Red Robin Gourmet Burgers and Brews — Restaurant in Silver Spring Township

I usually LOVE LOVE LOVE red robin but today was just okay which is very disappointing. We went to the Mechanicsburg one since we were down that way instead of our usual carlisle branch and am now regretting it. First, the place was packed, I asked how long the wait was, they said 15 to 20 minutes. We didn't get seated until almost an hour later. (-1) I took my son to the restroom while waiting and walked past a lot of empty tables but as someone else waiting pointed out, they probably don't have enough staff to be able to fill those tables and keep the customers happy.(+1) So that I'm not upset about. When we finally get to our booth we place our order for our drinks and appetizer. The waitress only asked what for drinks we wanted, didn't bother to ask if we wanted to order right away or anything. So my husband quickly told her before she walked away we wanted to order an appetizer.(-1) We get our drinks and then the appetizer, and before long my son (who is 7) drank all of his apple juice and I drank all of my coke, my husband had to flag down the waitress to ask for refills.(-1) She hadn't checked on us at all yet. (-1) So we get our refills and then the food comes out. Our orders were correct. (+1) We placed our appetizer plates and basket to the edge of table like you're supposed to for the waitress to pick up but she would just walk by several times without taking them (-1) finally she came by and asked how things were and my husband asked for more Ketchup (our bottle had maybe 2 squirts in it )(-1) he set it to the edge of the table as well and she said I will bring you some back (without taking that bottle to either throw away or refill) (-1)and the pile of dishes are still sitting there. (-1) needless to say, my husband finished his supper without any more Ketchup because she never brought any more back to the table. (-1) She never asked if we needed anything else,(-1) never asked if we wanted our BOTTOMLESS fries refilled(-1), and only when she saw us trying to pay, she asked if we needed boxes. Still no Ketchup (-1) but she did finally just then take the dirty dishes from the table. She walked past our table several times with empty hands so she clearly could have taken the dirty dishes. She didn't seem flustered as if she were so busy with all of her tables, she just wasn't a good waitress. I wish I would have taken pictures of our stacked dishes.

This is something to try out next time you eat out at a restaurant. We got this from another couple who were talking to us as we were waiting.... when you interact with your waitress you give them plus or minus, so when at the end your bill comes and you normally pay 20% tip, you decide how much of that she deserved. So say the tip is $20, take away $1 for each negative so with all the negatives I gave above, my waitress would receive $8. I gave her...

Red Robin, Mechanicsburg: Where Flexitarian Dreams and Kid Chaos Collide—Deliciously

As a mostly vegetarian family (read: everyone but me), a burger joint is typically not at the top of our “quick and easy” dining list. But when a friend’s Boy Scout troop hosted a fundraiser at Red Robin, we threw caution—and dietary predictability—to the wind. Spoiler alert: We’ll absolutely be back.

The moment we arrived with our full-fledged chaos crew in tow, our server Mark earned his first parenting gold star. He didn’t flinch at the sight of five semi-feral children entering the premises like they owned it. Crayons were swiftly delivered. I gently relocated the table touchscreen games out of reach like the seasoned mom ninja I am, and he didn’t even blink. That man deserves a medal.

Now let’s talk menu: Red Robin is surprisingly flexitarian-friendly! Nearly everything had a plant-based option, and yes—they had both Impossible patties and veggie burgers. I felt seen. The kids, naturally, ignored all of that and ordered macaroni and cheese. (Fun fact: 90% of River’s current diet is macaroni and cheese.)

Appetizer time? I went all-in with the fried brussels sprouts topped with Parmesan (because self-care) and the kids inhaled the twisted mozzarella sticks before I could even pretend to get a photo for Instagram. Both apps were chef’s kiss.

The only hiccup? The mac & cheese was too fancy for my Kraft-loyal children. River took one look and decided it was not the blue box, not today. She survived on mozzarella sticks alone, which frankly, is the toddler equivalent of a charcuterie board anyway. This was a River problem, not a Red Robin problem.

Mid-meal excitement: River somehow locked herself in the men’s room (because of course she did). But the staff handled it like pros, and her big brother performed a heroic under-the-stall rescue mission. Parenting: 1, Chaos: 0.

We wrapped up with milkshakes because we make good choices. They were delicious. They were enormous. The kids were happy. I was happy. Even the baby seemed impressed.

The food was solid, the vibes were welcoming, and the staff were kind enough to pretend not to notice that we used more napkins than a BBQ competition. Most importantly, I left without that usual “why did I do this to myself” restaurant trauma.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Highly recommend. Especially if your kids are powered by dairy and drama.

Editing to add: I don’t think I truly expressed how excellent Mark was. While everything else was fantastic, his STELLAR service will be what we remember- especially the respect and kindness he...

ABSOLUTELY AWFUL EXPERIENCE! Ill preface this by saying, I love Red Robin, always had amazing dinners with the family. But honestly, NEVER GOING BACK!

I went in with wife and 15 month old for a 7:30pm dinner on a Wednesday, very slow, got a table right away! Cool I thought, should be a quick, easy experience. Wrong.

Server greeted us after what seemed a bit longer than usual, but we are easy going, and we thought nothing of it. We gave her our orders, AND THIS WAS BASICALLY THE LAST TIME WE SAW HER.

-Food runner brought our food -Server never checked on us -Manager never table touched us -We paid via Ziosk on table

She finally came back while we were putting on our coats and getting ready to head for the doors, at this moment she asked us if we "wanted more drinks or fries", HAHA, really?! We sat there for 20 mins with empty glasses, empty baskets and you ask now? With coats on?

What made it worse was a few factors. We ordered poorly for our little guy, and I was going to order something else for him as he was being a little more discontent that normal. But she never came back, so me and the wife took turns walking him around the restaurant while the other ate. While walking around the very empty restaurant, I noticed the entire time we sat with empty glasses and for myself atleast empty fries, as it was the only thing my son would eat as the "healthier" option we had gotten him was not to his liking, our server was doing nothing more than rolling silverwear.

Look, Ive worked in restaurants my whole life, I appreciate people are not always at their best, and that down times can be especially hard to motivate ones self. But this was THE WORST case of table neglect Ive ever seen, experienced, been around etc.

I tipped the lady 17% (which is an absolute TERRIBLE tip from me), as I RARELY tip less than 20% and usually tip about 30%. So I still took care of her to some degree, but she probably is completely oblivious to how terrible of an experience that really was for myself, my wife and especially my toddler who ate so little and was never afforded the option of ordering something else.

I took the Survey on the Ziosk letting Red Robin know how displeased I was, as well as the Survey they email to you to elaborate on your experience. I have received replies to NEITHER! So obviously those surveys MEAN NOTHING. I was going to wait to not post these on social media if they had gotten back to me, but obviously they dont care, so...