The Cheesecake Factory — Restaurant in Town of Hempstead

While at the Cheesecake Factory, I really thought about the review I would give it. Long story short: We waited about 3 hours to be sat, BUT the food was delicious and our waitress, Stella, was attentive.

Now onto my evaluation.

First impressions are everything. They don't do reservations. We went there to celebrate my friend's birthday (and apparently so was everyone else that was there), so we had a relatively big party. They initially told us it would be a 2 hour wait, but we figured that it's always less than they say, so we decided to wait it out. We were sat at the bar, but when our entire party showed up, we were all awkwardly standing there. The bar staff was attentive for like 5 seconds, but then my empty cup sat there for an hour and a half. Then we saw a table open up and we asked if we could sit there. One of the wait staff said it was reserved. Interesting phrasing, considering that they don't take reservations. Meanwhile, some people in our party cancelled, so we told the host staff to update our number. They said we would have less of a wait. Literally a half hour later, we went back up there to get an update. They said they forgot to refresh the computer, so now we had to wait an extra half hour. Now, listen, I know accidents happen, but own your mistake. Don't be rude to us. Everyone we talked to was incredibly rude and impatient. When you've been waiting at a restaurant from 5:30-9 for a table, you're hungry, and you sort of expect some sort of compensation. We could've gone anywhere else, but it was my friend's birthday and we were having a good time, so we decided to wait it out.

I'm honestly glad we did.

What was lacking in host staff was completely over compensated in the wait staff and kitchen. Our waitress was a sweetheart, totally attentive and patient with us. I could only imagine how tired she was, having to seat us at 9PM. She was patient with our big party and the many credit cards we gave her with our check!

The kitchen staff was also impressive. We all got something different to eat. I had the skinnylicious soft chicken tacos. Everything was delicious and uniquely flavored. And, as usual, the cheesecake did not disappoint!

Now, let me be clear: I WAS going to give this restaurant a 1-star review because of how long we had to wait. But seriously, the server and food were worth 25 stars. They made up for the wait. My recommendation is to take call-aheads, or at least give people a heads up when they call and ask if there was a wait. It was very inconvenient for us all to get there and find out we had to wait so long.

I'm not sure when I'll be back over there. There are so many other Cheesecake Factory locations on Long Island, you might as well go to Melville or Bay Shore, or even Lake Grove if you're ever...

New Review: First off, I have to say that the service was fantastic. Our server did everything that they could to make our outing enjoyable. My family and I are repeat customers and appreciate what the waiting staff does to make everyone's stay enjoyable.

My problem lays with the kitchen. Alright, the elevator didn't work. No biggie, they seated us downstairs, so my grandparents didn't need to suffer going through the stairs. The waiter was polite and helpful. Excellent.

The food was atrocious. Not great.

Since when did the Hibachi steak come with sesame seeds? Nowhere on the menu did it say that it came with sesame seeds.

I have an intestinal medical condition, so I cannot eat seeds and uncooked meat (let alone medium-rare burgers of all things). My Hibachi steak came with seeds and I had to send it back up as I couldn't eat that. Alright. They offered me a burger as a replacement, so I picked a well done Macaroni and Cheeseburger. My burger came as a medium rare burger, so I had to send it back up so it could be warmed up.

By the end of it, the burger tasted like a tasteless slab of meat with the cheese being cold. (I know exactly how the macaroni and cheeseburger is supposed to taste, I get it almost every time)

Not to mention, gluten-free bread tastes like cardboard. I honestly would have preferred to get something like the Steak Diane that I had the last time a few months ago which was delicious.

My day was absolutely ruined.

My parents also didn't really enjoy the Hibachi steak since it was a bit too much on the raw side and was saltier than it normally was. To add insult to injury, the last plate that was delivered to the table was a Hibachi steak order, but WITHOUT the sesame seeds.

I really don't know if I want to come back here next time for a birthday or social event when it's all the way out there. I could just as easily head to the PF Chang that's next door or go somewhere local. Though, I don't really like Chinese food. My overall experience was dreadful and left a terrible taste in my mouth, literally.

Old Review: I literally ate until I felt like a balloon bursting at the seams. The milkshake was gigantic and I didn't have enough space to finish more than half of the huge macaroni and cheese hamburger I got. I go here every so often with my family, and they never disappoint. The waiters/waitresses are always nice (except for that one guy, but management handled that for us).

10/10 would willingly get acid...

We went to this Cheesecake Factory on Friday around 5pm full of excitment since it was our first time eating there in person since the pandemic. We have gone to this location for many years and have always enjoyed the food and service there. It was a totally different experience this time and it was horrible. We have ordered the Thai Lettuce Wrap which is my favorite appertizer and we also ordered another appertizer along with three entrees. The grill chicken for the Thai Lettuce Wraps was undercooked which we can still see pink inside. We have told the waitress about the issue and she went to get the manager Kareem. Kareem asked if we wanted a new one made ASAP or just cancel it. We asked for a replacement and Kareem took the entire dish away. The replacement never came even after we have almost finished all of our other dishes. I asked the waitress to let the manager know and she basically asked if we just want it cancelled and took it off the bill but never got the manager for us again which is not good service. She also never checked on our table to see if we need anything. When Kareem finally walked by (when not busy checking his phone) I told him the replacement never came which is very upsetting since it really is my favorite dish out of all. He made an annoyed face and just said I told the kitchen to make another one and then he walked away, basically directed the fault to the kitchen, did not have any interest in talking to us and never came back to our table again. Kareem never apologized to us as well which is shocking as a manager since I know Cheesecake Factory is better than that. It totally ruined our whole dining experience and we basically just wanted to finish the food and go home. When the waitress asked if we wanted dessert, we were not in any mood for it that's for sure. I think this type of service is unacceptable and happened at Cheesecake Factory is very surprising. I understand sometimes food might not be perfect which needs to be made again but at least show you care about the customers and try to make them happy when it's clearly the fault of the restaurant. It really makes me think the waitress and Kareem the manager does not know how to handle thrse type of situation which is terrible...