Applebee's Grill + Bar — Restaurant in University Place

Destiny is probably one of the worse bartenders/servers I’ve come across at this location. First time I came here was by myself, she didn’t greet me or hand me a menu so I grabbed one that was at an empty table. I told her I was ready to order & she took my order. Didn’t say a single word to me, I thought she was having a bad day and ignored it tipped her 20%. Days go by and I come again with my parents & we still get treated poorly. No greeting, no menu given to us. I asked her for a menu, & tell her I’m ready for my drink order, she just waits for my drink and walks away meanwhile my mom is still saying her drink order still. I then tell her we weren’t done with ordering our drinks and I get eyes rolled as a response. I still tip her 20% thinking it’s another bad day. We come to this location often we usually have Jennifer as our bartender and she’s great. We’ve encountered destiny so many times and we get the same service every time, so I stopped tipping her. Last night I ordered to go burgers & she was at the bar talking to a customer about how hard and overwhelming her job is because she had 3 dirty ya les to clean.. It took her 6 minutes to come to me and when she came to me . Surprise, no greeting. She just raised her eyebrows at me and tilted her head to the side. I tell her I’m here for an order and ask her if she can make sure the burger meat has NO PINK, she tells me it’s packed and can’t do anything about it. I tell her it’s fine I’ll cut it myself, she comes back with a manager and I tell the manager if they can please make sure the meat is well done, because there’s been times where the meat is still raw & even bloody. He goes and makes sure the pattys get cooked longer . Destiny goes and tells the same customer that we always do this, we always complain and that we NEVER TIP HER. (In total I’ve tipped her $40 in CASH from previous visits) at this point I’m waiting for her to come so I can ask her what the problem is. Is it because we are Hispanic? Is it because my parents English isn’t perfect? It’s never been a problem to Jennifer, Ana or any other server at this location. But she never comes up the front again, I give the manager to money to pay my bill & I can hear her complain “no tip” with an attitude like that, no tip at all. This is my last time coming into this location or on a Tuesday to be more specific because that’s when destiny is here. I hope my parent’s experience gets better because I know this location is closest to their home. (They’ve been coming here for 4 years) If you’re Hispanic don’t bother to come here or if you’re a female. Destiny is only chatty and smiling & jumping to male...

When your teeth are too jacked up to get cleaned, so you go out for steak and beer. I love Applebee's Grill & Bar, but I would hardly call this a 12 oz. "butchers cut". More like a 10.5 at the most. Cuts of meat dont cook down that much, especially when you refuse to get it well done. Well, thats actually the confusing part, some of it was medium rare, some was medium well...... Still a good steak. The shrimp and mushroom topper were servicable but wholly unnecessary. The maple pecan sweet potatoes are to die for. No flavor out competed the other, they blended with perfect harmonious result. They are VERY rich. The "garlicky"(term used very loosely)green beans were good with A1 and Tabasco. Dont order them expecting an abundance of flavor, order them because they are extremely good for you(low sodium). The Mac and Jack wasn't skunky, at all. And I never wanted for a refill, the bartender, Jen, was very attentive and wonderful. You can tell she loved her job and wanted to keep the customer happy, even being due to give birth late this month (February) she was still light on her feet and moving around to make sure all her patrons were well taken care of. The epitome of service with a smile. The only quasi complaint that I could possibly have is that I went out for a smoke and my plate was cleared. I alerted Jen to the fact that I wasnt quite done with my potatoes and she immediately put in another order. All in all a pretty good experience. And I mean that. I don't expect the greatest thing ever, especially at this price point. Ive had better, ive had far worse. Pros: Jen, by far one of the better bar tenders I've had the experience of being a patron of, the beer taps were obviously changed/sanitized regularly(I ordered a variety of beers to be sure), the ambiance was relaxing and never rushed(I know that most places try not to, but this can come across at disgenuine), the food was good. Cons: the size of the steak touted as 12 oz. I love Applebees, they combine low price with delicious food. At the worst experience, my food has been better than palatable, at best, utterly fantastic. While I can count the times the former has happened on less than one hand, the times the latter has happened has been innumerable. I heart ❤ not Huckabee's, but Applebees, marry me now, post haste. You are fancy, you arent pompous, and you never fail to delivery(unless I ask for a full 12 oz on my steak). Please give your pregnant bartender a bareback, if...

Disappointing Experience – Poor Service and Overcooked Food

I took my family to Applebee’s for dinner tonight, and unfortunately, the experience was extremely disappointing. While I understand that our server was new and inexperienced, he did try his best. However, there were multiple mistakes throughout our visit that made the evening frustrating.

From the start, our drink orders were entered incorrectly. When we addressed it with the manager, he replaced them but discarded the original mistaken drink rather than offering to comp it, which would have been a nice gesture. When our food finally arrived, it was a letdown. My ribs took nearly 30 minutes to come out, and when they did, they were dry and overcooked. My daughter ordered the steak, chicken, and shrimp combo, and her chicken breast was so overcooked and dry that she had to send it back. Instead of simply replacing it, they charged us for the second one, which was completely unacceptable.

By this time, we had been there for almost two hours, and the overall experience had gone from bad to worse. The manager, who initially checked in when our drinks arrived, never came back to follow up on our meals or see if everything had been corrected. It felt like we were left to deal with the issues on our own.

Overall, the service was subpar, the food quality was poor, and the staff didn’t seem properly trained for a professional dining environment. I won’t be returning to this location, and I hope they make serious improvements in both their service and...