Chili's Grill & Bar — Restaurant in Oro Valley

Pretty good fast food menu and being able to mix entrees was a plus. They had good, reasonably priced draft craft beer too. Service was very good, although the place was packed during the Friday night dinner hour. One can't eat healthy here for sure, but everything was tasty.

One thing I really hated though was up the self payment system that one must use when paying by credit card. Our friendly waitress brought my bill and credit card back to me after first taking during a sweep of bill payments at several tables. And she voluntarily got me started which was quite helpful because my card has a chip but the machine couldn't read it. So she had to start over by hitting a few buttons and then swiped it for me instead.

This process is done via machines sitting on the already crowded tables which, by the way, are much smaller than other sit-down restaurants. These tables are really cramped because the 4 physically huge plastic covered menus (most all content is large pictures rather than words) that stay at the table during one's meal. This made eating a matter of constant shuffling, since apparently per their semi-fast food delivery system, all entrees are served on separate dishes. I had 4 plates and 2 glasses and my dinner companion had the same. We sat at a table with 4 chairs so I kept imaging 2 couples with16 plates and 8 glasses at one of these ~3' round tables. Would be great SNL skit for sure!

Why did the self payment system bug me so much? I had to answer about a dozen personal demographics questions to finish the transaction. I also had to play with their "add a tip" slider bar which "conveniently" defaulted at 20%. You see, I wanted to leave my tip in whole dollars, which is helpful when I verify my monthly credit card statements. I was literally trapped by this system for what was about 5 minutes but seemed like forever after my dinner companion had already left the table. Meanwhile the system kept asking question after question, collecting data about me that is none of this mega corporation's business. Sneaky too, because it started out implying that it was verifying my identity. When it asked my age, and then sex, I finally caught on.

The person I was eating with was really non-plused that it took me so long. His comment in the parking lot: "Don't you know you have to pay with cash here!!!"

Going forward, my choices are (A) to pay cash at Chili's, or (B) eat elsewhere. I stopped using...

Sunday 4/21/24 8 p.m. First let me start by saying Austin (bartender) was amazing and I would have given all 5 🌟. Malvin however who covered his area when he went on break, absolutely the worst manager EVER. So I ordered their surf and turf Rib eye. I ordered it medium rare, I asked Austin how accurate they were, he said they temp, so I was like ok, it's a Chili's so I am sure we'll be fine if they temp. My steak came out and was, at its rares section a medium/medium well. I was very surprised but was going to just ask Austin if I was off or what. He had gone on break, and Malvin was covering. I tried to wave him down like 4 times, and told my wife, I am sure he saw me. Never came over etc. I was watching him the whole time, clean tables and watch the game. So it wasn't that he was too busy. Once Austin was back he had come over to ask how we were, I proceeded to explain the situation, and he said "oh no. Do you mind if I go grab my manager (Malvin)." Oh yeah, no problem but I tried to get his attention earlier, multiple times. Austin walked over to him, where I could still see him and was watching the talk (check cameras if you have them) and Malvin looked over at me as they talked and never came over. Too busy cleaning tables I guess. Austin came back, alone, feeling horrible and apologizing for the incident. You could tell he actually felt bad, Malvin on the other hand couldn't be bothered. Austin hand the meal refired, as they called it, and it was even worse. Keep in mind Austin did verified they weren't coming out, medium rare. The second one came out and had multiple parts that I cut ( ½" section) where one side of the piece was medium-rare and other side was medium-well. Being a steak guy, I can only assume the steaks weren't being thawed properly, etc. I ended up having shrimp, potatoes, & broccoli for dinner. Mind you, even after the second poorly cooked steak, Malvin didn't come over. I never talked to a manager and saw him the entire time, cleaning and watching the game. My wife even went to the bathroom and he was on the left side section watching the game, not working.

Needless to say, I don't think we will ever be coming back, unless Austin is working and Malvin is not. We aren't sure.

Austin was absolutely fantastic and he should be the manager. Malvin should be a...

UPDATED Oct 29, 2024 -- I used Chili's mobile ordering app for the first time. I probably won't use it again, and will find somewhere else to order "to go". The ordering part was straightforward enough, although the app could have made it a bit more obvious how to modify the 'standard' configuration of the food. It told me the food would be ready between 3:45 p.m. and 3:50 p.m., and I would get a SECOND text message telling me when I should come inside (suggesting I sit and wait in the parking lot in the meantime -- which I did) to pick-up my order. Well, I waited and waited and waited, and about 3:49 p.m., I decided to go inside to check. There was a 'pick-up' area, but no one was there, so I saw someone standing at the Bar (who I had seen enter the the 'Pick-Up' door a few minutes earlier, so I went to the Bar and waited for a bit, and someone came and asked what I wanted. When I told her I was there to pick-up an order, she just pointed to a stainless steel 'bakers rack' behind me, and said "That must be it." She wasn't rude. But, she didn't give me the impression that she, or Chili's, valued my business, or could care less if I every dined there again.

Well, it turns out that the order sitting there, getting cold, was mine; and it looked like it had been there for quite a while.

When I got it home, about 5 minutes later, indeed, the food was luke warm.

I am sorry I gave the 'pick-up' workers any tip and all, and if I could take it back ... of course Chili's requires you state your tip before the employees do anything to deserve it ... I would.

If Chili's' management wants an example of a business who shows its customers that it like having them as customers and wants them to come back, I'd suggest studying how the good folks at La Hacienda Mexican restaurant at 1st & Tangerine, in Oro Valley, greet their customers. They are invariably friendly, helpful and attentive. Chili's, on the other hand, seems to have fallen into thinking that customers are a 'given' and you don't need to show them common courtesy and appreciation for their business.

Service was outstanding.

The hamburgers were...