Chili's Grill & Bar — Restaurant in Lincoln

Absolutely the worst service I've ever had in my life. And I have been a server for the last 10 years so I know what service should be like and this was not it. I came in a few days ago with a friend about an hour and a half before closing. In an empty restaurant we get directed to the very back corner table closest to the bathrooms..really? Our server didn't even introduce herself..the glass with the water i got had built up gunk around the rim of the glass when I scratched it with my nail it came off (thats why I use straws, lots of times there is leftover lipgloss on the rim of the glass at places) My friend and I put in our drinks and we sat patiently..until 20 minutes have gone by..again absolutely empty restaurant..I kept seeing the girl wiping down tables and not even at the bar waiting on our drinks. The bartender kept apologizing and saying how she was cleaning a table. Always the customer first. In my place of work i keep my eye on the printer at all times and that is my number one priority. The table can wait to be cleaned. I was loosing my patience so I go to the bar myself and wait for the bartender to make the drinks and bring them back to the table myself while my waiter is seeing all of this happen she jus keeps wiping down her tales and doesn't say a word to me. I get back to the table and I hear her talking in the back with the bartender or another server saying how she can't wait to go home. She still doesn't show up and at this point its been 45 minutes and we still haven't even put in an order yet. I had to literally wave at her thru the glass window when she was in the bar saying "hello id like to order food". I order my food and at this point I'm over it so I want it to go. While another family of 4 come in and sit down I hear them in the back arguing about who is going to take the table and how they both said they didn't want the table that just walked in (id highly recommend getting a soundproof wall of some sort or better servers who actually enjoy their jobs and don't complain about money that is right there infront of them). I order a burger with fries and the chicken crispers. I didn't get any waffles with them they were just chicken tenders. Lastly I saw the server take down her hair from her ponytail and redo it touching her hair and then I waited to see if she would wash her hands and she did not. And she was talking to the bartender for 10 minutes after while my food was sitting in the window because my friend could see into the kitchen from his seat and see my box of food just sitting there. Our server turned around and ran into the kitchen like she completely forgot we were even there. Definitely hire someone who wants to be there and doesn't complain about their job..especially during a pandemic..insane..and takes care of her personal hygiene and complains because its AN HOUR before you close. If I could give zero stars I would...

I want to start this by saying Cady (our waitress) was NOT part of the problems. She was attentive and friendly.

This was our 1st visit to Chili's in 2.5y but it is likely our last visit ever... at least to this location. It took a few minutes to get seated which was confusing at first considering 75% of the place was empty. When we realized there was only 1 wait person on staff (Cady), that made much more sense.

As a Chili's rewards member, I requested the free chips n salsa that are a perk of being a rewards member (you can choose a non alcoholic beverage or chips n salsa). We also ordered our drinks (which never ran dry thx to Cady). When we ordered our food, the wait on that seemed excessive but we overheard there was only 1 cook in the kitchen... so understandable.

I ordered the pick 3 (drink/baked potato soup/cilantro lime Carne asada) and my husband ordered the Cajun chicken pasta.

When the food came out we were slightly taken aback as it was clear they had been under the warmer lights long enough to dry out the pasta and the chicken was grossly overcooked (almost like jerky). Mine was dried out, the rise was dry and crusty on top, the black beans had formed a skin 🤢 the only part that was good was the steak strips. We mentioned the chicken to Cady and she had the kitchen remake it (we thought they were going to remake the whole dish but something was better than nothing. At least when she brought the chicken back out it was edible.

At this point we wanted to pay and leave. Using the ziosk, I logged into my rewards and went to pay. It seemed higher than it should. When I clicked on the bill detail it had a charge for $5.69 for the chips n salsa. When we asked, Cady told us that in order to get that promo, you have to come within 90 days of your last visit (nothing saying that anywhere obvious). She went to mgmt and he adjusted the bill to show a $2.41 loyalty promo (chips or drink)... which is weird as the drinks are like $2.99. I mentioned the discrepancy and she went back over to mgmt. He wasn't surprised by this and I overheard something about this being a common thing...

Check your receipt people...

She came back and that promo $2.41 had been removed and the bill now showed (no beverage x2) which is all good... except my drink was part of the pick 3 and that price wasn't adjusted... so the bill was still almost $3 more than it should have been but we were done.

I paid the incorrect amount and we left.

Like I said, we won't be back... if Chili's wants to reach out to me I'd be happy to provide the details of the receipt (other than the image attached).

We did tip but I didn't include that...

We all have dreams in life, don't we? Neil Armstrong dreamed of the moon, Joan of Arc dreamed of a liberated France - ever since I was a child I dreamed of going to Chili’s. The romance, the booths, the newly refined and non-intimidating menu that has the perfect balance of modern and tradition. It has always been on my list of places I need to see in southeast Nebraska. Finally, I had the opportunity.

We went on a Saturday night and there was no wait. Score! My first Chili‘s experience was off to a great start. The booth was sublime, perfect hybrid of comfort and lumbar support. Inviting atmosphere too, the ratio of local high school sports apparel on the wall to southwestern decor was just right. However, It was our server, Casey, that stole the show.

Casey was attentive and had a great working knowledge of the menu. Our water glasses were full before one could even start to sing the baby back ribs song. It was because of this that I quickly recognized Casey was no novice, he was a veteran. He knew this place, he understood it’s customers. Seriously, Mr. Chili himself would have been proud. I put down my menu. It was futile. A beginner like me knowing what to order? Get real. But Casey would know. I let him choose my entree - that is service. That is the way of the pepper.

Ordered an appetizer of chips and queso. Probably the culinary highlight of the experience.

There was a point where I got up to take a look around the establishment. I peaked in the kitchen and it looked as though somebody had dumped 30 gallons of water on the floor. Like this was enough water on the ground to make me audibly say “wow, that is a lot of water”. Seriously, I was so surprised at the discovery of the 6th Great Lake in south Lincoln that it took me a second to realize that there was nobody actually in the kitchen. This was slightly concerning. The restaurant was half full, where was all the food coming from? People were eating, but the kitchen was empty. I did some quick mental math, something wasn’t right.

Speaking of kitchen, the food was alright. I am not discounting Casey’s ability to decide on an item, Shrimp Tacos was a solid choice. But the quality itself was underwhelming, for a restaurant that has has a massive pepper as its logo I was expecting a little more flavor - but I may chalk that up to the absence of kitchen staff. As I previously stated, the chips were good.

In summary, the experience was better than the food. I really don’t see how anybody could be in a bad mood here. Would have given 5 stars if 1. Our food would have been warm, and 2. An employee said “Hi, welcome to...