Short version: Was left very unhappy and overcharged after our server, Allison, repeatedly made mistakes. My bill went from 95 to 79 yet I was charged for 84? Retrain that server. Came here a few weeks ago after a graduation ceremony. The server we had, Allison, was the WORST. We went out completely aware that it was going to be a busy night and as a server myself, I know how a table should be treated/served. But keep in mind, this is Merced and we had limited late night options. We were sat with no menus or silverware and when we were initially greeted, we asked for menus and were met with an annoyed "OH" from our server. She then left to "get menus" which took her 5 minutes to do. Keep in mind, we were sat near the front of the restaurant and could literally see the table that held all the menus yet she walked the opposite way. We ordered after 9pm, meaning we were getting a lot of half off appetizers. When we received the plates, not a single piece of silverware in sight. We had eventually asked for more waters for the table after getting apps yet we didn't receive them for almost 30 minutes. Even after politely reminding our server 2 separate times. I understand 5 maybe 10 minutes TOPS for water but 30? Come on now. Again, we repeatedly gave her the benefit of doubt because it was visibly busy and we aren't mean people. Eventually, our food came out and even though the wait was long, we didn't complain because we knowingly went in on a busy night. What added to the frustration was having no silverware and having to wait almost 10 minutes after getting our food to get some. The real problems started when we got the bills. We had 3 separate checks for 6 people. Keep in mind, we had 5 apps, 3 happy hour drinks, 1 regular priced drink. 1 bill was correct with the 2 for 20 whatever deal that includes one app and some drinks. The other 2 bills were incorrectly charged. 1 of the 2 bills was charged full price for a happy hour drink and full price on only one of the two appetizers for that bill. The 2nd bill (mine) was incorrectly charged for a 6th app that we did not order and full price on a happy hour drink. When we politely brought it up to the server, she started going back and forth with us about charging us full price because she took our order before 9. It made no sense because all the other apps (excluding the 2 for 20 deal app) were half off AND she didn't even take our order until almost 9:30. The first bill she corrected went from 65 dollars to 45. Now one could be understanding about that but then I got my bill back. The price went from 95 to 79. When I gave her my card, I received a receipt back for 84 dollars? Where did the 84 come from? No idea because she didn't give me the itemized receipt back. 5 dollars might not be a lot but if she's making mistakes like that with other people's money, who know what else she is doing. I had the 2 other receipts for 95 and 79 but nothing for the price my card was actually ran for.When I tried to get her attention, she walked off and repeatedly avoided our table. We waited 10 minutes for her to come back but she just kept ignoring us. I stood up and went to the front to ask for a manager. The manager ended up giving us a gift certificate for our next visit but do I really want to go back? All she had to do was fix her mistake of repeatedly overcharging us but instead she wanted to be a terrible person and ruin what was supposed to be a fun night out. 7.5/10 food 10/10 drinks 0/10 server read more

Applebees Applebees!! Always a hit or miss! Most of the time my experiences there has been good but we went in a few days ago...Thursday night not that busy medium size crowd and service was horrible! Six people, three two for $20 meals 6 beers split between three drinkers not that hard really. Food: I don't know what it is but the slower business is in the dining area the slower your food comes out!!?!?! Took them forever for our foods. I got the three cheese pasta-I've have this dish numerous of times bc I usually get the same thing off the menu and super disappointed! Probably took a few bites out of the dish--something taste really different about this dish now and it's not that great! As for the Steaks some got theirs too well and some got theirs too med rare or vice versa... Beer: the drinkers sure did waited a while for their beers..they over charged us and the waitress dare say that we had 7-8 beers when the three drinkers who had only two each had basically two each... not that hard to count. The first round their was a bug in the beer so we had them redo that drink and maybe that was where the mixup came in play... Service: I feel like our waitress was struggling tonight!!! She was no where to be found throughout our dinner. There was a real big issue with the receipts at the end took forever to get it right! Never had that happen before! read more

Response to DoorDash comment:! I love how DoorDash drivers can now leave reviews. I love it, yes!!! We heard your story now you can hear mine! First off on the DoorDash app it clearly reads. DOORDASH(ers) DO NOT PARK ON THE CARSIDE AREA! Second of all Merced and Atwater are two different places. Atwater does not get as busy of a guest rush as Merced does. With that said Merced needs all the space they can get! Also Atwater and Merced does not have the same management. I agree it is a lot safer to park on the To Go area how ever rules are rules. Third thing when you pull up into Merced Applebee's TOGO (it reads not with 1 sign but 2). Carside to go parking. DoorDash is a third party, I'm sure you're smart enough to know that. Just Incase you were not aware, now you know. To also write that Merced employees are rude to DoorDash is your own opinion, you are 1 DoorDash(er). There are many! I think it's so great that you took time to write this review since DoorDash gives you all the time to do so. That's so great! Stay positive, happy Dashing! read more

They are rude to Doordash delivery drivers. I parked in the to-go space (I have done this multiple times before) and one of the employees came up to me as I was leaving telling me not to park there anymore because according to her there are too many people coming in and out of the to-go spaces. When I was waiting for my to-go order, there was only one other customer picking up. My car was literally the only car parked in the to-go spaces, no need to complain about lack of parking spaces for to-go customers. The spaces are also a lot safer than the regular parking spaces, I almost had my car scraped last time I parked in a regular space. I frequent here for deliveries and I don't want my car damaged. The Applebee's in Atwater never complains to me about parking in their to-go spaces because they don't have a waiting area. read more

My family and I went there last night for dinner and we were greeted by the sweetest waitress! I think her name was Anya (sorry if spelt wrong) her energy was so positive. It really made for a great dinner night for my family and I. Will be returning! Also, I had the lava cake with ice cream & it was FIREEEEEE. read more

I just called twice to place a order for pick and both times I was left on hold and forgotten until my husband called and they took his order right away. read more

Applebee's has the worst customer service in town... As a dasher delivering customers orders. They take their precious time. Their employees don't even bother to ask if we are there to pick up orders or come and greet. Worst place ever! read more

Applebee's Grill + Bar - See no one here to help at all... always have to sit here and wait for like a good 30min. - American Near Me - Merced, California

As a former server and an actual applebees employee for years I understand the restaurant business but at some point it's just ridiculous. This is the 4th time I've been here and have always had a negative experience. The food has taken forever to come out, I have not received my drinks(even after ordering on the tablet), my child's order is wrong, and told I would get silverware that never came and I had to go hunt down our server. There are only 2 servers on right now on a busy Sunday night. It sucks because Merced doesn't have many restaurants so options are limited. It all comes down to management on how things are run. It's very unfortunate that I will not be returning because I love Applebees and definitely miss the Visalia one. read more

I usually think all Applebee's are the same, but customer service here is pretty bad. The 1 in Atwater is so much better! I have been here a few times with my friends and coworkers. We always have to wait extra long for our food, so most of the time we come back late for lunch. The food is nothing special, it is just like every Applebees chain. read more

Feeling starving from Yosemite, and just stopped by this restaurant. We tried their new item: shrimp fajitas. It's so good!! It's grilled shrimp with rice, and they come with guacamole, cheese and tortillas. Size is large enough for two girls. Will try the steak fajitas next time!! read more

The host made our experience horrible but myles was able to save the day and changed our minds of leaving a one star review was really good waiter and made up for the bad experience after speaking to him about it i do recommend him as a waiter in the bar section read more

Other customers and I were standing at the pick up register for a good 25 mins. No chairs were available and no chairs were offered to us so we had to keep switching the foot that we were standing on because it started hurting. Not only that everytime I tried to grab an employee's attention they walk by in such a hurry and doesnt acknowledge their customers. read more

We haven't been back to Applebee's in a while, but thought we would give it a chance. Our waiter was Francisco and he did not let us down! Our drinks were always filled! I ordered the bbq brisket tacos. They were delicious!!! My husband ordered the brunch burger. The meat was very undercooked, which was a huge disappointment. We never send food back, so he ate it without the patty in it. I would go back for sure. My only complaint is the staff should take more time to clean. The walls and pictures in them were filthy from dirty little hands on them. Same goes for the window shades which were caked with ketchup and mustard. The lamp above our table was dusty and had spider webs on it. A+ for service, A- for food and C- on restaurant cleanliness. read more

The food here is always cold...I mean always..if a hot tasty meal is what your looking for,stay away from these guys...not to mention their pico de Gallo smell like fish read more

I ordered Applebee's tonight for Mother's day. I was excited not to have to cook for myself one night this year. Its been a few years since I've been to Applebee's (just moved back to town)and I was dissapointed as it was not its usual tastey self. My dish had almost no sauce, the kids food looked unappealing,and French onion soup did not work to go‍. I feel like I wasted 30 bucks. On the bright side they did make the order pretty fast. I'd recommend not coming on a holiday. read more

Where to start? The wings were dried to a crisp, the waiter not once refilled our water, though he was really nice. The food itself was underwhelming. The Marsala steak was disappointingly small and flavorless. Only reason I didn't mind was because I was in the company of good friends. Thank god I ate before. From what I can tell, the restaurant itself is just subpar Have you considered Sizzler's? read more

What has happened here? Booth seats are filthy and ripped. Food was average, service was average. Why would I come here again, even worse service. Everything about our order was messed up. Never again! read more

My bff and I went to Applebee's recently to chat with our friend, the bartender. It was happy hour, and the place was PACKED on a sunday evening. PACKED. There are at least 8 television sets, and they're all on stations like E! that loop bad celebrity drama over and over again. Anyway, so we get our drinks, the bartender knows what he's doing, even though he's clearly overworked (one bartender for a restaurant full of drinkers at happy hour??). Anyway, so we ordered nachos. When we got them, the chips were not only fried, but also cold. COLD CHIPS?? The "queso cheese" (that's what it's called on the menu) was gross, and they then sprinkled iceberg lettuce and sour cream on top of it. The next day my BFF had an upset stomach from the nachos. We are never eating anything there again. From past experiences and what I could see, everything there is processed, pre-frozen junk. The healthiest thing they serve there is beer & wine. read more

Terrible Absolutely terrible Worst restaurant in the Silicon Valley for sure I got a Chinese chicken salad and there was a bug in it Plus the food isn't even good anyways so Yeah just don't go unless you're getting an Oreo milkshake They probably microwave their food too read more

Your typical busy american diner. Disappointed as far as my "curb side to go" order. Decided to take my mom here for mother's day and my poor mom ended up with FOOD POISONING!!! Terrible! So I call and talk to the manager, which her response was that she had never heard of this case before. Lies, lies LIES!!! Then had nerve to send me a 10 off coupon card that expires in 3 weeks. I do not recommend this place to anyone. Apparently someone isn't properly handling food safely!!! Gross! Will never eat at this location again! read more

Applebee's Grill + Bar - For $10.99 & my order being "curbside to go" this was not satisfying as far as portion goes - American Near Me - Merced, California

Came here for my Sisters birthday and the food was good. Congrats to waitress Kimberly on her first day! She was very nice and awesome. Service was ok but it was really busy. I would come again! read more

I love Applebee's for the most part. But this one in Merced is not great. I gone here many times and they have been out of the one thing that I came here for. When I do get my food chicken is always dry, the service is slow, there's writing all over the walls, seats are torn, I have give it up on this location. I will be going to the one in Atwater from now on. I suggest you do too read more

A very nice place to eat. It took a while to get seated but that is to be expected on a Friday night at the peak of dinner time. Once seated our drink and appetizer order was taken promptly, and all items arrived in a timely manner. Our meal order was taken right after our drinks arrived and came out quickly. My steak was cooked perfectly, and all food items were hot. It was a very VERY busy night but the service was great, and the food was of the best quality for the price. And the atmosphere was lively. All in all a really nice place to eat, but it is very loud, and a bit on the pricy side, and wait times can get long. I'd recommend Applebee's get a large waiting area to accommodate waiting customers. read more

Glad they're open again. Just need to improve on their service. Had a rude blond chic waitress last night. Practically throws your food at you when serving it to you and just walks away, doesn't even ask if you need anything else. She needs lessons on how to have some manners. read more

Steak was cooked to perfection!! That's all that mattered to me. Service was quick and waitress was super nice and went the extra mile for us! My sis mentioned she only likes eating the broccoli out of their veggie side so she gave her only broccoli!! A++!!! It was a wonderful night until some fat bitch behind me decided to insult the waitress!! Okay so they didn't put the cookie on the top like you requested. No no..they forgot to make it into a sandwich because clearly their dessert menu said ICE CREAM SANDWICH!! Umm NO!!! It just said COOKIE SUNDAE!!! In the end the cookie will be mixed with the ice cream and slide down 20+ feet of your intestines!! So the lard starts to ask the waitress if the mistake was due to the fact she's blonde!! Hello? Did I just hear you right? Did you just insult this lady based on her hair color!! I couldn't help myself but to speak LOUDLY to my sister that SOMEONE should respect others and that what she said was clearly RUDE!! Also, when the manager came to ask how we were doing I made damn sure she heard me tell the manager my night is ruined and I would like the patrons who ruined my dinner to pay for my meal!! I think after hearing me, whether she wanted to or not, the lard no longer was giggling and making a mockery of the waitress. She was almost in tears. How does it feel for someone to insult YOU? As lard was leaving I made sure she heard me say out loud SO RUDE!! read more

The only good thing About this restaurant is the bar. It used to be good years ago. But ever since they renovated it and changed the menu, the service and quality of the food has gone down. Don't eat here you will get food poisoning! Drive down to the one in Atwater it's much better with less wait times. read more

The service at Applebee's, how do I put this ? If you aren't hungry and will be hungry in an hour and thirty minutes come to this Applebees. If you want to force someone to like you come here because you'll have an hour and thirty minutes to convince them before your food gets to you. Appetizers come at the end of the meal here instead of before the food. Ps. You'll have to convince the waiter to give you water because you know they won't bring it out by themselves. If I could give this rate a zero star , trust me, I would ! ***Shout out to our waiter Quincy! *** read more

Tonight was a busy night, but the servers managed to serve us in a timely manner. Mango margarita was not too strong and not too weak. It's a perfect blend of mango and tequila. Thank you bartender for making my drink a perfect hit. read more

Applebee's Grill + Bar - Santa Fe chicken salad, a spicy salad, but it's so good. - American Near Me - Merced, California

It's national hambuger day. They advertise on their app get a bacon cheese burger with fries and drink for $9.99 so we ordered it, they charged $13.99 plus $3.49 for a drink x2. When we questioned them they said not here. But if you go to the app you can clearly see it's offered for $9.99. Nothing but a big rip off. We won't be going back. read more

I only ended up going here because it was the only place open in Merced after I got off work and I felt there wouldn't be a large amount of unusual people,lol. Anyway, I sat at the bar which was ridiculously slow. Took about 10 minutes for the bar tender to recognize us even after we waived her down. She continuously responded to my friend and me with "we ran out of _______". It was very odd along with her poor service and people skills. At applebees we all know you don't go there for the food, just to hang out and enjoy yourself. I only enjoyed my time because of the company I was with not because of this place. Took an hour to get my food even when I was moved to an actual table with a server and even longer to get assistance. Yet again can't say much for the food.....horrible experience in the neighborhood. read more

Applebee's Grill + Bar - American Near Me - Merced, California

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Applebee's can be good during the week early afternoon. A couple of their servers are top notch and will do their best to make sure you're happy. I use to like coming here more often to spend time with family and friends while having a nice meal, but the last few visits here have literally left a bad taste in my mouth. I'll start with week visits. Like I said there are a couple really good servers there. The food is pretty decent when ordering from these servers, they make sure drinks are good and we have everything we need. But any other time and with the different people we get, yeah not so happy. I've found weekend visits here are just too busy and blah to eat there. It's too noisy for my tastes but it's the food and service that just fall to the floor. What really took them down a notch for me was a to-go order. After a long day at work we decided to order curbside. We went in to pick up our order and didn't think to check it because of how tired we were. Got home, and the order was incorrect. Not only that but it was cold and they took 10 minutes to have it ready when it should of been ready 15 minutes prior. It wasn't a weekend and they weren't that busy, an extra 25 minutes for an order I placed super early is unacceptable. So we decided to call the manager. Took 10 minutes just to get a hold of this guy and he was one of the worst managers I've spoken to. He didn't apologize for the problem whatsoever. All he said was "Okay, what do you want me to do about it?". He didn't offer to comp the order, or a coupon, or hell to fix it. We live far off enough where heading back that late was not worth it, and he didn't offer to fix/replace it anyway. A call the following day got us a manager who gave us a 10.00 coupon in the mail. Not too shabby I guess, but not worth the trouble or the cold meal. I did meet a manager at this Applebee's about a year ago who was very courteous and a pleasure to speak with. Wish this manager would come back, they need his help at this location. During the weekdays I will probably continue to go here once every long while to see how it goes, but the service is definitely going downhill here for now. read more

This used to be a great place to get a flavorful meal. Tonight was the exception. Hubby and I ordered an appetizer and the bourbon street steak and the bourbon street chicken. The steaks were two tiny hockey pucks, hubbys chicken was dry as a bone and neither plate had any sauce. NONE!! And the appetizer soup we ordered? We had to ask for it when our entrees came. So if we wanted any food to be hot, we were required to eat it all at once. The crispy potatoes? Nothing crisp, and tasted as if they had been microwaved after sitting in the back for hours. And our waiter never checked on us. Not once did he ask if we were okay, needed anything, never! I'll go there maybe for brunch. I will not be back for dinner. Very disappointing. read more

Let me start by saying, I love the Perfect Margaritas and Bourbon Street Steak. I like the variety of foods available, both healthy and not so much... My first disappointment at Applebee's was their limp sweet potato fries, (I am a SPF LOVER). Yesterday was my second disappointment. We were finally able to try the new Shredded Brisket Nachos, and all I can say is, we thought they forgot the brisket! Shouldn't the star of the show be out front and larger than life? Anyway, I still love you Applebees.... you're not normally stingy. read more

Food was ok but portions are so small. Ordered water and ne'er got a refill. Once the food was delivered we didn't see our waitress until the bill came. read more

The steak I ordered was grey, I don't know how else to put it. It was grey as the moon making me think it's probably been sitting in the back of some freezer for weeks. It tasted like it too, that or it was placed in a microwave and set to defrost. Man that steak was gross. The asian salad was a joke, it was depressingly dressed with white colored ice berg lettuce (not actually a green looking salad but white) and not really covered with anything that appeared in the picture. Overall it was depressing, very veeeerrrrryyyy low quality and overpriced for what you get. Is the manager just sitting back doing nothing? This establishment really need some better quality control! Also side rant, the menu is devised in such a way where literally most things (the combo, the steak) add up to increments of $20 or ~$14. They are really getting clever about milking the customer for as much money as possible for the absolute lowest quality of food. I highly recommend going to one of the local taquerias instead, better quality food for an affordable price and your supporting local. If you don't support local you will be stuck with chains that offer grey gelatinous steak and fries that taste like they arrived in bags and the cook just opens it and warms it up on a hotplate. Service and waiters 5/5 read more

Food Quality: 9/10 Very good burgers etc. Nothing extremely good though. Service Quality: 7/10 The waitress we had sucked but the greeter was nice. Atmosphere: 8/10 I like how the decorations reflect the images of the Merced community. Cost Efficiency: 6/10 Way overpriced for what I ordered. Menu Variety: 10/10 They have so many selections it can be overwhelming. Over-all Score: 40/50 It's all good in the neihhborhood. Just not Great. read more

Absolutely sucks. Like the servers must think since its later in the day they can just stand around on their phones. And 'chefs' please get the CORRECT order from the waitress.. Or waitress get the order correct.. Other than that, it was ok, nice strong drinks. Props bartender (: read more

I had kind of a strange experience here... My boyfriend and I requested a different booth (of which there were many) because there were multiple families with crying babies surrounding us (which we didn't mention) and the waitress seemed very uncomfortable and confused by our request.. she said she would be right back and proceeded to talk to a bunch of other employees while glancing back at us with a scornful look. Eventually a different employee took us to our booth. We didn't feel like our request for a different booth was strange or off-putting, but the young team of Applebees representatives seemed to think otherwise. read more

I went here on a date not once, but twice! Even though the place was packed, customer service was still efficient. I asked the manager if the steaks were fresh or frozen and he told me right away that they used to be cut fresh but now they come in frozen. They were also really confident about their chefs. Apparently the 2 chefs that night were top notch. The food was consistent both nights. I've had better fries and mash potatoes but the food was still good. Good place for family, friends, and dates. There's also a bar if you want to go alone and watch some TV. read more

Usually love this place BUT the all you can eat dinners? ya gotta beg for more...it should be automatic for the servers to just bring it till you tell them to stop! At least at Red Lobster that is how it is an Sizzler! Other than this issue service is great, food choices are interesting and fun/tasty! Hate to gripe but I just paid $100 for a family dinner and we went to a drive through for a fill up! lol read more