Applebee's Grill + Bar — Restaurant in Sparks

My husband and I went in last night (on a Thursday) around 5:15 seeing from outside that it wasn't very busy. We were in a hurry to get to a league game so it appeared that we would be in and out pretty fast. Appearances are deceiving and we should have known better. I've worked in the restaurant industry so I understand staff shortages and such. I'm pretty empathetic so it takes a lot to get me to the point of wanting to leave a bad review. We were seated by a very friendly woman and our server was also very nice and engaging. But then it all went down hill. My husband's water was never brought. I had to ask for it. I ordered a house salad with my entree, which was brought with my dinner. Did that change? I didn't think I had to ask for my salad ahead of time. Maybe times have changed. My fries were soggy and undercooked and my steak was practically still mooing on the plate. I asked for medium-rare but it was raw to the point of being inedible. Again, things happen and I politely asked for a re-fire on the steak. It took about 20 minutes for my steak to come back out and it was very obvious that it was heated in the microwave. I'm a cook.. I've been doing it for over a decade so I know what microwaved meat tastes and feels like. The texture was awful and the flavor was rancid. Now let's move on to my husband's dinner. He asked for grilled chicken with a side of Mac and cheese and broccoli. They brought him Mac and cheese and mashed potatoes that were so dry, he had to ask for a side of butter to dump on them. He ordered a side of shrimp and it never came so they had to put in another order for it. By the time everything was "fixed" and arrived, we had to leave because we were going to be late to our game. We had to box our food and left hungry. Our server could sense that we were frustrated because of the way my husband asked for take out boxes. She actually called us out on our attitudes, asking us "Do you have somewhere to be or is my service just that bad?" People, I'm not kidding!!! At this point, her entire demeanor changed and she became very defensive. We were also never asked if we wanted refills on our drinks or my husband's beer. We will never go back to this location. It was...

Wow! What a wonderful place. I’ve always enjoyed Applebee’s for 20 years or more and especially the riblets. You can’t really find them anywhere else.

However, this Christmas, I was blessed with a gift card for Applebee’s! It was perfect gift as it was for $25, which I thought would be enough for one meal, as I often enjoy eating alone. This is due to my busy schedule, attending college classes and staying active with my local Christian Church. Well, I went in, gift card in hand and sat down. The waiter was amazing. He didn’t rush me, and gave me time to look over the menu. There are so many delicious things that are available at the Applebee’s restaurants. I noticed a large sign with the burger and fries special.

The waiter came back to give me some water. I asked him about it and he explained that you had your choice of either the spicy chicken sandwich or the bacon cheeseburger with fries and a drink! I couldn’t believe it? Is this one of those small little mini burgers I asked. No, he commented. It’s a full-size burger.

I said I’ll have it and give it to me pink. All right, no problem he said.

I enjoyed the burger thoroughly. It was cooked perfectly. The meat was tender and everything about it was perfect. Even the fries were acceptable. The dinner was terrific, but when the waiter came back, I asked him about desserts, which he offered, and I felt like having some ice cream. They have a small ice cream scoop with a very small chocolate fudge brownie and I didn’t really want that much so that was perfect.

The waiter warned me that it was very small and I said that’s great, then he said yeah you won’t have to feel guilty tomorrow about eating too many calories! And it was perfect as small as it was it hit the spot, very delicious.

So overall it was a great experience. Later I found that there are two restaurants competing for the $9.99 special and that’s a good thing to have that kind of competition to provide Excellent dining options.

The best part, of course, is that my $25 gift certificate will provide me with two meals, and I fully intend to return very soon and perhaps try the spicy chicken sandwich with fries and a...

Editing* In the past I had a bad experience, glad to see they changed!

Once again one of my favorite places to go. Staff is always nice drinks and food are always good.

I've been coming here for years. It used to be a great place to go for a quick cheap dinner. The 2 for 25 has slimmed so much, there are hardly any options anymore. They stopped putting the price of drinks on the menu. But I guess this is some new thing all restaurants have started doing. Kinda sucks but ok. The reason they get the one star is for the service. Food was as good as Applebee's always is. Here's the issue, my server was rude and short with me. She didn't even offer us dessert, which comes with the 2/$25 so that's kind of irritating. And the cherry on top, I payed with card and left a cash tip. My server, Jennifer u, gave me a pen that was running out of ink so it took me forever to sign and fill out my receipt. I didn't put anything on the tip line, filled in my total and when we stood up to leave, Jennifer swooped down on my table and grabbed that cash before we could even walk away. Even with awful service, I gave her the benefit of the doubt and left a 20% tip. Thinking maybe she had a long night, it's covid it can't be easy to serve right now etc..

Wrong choice. She altered my receipt and gave herself another $10 tip off my card so she got a $20 tip on a $50 bill. Though I would love to be that generous, she didn't provide adequate service to deserve a tip that large , no matter what her personal thoughts were on it. The manager has initiated a refund but never said what consequence this women was going to get. So just be aware. If your server is Jennifer U. She will steal from you! I will probably not be going back. Even after years of going there. Can't trust...