What happened to the beloved Applebees food I once loved?! I remember going to Applebees overnight after church service every Wednesday. Today.. after I hadn't ordered in so long, I decided to splurge. Yes splurge.. $35 for wings and fiesta lime chicken (use to be Tequila lime chicken) is splurging for me. (Before the almost forced tip). So I was excited to come home after a long days work and have some spicy wings and my Fiesta lime chicken. First off.. DRY DRY DRY!!! Omg!!! Could both be any dryer?! The sauce in the wings is non existent as it's all soaked up in the wings. You want more.. that will be an extra $1.49 sir. I bought extra fiesta sauce cause I know I'll need it but no lime and no pico de gallo. Is it because I didn't pay extra for that? Also do we have to buy celery for our wings too? I ate three wings (well tried to.. it's like chewing on dried semi spicy jerky). Though the ranch was good. But still.. I can't eat them. Atleast enjoyably. So sadly this will definitely be my last time ordering from Applebees. I can't believe I spent $35 on dried chicken with no pico, lime or celery. If you see this Applebees.. make it right please. And stop overcooking the chicken, it's really like chewing on jerky! read more

Applebee's Grill + Bar - Dried chicken wings - American Near Me - Ellenton, Florida

We had dinner here with my parents and aunt and uncle. I had a coupon for an appetizer but no plates were brought out with it. We all ordered the bourbon chicken and shrimp which looked nothing like the pictures and a tiny blob of mashed potatoes, why not add more so you at least feel it was a good value. A different server brought out the main course and no one came for refills and/or take away appetizer and salad dishes, the table was a mess and the server couldn't figure out how to take the free appetizer off the bill so finally we just gave up and paid for it. There were a lot of servers and it wasn't crowded so maybe take some time for some extra training unless maybe this location is closing like the other two in the area? read more

Melissa J was our excellent server. We finished watching survivor and they made the burgers look so good we had to try them. We both got the mushroom Swiss burger and they were so dry not juicy at all and we were very disappointed. read more

Applebee's Grill + Bar - mushroom swiss burger - American Near Me - Ellenton, Florida

See all

It's been years since I went to Applebee's. We decided to give it another try. Oh my goodness. They went way downhill. We got our appetizer but had to wait a while for silverware. The waitress said they ran out and were washing some. The chips were so stale for the spinach artichoke dip. I heard a few people complaining about the stale chips. I ordered the fiesta lime chicken and it was yuck. It was served on stale chips. This place will close like the one on SR 70 did unless they get their act together. read more

What's not to like on my first time here?!? Our waitress Melissa was attentive and friendly. She took care of us during our two hour stay - time to catch up with girlfriends who haven't seen each other in 3 months. One girlfriend recommended this restaurant. She visits once a week, and has never been disappointed. The food is consistently good, and she likes the service, too. When we visited Wednesday, 6/22/22, all of us were pleased with service and food. All of us had salads and they were all good. I had the chicken Caesar, one had the shrimp fresh greens salad, and another had the strawberry fresh greens salad. We liked the breadstick that came with each salad. All was fresh and tasty. Melissa kept our drinks full, and offered to go cups to each of us. She was a big part of our 5 star experience. read more

Applebee's Grill + Bar - Chicken Caesar salad - American Near Me - Ellenton, Florida

3.5/5 stars We've been to Applebee's a few times now for lunch and dinner. The restaurant can be reached is down a road past Walgreens and a pizza place. We have had a burger, Tex-Mex Shrimp Bowl, Bourbon Street Chicken and Shrimp, and the 2 for $22 with Fiesta Lime Chicken and an 8 oz steak which brought it to $27. All have been tasty. It is a chain and you know what your getting which is nice when you're wanting something basic and fast. Service has been good even when busy. We would definitely go back. My only complaint is the air conditioning was freezing the last time we were there which made it uncomfortable. 11/27/21. 15 photos. read more

See all

Burgers are great & Drinks are reasonable. Excellent service however the bartender does not know how to make a simple rum and coke. On Feb 11 2025 she used spiced rum and it was terrible. read more

THE WORST service ever. Me and my mom went there. Our server barely spoke 5 words to us other than "Okay" Didn't know his name or anything he probably thought my mom was a teenager because she looks younger. We got our appetizer and the queso was cold, second time took 20 minutes and the queso was watery. So we didn't even eat it. Waited 40 minutes total at this point our drinks were empty had to PHYSICALLY ask him for refills. Other customers were waiting for food and we didn't even see our server for over 20 minutes. Finally got our food 45 minutes in, Mom ordered a salad and it had maybe 5 peices of shrimp on there and no cheese. So she asked the server if she could get the 3 way app instead. Nope 40 minutes later barely saw the server 2 rows behind us and infront of us were waiting for their food aswell. Then we didn't even take the food because we got there at 5:20 and left at 6:40pm. Terrible server and service because we asked the host to grab the manager and she never did. Aswell as never saw the manager the whole time. Will NOT BE COMING AGAIN. DON'T RECOMMEND. All the people around us waited an hour minimum for their apps! Like what kind of service is that. read more

Well my daughter is hard to please on food types and she suggested we try Applebees, probably from name recognition. I will say I won't go back to this one and not likely to go to another one ever. This food made convalescent hospital food look better. I got the chicken shrimp with garlic mashed potatoes. Well the chicken was small and over cooked, the shrimp were the kind you wouldn't buy because of possible freezer burn. The mashed potatoes looked and tasted like the kind that comes premade from a tube. All of the food was over salted. My wife and daughter stopped by the restroom prior to eating and discovered that 3 of the 4 stalls had some oddities floating. Just overall a poor experience for a place that has the average $13-$15 meals. I am regretting allowing the picky eater to choose...I should have held out for chipotle. read more

Lunch today by default...due to an accident and the shutdown of 301 at 75. So my friend ordered a glass of wine...chardonnay..our server said they were out.... of pinot gris too...and a red. She then added that they had been out for weeks and not sure when they would have more. Weird, right? So that is how lunch got started... A full, busy menu...a few specials...we tried the 2 for $25. 2 salads or an app to share and choice of entree (various options)...we both opted for the 2 salads ( both were fresh and tasty) a cheeseburger, which was surprisingly good, soda and martini...extra. 3 stars...maybe should have been less because I cannot imagine "any" restaurant with a bar "not" finding somewhere to purchase wine for their customers...she said "it had been weeks!"..WEEKS!. Okay, my diet Pepsi was okay...but I'm a coca cola girl...nuff said....cheeseburger and Caesar salad were good. read more

Applebee's Bar and Grill is a national chain of restaurants that follow the standard cookie cutter formula of attempting to blend a bar and a restaurant with mediocre food into a neighborhood hangout. Stick with something relatively simple, like a burger or a sandwich. Remember, Applebee's Bar and Grill will never be anything even close to fine dining, nor was it ever designed to be. Again, Applebee's is a cookie cutter design and the menu is created by executives to be easily created in multiple locations with a relatively steady course of consistency. All in all, I would recommend seeking the local mom and pop place if you are a visitor to this area. Try something that you cannot get at home. Not only are you supporting this community, or at least a member of that community, you're opening yourself up to the potential of a wonderful dining experience that you cannot have in your home town. read more

Stopped here with my grandmother after the outlets. For a Sunday afternoon I was kind of surprised how dead it was. Our waiter was very nice and we were accommodated quickly. We both had the bacon cheese burger. It was alright, but very greasy. The fries were delicious. My grandmother had asked for a side of broccoli, but the waiter accidentally brought out fries instead. He was quick to bring out the broccoli and ended up packaging my grandmother's price (plus more) so I could bring them home for my boyfriend - really nice of him. read more

Applebee's Grill + Bar - Classic Bacon Cheese Burger - American Near Me - Ellenton, Florida

Had the Asian salad and it was very tasty. I enjoy Applebees however the last two times we visited it was so cold we had to wear coats.

Worst "to go" experience ever. They lost my order even though it was confirmed and then wanted me to wait 45 minutes for them to make my order. When I called I was told pick up was 15-20 minutes. I got there 30 mi Utes and then waited 30 mi Utes for anyone to even speak to me. Total joke, total waste. Disgraceful read more

Let me start by saying I like the food at Applebee's , especially the French onion soup. The staff at this location is absolutely terrible. So much so that I will not visit this location in the future. The server told me they couldn't make the food the way I wanted it prepared because "the Spanish lady working that station won't do it." Seriously!?!? Every time I come in this place I get the exact same thing and it's never been an issue. The last straw was when I saw a runner drop the food at the wrong table. When the server came by probably 2 minutes later to check on the table they told her about it, the guy had actually eaten a couple of fries off the plate, the server picked the food up from in front of them and proceeded to deliver it to the correct table that was kiddie corneThis is a huge no no, especially in the time of Covid! read more

Nothing special. Food eh, service eh. Had the Whiskey Burger which was ok but came with maybe 6 fries on my plate.

Long Island Ice Tea and Blue Hawaiians for lunch time vibes after outlet mall shopping. read more

Applebee's Grill + Bar - Lunch time vibes. - American Near Me - Ellenton, Florida

Wanted to have a nice lunch away from work. It was so unbelievably cold in the restaurant that I had to ask for my food to go. Several people complaining to deaf ears. No big deal, haha it is cold in here! read more

As always great Oriental Chicken Salad, French Onion Soup, and amazing Chicken Wonton Tacos! Tacos as part of the appetizer come with 3 but I gobbled them up before snapping a photo! They are light and crisp topped with creamy coleslaw and lime wedges included. The chicken taste PF Chang's lettuce wrap chicken chunks as the base!!! read more

Great customer service and making things right which was not in their control. Kindly, this location remade an order undelivered from DoorDash, although the DoorDash app claimed to have delivered. Thank you so much for selflessly making it right and making our night! J. - Ellenton, FL read more

So Applebee's gets a bad rap a lot of times. I probably have given Applebee's a bad rap on occasion. Truth be told we went to go to Chili's across the street and the Chili's wouldn't seat us because they were short staffed and so they said it would be about an hour or two before they could get someone to shop for work and then they could let us in. I'm not trying to sit outside in 100° waiting on them to get some staff into the building. So I am probably 20 other people while I was eating they're all went across to the Applebee's. I have not given much credit to Applebee's over the years because you know it's sort of cookie cutter prefab food that they put out but I have to say, they handled the unexpected influx of chilies customers with great service and a smile. I wanted to ding them one star or maybe two stars because one of the managers gave me grief about my service dog who is clearly marked and labeled and has identification but I'm hoping that that's not a reflection of the rest of the restaurant. In the meanwhile everything we ordered was fantastic. The food came out in a timely fashion, the server was super nice, the food was well prepared and it tasted on point. So kudos to you Applebee's you have earned my business for the future. read more

So gross! First off I noticed how crusted the air return vents in the dining room were while waiting for our order. See Pic, looks like 30 years of dust, lint and mold. We had already ordered the serloin with mashed potatoes and broccoli. When it came I found a brown/black lump about an inch or so in size in my mashed potatoes. Pulled it out and realized it was a rotten potato chunk that didn't get mashed up. Then I saw brown spots on my way over cooked broccoli and as I cut into the rest of it I realized that all of it was rotten in the middle. UHG! My "serloin" was clearly not serloin but some sort of miss-shapen blob of round steak or something that was completely unchewable. My husband's was very clearly skirt steak as it was supper thin and looked like shoe leather. The waitress was nice enough about it and seemed unsurprised and we asked to exchange it for hamburgers. Since the manager was nearby I showed him the food and he was completely unapologetic and seemed rather irritated to be bothered. Kinda a d**k. After waiting for nearly half an hour, the burgers finally arrived and while edible I don't think I've ever had a greasier burger and the fries were all dry and withered like they had been cooked, cooled and recooked or maybe just really old. IDK anyway, GROSS, DISGUSTING- Worst meal ever. Health inspectors need to take a close look at this place! read more

Applebee's Grill + Bar - One of the many disgusting air vents in dining room - American Near Me - Ellenton, Florida

This is the type of restaurant where you can go and have super friendly and outgoing service. However the food is not always up to par. As was our experience here. The wait staff of course was phenomenal and we certainly appreciated the way they took care of us. However the food is always premade and frozen and then prepared before being brought out to you. My steak was tough but what can you expect? I didn't complain I was just ready to go. read more

See all

Server was nice and attentive, but could not make up for the lack luster food! 4 cheese Mac n cheese with chicken strips. 3 chicken strips about as big as my thumb and you could not even find the cheese in this Mac n cheese $18.99!!! Bar tender was very rude. This is not the first time having a bad experience at this location. read more

My sister and I went to dinner on Saturday, 4/29/22. Although the wait times were obnoxious, the food was mediocre at best. What hit us the hardest, as we've worked in the service arena for over half our lives, I turn 62 in a few weeks, she in 6 months. Our bill came to just over $81. The recommended 20% was $8 and change. If you are mathematically inclined, you already know that the server is being CHEATED out of the correct 20%. Should minimally be $16 dollars, good 'service', that's a key word, no server has the ability to deal with improperly prepared food, only the service of that food. Keep that in mind when going to a restaurant. And then they or a buser cleans up after you and that server/bartender in most good restaurants are required to tip-out that buser good or bad. Applebees management needs to take a serious look at their register software to ensure their staff is not getting shorted. Not everyone is mathematically inclined and use those recommendations at the end of a receipt. SHAME ON YOU AND CORPORATE. I know I won't be back until I'm assured the error has been corrected. Took me 20+yrs the first time I shut this company down I guarantee it will be longer. Until they get what they can control, and yes this they can control, it's a programming issue, then they have yet again lost my business. read more

Food was good. our waiter, Carter, was attentive and friendly. The drinks were delicious. Everything was well priced not too expensive.

This restaurant (while not the best around) was always reliable. Now I'm aware of the effect that the pandemic had on all businesses and that Applebees is no exception but I feel that only a small group of people where getting slow, bad service. I witnessed several parties being seated after my party was seated and getting drinks and appetizers before we got our drinks. When we did finally get to order the waitress tried to talk my one daughter out of the drink she always gets telling her it's very sour, then proceeded to try and dissuade my wife and other daughter out of their menu selections. And then I heard her try and talk the guy sitting in the booth behind us out of his appetizer selection. After our meal we waited even longer to get our check, we ended up spending over an hour and a half for just main courses ( no appetizers or bar drinks). Applebees use to be one of those restaurants where you could go in and you knew what you wanted and what to expect but that has fallen far from the standards you are use to once be able to rely on. read more

Waited for about 45 minutes for Our food and we understood that they were sort handed so we waited and didn't complain but the food came out it was cold, my sons steak was overly cooked and he asked for medium. Service was horrible! Will Not come back Here again read more

I'm not a big fan of Applebee's mostly because of my experience with a Applebee's in Niagara Falls NY. I try to avoid them when possible and usually look for other main line restaurants to eat at when traveling. I'm in Florida for the winter and a friend invited me to join him for dinner at the local Applebee's in Ellenton and the first thing I thought was Ugh,, not Applebee's but not wanting to be rude I said ok. Well to my surprise my dining experience was a pleasant surprise. I had the fish and chip special and it was excellent and my friend ordered the shrimp special and said it was amazing. The service was top notch and we were both very happy when we left. I highly recommend this Applebee's and I may even try eating at a few more on my way back to New York. It appears that the Niagara Falls Applebee's is just plain bad and I shouldn't judge them all by my one bad experience. read more

Applebee's Grill + Bar - Fish and Chips special - American Near Me - Ellenton, Florida

I sat here with my 2 brothers for 10 mins. Didn't get helped. Got helped for drinks. Waited another 15 minutes with no drink. So we walked out. There were 5 employees just hanging around laughing. My brother found a French Fry in his KIDS MENU (there kids menu comes folded up) We asked him about it and he laughed. Not one apology. This place needs a new staff update. Never coming back to Applebee's. Thank you for confirming that you all still suck read more

the food was great as always, and me and my boyfriend love coming here. we got there at 11:30 p.m. and they closed at 12. the waitress made it very clear she didn't want us to be there and started tossing stuff on our table, walking away in the middle of a request, and yawning walking around in circles near our table while we were debating if we should leave a tip. we left around 35 percent and were out of there by 12:07 while there were still many other parties still eating. horrible service. very disappointing and unprofessional. read more

Cool place, off the main rd location, lots of parking, indoor seating only. As expected Applebee's food is always good. read more

Applebee's Grill + Bar - American Near Me - Ellenton, Florida

The service was really bad. I didn't feel like giving a tip. I arrived before many people and they served others before me. I felt discriminated against and angry. I lost the desire to eat the food and to top it off they brought it to me cold food. The margarita tasted like juice and the steak was not dry and tasteless. We have to ask for water because she never offer or provide. We waiting so long after the appetizer to have the dinner. Because she served the people who arrived after me . Also the table smelled like it had been wiped down with a smelly cloth.8 Oz. Top Sirloin dry. read more

Me and my wife eat at Applebee's on the regular but tonight might have been the worst service we've ever had. The server Jose was horrible, the restaurant was empty and it still took him a long time to come and refill our drinks and he forgot part of the order but we were charged for it. When speaking to the manager he was very nonchalant and acting as if we were trying to get over on them. The wings were undercooked. I'm not one to complain but this was unacceptable. Now I can see if the bar had a lot of people, but we were his only table for a while. I understand that everywhere is understaffed but at least can they be trained? read more

I ordered Applebee's through door dash ... I am Sorry to say I won't be doing it for a while again ... I had missing food/drink and it wasn't ready on time and my food container was a mess ... I think the door dasher waited close to 45 min - an hour to get our food to deliver to us they used to be pretty good ... unsure what's happening over at Applebee's read more

food was pretty mid tbh but the service was fantastic. the waitress was quick to bring us drinks, bring food out and helped us resolve allergy concerns we had. some of the food wasn't the best though. the place was clean and the place wasn't loud. the host was very quick and friendly with seating us as we were a walk in of 7 and you would expect longer waiting times. read more

Food is good but the temperature inside is too cold to stay. Food gets cold in moments. Get your food to go.

I come here quite a bit because I live down the road. Tonight there was an absolutely dynamite Latina bartender. I suspect she was probably at the management level just by the way she conducted herself. If you guys don't promote her, then you guys suck. And thank you for bringing back the orange chicken bowl! I love this place. It cheers me up when I'm down and depressed. read more

Decided to stop in again today. Ordered the 1/2 rack of ribs. Disappointed, they were out already. This was at 1:30 pm. I ordered the spinach artichoke dip.. That was soooooo salty. I like salt, but they had to have dumped it on. I did mention it to the waitstaff. I was NOT looking to be comped. Just thought they should know. She told me next time order it without salt. I ate some of it, but shouldn't have. I'll need BP medication now. LOL MYI friend had the shrimp pasta. IT was ok. Out watstaff was hardly a GOOD waitress. It's not GOOD food there anymore. I'll go somewhere else from now on. YUCK! read more

Horrible. The chickened was raw. The steak I ordered rare was well done. My daughters macaroni and cheese was Kraft and cold. There were two hostesses who were just talking and doing nothing. Missing silverware and water. This place needs to be closed. The cool is useless read more