Went to the South des moines location & only recommend going if you sit at the bar. Waiting for someone to acknowledge you for a table takes a while & waitresses always seem busy. Drinks are always good & fun to try the seasonal cocktails. The new menu looks great, but we didn't have time to wait. read more

Applebee's Grill + Bar - American Near Me - Des Moines, Iowa

First of all it's a slow night. I see everyone at the bar hanging out I can't even tell who works here and who doesn't. Got told by one of the blonde lady's that was bartending "it will be a minute" and she proceeded to go around and take five selfies with people at the bar and goes back and starts pouring more beer. There no host or servers to be found anywhere and the crowd at the bar was being so loud. The atmosphere feels like all the people that are eating that are intruding the people at the bar and It felt very unwelcoming. I don't know why it takes so long to just be seated at a table when it's dead in there but you can go around and take selfies with customers and be so hostile towards new customers coming in. We eventually walked out due to the staff still ignoring us at the front to be seated! Absolutely insane and I could not tell who is an adult and takes responsibility at their job. Hopefully these people realize this is a job and not somewhere to be "hanging out". Very upsetting read more

The tables and chairs were clean for the most part and was quiet, the ambiance was solid, we started with mozzarella sticks which were decent, the classic bacon cheeseburger was solid but the fries were a bit too salty, the grilled chicken was good, broccoli was just right, and the loaded potatoes was amazing, but the service was amazing, the food got to me quickly, and the waitress gave refills quickly. read more

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Where do I begin? It was a very slow night, sorry understated- painfully slow night. I mean so slow we probably could have had breakfast by the time we were actually going to get served our dinner. Needless to say don't go here if you have any plans or a life at all! You will be sorely disappointed and probably starving and hungry! read more

Great food..waitress was Cordial also friendly...Ambiance ...kind dark.... could be an effort to make the dinning experience more romantic. read more

The food was not that hot. Server, Henry was very good. They cut off my friend from drinking after only a couple drinks. The kitchen was very slow!!! Half price apps is the only reason this experience was tolerable. read more

Applebee's Grill + Bar - American Near Me - Des Moines, Iowa

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Ordering food from Applebee's online is a disaster coming to your door. Yes, I realize the food quality has gone down since covid, like everywhere else, but when you order a chicken finger platter for the ridiculous price they offer it at and you don't receive the cole slaw side dish that you paid an extra two dollars for, or the honey mustard dipping sauce, and the chicken fingers are small enough to be offered to a toddler, and the soggy, half cooked french fries are the main part of the meal, well ... you feel ripped off. Add to that the third party delivery service that you pre-tipped 20% to, doesn't speak English and wasn't 'Maria' but an unidentified male, you begin to believe that it just wasn't worth the huge amount of money you paid to have food delivered to you when you were too sick to cook for yourself... You should have just made a pb&j sandwich on stale bread and it would have been far more satisfying. I won't ever order from them online again and I won't be visiting their restaurant anywhere ever again. This isn't the first time my experience with them was like this; it's always like this. ALWAYS. I was too sick to hunt around for a better deal, but not too sick to remember the horrible experience. Never again, Applebee's. Never again. read more

Our server was an older male.. which was fine. He did well. But there was some woman "server" African American who had her chest exposed. My fiancé and I thought about leaving and going somewhere else. She made it a point to lean over the table adjacent to us for literally no reason. He pointed it out to me, though I saw her and tried to ignore it. My fiancé wanted to leave because he was uncomfortable then this...woman stands behind me.. as if she was trying to give him a better view. Even though he was clearly not interested. Her shirt was cut wayyyyy.. extremely...to low. I'm not sure why this is tolerated, but it sure wasn't respected. I hope someone checks this or I will file a formal complaint. Next time I'll get a picture since there is an option to attach photos. read more

This was the worst food place I have ever been very long wait time and I was recorded by a person and it made me feel very uncomfortable and the food was terrible and I almost threw up I payed for me and my family 77 Dollars for this not worth it I am never coming back to this read more

Not a fan of our pregnant waitress who told me (right after being seated) that she didn't like my Iowa State purse and said "I thought we could have ONE day without having to see Iowa State stuff", and then told me I should just leave. Then when ordering, I asked for my bacon burger to be medium rare, and she told me that they "only can cook them with a little bit of pink or no pink", and that it "wouldn't be good for me" to eat a burger like I wanted it cooked. I was flabbergasted; I've NEVER had a server presume to tell me which purse I could carry, or what food would/wouldn't be good for me. We'll NEVER go back to that particular Applebees! read more

Order an appetizer of wings, looked like they threw the chicken on the plate and covered with sauce. Instead of mixing in a bowl then plating. As well as ordered a medium rare steak, come to find half way through that it was raw, enough to see part of the cow! Drinks were so watered down and just juice. Barely an alcoholic to be margaritas or specialty drinks. Our server wasn't very interactive either read more

Service was great. Food was tasty. Special instructions for specific orders were carried out flawlessly! They serve Pepsi products and that is always a plus. It was a busy Friday night and we only waited 5-10 minutes! The only reason I am not giving 5 stars is because they only give you physical menus upon asking. I understand why so many places have went to digital menus, I just wish they gave you the option before seating you. First of all my father doesn't have a smart phone. Second, if he did he wouldn't know how to us the QR thing. Third I don't know how to use the QR thing. Fourth, had I known I would have looked the menu up before being seated. Digital menus are harder to read and take longer to view. We will go back! Our favorite bar tender Tammy is there! read more

There were all kinds of empty tables and we waited for over 45 minutes! We were a party of 2. The hostess people were rude and the lobby was full of people. read more

Went to Applebees as we have generally have had good food and adequate service there in the past. Tonight our party of three waited until the end of the food course to receive a milkshake tossed carelessly in a glass with no spoon, whipped cream, or any apology as to why the bartender couldn't get the order out on time. Ended up cancelling the margarita as we were STILL waiting on the bartender to make it even though it was ordered prior to food course and multiple bar patrons had chatted leisurely with the bartender and received their drinks. When bringing the check the server offered leftovers from a margarita made for a different customer which seemed very tone deaf. Server didn't care enough to encourage the bartender to hurry with her table's drinks or check in and see if we needed anything else at our table once the entrees were delivered. Couldn't even find her to flag her down and get ranch for the chicken sandwich. Where was general mgr to witness and improve the staff's lackluster and uncaring attitudes? Not a particularly busy night for them but lacking in enough so that we wont ever return. read more

I'm biased towards this place for a number of reasons. Des Moines has a lot of good restaurants, both high end and casual. Des Moines also has its fair share of dives and needs to disappear restaurants. This Applebee's is my Cheers or Monks Cafe if your a Seinfeld fan. People know us here and it's rare that no one we know is working whenever we go. They have their regulars and it seems that each of us have our favorite seats at the bar. Nova and I always sit on the far end of the bar. The reason is simple. If we need to make a quick escape because someone enters the restaurant that we'd rather not have to deal with, it's a quick escape. Service it seems is also better at the bar. Nothing against the wait staff as that is certainly a job I could not do nor would want to do. Nova did it for years. Half price appetizers after 9pm, whats not to like and as it turns out, that's normally when we hit it. There really isn't much on the menu that we haven't tried. Drinks are different. They see Nova they know she wants the house can. Me, they have no idea. Nova ordered steak with garlic green beans. I went the French Onion soup and wings. You ask me the French onion soup is the best thing on the menu. It's so good I want to soak my genitals in it. Everything was perfect as always. Nova, never at a loss for words pulled a young kid aside who was a server and offered him so advise. I avoid getting involved in this at all cost because life is just easier that way. This might get me in trouble but one of the reasons I like this Applebees so much is that if they can, they will make it for me. For example, one evening all I wanted was fruit, with a shot of tequila poured over it. They don't have this put the do have seasonal fruit as well as fruit at the bar to compliment drinks so they whipped me up nice bowl of fruit, with tequila. And yes, of course they charged me for it but the point is they did whatever they could to make me happy. This has happened to many times to count and each time they come as close as they possibly can to take care of my crazy request. Another reason is they are open late. We generally don't eat till later in the evening and they are one of the few places open late enough to scratch that itch. read more

Service is terrible, and staff are rude. Food was awful. This place has been deteriorating for a few years.

Arrived at the Applebees restaurant about 4:30pm on a Friday night. The place wasnt too busy and we were seated promptly. We sat there pondering the drink menu for about 10 minutes before our waitress came to take our drink order. My boyfriend ordered a beer and I ordered a Dracula's Punch (seasonal drink) and a water. At the same time we asked about the soft pretzel deal of 4 for $2 and went ahead and ordered that as well. We looked over the menu to decide on the 2 for $27 deal. Our pretzels were delivered to our table by the person who seated us. We still had not received our drinks. Our waitress stopped by about 10 minutes later to see how the pretzels were, which we hadn't touched since we had not received our drinks. She apologized and went to check on them. 10 minutes later she returned with a beer and water. She said the bartender didnt know how to make my specialty drink and it would be a bit. I brushed it off and said that's fine, I've got water. We were able to place our order for food at that time. My boyfriend ordered ribs and I ordered the 8oz steak and the artichoke dip to share. By the time our other appetizer came out, my drink was ready, roughly 45 minutes after we had arrived. The pretzels were good and the Alfredo beer cheese dip was okay. The artichoke dip was piping hot and as good as usual. Once our appetizers were gone we sat and watched the tv in front of us. About an hour and 15 minutes into our visit, the table behind us, who had arrived 30 minutes prior got their food. I then overheard them saying that wasn't what one of them had ordered (the ribs) and one went ahead an ate the steak from one of the plates because she also ordered a steak just with different sides. Come to find out later, those were our dinners. The gentleman didn't eat from the plate of ribs and got the attention of the waitress who then tried to bring my boyfriend the plate of food that had sat on their table for 10+ minutes. He politely declined and asked for something to be prepared fresh. About 20 minutes later my steak and the same plate of ribs arrived to our table. My boyfriend's food was cold (obviously) and my steak was overdone. We should have left after he finished his beer before ordering anything. Please think twice before trying this place out. We saw more food return to the kitchen than what was eaten the entire time we were there. We should have just went to Texas Roadhouse and suggest you do the same! read more

Pretty good food there, of course I've been there on two separate times & I've enjoyed what I ordered there both times.

I've been living on the Southside for the past 2 years, me and my boyfriends first date was at this Applebees location. Many times we have given chance after chance, keeping a open mindset hoping for change. Almost every single time we go, the food is undercooked, even after requesting "WELL DONE"... I'm almost convinced the beef patties are frozen if they come out looking done but within a bite is raw.. I've had multiple encounters of rude and unprovoked team members. I'm not one to try and make someone's job more difficult than it already is... Sad to say I will not step into another "Applebees" again, only because other surrounding area locations almost have the exact same conditions and issues... read more

Giving them only 4 because the food was great. I ordered my steak medium well and it was overcooked. But still good since this dish has a lot of juice the fries was getting soggy. So I suggest next time serve the fries on a separate dish I had a peach sangria and it was yummy. The waiter was great making sure your food was ok . No I didnt get a chance to tell him about the fries. But he was great at greeting and very friendly. read more

Applebee's Grill + Bar - Sirloin steak with shrimp parmesan. - American Near Me - Des Moines, Iowa

We had eaten at the Applebee's in Ankeny and it was great. We decided to try the one closer to home and can't believe the difference between the two restaurants. We went early but it took a little while to get our order. Once we received our food, all of it except the shrimp was cold. I ordered garlicky green beans but got cold fries instead. When I brought it to the attention of the person who brought it to our table she was rude about it. Once I finally received them they were also cold and had no garlic sauce on them. I gave up and just asked for a side of sauce to pour over them. By this point, I was over it. I took them home, heated them up and ate them there which defeats the purpose of eating out. Our waitress was nice but never even offered to refill our drinks which were empty half way through the meal. We will not return to this location ever again. read more

My order was delivery and it was delivered on time. I ordered ribeye steak, Mac and cheese, and a salad. The Mac and cheese were hot and very good. The salad was fresh. Now, the steak was also hot, but I ordered medium well and it was so rare, I couldn't eat it, due to my taste preference. The reviews mention steaks cooked wrong and customer service for too long of a wait. Fix these simple things alone and will see 80% of your negative comments improve read more

Basic. The food was tasty and OK. Nothing spectacular, but solid comfort food. Service was prompt and attentive during my lunch over a holiday break. It was not perfect, but solid with no big mistakes. If I had to "pick" one item for improvement, the fried onions were slightly overdone. But again, I was happy with the dining experience. I'd go back for a quick basic meal. read more

Applebee's Grill + Bar - American Near Me - Des Moines, Iowa

Waited 40 min for tortilla chips and spinach dip. ordered endless boneless wings they tasted ok the first serving there were like 12 the second serving they brought me three wings what a rip off my daughter found a black hair inside here onion rings. i went to Applebees years ago I figured I'd give them another try but it was horrible also the little bar tender girl was loud and annoying very unprofessional. I'm mad I spent money here.don't waste your money seriously go to outback been there a dozen times and it's amazing every time read more

The food was ok. My dinning partner and I each got the pick two appetizers. I had boneless wings and cheese sticks. Both were just average. The service, however was great. Our server was so attentive. She quickly greeted us and got our drinks right away. She made sure we had refills. read more

Applebee's Grill + Bar - American Near Me - Des Moines, Iowa

Had a great time at Applebee's this past Wednesday for dinner. Our waitress was Samantha and she was super attentive and super nice! We had coupon/gift cards and luckily got to use them without issue which was really surprising! My boyfriend got the Philly cheesesteak sandwich which he said was just as good as pepper jacks (I know another chain but they are really good!) cheaper too, and you get onion rings and fries! I got the shrimp wonton rice dish (can't remember the name sorry!) which said it was around 680 cals. Super filling, a little bland and the shrimp had a ton of pepper but not bad overall. Would probably try something else next time. read more

People just dont get it... there is a lack of employees everywhere, you cannot go in and expect your food to come to you in a flash. this location, super chill, the only staff available are cordial and actually take care of you..props to the waiter dudes and dudettes read more

Applebees is price gouging during this crisis, shame on them. They took their two for 22 special off-line. And force you to buy steaks for your family one at a time at twice the price. I will never eat at Applebee's again they have lost all my business. read more

You may not want to visit Applebee's . Unfortunately, we found out they cook peppers and onions on the same side of the grill as shrimp! How did we discover this? We ordered the Prom burger and franwich. Neither have anything to do with shrimp but my husband had shrimp in his plate. I mentioned this to the manager but honestly, she didn't really seem concerned or interested. Glad neither of us have a seafood allergy! read more

Applebee's Grill + Bar - American Near Me - Des Moines, Iowa

We came here in the 4th of July and truly who wants to work on a federal holiday?? We were greeted immediately and sat within seconds of walking in the front door. Waitress was very friendly and helpful. The other waitress working was also willing to help with refills, etc. I wanted to leave a review for the great service we received on a holiday and the food was good as always. Place was clean and smelled good as well. 10/10 read more

We were told it would be 30 to 45 minutes wait. We said okay. We waited 1 hr and 15 minutes and gave up and went elsewhere. Hostesses (2 of them) were very unfriendly. Not even an apology for the wait being well over what we were told.Saw employees standing around. Were told when we asked how much longer that the cooks were behind. Take out orders were going out. People were coming in and sitting at the bar to eat while people that were waiting to eat were left standing and waiting!!!! Close down the bar for food and take out and serve your customers that are there! read more

Good American style food. I can honestly say I've never had a bad steak here, which is what I usually get. It's always prepared just the way I order it. Other food I've had in the past has always been pretty good too. One of our favorite apps is the soft pretzels with beer cheese dip and honey mustard. I must say the iced tea was really good too. The service is adequate, not overly amazing, but not bad either. The wait staff is usually attentive and you get what you need in a timely manner. If you don't feel like cooking and you want a nice quick meal out at a reasonable price, this is a perfect place. read more

Went to this location tonight for dinner with my mom. only had to wait 15-20 minutes because of them being short staffed.. not a big deal and I'm understanding.. waitress by the name of shaye helped us that night.. our food didn't take long at all.. I ordered their new impossible type burger.. it was pretty good and mom had the riblets.. she admitted that she made a mistake when it came to the bill.. she had printed out two tickets.. one was ours and the other one was a previous customers... they were just swapped. there wasn't much of a price difference.. paid it with no problems and still left her a tip because she was honest about it.. mistakes happen!!! especially when you are short staffed.. she worked her butt off.. read more

Waited an hour and a half for food. They then forgot half of the order (only a 2 person order) and just said if we want it that it will be another hour to get it so we might as well just cancel it. Then took another half hour to get the receipt figured out to pay. read more

waited for 15 minutes and no one came to the table to take our drink order. had multiple waitress look at our table still no came to us to see if we were ready, but when a waitress walked by to deliver the people across from us order. she blew passed us without saying anything to us in which caused us to leave. we won't be going back there again especially since it was probably at less than 5% capacity. Very disappointed with this location read more

Food was good enough but the portion size was small. Ordered the mac & cheese with the honey chicken strips. The chicken on mine was basically 3 chicken nuggets. Very disappointing! read more

Me and my family went to eat there and the service was bad they took forever and got two orders wrong we literally waited about 20-30 minutes for our food and we ordered some appetizers and they didn't get to our table until after we were done eating our food read more

My girlfriend and I went to Applebee's tonight for dinner and it was about what you'd figure for a chain restaurant. We got seated and it took about 8-10 minutes for someone to acknowledge us and take our drink order. Our server took our table, even though it wasn't her section, and treated us with respect and was apologetic for the delay in service. We ordered onion rings and chips and salsa as appetizers. When they came out, the onion rings were piping hot, the chips and salsa were on par with Applebee's usual fare. I ordered the Fiesta Lime Chicken and she ordered a hamburger. Mine was alright, although the rice was dried out. Hers was good, although the burger looked more like a maid-rite smashed together than an actual hamburger. Overall, it was an okay experience. If you're looking for something more satisfying, I would recommend that you try other restaurants in the area. read more

Service is GARBAGE! I called ahead to let them know I had a bigger party headed their way in 10-15 minutes and we got there in 8 minutes; table got done in what would have been close to 20-25 minutes later. After being seated it took our waiter almost 20 minutes to return with our drinks and 1 HOUR for our food to come out after we placed our orders! The food, overall, wasn't bad.. So the one star is deserved.. But It was just done incorrectly. The steaks were borderline medium well when they were all ordered rare. We never received the fries we ordered as an appetizer. Some of those in my party cancelled their orders and left before the food even came out. I've never had a problem with Applebee's before but I will NOT be coming back to this one. Two thumbs down. ALSO- the checks were all sorts of screwed up! One of the checks had an extra steak and soda charged to it and the waiter told us he "took a little off" as a nice gesture. After looking at the itemized receipt, turns out he just discounted the price of the steak and soda that should have never been on there anyways and we just ended up paying the true full price! Complete fraud and bullshit!! read more

Service is horrible. It took over 25 mins to get a water. Ordered a drink and the order was never even placed. Didn't give napkins or straws. Would not recommend read more