Chili’s Grill & Bar

This place is closed as of summer 2009

Very Family friendly. Tall beers. They try hard on the burgers. Sometimes I wish they’d give me more fries. Lot’s of Stanford football memorabilia on the walls.

I live super close to this location but only been a few times. It’s ok food, nothing fancy or award wining but cheap mediocre food. My favorite is the Shanghai boneless chicken and the special Ranch dipping sauce with a beer!

So I hadn’t been to this Chili’s since the Nineties and a friend of mine dragged me here tonight against my will, but I have to say that I was impressed and happy with my meal. Impressed? Happy? At a Chili’s? Yes, it’s a true story.
My main reason for avoiding chain restaurants is not so much some virtuous stand against corporate food (though that is a legitimate concern) but more just the simple fact that whenever I’m at a chain joint there are precious few things I can order that don’t contain an overload of salt/​dairy/​meat/​oil.
So imagine my glee when I found a vegetarian burger with a nice savory patty made of mashed black beans and vegetables, with a side of steamed broccoli. Imagine my glee when I got my food and it tasted good.
Imagine my glee increasing when I saw that this substantial meal cost $ 6.60. $ 6.60!
Throw in an order of steamy garlic bread (my one concession to unhealthiness) for $ 1.99 and you have a tasty feast fit for any recessionista. (The garlic bread isn’t on the menu, so just ask for it.)
Despite it being really slow in the restaurant the staff were fairly late in bringing out our food, so it’s to their fortune that my friend and I had specifically planned on a long, chatty dinner and didn’t really mind. If we had been on a schedule and were just looking for a quick meal I can see how we would have gotten annoyed. Other than that our service was fine though; our waiter was super-​attentive and good about my friend’s various order modifications, and no attempts were made to shoo us out after we had paid up and were still sitting there nursing our drinks and gabbing.
Normally I would prefer to hit up Café Borrone just one block over, but here it was less crowded, more quiet, and I spent less for a pretty healthy meal. So four stars for you, Chili’s. I’m surprised too.

I’ve never been to a Chili’s not busy, until I ate here. Reasons this particular chain stands out:
* Waiter filled our glasses before they hit empty. He literally checked in with us every 7 minutes. He also gave us free chips and salsa during our wait.
* We did not wait for our food.
* Extra large booths that could fit up to 4 people per side.
* Plentiful parking, which speaks for the vacancy inside –which was great for me.
Minus one star because they ran out of crayons.

I met some girlfriends for a quick bite to eat and was pretty excited about having lunch at «the new golf course» according to The Office. Unfortunately, it was a funny, but not a great idea.
Service was a bit spotty, but bearable. Some menu items weren’t available– i.e., spicy chicken salad which the table was going to order. So then I asked if the spicy chicken sandwich was available. And it was — score! But does it make sense that you are able to make a sandwich out of all the same ingredients that are in the salad, but the salad isn’t available? Random…
I’m positive that there are plenty of places to stop and meet with friends, next time, I’ll most definitely choose elsewhere.

I had a gift card for this place and that’s the only reason I would ever go. Everything seemed fine at first until my mom’s order didn’t come. By the time the rest of us had finished and she was full from our leftovers, her meal still had not arrived, even though the waiter was fully aware of this. We asked for a complimentary chocolate fondant cake which the waiter agreed to, but with unnecessary attitude. We then got the bill which had both my mother’s order and the cake on it! It took another 20 minutes to get that fixed and after that kind of service and mediocre food, I don’t plan on visiting a Chili’s unless I’m forced.

Like most of the other raters for Chilis Menlo Park, I used to eat at Chilis a lot. About three or four years ago Chilis in MP would have been on the top of my list, but now I am sad to say it is no where to be found my list. The food is ok but the endless waiting SUCKS! The service staff at this specific Chilis is super slow and possibly high on something not given to them by a doctor. I think food would be served faster by a snail.
If you want to eat Chili’s please spend sometime and drive to the one in Mountain View. This is where you will eat within an hour and be served by people that actually smile and seem happy.

I haven’t been to Chili’s Grill & Bar in a lllloooonnnnggg time but I used to be a regular (and fairly happy, though naïve) customer! Attending Menlo-​Atherton High School, Chili’s was just a stone’s throw away…
We’d almost always start with the bottomless chips and salsa for $ 1.50. Then, I’d often enjoy the lettuce wraps (so yummy!), one of the huge salads, or the fajitas. The drinks (once I was of drinking age, of course!) were delicious too especially the rich, chocolately, desserty alcoholic beverage.
I’ve since learned of much better restaurants but can’t knock Chili’s too hard…

Just a heads up. Don’t order a children’s meal to go. Unless you want to spot check everything before you leave the restaurant. I don’t think any child I know would have enjoyed the scorched, dried out hamburger with the cheese glued to the smashed bun that we found upon opening the wrapper.
In this economy, Chili’s will be the next restaurant casualty if they don’t give good service and attractive quality meals.

Ok this place has slow service and crappy waiters that not only dont want to wait on you but make a point to avoid the table as much as possible …
So why then do i give them 4 stars ??
A new face and breath of fresh air …
my wife and I when and expected much the same crappy service as befor but were floored by the attentiveness and helpfulness of get this a girl working her 1^st day on the floor
Kristen was her name .
If you go to this location she would be the only reason… If she is not working then just dont go… or expect the usual crappy customer no service as usual…
GOOD WORK KRISTEN

There are two Chili’s that I go to, Mountain View and Menlo Park. I will refrain from commenting on their menu, because Chili’s are standard throughout California (Arizona and other outside states have much poorer quality, but we don’t need to worry about that here).
Chili’s is so bad for you!
Mt View vs MP. Menlo Park is generally quieter, but the service is slower. In general, Mountain View servers are more attractive.
But Alex at Menlo Park is super cute :)

I love Chilis in MP until now. Went there Sat & waited 5 min to be seated and the restaurant was NOT busy– we told the girl who finally sat us we have been waiting & she said they let the hostess go home early– After we were seated we waited 10 min for my iced tea. Food was jus okay but as we started eating we got our bill. We asked our waiter what was up everyone having a bad day? which btw he didn’t seem happy to be there either– he blew it off to being busy — Mmmmm hardly anyone there–

Ate here yesterday for happy hour/​dinner after work. Dined in the bar area and well, the only thing I will complain about is how long we waited for our food to arrive. Our server apologized too many times and mentioned the kitchen is quite slow. We ordered the bbq chicken salad and the guiltless chicken platter. We waited for 45 minutes. Unacceptable.
I guess that’s what I get for eating at fast food chains.
I love eating at Chili’s so please stop dicking around. This was the second Chili’s we’ve been to (sans San Bruno location) and the wait for the food was over an hour.

This is the only Chili near to Redwood City. As everyone know this is a Chain restaurant, and different location have their own service. Food is great here.
THE ONLY THING I HAVE OBSERVE, AND NEVER BEEN IMPROVE IS THE TABLE ALWAY FEEL OILY AFTER THEY CLEAN IT.
i hope the management can do something to make sure the waiter clean the table without any grease or oily stain.
overall the food is great, and great place to meet.

I had a good lunch here today– the food was actually pretty good and the service was attentive. The interior isn’t much to look at — just the standard chain restaurant decorated with random bits of Americana.
I had the Cajun chicken sandwich with fries. I wanted to be good and eat a salad, but I just don’t have the willpower to turn down fries. In any case, the fries were pretty good– crisp on the outside, soft on the inside, and well-​seasoned with salt and pepper. The grilled chicken in the sandwich was a little on the smallish side– its so annoying when you take a big bite out of your sandwich and all you get is bun and lettuce. It did make for a good meal and though I felt guilt over the fries, I comforted myself by eating only half of them and reminding myself that at least I got grilled chicken, rather than the deep-​fried chicken breast.
Overall, not too bad of a meal. At just under $ 10 (tax and tip included), it was a fairly cheap meal (though I probably could have gone to Togo’s next door). I have fond memories of eating their chicken-​fried steak, so next time I’m here, I’m ordering that!

Ok, so I’m kind of torn on this one… the food is not very good, but I was forced to come here probably once a week in college, because my friends worked here. Yes, this did consist of free food and drinks (very strong ones).
There are a few things on the menu that I do happen to like:
Molten Cake
Southwestern Egg Rolls
Queso Skillet
Chips/​Salsa
Nachos
Tacos
Guiltless Grill Pita (which they took off the menu, but you can still order it)
If you want a good buzz (or more), just order two El Ninos, it will definitely get the job done!
I would not recommend Chili’s since there are so many good restaurants close by, but if you happen to get a craving for something on the menu, I guess I can’t blame you!

when it’s your husband’s birthday and he wants KFC, you want steak and salad and your kids (both under 4) want mac and cheese, where can you dine?
dine, nowhere. but you can eat dinner at chili’s. we’ve been to this chili’s several times over the past few years. the drinks are hit and miss (my top shelf margarita – at $ 11 – sucked ass last night) and the food is pretty generic, but it’s a pretty solid place to go if your kids are at the crappy restaurant age and you just want to have an adult beverage and to keep the kitchen clean at home.
The kid’s portions are HUGE. there are lots of choices (including broccoli and corn for sides) For adult food, i’d stick to the fajitas (really hard to fuck up), the appetizers or burgers. The burgers are ok, not fabulous. have a cocktail first and they will taste GREAT. :)
the service is so so, but friendly. If your kid runs around the booths a few times, you might get a look, but no one will say anything.
sans kids? i’d skip chili’s and keep on driving down the street to downtown menlo park or palo alto.

I have visited this Chili’s twice in the last both times I had problems with the service. First time went at lunch during the week, sat in the bar area and was pretty much ignored for about 10 mins then a server came over, tea was never refilled everyone seemed too busy to take care of the customers. Today, I went back to pick up a to go order sat there again 15 minutes no acknowledgment. Others in the restaurant and complaining about the wait so what was going on??? The soccer game was on and that was obviously more important than serving the half dozen or so families in the restaurant or me waiting for my order. To top it off I got home and my order was wrong.
UPDATE:
11/​15/​2007
I went out on a limb today and ventured back to Chili’s. I must say something here changed. The staff was unbelievably attentive! Service has definitely improved!

The Awesome Blossom ® is, well, awesome. My favorite dish is the Citrus Fire Chicken and Shrimp, with of course, the Baby Backed Ribs as a close second.
There’s nothing like eating at Chili’s on a Thursday night when you can’t decide between Italian or Thai with your friends. I mean, who doesn’t like Chili’s?
The service at this one is actually pretty fast seeing how packed it always is. And the wait staff is unusually friendly.