moly! I've never seen the number of items or the variety that they have TCF. Honestly, I always find it frustrating when we're in a group and someone chooses a restaurant that has a menu with 3 entree offerings TOPS. So bougie. The new item I wanted wasn't available, which seemed odd, but I was okay with it. I opted for the grilled chicken and avocado club w/ side salad. Absolutely loved and the serving size was so much that I couldn't even finish half of my sandwich. As we were wrapping up, we were asked about dessert and I casually mentioned to my niece that it was her birthday and she should order something. I ordered the banana creme cheesecake and hers was the raspberry. Prior to receiving our dessert, the server appeared with a cute little Sunday with whip cream, sprinkles and a candle on top. Didn't even ask and it was so thoughtful. The cheesecake portions are huge and equally delicious. I only ate half and left the other for my hubby. I consider myself a bit of a cheesecake aficionado and the only thing I would offer is to maybe cut back on the amount of sugar used in the crust. Yummy nonetheless.

Overall, a very pleasant experience and looking forward...