Applebee's Grill + Bar — Restaurant in Fayetteville

'It's not how you start, but how you finish!" That being said, I will give Applebee's a three-star rating only because of the outcome of this story I am about to share.

We chose Applebee's in Fayetteville after calling and confirming that they could accommodate a large gathering of 20. STOP the presses! It was not the case that they could accommodate 20, let alone a few patrons that evening. Using Marine parlance, it was a cluster!

Upon placing our orders and there were many, so our lone waitress had to go back a forth to the kitchen to place those orders, however, that's not the surprise. What was the surprise is that most of the food we ordered was no longer available. Somehow, they ran out of noodles for the chicken fettuccine, out of tomatoes for the salads, out of some of the appetizers, out of table napkins (so we use bar napkins). They were ever short of staff, which begs the obvious question, "When did management know when they were running short of food and staff?" Because surely, when you know a large group is coming to eat, you best have the goods!

While we waited and waited, the first order arriving 90 minutes late, we got to know our waitress, Ms. Angel, who was just as frustrated as we were, in fact, breaking down in tears. It was no fault of her own, and we let her know it, and as there was about to be a shift change, she enlisted the help of Daiza, who did her best to muster a smiling face and spirit to aid our comfort amidst this poor experience.

All the while, we could see the Manager going from table to table attempting to justify the lack of timely service and food. And after 4 hours, did the Manager stop by and take about questions and angst in the level of service, fully knowing that were were a confirmed party of 20. (Every other table averaged 2-3 guests). Please, such conduct represents a lack of professional courtesy and restaurant stewardship.

But three hours in, we got our riblets and they were good. And Ms. Angel stood strong, her voice showing empathy and integrity. and in our collective opinion, in spite of having both inadequate and indifferent help from the kitchen, the bar, and from the Manager - Ms. Angel finished strong (as did Daiza), and we would give them a Five-Star rating. This sort of attitude, you can't train!

So, Applebee's, if we could leave you with this parting thought, "How you do anything...is how you do everything." Your restaurant is ranked 110 out of 112. Better...

When we(my companion and I) walked through the door, we were immediately seated, therefore I was immediately pleased with the service so far. We chose to sit at the bar area and we were given menus by the bartender. We sat scanning the menu for deals and decided to eat a chicken Alfredo meal and a cheeseburger meal. We continued to wait about 10mins before we were asked if we wanted a drink. The assigned waitress was very inattentive and seemed to be in a rush to leave. Finally we were given our drinks and asked to wait a few more minutes before giving our order. 25 more minutes later, the waitress reappeared notifying us that her shift was done and she was leaving, introducing our new waitress. The new assigned waitress took our order and returned to the kitchen. I noticed that this waitress was not much attentive either. There wasn’t a high volume of customers at all, just us and another couple across from us at the bar. She spent a lot of time talking to her coworkers and not checking on us. We also waited approximately 35-40mins for the food to arrive overcooked and flavorless. The grilled chicken in my Alfredo was dark and charred, the noodles were bland and lacked any Parmesan cheese or seasoning. The bread was hard and had the texture of a brick. My companion received stale, cold fries. After I tried one, I could tell the fries had been sitting out for a while and very chewy, expired taste. We were not offered any condiments or utensils to eat with. Even though our food was a GREAT disappointment, I was continuously patient and said “thank you”when the food was brought out to us. I asked for water with lemon but never received it, so my throat was very dry the whole time. I had to ask another waitress walking by serving other table in order to get eating utensils. Overall, tried to give them the benefit of the doubt when it starting getting a little busy, but I couldn’t believe how long (35mins) it took to bring me a small container of Parmesan cheese. Instead, of Parmesan, the waitress brought out the Alfredo sauce out in a small container. At this point, we were ready for the check and To-go plates. I should have at least a small discount for the wait or a free appetizer, but I didn’t care for either anymore. I just dreaded the experience and never want to return to ANY Applebee’s...

I typically don’t leave comments, however in this case I would be remissed not to. My family went to this establishment last night and from the very first greeting I had a bad feeling but the kids for some reason wanted Applebee’s. When we walked in, the building was practically empty yet the lifeless young man who spoke to us and took my name said it would be a 20-30 minute wait. This young man at best should be a bus boy and never have to deal with customers. He never said hello, welcome or any of that. He was leaning over the tabletop, slouched and appeared as though we were bothering him. He clearly doesn’t like his job and doesn’t want to be there. When our seat was available the young man lazily walked us to our table and put menus down, but I had to ask for a baby menu and wait at least 5 minutes before he returned with one. Fast forward to our food, which we have no complaints with, our food was decent, but our waitress probably had too many tables to serve because she wasn’t very attentive, but not terribly bad. However I asked for my receipt and had to wait an eternity for that. I then went to find my waitress so we could pay and leave and I walked towards the back close to the kitchen to witness ladies in the kitchen fighting. The whole staff was in the kitchen watching and or breaking up this altercation, totally ignoring their customers. My waitress walked right passed me once one of the young ladies exit to leave for her car. After a moment of waiting I opened the door to get my waitress and tell her I had to pay and leave, she tried to ask me to hold on a couple moments. My husband, was totally upset and insisted we just leave but I couldn’t leave without paying but I also wasn’t going to wait for them. It’s a shame that NO ONE in this establishment had and sense to defuse the situation quickly and get back to the paying customers.

I WILL NEVER RETURN OR RECOMMEND...