Applebee's Grill + Bar — Restaurant in Town of Plattsburgh

A complete disaster from the beginning. My wife and I arrived at the restaurant at around 8 pm on a Saturday night, and it didn't seem very crowded. There were plenty of empty two-person tables everywhere. However, the hostess informed us that those tables were unavailable and that we would have to wait for 25 minutes. She suggested we eat at the bar, and I agreed, as I was hungry and just wanted to eat.

When we got to our seats at the bar, they were quite dirty, with remnants of drinks and food left by previous customers. Eventually, the bartender, who appeared laid-back and friendly, cleaned it up. We finally placed our drink and food order at around 8:15 pm – two simple dishes, boneless wings, and some ribs. The drinks came promptly, but when it came to the food, it felt like they were waiting for the chickens to grow for the wings. An hour later, people who had arrived after us had eaten and left, while we were still waiting with nothing.

I told my wife that if we didn't get our food in the next 5 minutes, we were leaving. The bartender came up to us, couldn't maintain eye contact, and offered the silliest excuse for the delay. I would have preferred it if she had just told us the truth, that she forgot to submit our order to the kitchen. She didn't seem apologetic and just brushed it off. She could have offered some compensation, but instead, we were left waiting again.

Finally, the food arrived, and there were no complaints there; it was great, as it usually is at Applebee's. Everything seemed back on track. However, I had ordered the new $12.99 endless wings promotion, which entitled me to another serving of boneless wings. I placed my second order halfway through my meal, and she assured me it would be ready in 5 minutes, gave me a to-go container, and the bill. My opinion of our waitress changed to thinking she had just made a mistake regarding the food order. I left a 15% tip on the bill because tipping is important.

Immediately after handing us the bill, our waitress abruptly left the bar and said she was going on break. Ten minutes had passed, and no one had taken our bill, and the second round of food had still not arrived. Another 10 minutes went by, and there was still no sign of the food. The promised 5 minutes for the "endless" boneless wings had turned into 20. I couldn't imagine being there for four servings of wings; I'd grow old and gray before leaving.

That was it; I had had enough. I told my wife, and I scratched off the 15% tip from the check, leaving a 0% tip, and we made a hasty exit. It's safe to say I won't be returning to the Applebee's in...

Edit October 8, 2023: Management reached out to me a few days after the initial one star review to fix my experience. Today, I went to the Applebee's in Watertown and had a FANTASTIC experience!

First time eating at an Applebee's and this is DEFINATELY the last time I eat at this location!

My boyfriend and I arrived at 7:20pm for dinner. We were told it was a 30 minute wait. Half the restaurant was empty so we asked why such a long wait. Each server is in charge of four tables. Fair enough but there was A LOT of empty tables.

We finally get a table and it's right by the bathroom. We ask to move one table over, and we were told OK. The table was super wobbly so we asked our server, Michelle B, if we can move again.

And this is where it all went downhill....

Michelle started giving attitude saying we would have to go back to the front, ask the hostess to be seated in a different area. A booth across from us became available and Michelle said we could have it.

My boyfriend and I were hungry and wanted to place our order. Michelle said "no. Drinks, drinks, drinks. No food." We said we were hungry and wanted to order. She repeated very rudely said, "just drinks."

We placed our order and my boyfriend had questions about the size of beers and breadsticks. Michelle had ZERO patience and started talking in a condescending voice like he was five years old trying to understand the concept of breadsticks.

The food took a long time considering half the restaurant was empty (70 minutes from the time we arrived.) Anytime we asked Michelle for anything (a glass, a refill, etc.. .) she talked to us through gritted teeth or a condensending voice and a fake smile.

The food was excellent (I had the bourbon chicken and shrimp; my boyfriend had the chicken wings), but I didn't feel comfortable eating due to Michelle. My boyfriend was thinking of getting dessert and I told him I just want to leave.

Michelle B. has got to be the WORST sever I have ever encountered!!! I worked retail for three years and had bad days, rude customers and customers with lots of questions. I was NEVER rude the way Michelle B. was!!!

I'm giving one star because the food was excellent and zero stars is not an option. If only i could give negative stars to...

Honestly if i can give this place zero stars i will. Im a New York City Resident on vacation in this area. I walked in and was told to wait 20 minutes. I waited about 30-35 because i guess it was a change of shift. okay. Them i got seated, My waiter was Named Briana. First mistake was she brought our entrees out without even taking the appetizer plates away. Next mistake was that she messed up my Dads order by bringing him mashed potatoes instead of baked potato which he asked for and she repeated the order for. I then learned from another waiter that they were out of baked potatoes. So why didn’t Briana let him know that. Why did she assume that he would want mashed potato.. That was one flaw, she then came & after and asked if he was missing baked potato and if he wanted baked potato but then again never told us they were out of it. After that my moms food had never arrived. She ordered bourbon steak. We asked briana where her food was & she acted really surprised like she never put it in. She went to the computer and then to the kitchen but never came back to update us or apologize to us for that. I then asked another waitress for a manager and they said “sure”. Briana came & asked “what do you need from them?” i said “We’re still waiting for my moms steak” & she said “Oh” & stood to stare at us for 30 seconds and then walked away. No manager ever came. Briana ended up taking the steak off the check and as i was still eating she came and saw me still eating and asked if she can bring the check. not even picking plates up yet. just trying to get paid. 20 minutes later i got up to ask the HOST for a manager. The manager came and told me they were never informed that i needed them. The manager apologized and gave me the check. Overall this was a bad experience with bad service from all employees including the way the manager handled it. This location needs orderly structure to...