IHOP — Restaurant in Stamford

Awful diners have their charm but I don't understand how this place is open. Two cooks and 8--12 wait staff, not counting the additional folks clearing tables, there are probably 30 tables in the whole place (plus to go orders, to be fair) but all 15+ staff acted like it's their absolute first day and they've never been inside a restaurant before. When we walked in one waitress was tapping the plates the cooks had just put up and telling them why every single order was wrong and that honestly should've been our clue to turn around. Our own waitress only spoke to us to ask our order, then would drop things onto the center of the table and run away like she was feeding feral cats at the park. Table was not clean, I ended up wearing whatever the last diners had for breakfast across my shirt where I touched the table. Omelette was fine, steak ordered rare was well done, we got random extra pancakes and the bottom one was a different kind than the others (funfetti??) and all three of them tasted weird, different from the others at our table, so I hope I didn't get someone's gluten free special order or something. WORST of all 3/4s of the way through a hot chocolate we discovered there were literally globs of what looked like bacon fat floating in the cup. They must have dislodged from the bottom of the mug as they weren't evident before then. We fished them out with a knife and showed our server who said "thanks for telling me" and kept walking. 10-15 minutes after she dropped the receipt on the table and scampered away, I figured it must be expected that we pay up front, but when we got to the register all three people standing at it ignored us for a minute and then wandered away. It was only when I loudly suggested to my party that we just leave without paying (wasn't going to but it worked to get staff attention) that the one nearest us snarked back about waiting for our server, to which I pointed out I barely knew which one WAS our server since she hadn't spoken to us the whole meal. She was one of the people standing there the whole time, by the way, but only came forward when the snarky one called her by name. Honestly just walk to the donut place up the street, they have sandwiches and fast service and their drinks don't have...

Well I won't lie I wanted to come here because I'd never been to an ihop before, and my friends and I all left with the worst restaurant experience we'd ever had the displeasure to be traumatized by. Took over 45 minutes to get our order taken, another half hour to even get drinks, which wasn't what we wanted because I guess they were out of juices, so we settled for water, and so much longer to even get our food, which once again wasn't exactly what we ordered, bunch of stuff missing or just not right, but having come that far into nearly 2 hours, we ate it anyways so we could leave faster. Being near-starving at the time, the food quality was pretty ok but I wouldn't really want to have it again.

While sitting there waiting, they mopped the floor nearby with a solution so strong it filled the whole restaurant with fumes. But get this, the fumes forced a bunch of BUGS out from under a floor rug near where they were mopping. Delicious! Bugs! Really instilled confidence in the cleanliness of the establishment.

Service meanwhile, yeah it was the worst I've ever stuck around for. The staff spent most of their time in the exposed kitchen area just standing around talking and doing legitimately nothing else. Service quality seemed to depend on your race/spoken language as, in the time my friends and I were there, 2 separate groups of latinas came in, got their food, ate, and left, from the same table, before we even got our own food. So the waitresses really preferred to only serve those who spoke languages other than English from what I could tell. Not something I expected in Connecticut but, oh well.

We couldn't even get the waitress to come over at any point more than the bare minimum of eventually bringing us the food. When we were done, after a while of sitting around waiting, we were just told to go over to the register and someone else would check us out. OK.

I'm never going back to this place if I return to...

Review of IHOP Experience Location Rating: 5/5 I visited IHOP around 8 AM during breakfast hours, and overall, I had a pleasant experience. Atmosphere: The location was clean, warm, and had a cozy feel. The seasonal music and Christmas decorations added a festive touch that I really enjoyed. Other guests seemed to be in good spirits as well, even singing along with the music, which added to the nice ambiance. Service: The service was excellent, thanks to my waitress, Sofia. She was very attentive, friendly, and ensured my order was taken and delivered quickly. There were only a few people in the restaurant at that time, so the atmosphere felt relaxed. I give Sofia and the service a solid 10/10. Food: I ordered the Split Decision Breakfast and a cup of orange juice. My meal came with: • 2 scrambled eggs • 2 sausages • 2 strips of bacon • French toast • Pancakes The French toast was a pleasant surprise, as I didn’t initially realize it was included with my order. It turned out to be delicious! The bacon was well-cooked, and the sausage was good. The eggs, however, were a bit too greasy for my liking but still decent. Unfortunately, the pancakes were disappointing. They felt doughy and undercooked, so I couldn’t finish them. I also decided to try a Pumpkin Spice Cold Brew since I was craving coffee, but IHOP didn’t seem to have traditional hot coffee or tea available, which was a letdown. The cold brew itself was okay—slightly bitter and not as sweet as I’d hoped. However, I was pleasantly surprised when I wasn’t charged for it, which definitely made my day. Overall: • Food Rating: 6/10 • Service (Sofia): 10/10 • Final Location Score: 4/5 Despite a few food-related issues, Sofia’s excellent service, the cozy environment, and festive atmosphere made this a positive experience. I would return, but I do hope they improve their coffee offerings and...