Applebee’s

Waited forever for my steak and shrimp and when I finally get it, it’s cold I send it right back and they microwaved the shrimp, steak, and Mac and cheese. Have you ever had a microwaved shrimp? It’s not pleasant. What is happening to all the good service and food you use to get here?

A three star average for this place is about right. Having been here a handful of times while on endless Home Depot runs, our hunger gets the best of us despite having consistently uneven experiences, and we keep returning. This Applebees has stepped up its burger game, so it’s become our go-​to place for lunch in the area, at least until we can find something better. My Fred Flintstone-​like carnivore of a BF says the burgers taste fresh, not frozen, and are assembled with care. Fries are decent, though he’d prefer a steak fry to the shoestrings you get here.
I try different things here but have yet to hit the «OMG» entrée I hope for. 3 cheese pasta with grilled chicken tasted fine, but for a $ 12 lunch entrée, the portion of grilled chicken was more like a garnish. Also, there a rather stingy amount of alfredo sauce on the pasta, which, while my dish obviously sat a while waiting for our burger to cook, rendered some pieces of penne dry and sad. (This seems to be a regular occurrence — last visit, the sandwich I ordered sat so long under a lamp waiting on BF’s burger, the bottom slice of toast was soaked through with mayo and fell apart while I attempted to eat in a ladylike fashion. Ick.)
We can sort of deal with an uneven culinary experience, but what really keeps this establishment from lifting itself out of the three star doldrums is service issues, as other reviewers have noted. We’ve stopped asking servers questions about the menu because the standard response is «I don’t know.» I’m not referring to questions like «Are the herbs on my curly fries locally sourced?» — I’m talking about «Is this sandwich hot or cold» or «Does the burger come with unlimited fries?». Servers here are really, really nice but have minimal training. And this place is understaffed every time we visit. However, things generally taste OK and servers keep bringing me food to stuff in my mouth, so for now, we’ll probably keep coming until we find something better. Really though, Applebees, YOU could do better.

PROPER RIBS HAVE FINALLY BEEN LOCATED!
It is shortly after noon and we are in Fort Olglethorpe looking for something to eat. They have several fast food restaurants but few full service ones. After checking Unilocal and exploring the other options, we decide to try Applebee’s.
Of course if we were local, Applebee’s would not be an option because we removed them from our dining options years ago. The quality of the food had just diminished to an unacceptable level. So here we go:
When we arrive at the restaurant, it is packed. However, as a party of two we are seated immediately in one of the booths.
We notice a Presto machine sitting on our table. It allow you to order your appetizer, second drink and your dessert electronically. You may also play games for ninety-​nine cents or pay for your meal using this little electronic device. Genius!
Our waitress today is Mandy and she gives us plenty of time to review the menu. After studying the menu, we both decide to order the full rack of babyback ribs with the mashed potatoes. I choose the cole slaw as my side, while my husband selects the broccoli.
When these ribs arrive, they are exactly what Southern ribs are supposed to be, likely smoked, cooked to perfection with a nice char, and sauced toward the end of the cooking process not after the fact. These are «proper ribs» that I have only been able to get by preparing them myself at home. These ribs need absolutely nothing added although you get the option of the sauce of your choice. Don’t do it! It is totally unnecessary. The mashed potatoes appeared to be made with red skin-​on potatoes and were delicious. I loved the appearance of my husband’s broccoli because they had taken the time to cut up the florets so that they made a better presentation and were easier to eat.
I was very hesitant about the cole slaw because locally it was so disgustingly bad, that I actually spoke to the manager about it. If I want cole slaw, I make it myself. So imagine my concern when it became the only viable option for my additional side. Mandy actually reassured me that it would be okay and I would like it so I added it to my order. Good call! This slaw was lightly dressed, cool to taste and the veggies were very crisp and delicious. I loved it!
Service was top notch and we enjoyed our meal immensely!
Bravo Applebees!
*** In the entire chain, I can only vouch for this location! It’s the bomb!

OK this on is a walking contradiction. Stopped in for a late lunch (2 PM on Friday) and had not been at Applebees in a very long time. It is a standalone restaurant and parking is not a problem and free. Two of us sat at a high top table in the bar area and they were not very busy. We waited longer than I would have liked to get waited on and then after we ordered a Draught Beer!!! For me and a wine for my friend we then had to wait a loooong time to get them. Kind of like going to the doctor and waiting in the waiting room and THEN getting put in a smaller room where you wait again. The lunch menu was a special that was available till 3. We looked over the menu and it said check out the insert for lunch specials. So we had to ask the waitress for that menu, which she found one for us.
They have a great lunch menu and the «insert» special said you would get your lunch in 12 minutes or it was free… Well we should have had that because we ordered lunch off the main menu… I had the French onion soup and oriental chicken salad AND a Sam Adams draught. Ours were 6.99 each I believe so a great deal. My friend ordered an oriental soup and shrimp salad. You are allowed to get a second helping of both if you want them. Well the wait was worth it because both meals were very good. Since we were full my friend asked if we could get our second portion to go and they said yes so that was kind of neat.
While the service was very slow and I almost walked out, once we got our food I was OK and it was very good and a great deal for the money. The waitress, while slow was very friendly. The food, while very slow to get was worth the wait. I will give it a 2 for slow service (especially getting our drinks in a reasonable amount of time) and a 4 for the quality of the lunch for the cost — and they had draught beer … So I give it a 3 and would go again but maybe not at 2 PM.

The past few visits at this location has been very good… and good service however the hostess could use a little friendlier attitude! She didn’t seem happy about her job! I love that they change their menu often and specials are always good… oh & they have bluemoon in frosty mugs :)

Stopped on for a quick lunch today. Parking lot was full, but we had immediate seating. The service was quick, spot on, and everything was as ordered. They have a 12 minute lunch menu, with a select few items, but we chose the Classic & Classic combination of a soup and salad. There are several options for these and 1 time refill on both the soup and salad is included in the price of $ 6.99. For $ 1 more, you can make it unlimited refills! And you can switch out the many flavor combinations! Our server, was very attentive to our requests, and we couldn’t have asked for better service and value. I recommend this location for lunch!

Such a bad experience. :(. There was a 25min wait when I arrived. Totally normal for 7 pm on a Friday night at such a restaurant in this town although there were empty tables on every side of the establishment my entire wait. I told the hostess I would be at the bar. 40 min later I went to check in my table. They had called my name 20 min earlier they said. There was no buzzer given and no intercom system so I sure I missed hearing several names. However I saw the host walk to the bar and gather other patrons and honestly never heard my name even though I was seated no more than 15 feet from the host station.
The hostess Abigail was very apologetic for the mistake and sat us right away. Our server came promptly. She was helpful with my questions and prompt to take our orders and refill drinks. I ordered a salad as did my friend. Food came out quickly but it was not as we ordered. We both asked for our dressing on the side. Apparently here that means they still put dressing on your salad and give you some more on the side. Since I am on a strict diet I had to send mine back. I had to get a food runner to help because our server didn’t come back to the table for quite some time. When the corrected salad was returned by the manager with an apology, I got about four bites in and ran into candied nuts that were not supposed to be on the salad, and again a big no no with my diet.
I had to flag down the waitress and she was very short with me and took my plate away. They did comp the salad off my check but the manager didn’t even come to the table to apologize for the mistake. Empty drinks for the last part of out meal and the waitress was just not kind.
With all the great places to eat around Chattanooga I have no reason or desire to ever go back to this Applebee’s. :(

Ok food, bad service but the good thing is its never really that packed so you can always find a seat.