Chili's Grill & Bar — Restaurant in Virginia

I should probably start this review by saying that my family and I didn’t come to Chili’s to receive 5 star service. Just wanted to grab a quick bite to eat, but “quick” is the opposite of what we got. The night started out nice enough with a nice waiter, quick drinks, and placing the order in a timely manner. That, sadly is where the good experience ended. As the next hour and a half passed, we had to call our waiter every time we needed something, rather than him checking on us at all, and on top of that, every time we needed a refill on drinks, he wouldn’t take our used cups. We had to start piling them on the counter next to us. I was on the inside of the booth and although I was next to two smaller children, I was very cluttered, and can safely say that most anyone would be upset with that. Some meals were okay, one was to a toddler who didn’t complain, another to a boy who could care less because he just drenches anything he eats in ketchup, and one to my mother and her boyfriend who were somewhat satisfied besides their tortillas coming out 5 minutes late to eat their fajitas. Mine and the boyfriends daughter however? A completely different story. She received her salad, which had clearly been sitting in the kitchen for 20 minutes and was soggy and disgusting looking, and sent it back immediately. A little later, I received my tacos which had items on it I specifically asked to not be on it. You might say, eh no big deal 2 out of 5 isn’t so bad, but after an hour and a half, I expect to have gold shaving on my food. The restaurant was at less than 40% capacity. When my food was finally returned, it was clear they had just scraped the unwanted ingredients off. Really? What if I was allergic to it? Now, I don’t know the allergenic properties of pico, but if I don’t want it, please don’t just take it off, especially after making me wait so long. The daughter and I ate completely separately because our food came out at such a late time and we didn’t want anyone else’s food to get any colder than it already was. Meal was comped, much appreciated, but the waiter then had the audacity to say to us that the “kitchen was backed up” as if that was our only complaint. I’m sorry, but I will...

Our fab group of five strutted into this Chili's joint after a parched-out event with zero water available to the guests – and guess who swooped in with the funkadelic vibes? None other than ROSS THE BOSS! He caught wind of our hydration plight and boom! Like a groove master, he kept the aqua flowin', no refill requests needed. Talk about a hero walking among mere mortals! We indulged in mondo mozzarella sticks and regular-sized egg rolls, but our mission wasn't about munchies – and ROSS THE BOSS totally grokked that. It's like he had some cosmic connection, anticipating our every thirst whim (whether agua or cocktails), zippin' in with drink ideas as our glasses neared the bottom, delivering fresh sips just as smoothly as the last round vanished. This cat even spun tales of order hiccups that night with pure class, blamelessly nodding at his fellow mixologist-in-training who jazzed up a couple of wrong concoctions.

He welcomed us with mad cool vibes, never makin' us feel like a hassle – even as we polished off all the Patron in the building. And get this, we owned the night, boppin' outta there as the final cats on the scene, right at closing time, and he didn't even bat an eye. A perfect 10/10 jam, dig? Can't wait to hit up ROSS THE BOSS central again. Chili's oughta be thinkin' CEO promotion, if you ask us. Shoutouts to the fresh barkeep too, juggling our diverse drink demands like a pro – just one tiny mix-up in his funky symphony. Atmosphere? Smooth and mellow, a Saturday night surprise with room to boogie (we did roll in after the standard dinner bell). And peep those A+ johns – pristine, easy to spot, and fully stocked. ROSS THE BOSS, you're the real McCoy! Thanks for keepin' the...

I'm sure I should have ordered chicken or shrimp fajitas or a chicken quesadilla. Instead, I chose a healthy meal - the Ancho Salmon - and wasn't that pleased. Some restaurants can really make good broccoli that can stand on its own, but this just wasn't it. I put butter, salt, and pepper on it, and that helped. The Mexican rice wasn't that tasty in my opinion either. I put butter, salt, and pepper on that, too, to help it out. The salmon was the best thing on the plate, but it was a bit overcooked. What they put ON the salmon was tasty; would have liked a bit more of it (that was definitely the best part of the meal). My husband said his chicken bacon ranch quesadillas tasted good. On a scale of 1 to 10, he said it was a 9! The friends we were with got a burger with jalapeño fries, and the crispy chicken crisper combo with mac and cheese - can't go wrong with either of those choices.

Our server was great. We arrived at 6 pm on a Saturday and were served our beverages and our food very quickly. By around 7, we were done.

You can pay with a card using a machine that's on the table and it allows you to easily split the check any way you want - evenly, 3 ways, and individually selecting your items and paying for them. You can also choose to do a survey about your dining experience or skip it.

Last but not least, while there is ketchup on every table, there is no salt and pepper - you must ask for it (not sure why).

Definitely a great atmosphere, very clean, and wonderful service - I just picked the wrong meal...