Applebee's Grill + Bar — Restaurant in Mentor

Visited on 10/07/2023 at 7:36PM we (myself, my boyfriend, and his son who’s 6) were told it was gonna be about a 30 minute wait which the lobby had about 3 more groups ahead of us so we figured as it seemed they were understaffed (as it’s a common problem everywhere). We waited the time and we were seated a little later than 30 minutes but we were fine it was a Friday night and it seemed to us the restaurant was clearing out so we figured “okay we will be in and out within the hour”

Well not the case. The server did seem busy and we were told she was “cashing out a large party on the other side of the restaurant” but that seemed to be literally the whole time. It took 15 minutes for her to even take an order for use to get boneless bites (which were brought out cold) chocolate milk, water, and a beer.

We did not have silverware to eat our boneless wings with but we were super hungry so we just said eh we don’t know when our server will be back let’s eat them. And they were cold in the middle. These were when they first were brought to the table. After waiting for them. We again, could not find our server so we flagged down a server from another section who apologized and took them back. A manager I believe took them off our check and brought us fresh boneless wings which were better and brought us napkins and silverware.

The manager asked if we were ready to order due to the server “cashing out that large party” which okay but at this point it was 8:30 and we asked if it would take long if we did order food to which we were told “not long” so we went ahead and ordered 2 burgers (a quesadilla burger, kids chicken tender, and a mushroom burger i forget the full name) and literally we waited an HOUR. Anytime we asked “it’ll be out any minute” and nothing. Our server was never around to fill our cups for more drinks. Finally at 9:30 we had enough and we flagged another server to get our server and told her to just bring us the bill for my boyfriends beer so we could leave because my boyfriends son was so tired and we were gonna go run through Taco Bell or something because this was ridiculous.

The server looked and said “oh it’s ready I just have to bring it out sorry” and I’m like “just box it up then” and another 15 minutes go by and it’s brought out on plates by another server and when I explain to the gentleman it was supposed to be boxed up, the server who was behind me, my boyfriend saw blatantly roll her eyes and grab the plates and just leave her table and hand me the bill but I had a free kids meal since we did the summer reading program through the mentor library.

This also irritated her because she rolled her eyes, and reluctantly took it from me. Another 15-20 minutes later we were finally brought our food boxed up. We paid our check primarily because it was 10PM by the time we got to the car and my boyfriends son is autistic. He knew it was late. In his mind he said it was too late to eat. It was so hard to get him to eat any of the food even though his stomach was growling. He’s never had dinner THAT late and hindsight we shouldn’t have ordered passed our boneless wings but we were said it wasn’t gonna be too bad and like I said the restaurant literally looked like it was clearing out so we were like it’s better than driving through plus we never just take him in a restaurant. Now we did get there close to 8 and I’m aware everywhere is short staffed. But both my boyfriend and I have worked restaurants and that was the worst restaurant experience we have ever had. When you’re saying something is gonna be right out actually mean it and don’t let it die in the window. We didn’t end up eating our burgers as we were worried something was done to them for...

Applebees is more than just a restaurant, it is an experience. When you step through the door of the restaurant your first time, you are transported into a world unlike any other. The low light of the restaurant casts shadows on the knick-knacks adorning the walls, and the translucent hum of the various screens through the restaurant create a sort of ethereal presence in the restaurant.

Right off the bat, you know you are in for a dining experience like no other.

"Welcome to Applebees!" a cheerful host says to you. "How many are in your party?" You hold up two fingers. "Right this way!" She responds. As you walk to your table, you wonder how she can deal with so many customers, yet remain so chipper, but shrug it off as another wonderful mystery caused by the splendor of Applebees.

The waitress takes your drink order and for a moment, your head is spinning. Do you want a soda? Do you want iced tea? You look at the drink menu and you see a litany of alcohol beverages you have only dreamed about - Bud Light, Coors Light, Miller Light...

The waitress offers a helpful suggestion of an Oreo Shake, and you say that sounds great. She asks if you'd like a round of water for the table as well. You smile. This is the kind of attention to detail that you expect from Michelin Star rated restaurants, not a Neighborhood Bar & Grill!

As the waitress goes to fetch your shake, you peruse the menu. The pages are jam-packed with the names of delicacies that you can only imagine. Fiesta Lime Chicken? Shrimp N' Parmesan Sirloin? You shift in your seat; you suddenly feel very self-aware that you do not belong in this restaurant. Your palatte does not feel sophisticated enough for these cuisines, and you worry that you will not do these delicacies justice when you enjoy them.

Just at this moment, the waitress comes to your table and all your fears are dissuaded. You order the Chicken Tenders Platter (a local favorite). You take a sip from your Oreo Shake and breath a sigh of relief as liquified Oreos slide down your throat. You lean back in your booth and relax.

Suddenly, you hear a chorus of heavenly voices rise from behind you. You turn around to see all of the Applebees wait staff coming towards you, singing and clapping their hands. "Happy happy birthday, from Applebees to you," they cheer. "We wish it was our birthday, so we could party too, hey!"

As soon as they arrived, the employees scatter, leaving you to dwell on the beauty of it all; the fact that Applebees treats you with such precise, special attention, the five-star cuisine, the exotic decor, and the fact that the wait staff is so eager to share in your special...

I don't typically leave poor reviews. However, this upset me.

I ordered food for delivery back on tuesday the 23rd. I ordered the 4 cheese mac with the honey chicken and a Caesar salad. My food got to me at the appointed time as it stated on the website. I get my food and sat down at my desk to watch youtube and eat. Salad was fine, and i pulled my pasta up to start on it.

Red flag number 1: My pasta was cold. Like.. cold like it has been sitting out for a long while before it even got to me.

I shrugged it off to "maybe the heat lamp was on" and started eating anyway. Pasta is mushy like it had been cooked too long, but i wasn't going to grumble over it too much. I go to eat my chicken. The 1st piece is fine. 2nd one i took a bite out of, I had a horrid and slimy texture hit my tongue. Normally I don't get grossed out by odd textures like this, and can usually chalk it up to it being either a really muscled part or some sort of weird gamey piece. I spit this out and looked at it. I got up and went to my kitchen to see it in better lighting and was like "is this.. raw????" and cut the 2nd piece in half.

Raw. Definitely raw. I felt disgusted and had to ask my friends if i was seeing this correctly. They were baffled too. I was like "well.. I've lost the rest of my appetite.." and threw it away and called the store.

As a manager at a restaurant myself, all i wanted was to get a refund on the pasta. I told the general manager what happened and she said she would send me vouchers in the mail but I just said "i just want to be refunded for the pasta" she said okay and we hung up.

I did get nauseous and felt awful later on.

Thursday, while i was at work, i checked my bank statement and saw that the amount from this establishment was still the full amount and got angry. I went over after i got off work and walked in with my old receipt from my delivery bag and told her that i wanted a full refund at this point. She got my info and said it would take up to 72 hours to go back onto my card.

Well I looked at my bank statement before i started work today and saw that it was still there. I called my bank to dispute the charge and my bank told me "this merchant hasnt made an attempt to refund you" and that just set me off.

So not only did i get raw food, and some side effects from it, but i was going to be fully charged for it? Absolutely not.

I refuse to step foot into another applebees location if that's the kind of service I'm going to have to expect. That is so ridiculous...