The Cheesecake Factory — Restaurant in Tukwila

My girlfriend and I had decided to see a movie. It was a cold day and a movie was a good excuse to get out of the house but not spend time in the frigid air. Since it was a last minute plan, it was not well thought out. We got to the theater almost two hours before the movie started. On some days, that would be cutting it close if you factor in the time it takes to find parking. On this day, we found a spot quickly. Our first plan was to spend time wandering around the mall. This gave us time to hold hands and get some of our 10,000 daily steps in. While we were window shopping, my girlfriend realized that another part of our bad planning was that we would not get to eat anything but overpriced popcorn for quite some time. She remembered that The Cheesecake Factory served a Thai lettuce wrap appetizer that she enjoyed. I’m not a fan of most chain “high end” restaurants, but I am a fan of keeping my girlfriend happy, so I agreed to go. It was a short walk in the cold to get there. I looked around while we headed for the hostess fortress. I’m not kidding. The hostess stands in a large walled off area handing out tables like a judge sentencing felons. I was about to plead my case when my girlfriend steered me towards the bar. There were a couple of stools open that we could take without facing judgment. There was a good sized crowd in there for the middle of the afternoon. The mingled conversations made the place quite loud. We took our seats and were greeted almost immediately. Not wanting to fall asleep in the movie, we ordered non-alcoholic drinks. A fellow down the bar nodded approvingly. He was enjoying a virgin daiquiri himself. He must have been a regular because he never ordered anything, but food showed up anyway while he enjoyed the game on the TV above the bar. The menu is huge. I don’t think of that as a good sign. How could the minimum wage brigade in the kitchen actually be good at so many dishes? Also, it makes ordering almost impossible for my girlfriend who does not enjoy making such decisions. We decided to limit ourselves to the appetizer menu to make things easier. I reassured my girlfriend that we could look at the enormous list of cheesecakes after we ate our first course. I went for the meatballs and my girlfriend stuck with the Thai lettuce wraps. We would share bites to see who got the better item. All the people I had noticed coming in must have put their orders in at the same time. The quick and attentive service we had at first disappeared faster than the basket of bread we ate to pass the time. Normally, I don’t notice such waits when I get to wait with my girlfriend, but we had a movie to get to, so I checked my watch from time to time. It was at least 20 minutes before our food showed up. The meatballs came out first. They were smothered in marinara. The meat was supposed to be Italian sausage, but there was not much flavor in them. The sauce was equally uninteresting. The lettuce wraps were more interesting. There was a nice variety of things to add to the grilled chicken and three different sauces. The flavors were better than the boring meatballs, but they featured cilantro and sesame - two flavors that I don’t enjoy. My girlfriend liked them though, so I have to say the dish was a hit. We had enough to eat and the movie was getting close, so we skipped the cheesecake. I wouldn’t have been able to decide which one to try anyway. We paid the larger-than-I-liked bill and went...

Terrible staff and pick-up in general. I ordered 2 slices of cheesecake (birthday reward so I purchased one and got a free slice). I did a curbside pick-up because in past experiences, they take forever to make it at the counter and parking is terrible.

Order placing was simple enough, got my 2 slices + utensils since they don’t give them automatically. Ran a couple other errands then went to pick up. Then the issues… all curbside spots were taken and there were multiple cars blocking them in (assuming other pick-up orders but not sure because no one was in the cars). Drove around 3 times to see if someone would leave and no one did, multiple cars had no occupants so clearly people are parking and going inside to eat.

No big deal, I click the prompt for “no spaces available” and in the spot for “let us know where to find you” I note I’m in the front of the store (the only natural place to go IMO since it has a space to pull in and EVERY parking spot was taken).

I waited patiently for TWENTY minutes, then called the store, clicked the prompt 1 to talk to an employee, it rings a few times, then someone answers and hangs up without saying a word. Okay…. Guess I’ll go inside.

Go inside and patiently wait for 2 people to order, then ask the employee about my curbside order. She asks for my phone number, pulls up my order as I tell her I’ve been waiting for 20 mins for someone to bring it out, then she begins to berate me because the order “says you are out front” I confirm I was out front. She said I should have parked in the curbside spots, I tell her they were all taken, then she says I should have parked at the curb behind them (which is a yellow curb and shouldn’t be parked at BTW), I told her there were already multiple cars there and causing a huge traffic jam. She then doesn’t know what to say and says “I’ll just go get your order”

Seriously? I got berated in front of a ton of people for their terrible excuse of a pick-up process? I followed the prompts exactly as it was laid out, even tried to call before going inside, then I get disrespected. If anything I should’ve been the one upset that I spent 30 mins trying to get overpriced cheesecake! Even with a free slice it was $14 for 2 small slices of cheesecake.

And to top it off, they didn’t even give me the utensils which I specifically added to the order knowing they don’t...

Back early March, I ordered takeout from this location and picked it up. We ordered a variety of food. The Buffalo Blasts that we normally get were mostly breading and not good. They also barely provided sauce. The macaroni and cheese balls were lukewarm at best, and I do not live far so that was not the issue. The Thai lettuce wraps are what I believe made me ill because I'm the only one who consumed them, and had a terrible bout of diarrhea. I'd post a pic, but I'll spare you all. We eat here often, and I am extremely disappointed. I have contacted them and someone finally reached out to me by phone of which I have proof of, AND promised me a FULL REFUND. I believe this manager's name was Adam? He said to wait a few weeks for their finance department to give me the refund. He also said, in ADDITION to the refund, he would provide a $25 gift card should we want to visit again. That did not arrive until last week and it is still untouched because I am not ever eating here again, and I just want my refund that he promised to me. I waited over 3 weeks for my refund, and nothing. I called yesterday, and that manager who sounded African American basically laughed in my face as if I would make it up, and said they usually don't refund and give a gift card. I explained that conversation, and I could tell he was tuning me out and disregarding what I was saying. Work on your managers please as well as food! Anyways, I gave him my information and asked that the manager who promised me this reach out to me. Of course that hasn't happened either. This is very disturbing and disappointing. After I had severe diarrhea since getting their food, I wouldn't NEVER eat here again. We used to eat here often, celebrated many Birthdays here, taken out of town guests here, Anniversaries, etc, but the food and service have gone downhill. My husband tried to warn me, but I was determined to give them one last shot. I would not recommend this restaurant at all, especially since I ALSO got very sick...