The Cheesecake Factory — Restaurant in Hackensack

Worst service I have ever received at a Cheesecake Factory. My order was wrong - Ordered a side Caesar salad with grilled chicken, and got a large Caesar salad without chicken. My drink glass was dirty, crusties all over. I sent it back. Took forever to get a new same exact drink - I almost took the water out of my purse to drink. Server did not attend to us at all. Eventually the manager came to ask how we were doing, and I didn't say anything was bad, I just requested what we needed, which were refills, to-go boxes, empty plates taken from our table (we had a tiny 2 person table to begin with - Our 4 large plates hardly fit, I had to move extra things onto the table next to us to not risk knocking anything over,) and a cheesecake menu. She sent our server over eventually with small boxes (too small to fit our food), and asked us what cheesecake we wanted. We also got just once bag, which was awkward because we literally had 5 to-go boxes between the 2 of us and were going back to seperate places. We proceeded to kindly request the cheesecake menu - we were brought 1 menu, but there were 2 of us, we couldn't even have 2 menus? The manager then said the cheesecake was on the house, I am guessing bc we had literally been waiting for attention for about 3 hours... That is WAY too long to be at a restaurant for. We just wanted to socialize, eat, and shop. Obviously it took so long to get everything that the mall closed so we couldn't even shop! Thinking ahead, we said we would like to-go boxes for the cheesecake in addition to our cheesecake. Manager said she would send the cheesecake in the to-go boxes and provide us with forks so we could have a few bites and go. Surprise - no forks were provided. So once we received our cheesecake we paid in cash (because credit card would literally probably take another hour) and left. I know that the restaurant was busy,, it was New Years Eve Eve, but the other tables were visibly getting attention. I kept seeing our waiter go back to other tables, I would make eye contact with him, and he would literally just walk away. We were probably one of the few tables of 2, but we ordered 2 appetizers (even though the server put the salad in incorrectly) and 2 full meals, plus 2 cheesecakes. I do not recommend coming here anymore for a dine-in experience. I used to love it, but I really felt pushed aside last week. In the future, I'll probably just go to Maggiano's or PF Changs. If I want cheesecake, I will order it at the to-go counter instead of sitting...

This is my first time in the last 10 years visiting The Cheesecake Factory and it would not have been my first, second or even third pick of a restaurant but I must say everything was quite good - food, drinks, service and overall dining experience and I can see why people call The Cheesecake Factory their favorite.

Expect a short wait during busy times and weekends. Regarding reservations, You can make reservations online for parties of six or more but for larger parties you can only show up and wait.

We had a party of seven and did not have a long wait.

The menu is enormous, like two times as much reading when compared to a diner menu and there is no comparison.

If possible I would even recommend glancing at the menu before your visit. You do not need to commit it to memory as this would be near impossible but it will give you a sense of what is available and what you might like to order without reading through the menu when you arrive.

Servers seem very experienced and calm and handled service flawlessly.

All the food was very good, no complaints. Portions are quite large (at least for me) and we had left overs we took home for every dish.

Deserts are a specialty here, you will think you have no room left for dessert but you will so go ahead and order it. I was surprised to find the desserts quite light and not over sweet - perfect in my book.

I went for a birthday party and one of the slices of cake came out with Happy Birthday written in chocolate sauce on the plate - what a nice touch to make our visit memorable.

I also observed an actual chef - complete in his whites with temperature gauges and other devices in his pocket helping and guiding other staff to quickly clear and set tables. A sign of a well run restaurant even if it is a chain.

This is a pretty enormous place, I think it is meant to feel like a large industrial factory with large columns. It's quite glittery with ceiling lamps and warm and somewhat dimmish lighting but I think it helps to make it feel both cozy and glitzy at...

• WARNING: BE VIGILANT AT ALL TIMES *

On the evening of February 17th, my husband and I decided to celebrate Valentine’s Day at our favorite restaurant (Cheesecake Factory) located in Hackensack New Jersey. We had four other restaurants in mind but decided we’d play it safe and to guarantee enjoyment we stuck to what we thought would be a favorable experience. For starters, my husband and I ordered our usual water instead of sugar drinks or alcoholic beverages. As we dined sipping our water and exchanging conversation, I began stirring my now-then half cup of water with my straw to notice something I had never experienced before. Inside mixed within the ice was a clear FILTHY acrylic outer packaging that six sets of crayons come in. Dismay immediately came upon me, and I requested to speak with a Manager. Conversations with the FIRST Manager was apologetic and stated our dinner bill would be 100% taken care of. Minutes later a SECOND Manager approached our dining table to be told that we would only receive complimentary cheesecakes and not our entire meal. Even more insulting, the Manager excluded my husband’s meal and ONLY offered to care for my entree. He also mentioned that they do not provide packaged crayons for children and unsure how this could have happened from their kitchen. It went as far up as a final THIRD restaurant Manager arriving at our dining table with an immediate apology for any misunderstandings and stated at the expense of the restaurant our entire bill would be taken care of. This ordeal took place the entire evening ruining what was supposed to be a special and exciting Valentine’s Day celebration for my husband and I. The restaurant handled this very poorly with superficial apologies and disregarding the unsanitary principle and health issues...