The Cheesecake Factory — Restaurant in Escondido

Came to this location with hubby last night for dinner. We both ordered large dinner salads (he got a Cobb, I got a BBQ chicken ranch). I was stunned when the server dropped the salads at the table, they were both just big bowls of lettuce. I had about 1 oz of stringy, dried out chicken, NO avocado whatsoever, about one ounce of canned corn, and the rest just lettuce. Hubbys salad had NO bacon whatsoever, no avocado, and about an ounce of stringy dried out chicken, in addition to many large, hard chunks of white/yellow iceberg lettuce. I should have immediately let the server know the salads were unacceptable, in no way looked like the salads shown on their website or the descriptions on the menu, but the server dropped the food and was never seen again until our check was brought. We both ordered iced tea which was never refilled ($5 a glass that is all ice, and no refill offered, and no server in sight to ask for one), we asked for butter which was never delivered, and the tiny amount of salad dressing provided for the huge bowl of lettuce is just ridiculous. $20 for a bowl of lettuce is not what I had in mind for dinner. The fact that the servers just disappear after they drop the food leads me to believe they know dam* well the food is sub-par and will probably get sent back if they were to check back in with the table, so they just conveniently disappear. If you read the other recent reviews of the food and service at this location, it is clear management needs to make some changes stat. Whoever was in the kitchen last night and sent these $20 salads out with basically no toppings and thinks that is acceptable should be out of a job. Note to management who is replying with generic responses to any negative reviews: Please do not smugly suggest I contact a manager next time if I am unhappy with the food. If there are NO servers in site, and no one approaches your table between the time your food is dropped off and the check magically appears, the only way to 'contact a manager' would be to get up from my seat, leave my dinner companion(s), and march up to the busy front desk reception area and ask to speak to a manager. This only inconveniences diners more than they have already been inconvenienced and drags out what is already a very lengthy 'dining experience' apparently due to short staff or inexperienced help. My husband also has a policy of 'talking with his wallet' (meaning not going back to a place we had bad food at) instead of sending food back. After working in restaurants myself years ago, I know full well that some cooks or servers will be unhappy any food was sent back, and the replacement food that will be brought to you will usually not be something you would want to eat, to put it nicely. Instead of having your customers further inconvenienced by unacceptable food, why don't you ensure your servers are checking in with customers from time to time to see if they are happy with...

Upon arrival we noticed an almost entirely empty patio and lots of empty tables inside so I asked if we could be seated earlier than our reservation and they said we still had to wait. Didn't get offered anything for the kids and waited well over an hour and were sat after our reservation time. The rest would be easiest to list... No bananas to start the kids off with and they were starving -Not enough place settings which is baffling since they made us wait even longer since our table was being cleared and set -Waitress took a long time to tend to us but had very few tables and drinks took unusually long (water and apple juice) -Appetizer (Fried Mac and cheese) was barely warm -Kids food took forever (pepperoni flat bread and bowtie pasta with marinara) and I had to ask about it despite ordering when our drink orders were taken. -Flat bread finally arrived after inquiring and was burnt to a crisp on top. Waitress tired saying "they just crisp the top"...No it was burnt and black and I was shocked they even let it leave the kitchen. -Wasn't informed kids apple juice wasn't applicable for free refills yet it didn't say this on the menu...kids were parched and needed more than one tiny cup of drink. We were at the air show all day. Pasta carbonara with chicken came out- Very tiny portion, next to no bacon (counted 5 tiny crumbles) and 6 bite size pieces of chicken (mind you it's a $6 up charge on this dish for chicken) -Husband hurt his tooth on something in his burger, fries were cold, not even warm. He has NEVER not finished a burger or left fries untouched so that in itself says a lot. Our 3 year olds flat bread took forever but finally came out. -Waters sat empty for an extended period of time and the waitress was no where to be found despite having very few tables. -Waited 15 minutes for our waitress to ring us out but finally had to track someone down because the waitress again was nowhere to be found. All in all it was a disaster! With this many issues the establishment should have just closed the doors! By the time our food came out my husband and I were so frustrated we were barely hungry. My pasta was sent back and I didn't end up having a meal. I wan't going to pay $27 for $1 of pasta, a few peas, a few crumbs of bacon and 1.5 ounces of chicken! The manager tried to rectify the situation but his staff (waitress/hostess/kitchen) all let him down. I felt bad for him because we saw many other tables speaking with him and sending food back. Another customer also was screaming at the hostess so clearly there were many other issues. Not sure what the cause of all the issues was but it was pure disaster. I give a lot of grace having worked in the food industry myself, but this was just beyond me! We love cheesecake factory but will definitely not be returning to this location and I'd advise you...

This place is overrated. The only reason my family and I tolerated waiting for an hour and a half to be seated is because we received a $100 gift card for this place. We were excited that our name was finally called but to our dismay, the server was escorting us outside. I told the server that I requested to be seated inside; It was about 55 degrees outside. He then turned, escorted us back around to the waiting area, and told me that the ticket read no preference, so he handed me a pager and told me it would be another 10-15 minute wait. He was dismissive and moved on to the next person. I was pissed and hungry; but of course, I didn't want to ruin everyone's night, so I kept quiet. Eventually, my name was called again and we were seated.

As soon as we sat down, a waiter came by and took our drink order. As soon as he turned his back to us, a waitress swooped in and said that she was our waitress and asked if we were ready to order. After a chuckle of disbelief, we told her we had just sat down and we needed a few minutes to review the menu.

Amateur hour continued as my eldest son had to return his glass of water because it tasted soapy. I was trying to ensure everyone enjoyed themselves, so I was very nonchalant about it as I explained to him that it wasn't a big deal because it was just water. We asked for a replacement. We all ordered and had our dishes brought to us. My wife ordered the salmon, but had to return it to the kitchen because it was undercooked. A gentleman came to speak to my wife and took her plate, and assured her it would be six minutes. The waitress asked if she could get my wife anything in the meantime. It wasn't until we were all done eating that her salmon was served. My wife ate a few bites, but was feeling guilty for holding up dessert. It was at this point that we decided to take the rest to go, including desserts and end the unpleasantness. Our waitress apologized and informed us that they were slammed in the kitchen because it was Saturday night. She also said that people from all of her three tables had some sort of issue with their food.

I was disappointed that despite ordering drinks, appetizers, entrees, and desserts, not a single item was comped. My wife did not eat dinner with us because of the kitchen's mistake, but we were penalized for it. The night was anti-climatic thanks to Cheesecake Factory. My recommendation is to drive across the parking lot to eat at Macaroni and Grill or BJs. Oh, despite the long wait, they don't take reservations. And trust me, the food is not...