Applebee's Grill + Bar — Restaurant in Florida

The "experienced" waiter a friend and I had at this South Florida Applebee's -- first visit ever -- during dinner on March 20, 2024, had a trainee shadowing him but couldn't have been more poorly trained himself, though, a lack of common sense was also evident.

We sat down to a table without napkins and silverware; he told my friend she couldn't get a splash of ginger ale in her seltzer order without also being charged for a separate glass of ginger ale, but that she could get a splash of seltzer in a ginger ale order for the price of one soft drink...unheard of in my experience, though, price gouging may be standard practice there, and then our non-alcoholic drinks took inordinately long to be served; and when he placed our meals in front of us, it was clear he hadn't first checked the plates to ensure our meals were correct...or hadn't written them down that way. My friend had made a change to her vegetable and I swapped out mashed potatoes for rice -- I got the rice but my plate ended up with my friend's new vegetable instead of the vegetable it came with, which I wanted, and my friend's plate had my vegetable on hers that she hadn't ordered. But rather than taking our plates back to the kitchen to have them corrected, he quickly left and instead brought out separate side dishes of our correct vegetables, however, he stated that the broccoli he brought to me had garlic on it just like the string beans that incorrectly were served: the string beans had noticeable clumps of garlic whereas the broccoli did not, and after tasting the broccoli -- my friend as well -- with the waiter standing at the table, we had to inform him that there was no garlic whatsoever on them (of course, the broccoli for my dish in the menu didn't include any garlic), which was my preference. Realizing I couldn't give him complex tasks, I then asked for a plain plate onto which I could transfer the garlic string beans to remove them myself. Not my idea of being waited on. Unsurprisingly, he never checked back, whether in the requisite few minutes or ever to see how our meals were -- my blackened salmon was hardly blackened and should have been cooked another 5 minutes but edible enough -- and at one point after we had finished and the trainee cleared our plates, the waiter informed us how to use the digital bill machine on the table to pay. We took our time paying to enjoy our company, and the waiter began loudly, rhythmically banging a stack of, I believe, menus on top of the large computer station across from our table, possibly trying to make us uncomfortable so we would want to pay and leave. Eventually, I called him over to tell him that we would be paying by cash, not using the table computer to pay and that we needed a paper receipt. He began to explain why he informed us about the table computer and that this is what management wanted patrons to use, to which I explained back that I had once been a seasoned waitress (followed by a decades-long career in law) and that without any clear notification about any such rule presented to patrons when first seated, along with the fact cash payment is still allowed in any restaurant, legally, we had the right to pay by cash. Just, WOW.

If this genius only knew the old adage that in the restaurant business "the customer is always right," and the golden rule that restaurant patrons are never to be pushed out -- and that they tip more because of staying long after the meal ends since others couldn't be seated in their station -- he might have gotten a nicer tip than he did. However, having worked as a waitress in many restaurants myself, including an impeccably run fine-dining establishment where I presented live lobsters on large trays wearing a tuxedo uniform -- me, not the lobsters -- the waiter's constant and astonishing flaws earned him a tip he deserved... significantly below the standard 20%, which is not "a given;" you still have to earn it.

Neither my friend nor I will be going back to this or to...

1st and foremost, I frequent this particular Applebee's establishment bi-weekly on weekends to enjoy a tall glass of Milk 🥛 or Smoothie and a scrumptious supper as my reward for surviving another stressful work week while commuting in some of Florida's busiest roadways.

2nd; Being that I commute alone, it is a treat to sit at the bar, watch some sports & enjoy a marvelous meal while being served by my favorite Bartender, Ms. Lisa and I have been known to call in advance to verify that Ms. Lisa is working on that particular evening.

3rd; Last time in which I was here at Applebee's, I had asked to speak with the Manager regarding an incident that I witnessed and was inadvertently involved in. A Gentleman and myself were conversing and breaking bread together when I saw him run out to the parking lot. The Gentleman came back in followed by two females who had been inside drinking alcohol and had come back in yelling at Ms. Lisa and utilizing foul language loud enough for everyone to hear including children. The two females had previously become upset because they had been drinking from the dollar Margaritas menu and Ms. Lisa had asked them if they were going to eat after their 3rd rounds which made the two females upset. None of the other clients at the bar were upset after having been approached by Ms. Lisa after their third round of dollar specials. The police officer on duty attempted to calm the two females down and they began to make verbal threats towards Ms. Lisa. Once the misunderstanding between the Gentleman and two females, had quieted down, I asked to speak with the Manager and informed him of the incident which I had just witnessed out of concern for her safety being that the two females had arrived in what appeared to be a rambunctious mood which escalated with every drink they consumed.

4th; My reason for writing this lengthy review is for the purpose of shedding light on an incident which I felt received unwarranted reviews towards Applebee's establishment, Ms. Lisa, the Manager and the Gentleman Customer. The accusations from two weeks ago fall under "Defamation of Character, Slander, Harassment and Threats". Had I not read the reviews from the two females, I would have never known the "Social Media" retaliation.

*Last, but never least: I am, as the term goes, Old School and as prior member of both Enforcement & Military, my values revolve around admitting when one is wrong, owning up to our short comings and taking pride in apologizing, for it takes more courage to admit when we are wrong, than to lash out in anger at each other. Whether or not this review will be read by the Applebee's powers that be or not is not pertinent to me. My message is for any Future Customer looking for a good meal in a fun environment where you are treated with respect & appreciation in hopes that they will be influenced by not only my review but the many other reviews posted here and if you're lucky enough to happen to sit at the bar on an evening when Ms. Lisa happens to be on duty, prepare to be spoiled and enjoy...

Myself and one of my best friends visited the restaurant while on vacation. We decided to do the 2 for $25 deal so she got one of the pasta dishes with the buffalo chicken on top and I ordered a steak, cooked rare (how I always order) with 2 sides. When they brought our food, I cut into my steak to see if it was cooked how I ordered. It had ZERO pink or red or any of that but you could tell them inside was not fully cooked still which is how rare is suppose to be.. but it was black... so I picked it up with my fork and smelled it and instantly almost threw up! It was ROTTEN meat!! We told our waitress, who by the way was really nice and she asked if I wanted anything else and apologized deeply for the steak. I told her it was not her fault just bring me a chicken sandwich in place of it. She went and showed the manager who was sitting at the bar the entire time we were there.. he walks over and asked about my food and immediately you could sense that he did NOT even want to be bothered by the situation. Once I explained everything, to which he already knew, he asked "well how did you order your steak?" Like dude, at this point, it does NOT matter how I ordered it, it matters that I was served Rotten meat!!! He apologized as he rolled his eyes and the apology was one of those I have to's and not sincere at ALL!! Like why you become manager if this is how you treat customers. So then I was brought my chicken sandwich by a completely different waitress to which had been at the bar laughing it out with the manager.. then we went to pay... 🙄 it was the 2 for $25 which comes with an appetizer, entreé, and drink. So they charges us $3.50 each for sweet teas, $32.50 for the 2 for $25, and then the cost of my chicken sandwich. When asked about it they only took $12.00 off the order. Needless to say, we will NEVER visit this Applebee's again. We are already guest's in your town and guest's in your establishment and this is how we were treated?! COMPLETELY EMBARRASSED FOR THIS CHAIN AND ABSOLUTELY...