Applebee's Grill + Bar — Restaurant in Pinole

My most recent time coming here was worse than the first time I tried this place. Normally, Applebee's are pretty good. I recently came up from Southern California, and I love Applebee's. However, the first time I gave this Applebee's a try, the food was so dry, and service took so long. I have a little one, so waiting for a while even when it's just drinks is hard. The first time I went, they said they were sold out of a lot of their food items. I was a little confused but wanted to give it a chance. Even on the kids' items, there were certain things that were not available. Then there was the wait. It was so hard to flag someone down for refills and for the check. We decided to give this place a second chance and went again. This time, there was food available. However, it took so long for drinks. I ordered the kids' meal for my little one first, and another family member did as well. We received our drinks and the kids cups had no lids (okay no worries) Only 1 kids' meal was delivered mac n cheese with cheese sticks instead of the fries that was ordered , and it took a while. When the server came back with the fries, my 2 year old asked her for Mac and Cheese, which is what we ordered earlier. After we had ordered food and apps, my little ones' food was delivered on a huge plate of Buffalo wings.I was confused because I had ordered fries for my little one. I told the server, but the fries were never delivered. Also, we had ordered the combo app, and instead, they just gave us the buffalo wings. Then, when our food arrived, one of us had ordered the quesidilla burger and was given a beyond burger. Another had ordered the shrimp with broccoli but was given fries instead. The broccoli was delivered 15 minutes later. It was an hour before us adults received our own food. I don't think I will be giving this place a 3rd try. There is no quality control of double checking orders, and even though there were 4 servers, it's so hard to get anyone. The only upside was that the Buffalo wings were good, but we still didn't receive...

Revised Review from below: My husband and I decided to go to dinner yesterday 9/8/19 and to my surprise we finally saw a new bartender and took a chance to order some cocktails. The new bartender Sergio was awesome, he made the drinks as they should for what we pay for. We are so happy that he was hired and knows what he is doing! We also ordered appetizers and as usual we do not have any issues with the food. Fun place to come to enjoy some time away from home.

I would give more stars only because of the food. The bartender with the glasses always happens to be there when we go. He looks out only for the company because EVERY drink we order has maybe a drop of liquor (what a rip off) I used to order a Long Island Ice Tea because there’s no way that it couldn’t be strong but this Applebee’s serves non-alcoholic drinks. You pay for the alcohol because drinks are Not cheap. After telling our waiter or waitress they seem to get spooked and say they can’t do anything except we could pay more to add a shot WTH!!!!! I just bring my own liquor in my purse and order one of their “alcoholic” beverage and just add the liquor myself. That still makes it all bad. Like I said it’s the bartender with the glasses, that is there for sure on Fridays. He does not know how to make drinks or he’s being shady on what the customers pay and is a waste of money for us the customers. I rather order food to go and go elsewhere for my drinks. We will stop coming because that doesn’t make sense either. I do have to say that their food is pretty good! I love their grilled chicken that I always order with their mash potatoes and Broccoli. Their wonton tacos are yummy but does suck they stopped making the steak ones. The waiters and waitresses are always nice. The bartender with the glasses is nice but just doesn’t know how to make drinks the way they should be made. Even the waiters have told us he is not good. Don’t come here if you plan on buying...

Applebee’s has always been one of our go-to restaurants for a relaxed, family dinner. Unfortunately, our recent visit was nothing short of disappointing and far from the experience we’ve come to expect.

We started off by ordering watermelon margaritas, but instead, we were served strawberry margaritas without any prior notice. When we brought this up to our server, Diana, she told us they were out of watermelon—as if we wouldn’t notice the difference. This should’ve been communicated before bringing out the wrong drink.

Things only went downhill from there. The wings we ordered came out with the wrong sauce, and by the time the correct one was brought, we had already finished the wings. The same happened with the house salad—we asked for ranch, but were told they were out only after serving it. Basic beverage options like sodas, draft beers, and even apple juice were unavailable, and shockingly, it felt like they were out of napkins too. When we asked for some, the server brought us small drink napkins instead.

My brother-in-law ordered the Chicken Alfredo to-go, and it was missing the garlic bread. We had to ask for it separately. Then came dessert—our cinnamon swirl dessert came with no caramel drizzle and no spoons. We had to ask for spoons, and even then, we were given plastic ones, which made it feel like they were out of proper utensils as well.

While we understand that sometimes restaurants can get busy or face supply shortages, what made this experience so frustrating was the lack of communication, preparation, and overall customer service.

We truly love Applebee’s, but this visit was miserable. We hope this location works on better training for their servers and ensures they’re properly stocked and more attentive. People go out to enjoy a good meal and make memories with loved ones—unfortunately, this time we left feeling disappointed, not delighted.

— A loyal Applebee’s customer who just wants...