Chili's Grill & Bar — Restaurant in Lakeland

We came to this Chili's back in January and I have been hesitant to review because the experience was just that bad. As well once escalated, Corporate was not much better. We ordered an appetizer for chips & dip, kids cheeseburger bites, crispy crispers, and a rancher burger. To start, the chips and dip were not to our satisfaction and by that, I mean majority of the tortilla chips were severely undercooked, you couldn't even eat half the basket. I have ordered these at several chilis locations across the US and have never experienced something so disappointing. For the remainder of the order, there was a few problems with the crispy crispers. When ordered we requested to replace the corn with a salad which was fine, but the server who brought us the food - not our normal waitress - never brought us the crispers. Once the entire table was done eating, our waitress finally returned to check on us but never noticed we were missing our order until we said something. She checked with the kitchen and brought the crispers out within a few minutes, but it was too quick for this to be a new/fresh order. The crispers were hot, but when bit into almost slimy. Having worked in fast food myself, I could tell these were the same crispers that probably sat under the warmer, thrown back in the fryer for a quick reheat and reserved which made them inedible. We ate half of one because benefit of the doubt but couldn’t stomach it because they tasted so bad. The last issue that was presented was the rancher burger, unfortunately it gave my husband food poisoning within an hour of eating it. He couldn’t even finish it at the table because it didn’t taste right. Not sure if the ingredients had gone bad, the kitchen wasn’t clean or perhaps the cook didn’t adequately wash their hands. It’s just extremely disappointing. The children’s food and drink came out as expected and cooked well. Considering the poor customer service throughout the dining experience I did not voice a complaint at the restaurant, as well because of today's stigma of everyone being a "karen" when complaining this location gave off that feeling they were not very accommodating. I did escalate the receipt and ordeal to corporate requesting a refund since we did get food poisoning, we had no intentions of returning to chilis as a customer. They lacked empathy, acknowledgement and refused to accommodate the needs and only wanted to provide a "be our guest card" for a completely free meal at any price. Which would cost the company more than just refunding the part of the order we had issues with. After I reiterated this, the company basically wrote us off and stopped responding. To say one location has poor customer service is an understatement. This chili's has ruined all of our chili's experience going forward and I would not recommend eating at this location if you enjoy the companies...

WORST RESTAURANT EXPERIENCE EVER! Visited the restaurant on Mother’s Day 2021. I walk in and they told me there’s a 10 minute wait as compared to the restaurant next-door who has a 90 minute wait. So, based on the wait time, we decided to choose Chili’s. BIG MISTAKE!!! We get a text that our table is ready. We walked up to the host who is standing next to literally an over flowing can of garbage. We were shown to our table and the chairs were dirty. We clean the chairs ourselves and sat to wait for our server. We place our order and wait… and wait… And wait… And wait… And wait…. 90 minutes goes by and everyone that was seated on our side of the restaurant , some who arrived AFTER US, were served, ate, and left and we were STILL WAITING! I asked to see the manager. This Neanderthal walks up to start spouting his cookie cutter explanation about how busy they are, how they have to take care of online orders… Blah blah blah. NOT MY PROBLEM!!! It’s also not my problem that they literally ran out of ribs, chicken, cheesecake?! My daughters kids meal included three chicken strips and approximately eight fries?! It was like they were rationing food?? What kind of manager knows that Mother’s Day is around the corner and doesn’t logistically plan on ordering enough food inventory?!! Mind you, we ordered a simple burger, fajitas, and children’s chicken strips. It wasn’t like I asked for lobster Thermidor?! 90 MINUTES!!!! The only highlight was our server Eliana. Her service was amazing and we felt so bad for her having to take the brunt of her managers absolute ignorance. A bag of rocks could manage the restaurant better than he does. Any other manager could’ve seen how upset I was and at least offered maybe a 10% discount or a dessert or something? No nothing… Just lame excuses. Not that I wanted any of those things but an apology would’ve been nice. I made sure to tip our server really well and let her know that her managers ineptitude was no reflection on the quality of her service. This is why we never go to Chili’s anymore. I recommend you...

During my recent visit to Chili’s with my friend, we were disappointed with the service we received. My friend, who is vegetarian, typically orders the fajitas. In past experiences, the staff has always been very accommodating by substituting extra vegetables and guacamole in place of meat, which made her feel valued as a guest. Those experiences have always been excellent, with her meal priced fairly around the low $20 range.

This time, however, the experience was very different. Our server seemed unsure of how to handle a vegetarian fajita request. Instead of working through the situation, she appeared visibly agitated, even chuckling at my friend’s request for fajitas without meat. My friend was more than willing to pay for any substitutions or adjustments, but the server ultimately rang the order as a steak fajita meal — which is more expensive than other options. When my friend asked if that made a price difference, the server said it did not, but we later confirmed online that there was a $3 difference.

In addition, my friend was charged $4 for a very small side of guacamole, and in total, her vegetarian fajita meal came to nearly $30. For comparison, on prior visits, she received generous portions of vegetables and guacamole included, at a much fairer price.

Beyond the pricing concerns, what made the experience most disappointing was the attitude of our server. She not only seemed frustrated with the order but also ignored my friend at times when she asked questions. This left her feeling uncomfortable and undervalued as a customer.

We want to emphasize that we’ve had wonderful experiences at Chili’s in the past, with staff members going above and beyond to accommodate dietary needs. Unfortunately, this visit fell short of those standards, both in service and in fairness of pricing. We hope this feedback is taken constructively, as we would love to continue being guests at Chili’s and enjoying the positive experiences...