Applebee's Grill + Bar — Restaurant in Grand Haven

This wasn’t my first time here, but unfortunately will probably be my last. Decided to go out to eat with a couple friends, we were ordering drinks, I placed my order with the waitress and handed my ID to her, as I would expect; however instead of reading it over and handing it back, she held onto it and asked the others at the table if they would also be ordering drinks, which 2 others were. She then took all of our IDs and said that she had to go scan them “per policy” and would be back, which we thought was strange as this has never happened before. About 10 minutes goes by and there’s still no sign of our waitress that had taken our IDs. Concerned, we asked the bartender if she could give us an update on why we have not received our IDs back. The bartender goes to the back and comes back to us a couple minutes later letting us know that the manager was trying to verify our IDs. The manager comes to us a few minutes later, hands back 1 ID, but informs myself and my other friend, that she is unable to return our IDs because they were unable to scan them and thus unable to verify the validity of the IDs. She informs us that unless a cop is able to verify them, then she is unable to give them back to us and asks if we have any other form of identification that she could use. My friend shows her recent college ID, which contains her picture; however the manager stated that because it doesn’t have a date, they are unable to use it to confirm identity. We then asked them to call the cops to come confirm the IDs, which they replied if they had to call them, then they would have to kick us out. So another friend called the police while the manager was still present at the table. The police showed up shortly after and verified that both IDs were valid and he returned them to us.

Our waitress was also nowhere to be seen from the time she took our IDs until after the manager spoke to us and when she was bringing our food out to us. They said IDs had to be verified by the manager “per policy”, however we noticed that the customers that were IDed at the bar were not having their IDs taken to the back for “manager approval”. We were not given any reason as to why our IDs were taken, nor did we receive an apology from the manager or the waitress for inconveniencing us; while waiting for the police to show, all the waitress mentioned was how “awkward” she felt about the situation.

I may eat at Applebees again, however I can say that I definitely will not be returning to...

It’s always nice to dine in the presence of greatness. Last night was our lucky night as our great waitress, Veronica, made sure our meal was perfect! While all nights are special, this one was extra special as my niece Alex was celebrating turning 33 during a snowpocolypse.

I’m assuming if you are reading this review you are either familiar with Applebees, or have been recently released from prison after an incarceration that started back in the 1970’s. Therefore, you won’t find an extensive review of the chain or their menu here. I only plan on outlining my specific experience at THIS Applebees with Veronica.

Our party of 5 hit a six-top and off we went. Veronica did the required suggestions of those Mucho drinks and then was off to complete our drink order in quick fashion. Highlights:

I’m a special order machine…. Well done salmon, no croutons on my salad, cocktail sauce, Onion Rings instead of fries, etc.. It all came out 100% perfect! This in itself is a rare feat. (Reading this back I’m starting to fear I’m high maintenance!)

Veronica anticipated needs. We never had to ask for anything.

-Veronica’s knowledge of the menu rocked. My niece had some high level questions about how to avoid nuts and still eat a dessert. Veronica had some solutions for us! (Kudos to Veronica for suggesting something as LARGE as cinnamon rolls… there were plenty of leftovers for the rest of us to sample :)..)

-Veronica is funny, personable, and quite welcoming. We apparently both like cinnamon rolls, google reviews, and gift card specials. Who knew.

To summarize this small book…. You could do much worse than a night out at Applebees, even without an Oreo Shake. You can’t do any better than having Veronica host your evening. I’d recommend asking for her by name… I hear she appears at the Grand Haven Applebees quite often.

Thanks for an enjoyable evening and caring for our 5 person six-top!

Mark, Peg, Kendall,...

We were greeted immediately and with a smile. Our waiter was Isaac. Very helpful with the menu and amazing customer service. Very knowledgeable. Our food all came out very quickly and was all very fresh and appetizing. The prices were reasonable. Restaurant very clean and all waitstaff were groomed well with a clean appearance. Definitely the best applebees we have ever been to! Great job everyone. My daughter was engaged this evening and you made the night extra special for us. Thank you Applebees and especially Isaac!

*Edit 07/16/21 My husband and I visited tonight and had a very enjoyable experience. Keisen was our server and was amazing! 5 stars just for her menu knowledge and great customer service. Lovely entrees to boot! We decided on the 2 for 22 option. We ordered Buffalo style boneless wings with blue cheese dressing. The app was accompanied by celery and sauced very adequately. We both ordered the bourbon chicken and shrimp. With all of that plus 2 sodas we paid a little over $37. Keisen greeted us immediately and offered specific cocktail and beverage options. All smiles and checked on us often even through the restaurant was pretty busy. Keisen made us feel important and appreciated. We are still very pleased with this location above any others in the area and even in other states we have visited! Thank you for the great dining...