Applebee's Grill + Bar — Restaurant in New York

Service is awesome here. I went here with my co-workers (January 11th, 2017) for a group gathering in celebration of making it past seasonal time. The waiter that took care of us for the night, Mark, was awesome. He has a great personality, gorgeous smile, friendly vibe, and hard working attitude. Those traits certainly make up for good customer service if you ask me. The food was amazing. I had Chicken Parmesan as my entree and Mozzarella Sticks as an appetizer. And i'm pretty sure my table ordered way more drinks than we can count, but he took care of it, quickly and efficiently. I am giving four stars and not five, because there were a few mishaps. The machine that is used to order is a little tricky to use, and there were some items that were on the menu that apparently weren't available according to the machine. We got so backed up in ordering because it kept saying certain items were "unavailable" and some of the results according to Mark were inaccurate. It got to the point where Mark had to hop in and order for us, and we had to basically start the ordering process all over again. Otherwise, when we finally ordered, the wait time was minimal (20-30 minutes) and most of our food was accurate and spectacular. There was an instant where one of my co-worker's steak came out hard and toasty rather than the medium-rare she requested, but Mark quickly took care of it and she only waited 10 minutes for it to come back corrected. All in all, it was a lovely evening. The place is clean, the environment is friendly and social, and I could tell the other workers along with Mark try their best to please customers. I would definitely recommend coming here, especially after seeing a movie or if you want...

This review is not based on the food. It’s based on the customer service.

I entered this Applebee’s in Astoria as I normally do when I’m in Astoria. I came to order some take out. I stood by the entrance and waited for someone to acknowledge me. After 5 minutes of waiting, the bartender asked me if she can help me. I asked for a menu and she walked to the OTHER side of the bar. I proceeded to take a seat at the bar and waited for the menu. She approached me and asked for my ID and Vax card. I told her I do not have a Vax card (she was doing her job under NYC law) which I understand. However, she proceeded to tell me I can’t sit down and that I need to go outside. Baffled by her comments, I asked “if I’m outside, how can I place my takeout order” “ is someone coming outside to attend to me” she repeated it again “you need to step outside and you cannot be seated here” I responded I understand (while standing) I’ll like to place a take out order and please provide me with a menu. She handed me the menu and instructed me to step outside. While outside, I took a look at the menu and decided what I wanted. Then I open the entrance door and stood there. As I’m trying to get someone’s attention. There were three employees in the area and No one looked my way nor acknowledged me. I placed the menu at the welcome booth and walked out.

This review is based on my views and how I felt unappreciated as a customer. I understand they have to follow NYC guidelines. However, the way they went about it was borderline rude and it made me feel like a second class citizen. And this last comment is solely based on the interaction with the bartender and them taking a blind eye to...

It's not as though I came here expecting great things. Cheap, filling, satisfying were what I was hoping for. My dining companion and I went for the 2 for $27, where we get an appetizer to share and 2 entrees for $27, a supposedly better option than the 2 for $20. Appetizer boneless wings were drowning in the buffalo sauce, and many of the smaller pieces were more batter than chicken. Her entree, a small steak with two sides, for which she picked baked potato and garlicky string beans. The steak was surprisingly competent, though it had no textural contrast throughout, despite the grill marks that made you believe that it might have a nice, crusty outside. The string beans were definitely the frozen kind, sloppily drenched in something that resembled garlic oil. the baked potato was not a baked potato at all, just a boiled potato that was glazed with oil and put through oven for maybe a minute or two. My pasta dish, a fusion-y, fake asian creamy sauced thing, was a disaster. I can definitely teach someone who's literally never cooked to make the exact same dish better on the first try. the spiral pasta noodles, no doubt pre-cooked and dunked in hot water, was about 6 or 7 minutes past al dente, giving no toothsome feel to the bite. it was improperly drained, so the "creamy" sauce became gloppier and more dilute. There was so much of this sauce/water mixture that it was halfway to being a soup. Not that I expect an earth-shattering dining experience, I think that the corporation should look to coming up with recipes that are easy to replicate and leave customers happy. Frankly, a $5 meal at a fast food restaurant is...