Applebee's Grill + Bar — Restaurant in Peru

Overpriced menu items for what you get. Steak was tough, especially for a rare that came out medium well... chewed the same piece for a half hour. Fireball whiskey infused small chicken breast was yummy. Shrimp was good, the ones that weren't burnt or the size of popcorn. The skimpy anorexic onion rings we recieved, were mostly soggy from the steak being on top of half of them. The drinks are mostly ice, a restaurant trick to save on thier soda syrup cost. We walked in and there were maybe 5 other tables of customers and a couple of people at the bar. There seemed to be plenty of staff members but nothing really being done. The host, a nice and polite young man, sat a party of ten after a few minutes, then sat us with our menus. He even held the door open for customers as they left, just needs to overcome a little awkward shyness in his interactions. The waitress, a pretty young lady, came by a few minutes later and asked if we were ready yet, we were not, we placed our drink order instead. She brought the ice cubes and soda and a water with lemon, we didn't ask nor were we offered so we could decline, the lemon slice. (Restaurant staff, please keep in mind people have allergies. Example: my father is allergic is vitamin C, the lemon slice would have caused a reaction! Not to mention all the waste your producing with these lemon slices.) We asked if we could substitute an item from one of thier offers and we couldn't. Apparently it is too challenging for them to replace a skewer of shrimp with a chicken breast and figure out a cost adjustment if needed. We finally ordered our food, it came out at a decent time, was brought out by the manager, who was helping out everywhere. The waitress popped up behind him and asked if we needed anything like steak sauce or something, we said not yet because we hadn't dug in yet, give us a couple minutes, and then she seemed to have disappeared. The booth in front of us was sat about an hour after us and she finally reappeared. She cleared away one of our plates and I asked for refills, which she brought another iced soda but no water (and that was the empty glass indicating which one actually needed refilling). Some time went by, the smiling manager came by and asked how we where doing but he didn't really wait for the reply, it was the usual nice automated interaction. She came back and was going to clear my plate that I was obviously still eating from. I told her I will finish my plate and she asked if I needed a box..? My date asked her for the check and she walked away. She came back to the check machine behind me, ignored us each time she walked by. My date had to ask her several times for the check before she brought it. We tipped her nearly $10 for our $42 dining experience and she couldnt even say goodbye. Another manager appeared and was serving food as well. There were 2 waitresses on their break eating at the bar. Nothing wrong with them enjoying thier break, but keep in mind that customers dont want to be kept waiting for every part of thier meal while watching staff sit and eat. They should enjoy thier meals in the back or wherever else out of customer view. There where at least 4 servers, a host, 2 managers, and 2 people working in back (not the cooks but other staff)yet there still seemed to be a rushed chaos, lack of fluid team work, and all around it seemed as though everyone half way attended different training sessions and the management was trying to hold it together. The food lessening in quality while the prices rise, topped by the staff falling short, does not make me inclined to speak or feel well about positively promoting...

The quality of the food is average in general, if not a bit below average. I wish I could review specific foodstuffs from the menu, but this is based on the many times I’ve been here over the years, and some of the menu choices I’ve tried.

First, the flavored lemonade: these used to be better, they had fruit on top of them, and there was a flavorful fruity syrup that was somewhat separated from the lemonade at the bottom of the glass, the last couple of times I had them, the fruit was gone and the drink tasted like someone had poured a Kool-Aid packet into my lemonade to give it another flavor.

Chicken Parmesan: The chicken itself is topped with a small amount of sauce, cheese, and a sprinkle of parsley, an almost stingy amount of cheese and sauce, though it tastes good together. There is no visible cheese in the fettuccine, but you get two large pieces of the breaded chicken to eat it with. The tomato based sauce is just okay, most people who have made tomato sauce could probably make it taste better than this, it tastes canned. The fettuccine noodles are inexcusably bland, they’re covered in a small amount of the same sauce that appears to have been watered down, as opposed to Alfredo sauce, which would have been a superior combination. These noodles are flavorless, they are a waste of calories, and therefore disgusting. The dish comes with a breadstick, also bland, with visible pieces of parsley inside and with a familiar shape, that reminded me I should have gone to Olive Garden. The breadstick is crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside, the only good thing about it compared to an Olive Garden breadstick. I wouldn’t recommend getting this dish, see if you can get the chicken Parmesan as a sandwich and skip the breadstick and noodles, or just eat the chicken by itself.

Boneless wings: One of the best things about Applebee’s is the wings, they are better than both Buffalo Wild Wings and Pizza Hut, which are near this restaurant. Though they are an appetizer, people in my family often order them as a meal. Perfect amount of sauce and level of saltiness. Spicy Sweet Asian Chile, and Honey BBQ are delicious.

BBQ Brisket Tacos: Best food here, I order them almost every time because I know I’ll like them, delicious meat with BBQ sauce and a side of coleslaw that I like to spread all over the tacos, comes with flour tortillas.

Burgers: Some interesting combinations, I’ve never had a burger here that I remember as being particularly tasty, but it’s never bad unless it’s over/under cooked, which happens occasionally.

Fries: Good, they are seasoned and fried well, but there are never enough on the plate.

Ranch dressing: it’s quality, maybe watered down sometimes, but it is almost as good as Hidden Valley, for reference.

Staff: Friendly, there was usually a dark manager who wore glasses that would always ask if our food was tasting good, and would fix anything you really didn’t like by apologizing, refunding you, and asking you if you wanted to order anything else. I haven’t seen him there in a while, so it must be someone else now. There was a problem once at night when food was taking way too long for everyone, we walked out before we got anything but our drinks, which we didn’t drink, but still paid $5 for. Two drinks...

Horrible over all. Took my husband and 2 kids for father's day for all you can eat deal. Entered restaurant saw multiple open tables, booths, high top and empty bar, 2 other parties waiting to be seated also, we were told it'd be a 15-20 minute wait... confused by that, but thought ok maybe short on waiters so some sections are closed, ok we waited, didn't seem to long but once we were sat, it took waitress a while before greeting us, but when she finally did we ordered our drinks and we all ordered the deal, I ordered a shark bowl which should come with gummie sharks, but didn't, I understand they may not always be in stock but she could have said so but didn't, while waiting on food I noticed still a pretty empty dinning room and actually several waitresses/waiters and 2 guys in suits walking around, multiple times Id see 3 or more waitresses leaning or sitting at the bar talking, after a very long wait our food came, but not sauces asked for when the order was taken, the kids had chicken stripes and we had riblets, we ate 2 of the 3 before she came back with sauces. We then put in order for 2nd plate, again after a very long wait food came out, but was just 3 small chicken nuggets size, not stripes on the plate and no fries... while waiting for more food we had cleaned up and stacked all dishes at the end of table and everyone had finished thier drinks, not once in our very long wait for mediocre food did the waitress come by to see how we were, to clear table or offer refills, and I spotted her several times sitting at the bar, but again gave benefit of doubt, maybe short handed in kitchen, but when she delivered the second plate and asked if we wanted more I said yes, these are tiny, again had to wait for sauces, when the last small plate of this time actual stripes came the waitress said "I don't know why this took so long, we aren't busy" at this point we asked for a box and check, still table was not cleared and refills not offered. So we spent almost 2 hours in this restaurant with only one drink, one full plate with stripes/riblets and fries and 4 small plates of chicken and one plate of rib on a full dirty table.... A very disappointing experience over all very unlikely we...