Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen — Restaurant in Thornton

Cheddar’s. CHEDDAR’S. I don’t know who in your corporate office decided that adults who pay mortgages and file quarterly taxes should be fed like malnourished Victorian orphans, but I’d like to have a word. I ordered a Monte Cristo sandwich for delivery — you know, that glorious, deep-fried monstrosity that’s supposed to make you question whether you’ll live to see tomorrow. I expected a beautiful, artery-clogging titan of a meal. What I got looked like someone sneezed into a napkin and then deep-fried the results. The portion was so small I thought it was an NFT. I didn’t know whether to eat it or try to sell it on the blockchain. And yet, they charged me like I just booked a penthouse suite and demanded it be flown in on a private jet. Cheddar’s: where you pay Forbes list prices for an experience that makes you feel like you’re rationing scraps during the apocalypse.

Now. The French fries. Lord help me. They tasted like they were parboiled in toilet water — not normal toilet water, mind you. No, no. I’m talking about the kind of festering swamp juice you’d find in the porta-potty at Burning Man on Day 7. I took three bites and I swear my tongue tried to escape my mouth like it was in a hostage situation. By fry number four, my body hit the panic button and started Googling “early symptoms of herpes.” While I can’t medically confirm it yet, spiritually? Emotionally? I already know I’m patient zero for some new strain of fry-borne plague. I should honestly call the CDC and let them know.

And let’s not forget the delivery itself — cold, soggy, and wrapped like it was packed by a disgruntled ex who wanted me to suffer. It arrived with the energy of a depressed raccoon dragging a dead squirrel home. I came into this experience a hungry, hard-working adult. I left with trust issues, an existential crisis, possible STDs, and a Monte Cristo sandwich that made me look in the mirror and ask, “Where did it all go wrong?” Zero stars. In fact, I’d like to personally drive to Cheddar’s HQ and return stars from other restaurants just to make their score even lower. They owe me therapy and possibly a...

Me and My partner came in ready to have a little date night and We ordered two Long Islands with Marco… quite a few minutes passed and Marco walked by us twice without asking if we were ready to order an appetizer or anything. We had to flag him down to take our order. We understood that he had just had a few tables leave and seemed to have a lot to clean up.

Once he took our order, I got my salad quickly, which was great. We thought we’d get our appetizer next since that would be considered (Course 1), and our mains (Course 2) would follow. I finished my salad and started looking for Marco, but he was busy flirting with a server at the bar (the one with bubble pigtails). That was annoying. While we were waiting, the manager, Jaime, had to bring out our appetizer, but unfortunately, it was lukewarm.

At this point, I was fed up and got up to find Marco. He came around the corner with our entrees, and I said, “Hey, our appetizer was cold/lukewarm, and now you’re bringing this? We haven’t even had our appetizer.” I also asked , “So you’re not going to remake it?” That’s when he said, “Yep, it is because you told me to hold it.” Excuse me? By this time, my partner was done with the service, and as Marco walked away, he asked if we still wanted to see a manager. We said yes, and he responded with an attitude, “Cool, my name is Marco, by the way.”

We were just ready to leave. When Jaime came over, we explained everything, including the cold appetizer. He acknowledged our concerns and mentioned he thought it was odd since our food was also up. I expressed that I’d never been spoken to like that by a server, and it was unacceptable. Jaime was apologetic and offered us a credit for our next visit.

We specifically drove to this Thornton location instead of the Aurora location, and if you have the option, go to Aurora. We both work in the industry—my partner is even an executive chef. We understand that things can get hectic, but meal coursing and good customer service should be standard. We just wanted to share our experience, and we won’t be coming back to...

Where to even begin... We selected this establishment for a birthday celebration, but it quickly turned into a nightmarish experience. Despite having informed them in advance of our party of 10, we had to endure a 45-minute wait for our table. When we finally reached our seats, we were met with freezing temperatures. I requested that the waitress turn off the ceiling fan, only to be told, "they don't turn off." It was baffling, but we soldiered on. We placed our drink orders, only to wait another 30 minutes without any sign of our beverages. To add to the chaos, our food started arriving before our drinks, and the salads appeared before the appetizers.

Our requests for missing items became a recurring theme, with the waitress repeatedly apologizing but failing to improve the situation. I can empathize with her somewhat, considering the challenge of handling our large group and the additional five tables in her section. However, this is where management should have stepped in. The manager did come over to address the drink situation, but his response was a mere "sorry," along with comped drinks. It wasn't about the free drinks; it was about the overall experience.

To make matters worse, when my food finally arrived, it was incorrect and had to be sent back after an hour-long wait. This, without a doubt, ranks as the most disappointing dining experience I've ever had. To add insult to injury, we later discovered that the manager and waitress were gossiping about a member of our party who had inquired about her meal. Had we been aware of this unprofessional behavior, we wouldn't have paid a dime. It makes one wonder whatever happened to genuine customer service and people who take pride in their work. Clearly, this Cheddar's location is in dire need of new management and staff, as it appears that none of them genuinely care about their patrons. We have no intention of returning to...