Marie Callender's — Restaurant in La Mesa

Marie Callender's is always the number one place to get fresh whole pies. They are all consistently excellent. Our favorite is the Razzleberry pie. Comically I usually butcher the first piece I cut. So I just close my eyes and savor the sweet blackberries, raspberries, and apples in this perfectly balanced sweet and tart pie. Update: This time I got the Coconut Cream pie. I also decided to buy the official Marie Callender's Pie Cutter set to prevent mangling future pie slices. The results were excellent. Update: Got the steak and shrimp combo plates. Cornbread was very good. The steaks were tender and the shrimp were juicy. Everything was very tasty. Update: Got the steak and shrimp combo plates. Cornbread was very good, but a smaller piece than usual. The steaks were tender and the shrimp were juicy. The loaded mashed potatoes were a bit dry, and looked they had been premade hours before. Minus one star. Update: Got the Beef Pot Roast dinners. They were ok, but not as good as the steak entrees. Update: Got the steak and shrimp plate and the salmon plate. The salmon was good, but the steak and shrimp is still our favorite. Update: Got the Spicy Beef and Chicken Skillet and the Turkey Dinner. The taste of both entrees was good, however the skillet was very greasy. We would not get a skillet again. Got the Double Cream Blueberry pie and the Razzleberry pie. The double cream was over the top sweet, so we wouldn't get it again. The Razzleberry was excellent as usual, and still our favorite. Update: Got the steak and shrimp entrees. Both were very good. Update: Got the steak and shrimp entrees. This time both steaks were mostly connective tissue and were very difficult to cut with the steak knives. They were even more difficult to chew. The shrimp were good. We told our server about the steaks and she said she told the manager. No remedy was offered. Update: Got a German chocolate cream pie to go. It was excellent! Update: Got the turkey dinner and fajitas bowl. Both were good. Got razzleberry and apple crumb pies. Both were good. Update: Got the steak and shrimp combo plates. Both were very good and the service was excellent. Update: Got a Breakfast burger, a steak and chicken skillet, and a piece of key lime pie. Everything was very tasty, however the skillet was very greasy. Update: Got the steak and shrimp combo plates. Both were good, but asking for medium rare steaks usually results in medium well done. Update: Got the Chicken & Shrimp Carbonara. It was very good. The menu selections have changed and prices have increased. Update: Got the Chicken & Shrimp Carbonara, and the Meatloaf entrees. Both...

Letter sent to Corporate. I will update if they respond.

Hello, Today we were at the Marie Callenders on Alvrado in San Diego.  We ordered the sampler appetizer, My spouse had the mini chicken pot pie with the slice of pie, I had the fish fry special of the day.

The appetizer you could tell was all frozen and deep fried, which is expected but, the chicken fingers were freezer-burned before it was fried, the onion rings were not cooked they were soggy and cold inside, and the green beans were pretty good.

We told our waiter who said "Oh! Really? Well let me get you some drinks." and then he walked away.  So ok, I was a tad shocked. Normally, they would offer to recook or even cook the onion rings...  well at all.  The apathy and complete lack of concern were surprising.

The main meal came out. My fish looked burnt. I said, "Wow, that's overdone.  I can see it." The waiter said, "Is there anything else I can get you?".  My spouse jumped in and said, "Just wait a second and see how done that is. It looks burnt".  I went to cut it and it crumbled.  I sent it back and asked that it not be cooked as much.

The waiter came back in less than three minutes and said, this is a direct quote, I wrote it down, "It seems like that is a common complaint. It is how our fish comes. Can I get you something else?"  I said no after the mess that we have been served. He didn't offer a manager to talk to or well anything at all.

So I sat there while my spouse ate her chicken pot pie, which was good by the way. The crust was amazing.  It was hot and cooked all the way through.

I decided it's Marie Callenders at least I can have cheesecake without risk right? She got the double-cream blueberry pie. The cheesecake was so over-the-top vanilla that it left a nasty aftertaste. I couldn't eat that either. The other pie was great. My waiter, when I told him and said...  You guessed it nothing.  He didn't care.

Since I wasn't offered a manager during our horrible meal. On the way out I asked for one.  When I told him the appetizers were frozen and just not good. He said, and this is a quote, "Right, that's how we do it. We can't change that".

I didn't even get the chance to talk about my fish. I mean what would be the point?  He had more apathy than our waiter.  This is a top-down problem.

I have never been more disappointed with a restaurant than I have with this.  I am mailing this to you and then I will post this on as many social pages, and review pages as I can find.  Your people might not care...

I have visited this Marie Callender's many times so based on past experiences, I won't give a 1 star rating. My issue with Marie Callender's on Alvarado was how their staff handled Thanksgiving takeout.

My mother is in the hospital and we were unable to head home for the holiday so once Thanksgiving rolled around I decided to treat her to non-hospital food.

I called at 9am to inquire about their takeout services for the day since it was a holiday. A man answered and I didn't catch his name and he informed me that they were doing takeout orders but to call back at noon. I sat around all morning and called back at noon and someone new answered the phone and told me that they were not doing takeout orders because, of the holiday. I understood that but it was irritating that their employee was not informed of what was going on and giving misinformation. If I had known this I probably would have gone to Coco's. The girl didn't really apologize, she simply said, "well you won't wait that long." (eye roll) This Marie Callender's is already out of my way so that wasn't a genuine response for me, "I'm so sorry" would have been fine.

I did the drive and walked to the door where a guy was taking orders. I am assuming it is the same guy who answered my phone call in the morning because, he once again gave me misinformation. I asked if they were selling pies and he said, "no, were're not selling pies today". I walk up to pay for my food and they asked, if I wanted to purchase a pumpkin pie for $10. The girl who gave me my food pretty rude also, the least she could do is say, "hello" or "goodbye" instead of pushing my food towards me and staring at me.

In all Marie Callender's needs to better prepare their staff and inform them of procedure. Also if you're going to have a piss poor attitude then why work there? On a good note, the food was delicious and all of that food for the price is...