Chili's Grill & Bar — Restaurant in Washington Township

During the dinner rush on Saturday we were seated quite quickly. Our server brought our soft drinks and took our orders. Our meal took longer than usual to be served even for a Saturday night. The temperature of my fries and corn was great. Nice and hot. The brisket was okay for only being slightly warm, but the ribs were not warm at all. Maybe 2 minutes max, after being served, our server asked how everything was. Well, nothing had really been sampled, and we told him things were "Ok so far." That was the last time our server came to our table. He repeatedly tended to the 3 tables nearest to us, but we couldn't catch his attn. They all received refills and were delivered any extras they requested. The only time he came near us again was to toss our bill on the table w/o us being able to say anything to him. He returned 7-8 minutes later to pick up our payment. I asked to see the manager. The server looked startled. I told him he was ok, and that we just wanted to sleek w/the manager. W/in 10 minutes a young man came to our table. He had no name tag or Chili's clothing. He simply stood there looking at us. I'm thinking, "Hello! Are you the manager?" I actually had to ask him who he was. No name, just a "Yes" response was all he did. I explained exactly what you've just read above. "Would I like my (non falling off of the bone) ribs heated?" No. We were leaving. We had been there long enough already. "Did you save any room for dessert?" No, but one of the desserts were tempting. He said, "Well, how about if I bring one out so you two can share it?" How about to-go?, I said. And would he please bring us some boxes. Later the server returned with another version of our bill that showed the dessert, but at zero cost. Good. The server still hasn't asked if we would like refills or anything else. Okay. I had worked in the food service industry for a total of 5 years. My dinner guest had worked in the restaurant business for 20+ yrs. We are very understanding of the dinnertime rush, etc. We're great tippers. But holy cow, dude! Wake up and pay attn. to all of your guests. We looked just like every other diners there. We were dressed nicely and were far from being rude or loud. I just don't get an adult server not having the basic language and social skills to do their job. Oh, well. We won't be back...

My family and I were excited to finally try Chili’s, especially the mozzarella sticks. We arrived to find it very busy and had to wait 25 minutes for a table of six. Not the worst, but definitely not ideal. Once we got seated, things started off great—our drinks and appetizer came out fast, and the mozzarella sticks were amazing.

However, that’s when things started to fall apart. Our waitress, who was initially very nice, took our order, and then we barely saw her again. We waited nearly an hour for our food, watching other tables (who arrived after us) get served while we sat there. Refills were a struggle—after waiting 45 minutes, we tried to get a drink for the grumpy 5-year-old with us, and while the waitress said she’d bring it, 15 minutes passed, and nothing.

At that point, we’d had enough. A family member finally confronted the waitress, frustrated that we had been waiting over an hour and still hadn’t gotten food or that drink refill. The waitress, clearly overwhelmed and exhausted, defensively said, "He still has Sprite." That’s when things escalated—our family member lashed out, and you could see the waitress completely stressed and unsure of what to do. She looked like she was running around nonstop, completely overwhelmed with too many tables to handle. I almost felt like crying for her because she was clearly doing her best with no help. She just walked away and got the manager.

The manager was amazing. She explained everything, acknowledged the mistakes, and comped our entire meal. She was kind, understanding, and handled the situation perfectly. Finally, our food arrived—it was okay, nothing special.

The biggest issue? The whole restaurant felt chaotic, unorganized, and overcrowded. The tablet ordering system seemed to be messing everything up, and the staff (especially the servers) looked confused. Plus, the space was tight, and the heat was blasting over us the entire time.

Final Thoughts Food: Good, especially the mozzarella sticks.

Service: Manager was incredible, but the waitress was overwhelmed and had no support.

Experience: Chaotic, long waits, not well-managed.

Would I return? Maybe, but only if they fix the way things are run.

I felt awful for the waitress—she was doing her best, but she had no help, and the whole place just felt...

Our entire dining experience was so bad the manager wouldn't even come out! I started to worry when the people who were sat 15 minutes after us got their food before us. The waitress (Amber) came out explaining everything was ready and they were just waiting on a burger. When she came out 10 minutes later to inform us everything was ready they were just waiting on onion rings for the burger I asked, "so Our food is back there dying under a heat lamp?" She looked confused so we just asked to bring the food out that was ready. She brought out 2 kids meals and we ordered drinks while waiting for our food. Another 10 minutes later, Our food arrived but still no drinks. At this point I was ready to get out of the restaurant so I told her not to worry about the drinks. We finished the food we ordered but couldn't check out because the drinks we never received were still on our bill. We asked the hostess to please get a manager so the the drinks er never received could be removed from the bill so we could pay and leave. Another 5 minutes later our waitress came out and said she would remove the drinks so we could pay. I was very frusted, 90 minutes after arrival I was finally able to pay and leave. I will not be recommending ot dining...