IHOP — Restaurant in Fresno

Wow. Just, wow.

We stopped here about 9 pm on Sunday, April 24, 2016, having been at a nearby hospital emergency room for several hours and not having eaten much all day.

There were a couple of large parties seated ahead of us, but our order was taken in a timely manner, with beverages brought promptly. The gentleman who took our order - the night manager, we believe, and we're very sorry we didn't get his name - was polite and, although obviously quite busy, was very efficient. The food arrived at the table quickly, and was hot and delicious. We can recommend the California Scramble breakfast and the Ham & Egg Melt sandwich (hold the ham, add avocado).

As we were eating, it became apparent that our server was the ONLY server on duty. (He was also the only seating host and cashier.) We also noticed that there was only one cook. The server occasionally called upon a bus person to assist setting up tables and bringing drinks. The longer we watched, the more impressed we were.

I worked as a waitress many years ago in a fast-paced family restaurant - ironically, a Golden West Pancake House - and observing the way these employees handled an unusually large, sudden crowd brought back a lot of memories (not especially pleasant ones) of working short-handed and trying to keep up with all the orders. There were at least three parties of 10 to 12 people plus at least five tables of 2 to 4 people, all of whom arrived within minutes of each other, plus a party or banquet going on in an adjoining room.

All of the customers seemed to understand the situation and remained calm and patient - but just as we were leaving, I heard a member of the most recently seated large party trying to catch the server's attention, calling out "Excuse me, we're ready to order." I wanted to yell "Give him a break! He'll be there as fast as he can!" I also had to resist the urge to grab an order pad and start pouring coffee. = }

We just wanted to give a shout-out to three VERY hard-working men. You did a remarkable job under extremely difficult circumstances. We wanted you to know that we noticed and...

So I came to IHOP after a workout at Woodward park with my family and our server was Connie. She took our order for beverages, when it came time for me to order I specifically said I wanted water with a lemon slice in it and she asked "lemonade?" I kindly clarified and told her I wanted water with a lemon slice and she walked away and said "ok, lemonade." I then had to clarify again that I wanted water with a lemon slice in it...when it came to ordering I had a question about one of the items on the French toast menu and I asked if they did come with French toast, she responded with "well, yeah there shows a french toast there", a simple "Yes" would've been enough but she had to be a smart ass about it. Even if it may have been a dumb question to ask she could've been nicer. We then got our food and I ate my French toast last and I tried to slice it and the whole bottom of it was burnt and I couldn't even slice thru it with a knife, Connie then came and showed it to the manager and took off one of the coffees on the bill. Overall it was a bad experience here, will not be coming to this IHOP anymore....had reviewed this place as a one star at the beginning of writing this review but since Connie saved me money on this visit I have raised...

The service from staff was really great. We were a group of 7 and we did not have to wait too long. The orders were taken and our server was very kind and patient when we made our orders. She even offered to ask the kitchen and other server oto check if we have certain ingredients available. We were able to order without feeling pressured and she listened very carefully. The food came at a good time the refills were always watched closely and she asked us to refill if needed. The food was a different story. I ordered an eggwhite omelet and others in my group had ordered pancakes or something else with eggs on the side. My eggs did not taste too good, they were unseasoned and the cheese was placed odd. It looked like they just threw the slice over the omelet and underneath the omelet. The others complained about their eggs as well. Those sitting next to me said they don't normally eat eggs and that days like this is the reason why. Later on, about an hour after, two people from my group were sick. Later that night the rest of the group also felt some sort of intestinal distress...