IHOP — Restaurant in Riverdale

There are worse things in life ... However, this "IHOP" certainly IS NOT one of the better things. My FIRST and LAST visit here. Highlights: the employees were very enthused about delivering birthday songs to it's many birthday patrons. I enjoyed that very much! Secondly, the waitress was apologetic, which accounted for something. Thirdly, when the manager was contacted she addressed our problem immediately and rectified it to the best of her ability. Unfortunately, this does not negate or change our poor experience. Onto our experience, it is clear to me that basic customer service is NOT among one of the strong suits at this IHOP. Our waitress never introduced herself when she sat us at our table. When we weren't ready to order immediately the waitress stated, "how much time do you need 10 minutes?" We said, "no, 5 minutes." But, she took 10-15 minutes to return anyway. At that point, we were ready to leave (and should have). Her question seemed rude, but we dismissed it. Two of our orders were for Chicken and Waffles, however, there were no mix for waffles that day so we were offered pancakes, as a substitute. When we received our first cup of coffee in TO GO cups that truly should've been our CUE to exit. However, we stayed. Our food took OVER AN HOUR to arrive. And when it arrived, ONE PLATE was brought out at a time. So, by time the last plate was delivered obviously the first plate delivered was cold. One would think that a party dining together would want to eat together. However, when the last plate didn't arrive we called for the manager, which to her credit she was prompt, COURTEOUS and apologized for the poor service. The manager retrieved the missing plate and removed the charge of that plate from our bill. That and her attitude and efforts were appreciated! Thank you. However, the taste of one of the other meals was HORRENDOUS. But, we still left an exceedingly high tip based on the cost of what the entire meal should've cost because we didn't think it was our server's fault. In hindsight, of course it was because I couldn't go back to the kitchen to rush the cook myself. That indeed was her job. Anyway, I probably would have allowed the manager's actions to suffice for the poor service and inedible food. However, later that day I was contacted by my credit card company for FRAUD on my credit card. A credit card that I haven't used in months, except to pay for our meal. UNBELIEVABLE! I would like to believe that it was just a coincidence, but "the math ain't mathing." And yes, I am interested in following up regarding this. I will edit my review based upon what follows. Stay tuned!!!

I was sent a link to contact customer support regarding my experience. Later, I was contacted by a young man who I assume to be part of the l management team at the restaurant. He apologized for my experience, stated that is not their normal course of business and offered to make my experience right (which, I declined). However, I do appreciate management taking ownership and stepping up. It matters that companies who take our money in exchange for a service are accountable for the actions of their employees. And they did. I am changing my RATING...

Things started wrong and we should have chose a different place from the beginning! We arrived at 11:30. Walked in to a lobby full of people, but it was almost lunch and some were pickups, so I didn't let that bother me. Had a party of 6 so I asked an employee how long the wait was, she said she would find out but she disappeared and never came back. Ask another and she said 20 mins. I went to tell my party (they stayed outside) and they were fine with the wait. Went back to give our name and was told to follow her, a table was ready. She took me to a booth that held 4 comfortably. I stated that would not be enough room so she put some tables together. Our waitress started great! She was knowledgeable of the menu and gave great service...at first. 5 of us ordered coffee and she gave us 1 pot to share. I didn't get any the first round. She came back about 15 mins later and gave us 2 more pots. When our food came, 2 plates were brought out. 10 mins later 3 more plates came. When the last plate came 10 mins later, everything was wrong. My cousin, who is allergic to mushrooms, had them in her hash browns and the whipped cream she asked not to have, covered her french toast. Her meal was sent back. 15 minutes later, her food was returned, but missing the cheese she ordered in her eggs. She didn't send it back because it was now 1:12pm and we were scheduled for pictures at 2pm. I ordered the poblano omelet and it was really good. But that's it. That's the only good thing about this trip. Our waitress, who started great, disappeared and when we asked for stuff she would bring one thing at a time. For example...my son wanted a refill on tea, we needed steak sauce, and we needed napkins. It took 30 mins to get all 3 items. We didn't receive silverware (3 metal forks, 3 plastic forks in a coffee mug of water) until we asked for it to eat. No one received a knife, yet people ordered pancakes, French toast, and steak. This was THE worst trip to IHOP that I have ever had. And we were late for...

It has been YEARS since I’ve been to IHOP. I mean yearssssssssssssss. However, today was the day!

Preparing to head to a few houses, Markus and I decided to grab something to eat. IHOP was in the area so we decided to pull over and go inside.

Walking in, there was a lot of chaos going on. There was one person working as the Hostess as well as handling the To-Go orders. As it was Christmas Day and the To-Go orders were booming, the chaos was understood. However, when the young lady got to us she was super pleasant and greeted us with a smile.

As we headed to our table I was excited to see that the restaurant was clean and very spacious. Once seated, our waiter, Naim, was super friendly and greeted us with a warm holiday welcome… The menu for IHOP has changed so much since the last time I was here so I was excited to see the expansion and actually enjoyed the battle in my head between the 2 x 2 x 2 or the Protein Pancakes. LoL.

I decided on the 2 x 2 x 2: 2 Pancakes 2 Strips of Bacon 2 Eggs (scrambled with cheese)

I also added an order of Grits.

Let’s talk about food…

The bacon is bombbbbbbbbbbb!!! I’m talking juicy and flavorful. Be warned that the strips are small so I would suggest getting 4 slices if you’re a bacon eater like me.

The pancakes were fluffy, buttery, and perfectly made. This is what Ihop is all about… The Pancakesssssssss are the highlight of the food options. LoL.

The grits were creamy but bland, however, a little salt and pepper and boom, they were on and poppin. LoL!! When it comes to grits, you can doctor up the flavor but you can’t doctor up the creaminess. I’m glad they came out perfectly creamy and smooth. I’ll def suggest the grits for my grits lovers.

Overall, my trip to IHOP was enjoyable. The food was good. The service was good. And the atmosphere was pleasant and friendly.

Shout out to Naim for being at work on Christmas Day and providing great service! Your attentiveness is...