Our flight home was cancelled, and we were stuck in Newark, New Jersey. We didn't know the area but when we couldn't get out on Saturday, I looked for a new hotel to stay at that was close to anything within walking distance. We found this Applebee's at The Outlet Collection: Jersey Gardens. There was a little confusion at the host stand, but the hostess said 15 minutes, and it was actually 5. We were given a table by the bar and in front of the kitchen doors, so we got to see the food coming out. Some of it looked really good and some just average. Our server, Ibn, stopped by and said he'd be with us shortly. I didn't realize how deep the restaurant went. We ordered two glasses of the Shiraz and fried mozzarella sticks. It had been a while since we've eaten these gooey fried sticks that are not good for you but hey, we're still on vacation. We also asked if they sold the wines by the bottle. The only red we could get was a Cabernet by Cupcake. I've seen this label, and the $30 price tag seemed steep considering you could buy this at Trader Joe's or Costco for much less, but we wanted wine! I don't think people order bottles at Applebee's because our server said he'd never opened a bottle before. The bartender ended up doing it for him. He: I'm just going to make a mess, so I'm going to leave it here for you. Luckily I still remember my food service skills...LOL! I ordered the Napa Chicken and portobellos. It is a very healthy dish with zucchini, purple onions, and red bell peppers. I just wished the mushrooms were sauteed longer. The partner had the honey peppered sirloin which was tender and easy to cut. We did have to wait awhile for that bottle to arrive, but again, I don't think most people order bottles. Overall, it was a very nice dining experience. A couple of the managers came by to ask how everything was. Did we look like corporate? LOL! I can see how things can get a little chaotic, but all the workers we encountered were friendly. We didn't encounter anything the other reviewers experienced. Maybe we had their best server. With not that many choices for us to walk to, this Applebee's was worth coming to. read more

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Once in a while there are places you go and realize, there's a reason why it gets consistently horrible reviews, and yet you end up going because you're kind of a captive audience. Jersey Gardens is one of those malls where you really don't have a lot of food options if you're not in the mood for something in the food court. So you're stuck with either Applebee's, Chili's or Johnny Rockets. The other day we stopped by here and realized why we actually never dined here after all these years. First off we were greeted by a rude hostess who for some reason tried to dump us in a tiny two seater table IN A COMPLETELY EMPTY RESTAURANT. We politely asked for a larger table and she gruffly put us in a larger table, but not without an eye roll that she made no effort to hide. Classy move. Maybe management should reconsider hiring these kind of people to work as hostesses. Our meal was fine and the food was average as you'd expect from a place like this. During our time there, our waitress was ok though she was hard to flag down as we didn't see her very often. At one point we asked another waitress to see if she could help us. The waitress looked us dead in the eye but completely ignored us. Another classy move. It's nice to see such stellar service here. Later on, we finally flagged down our waitress. We pointed out that there was a sticker/label still affixed to a piece of red pepper in the salad. She picked up the plate and said "ok" and walked away. While we weren't expecting anything in return, we were surprised that we didn't even get an apology about the food issue. Long story short, this place is the epitome of a poorly-trained/poorly-run establishment that screams "we don't give a shit". There is no effort in trying to make the customers satisfied or give them any semblance of an enjoyable experience. This is what happens when you're one of a few sit-down-options in a consistently overcrowded shopping mall - you know you're going to get hungry customers anyway, so why bother even giving a crap? Long story short, this place is as disgraceful as others here pointed out. Even for a chain restaurant, the service is laughably bad. You're better off eating a pretzel or something else to tide over your hunger in favor of eating in this joke of a restaurant. read more

Waited at my table with my daughter for over 10 mins. I asked the busser to grab the manager for me. The manger came over right away, she also came back to ensure our experience was going more smoothly. She is appreciated. The manager also took my order. My food came before my daughter food. For it to be early in the day I didn't anticipate bad service. read more

This is the worst Applebees! I have never been to such a ghetto restaurant! They shorted the kids plate of Kraft Mac and cheese! Come on, the box cost .65 and they split it in half! When I asked to speak with the manager he should've rectified it by making another one, and he told me that he would make another one for $4. We left and I will NEVER go back there again read more

The restaurant was incredibly busy during our visit, however we were able to get a table in 15 minutes. We ordered the spinach and artichoke dip, the ribs, steak, and the pasta with chicken tenders. My mum and I had food poisoning the day after which was incredibly painful. I wouldn't recommend eating at Applebee's in any of its location. read more

Just your regular Applebee's, the food was hot and steak was cooked the way I asked. The waitress was fast and good. The drinks are still weak lol read more

Applebee's Grill + Bar - Ribeye with loaded mash and green beans - American Near Me - Elizabeth, New Jersey

I am not a fan of Applebee's but my son was shopping at the Jersey Garden Mall and invited us in for a bite. The impression when you walk in, over crowed dirty and not kept. They sat us down and our waitress took our order. My son and his wife ordered two Heineken beers a burger quesadilla and a pasta with spicy shrimp dish. We ordered a chicken Cesar salad and a bacon cheeseburger. They took for ever to bring out our drinks and once they got to our table the waitress bought two light beers instead of regular Heineken. After an hour's wait they bought out the food. The chicken Cesar salad had no chicken. Food was horribly prepared and service was terrible. The Manager was nice enough to not charge us for the two Heinekens since they bought light instead of regular and our wait was unbearable. Not worth the energy time and money. This place is horrible. read more

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Super delicious food. And the amazing attentions. The guy who served us was super friendly to us and recommended the burger quesadilla that was delicious. thanks a lot, David. you are amazing read more

Applebee's Grill + Bar - Postres!! - American Near Me - Elizabeth, New Jersey

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I typically really like the Applebee's Chain and I think this particular location is just slammed with the amount of patrons it has. Its located in The Mills at Jersey Garden so after a day of shopping, I think some people are just looking to grab a drink with some food to unwind a bit. This was exactly my thoughts after a morning of shopping with my mom. We came and were seated right away but not in an ideal location. It was right by the kitchen so the view my mom had was not the greatest. She wanted to order from there 2 for $20 menu which is what we did. She opted for the Baby Back Ribs and I got the 6oz Sirloin which were both a little extra. Both were good and the waitress was prompt when I asked for Steak and Hot Sauce as well as butter for the baked potato that came plain. For appetizers, we got the Boneless Buffalo Wings which were a little saltier that what I was use too so they were just okay. They also did not clear the table when the entrees came and left the empty plate of where the Buffalo Wings were served in. The food did take a little while to come out and my mom got her soda before I got my Blue Moon which was served in a different glass than I was use too and also did not have the orange slice. But it did come in a chilled mug. The lights also went out for a few seconds which caused a small commotion before they returned. I think we made the most out of it because we enjoyed each other company but I think service is compromised because of the amount of people here and I even overheard not sure if it was a manger telling his staff that there was a lot of food waiting in the back and needed more runners. read more

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The reviews of this Applebee's are low for a reason. I am not a fan of Applebee's, but frequent more than I care to due to various reasons. With that being said, this is the absolute worst Applebee's that I've ever visited. I won't even bother with a detailed review, the best thing about this place is the host at the front (young man with glasses). The servers are not attentive, took 45 minutes and complaining to get our drinks (tap water and soft drinks) and an additional hour and some change to get our meals. FIND ELSEWHERE TO EAT! read more

SUPER SLOW service, GOD they are slow. If you walk in feeling slightly hungry, you'll probably be starving till the server actually comes around with the menus. I saw my brink poured and sitting on the counter for 15 mins, that is when i had to step in and ask someone to go get it. read more

Place looks dirty. I saw a waitress coming out of the restroom without washing her hands. Food took forever. Plates with food looked dirty. Food was disgusting. I totally do not recommend this place! Customer attention sucks! read more

Great place just be aware they don't do all Applebee's promos. In my case they did not do 1/2 price appetizers

Dahlia is the BEST SERVER. ask for her always. She's quick and funny and cute and awesome!!! read more

Applebee's Grill + Bar - THIS GIRL IS THE BEST SERVER IN THE WORLD. DO U WANT QUALITY SERVICE? ITS HER HER NAME IS DAHLIA G. - American Near Me - Elizabeth, New Jersey

It was so so. Our waitress was nice and everything, but the presentation of the food was lacking to the point it just didn't look enjoyable. I don't get how this place is so popular. It's clean ish and the people are nice. It could use some work, but it wasn't terrible. read more

For me, Applebee's is the abusive relationship of restaurants. He/She doesn't treat you right, none of your friends understand what you see in him/her, and you always walk away promising yourself you'll never go back.... And then you're stuck in a mall when you stomach rumbles...and you think to yourself "Maybe it's changed...maybe it really wasn't so bad" So you go back. And, true to form, the food leaves you with a figurative "black eye". I don't like Applebees. Why do I do this to myself? Alas, the above "Mall stomach rumble" scenario happened to me while at the Jersey Garden's mall. I thought I would stop in for a better quality lunch than what one typically finds in the food court. And, thus, my first Yelp 1 star dining experience ensued.... As other posts noted, the hostess was fine. Greeted me courteously, seated me promptly. All was right with the world. Then, the fun began. I was seated next to the service station. Not across from, not a few tables away from....NEXT to the serving station. Imagine my surprise when it took quite some time for the server to recognize I was sitting in his section. Aside from the time it took to get noticed, the service as fine. The real blow came with the food. I ordered a lunch combo of the Fiesta Chopped Chicken Salad, and the Artisan Grilled Chicken Ciabatta. Now, I think most people that know me know I eat just about anything, and really don't complain. Let this be the lens with which you view this next statement. They were both TERRIBLE! (Charles Barkley/Taco Bell style TURRIBLE: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3hIqesIVX-c). The salad nearly blew my tastebuds out, in a bad way! Normally I like really flavorful food, but this was so bad I wondered if Ashton Kutcher was going to pop out to tell me I was being Punk'd. The salad looked like it was dressed with the bottom portion of an Italian Dressing bottle - you know, all the little bits and pieces...and then had tons of oil. I almost took a picture to prove my point, but I didn't think the image would come out. As for the sandwich - pray tell, what exactly qualifies it to receive the "Artisan" title? It looked like a Chik Fil-A sandwich. As for the condiments on the sandwich. I like to imagine the cook had an arm injury that made it too difficult to spread the condiments across the entire sandwich. That is honestly the only explanation. Avoid this place. Applebee's doesn't really love you, despite what it might say. It's going to fall back into the same old pattern, and there's only so many times you can use the "I hit my eye on a cupboard" excuse. read more

Applebee's Grill + Bar - Fine craftsmanship of an "Artisan" Grilled Chicken Ciabatta sandwich with a Fiesta Chicken Sandwich. - American Near Me - Elizabeth, New Jersey

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In the midst of a large, noisy mall is a large, noisy restaurant. But...the food and the service were quite good. I was able to order a grilled chicken special for $9.99. Other than the chicken it came with home made mashed potatoes, broccoli, fettuccine alfredo, a breadstick and french fried onions. The service from Dani was excellent. The place was a bit messy but considering the number of children being served it was not surprising. read more

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Geez, totally ignored sitting at the bar. People are just so either self absorbed, miserable or they just don't care. When you query them they snap back at you. They stressed, angry or what? I suppose I can just vote with my wallet and my feet and leave which I did. "No soup for you!, as the infamous line goes. No good gratuities I can leave unless I get some level of decent service! Lately that doesn't happen anymore so I just don't bother. I walk out. That's fine. Who needs it? read more

Don't waste your time the service is horrible if I could I would give it negative 1 star the young guy at the door will get you a table if you are white we'll dress and looking good I entered and was standing there waiting for a table while people walked in after me were being taken to tables not just one table that was given while I wait in vain I eventually told them how I feel while other workers was apologizing the Yound man was just making excuses why he had to sit peoples before me like it's 3 in the afternoon but one lady was there in the morning and left and just came back will never go back to that Applebee's read more

We sat to eat and waited over 15 minutes for service. Had to time to change and feed our baby and still hadn't been helped. I asked for a water while we waited and still never got it. Our server did not come to see us until we were getting up and ready to leave. Our server passed us multiple times and helped multiple tables before even saying anything to us. Very disappointed. Would NOT RECOMMEND. read more

Staff is incredibly nice and are doing their best to serve. Food is good as well, specially their hamburgers! Love it!!!

Lovely customer service, fast service and excellent food. 100% recommend eating over here also love how clean this place is and how respectful they are. read more

Applebee's Grill + Bar - American Near Me - Elizabeth, New Jersey

The service is super slow. Had to wait for a waitress to order another drink while she was cleaning a nearby table after a huge party by herself. read more

Horrible I don't even know where to begin Well the hostess was pleasant & friendly but that is where it stopped I should have known it was going to go down hill when we were sat by the kitchen and behind by the bar The bartender was yelling out drinks all night And the manager was micromanaging his staff his staff all night but not once asking guest how everything waa going but yet yelling over there dinner tables how very rude and inconsiderate I ordered a steak salad well it was supposed to be a steak salad with mixed greens when I got it was literally 4 pieces of meat with iceberg lettuce and scraps of mixed greens thrown in. It had to be saddest soggy salad I've ever seen and the waiter never ever came to check to ask how we were doing or ask if we were enjoying our meal or anything. By the time he did come along like a hour later I just wanted the check and to get outta there. And my daughter ordered a steak medium well done that was completely over cooked Why would you put a steak pn a hot plate that is still cooking it?? Mind boggling read more

Applebee's Grill + Bar - American Near Me - Elizabeth, New Jersey

The seating and tables are decent for sure but the service and food were overall below decent and wasn't anything worth what they were charging. Not somewhere I would eat again in the future. read more

They only have ranch , blue cheese and honey mustard drassing.......really I ordered a rare steak and that didn't happen ......well done My peach sangria was the worst ever.....The worst Applebee's experience ever... The manager came over and was no help.....The worst read more

Applebee's Grill + Bar - American Near Me - Elizabeth, New Jersey

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I've been willing to give them a chance - being that I've been to many other locations. Upon entry, I found the floor and bar to be unclean. Ok- I keep going. The hostesses (2 at the front) mostly stand there and could be utilized to spot clean once in a while. They have a good craft beer selection on draft. I ordered the triple fajita combo. Music was a bit too loud- but makes you think your NOT inside a mall. After leaving my nearby hotel, I had gone to Ruby Tuesday first- but walked out when I found out they only had light beer on draft. There's good beer here. The fajitas were good - but the beef was real stringy and fatty. Had a hard time chewing them. Rest was good. I had two honest pint drafts of IPA and the Fajitas for $40 with tip. Took a long time to get my check. The workers need to simply wipe counters and random vacuum food off the floor and we'd be good. Not as good as other locations- but they have predictable food and beverages. read more

Took forever to take the order, gives you a dirty look if you just order one drink, kinda racist especially if you are Asian. Also they messed up my order! TAKE FOREVER TO BRING THE CHECK TO YOU.! read more

Me and my wife do not eat there that often but this is the third time; we've eaten there, and they didn't have one or two common foods. The male restroom is very unsanitary, dirty and filthy each time I've eaten there. read more

Terrible service! Manager is unprofessional. Came here a few times and service was way below average. First time I visited this location was with my boyfriend. Waitress came to us maybe twice. It was alittle late close to closing time and I totally understand that everyone wants to go home but that is no excuse to not tend to your table. When we finished our entrees we waited, and I timed it, twenty minutes for our waitress to come check on us. She came over and just handed the check, we stopped her from walking away and said, but we wanted to order dessert and she said "oh well, kitchen is closed" like what??!? This is your fault you waited til the kitchen closed to then come to our table and make sure we couldn't order anything else. Second time was with friends, this time they had no ice cream for their desserts. Manager was rude about it. Never visit this location! read more

I expected a Good service but instead we had very unpleasant time. I'll start with the staff by saying stay off your phones. It looks bad when you see most of them on their phones in groups and they were not paying attention to the costumers our food took longer to get to our table, again it looks bad. I even took a picture but i will not go that far. I wonder who was the manager on Sunday Around 3pm and if she/he was aware of it, 'cmon if you run a business you need to run it like it No wonder why food service is disappointing I don't recommend this place read more

We were thinking oh not too bad for a 2 star chain restaurant till we see the bill. The game on the presto machine charges for $2! They had a TINY sign at the top right corner that says unlock a game for $2. Who would notice it?!!! read more

Definitely BEWARE of handling your credit card over and out of your sight. My card has 3 fraudulent charges made on my account within 24hrs leaving this restaurant. Smh never again! read more

Poor service, poor food, poor portions and visually just not looking tasty. deff not what I would expect from a chain this size. read more

Filthy filthy filthy. Oh, it's also very filthy. Started off by being sat before cleaning the table. Attached are photos of the booth. Employees too lazy to even attempt to get trash or wipe behind the back of the U-shaped booth. Hot food came out cold. Friend's fries were even cold. Salad was full of wilted lettuce, and small bugs flying around it. Wasn't even correct salad. Advised server and she swapped salad out. It was correct second time around. Server is very pleasant, although not frequent. Music is loud and obnoxious, can't hear people talking at your own table. So if you want to come alone and eat, it's perfect. Otherwise, don't expect to have much verbal communication. Floors seem clean. But thankful I'm unaware of kitchen cleanliness status. read more

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Rude, ghetto waitress. Gave us attitude, still not sure why...maybe that's just how she was raised. Afterwards, served my wife a diet coke with some kind of weird plastic toy inside. She didn't bother drinking it. Food was pretty bland. Left the place in regret. read more

This place is the most nasty restaurant to go. The have ROACHES !!!!!!!!The manager just look for another table and move us. My daughter didn't even eat her food. They have really poor service from the management . He is really unprofessional . Im getting the health department to this place for sure. They don't even know who I am. read more

Apple Bee's food and service has gone down so much recently. We have had bad experiences at other Apple Bee's locations and thought it was just that particular one. Nope, my theory is that all Apple Bee's are crumbling down. This place is located inside the Jersey Gardens Mall. When we went to this place it was around lunch time. It wasn't busy at all but the service was slow. The servers took a while to take our drink orders and then when they finally did we had to wait a while for the food to come out. I don't mind waiting for good food but it tasted like frozen food and reheated. I ordered the steak, vegetables, and mash potatoes. The steak was chewy and the vegetables was very bland. I would rather go to the food court than eat at this place again. read more

I took the veggie burger. Absolutely disgusting (when will applebeas improve the veggie options?). Had to put so much barbeque in order it be eatable. Had to almost beg for the barbeque as our server went somewhere and the other server we asked from was too lazy to bring it by himself. My friend took blackend tilapia, he liked it. read more

With only a food court in the immediate vicinity, w opted to go for Applebee's: A franchise we usually pass on. Our bellies were calling for lunch after a morning marathon of shopping, and this is what we settled on: Grilled salmon: cooked well, seasoned lightly, and served over vegetables. Harmless, and unmemorable. Thai Shrimp Salad: slightly under cooked shrimp, some greens, thai peanut dressing in a super small portion. What did I expect for under 400 calories? Not much more...just some more time on he grill for those shrimp. I ate them, and I'm still alive. Service was fine, plenty of suggestive upselling from our server, cell phone use from the other band of merry servers that, with most of their "street"-like attitudes shouldn't have been in the hospitality business at all. If you're like me and don't relish eating in food courts like me, steer clear of this and find another joint to spend your dough. read more