The Cheesecake Factory — Restaurant in Fairfax

I don't think I can every go back to my once favorite cheesecake factory after my traumatic experience there recently. Went there after years on 3rd July around 3pm and it was still quite busy. Got seated pretty promptly and things were going smooth. Ordered dynamite shrimps for appetizers and when I inquired about the complimentary breads, I was informed that they give it out after the order of appetizers are placed. Fair enough, after ordering the appetizers my server told me that she'll check the oven for the breads and bring it right out. I was excited since I absolutely loved their fresh breads but to my disappointment, my server brought out almost room temperature bread and cold butter. And here I thought I was gonna get at least warm bread since my server went to check the oven.. sigh... I didn't make a big deal out of it since after all it's complimentary. I placed my entree order for Alfredo fettuccine and added mushrooms and broccoli to it. And that's when things started to get really bad. My food came out but my fettuccine was so undercooked that it was turning into dough as I chewed it. Then the broccolis were a little on the harder side and almost had a bitter taste to it. Upon complaining, my server swapped my food this time with penne. The pasta itself was better but broccolis were still bitter. As I was trying out my food, a small spider suddenly appeared right in front of my plate and started crawling towards it. I panicked since I've phoebia with spiders but was able to smash it (see photo). Honestly after that, I didn't want any food or drink from this place. I told my server about the spider and showed it to her and she saw how panicked I had gotten seeing it. So, rather than bringing up the issue with a manager, my server just rushed to get the bill since her shift had ended and she needed to leave. I had no interest of staying there anymore either. So, I paid my bill and left to never come back again. Beyond disappointed at how bad their customer service has dropped and question how they maintain pests and...

I just had a really bad experience at this location. I was out with my daughter getting apps and drinks and our waiter was terrible. We were seated almost immediately, but I had to flag down our waiter (after 15 minutes) who claimed he was not assigned to our table, though he was attending to every other table surrounding us (we were seated in the middle). He in fact was assigned to our table and apologized for the oversight. After confirmation, he put in our food and drink order and told us we would have to wait for bread. After about 15 minutes, he refilled bread for everyone around us. Even though some arrived 20 minutes after we were seated. When our neighboring table received a refill of bread and I asked the waiter if we can get bread for a second time, he stated that it was coming and he didn't forget us. This is 30 minutes now we are sitting there with nothing but the two sodas ordered 15 minutes prior. The waiter never came back to checked on us throughout our entire time there. I always had to flag him down. Finally, he brings our bread about 10 minutes later (40 minutes after being seated) and I see that people who were seated after already have their meal. And we were just getting our bread. Our meal comes out about 5-10 minutes later (50 minutes after being seated) and my daughter stated that her food was cold. I can only guess our food was sitting as he tended to the needs of all the other tables. I asked for boxes and the check to take our food home. I spoke to the manager regarding the experience and he offered to talk to the waiter and give us a free slice of cheesecake, however, I declined. I was so upset with our treatment that I immediately left. I have been to this location several times and never had this issue. I will not be back to this...

My wife and I had Easter brunch in the Rotunda which is a separate room within the Cheesecake Factory. We've eaten there many times before as it's the quietest area in the restaurant. We are in our late 70's and I have several health issues including cancer and the Rotunda provides the right ambience for us. We noticed right away there was a group of 10 young adults in their 20's at a nearby table that were laughing out loud and making other excessive noise. Our server stated he had spoken to the group earlier but it didn't do any good. He didn't pursue it as the restaurant has a "liberal policy" regarding the conduct of the patrons. Later on, when I was having difficulty talking to my wife because of the noise, I went to the manager to ask her to speak to the group but she refused. I was also told as it was Easter, there were no other tables available. We felt like hostages. As the noise continued, I yelled to the group if they would please respect the other guests in the room and lower their voices. There were 10-15 other guests in the room that were impacted by the noise. The noise continued. When the noisy group finally left, I clapped. My wife and I felt very uncomfortable during our entire meal. When we left, I was trembling and I even forgot my credit card. My doctors have advised me to avoid as much stress as possible. This didn't help. I've been dining out for 60 years and this is my worst experience ever. Cheesecake Factory needs to fully investigate this incident so that other customers, especially seniors, will not have a similar bad experience. The absurd liberal policy needs to be changed or eliminated. I contacted Guest Relations two days after we ate there and I'm still waiting for a reply...