I was last there in July of 2024 for my nephew's birthday along with other family members and we all noticed because my nephew is a disabled autistic adult with cerebral palsy and the other table was making snooty comments and pointing at out table where he was sitting. We didn't say anything to the waitress or the manager because he was having a good day. We spent about $75-90 and left there very unhappy that those.people caused you to lose some customers. read more

First I waited after placing the order on line over forty minutes from the time it was supposed to be ready. I got home and saw they gave me BBQ boneless chicken instead of Riblets. I ordered chicken and Broccoli pasta. They gave it to me dry with no Broccoli in it. I called and they had me on hold for over 20 minutes. I drove to the restaurant and waited another 15min to speak to a manager. I told him I wanted my money back and I have been a customer for five years .That ment nothing to him. A good manager would have tried to keep me a customer by offering to make it over and not charge or a gift card or something. He act like he did not appreciate my business. Bad service,food and manager. read more

Let me begin by saying that our family absolutely loves Applebee's, so that makes this review even tougher. I usually order the fish and chips and my wife gets either the Bourbon Street chicken & shrimp or The Tex-Mex Bowl. We always get Won Ton Tacos as an appetizer, and we have always been happy. Lately however, there have been good points and not so good points. Let's start with the good: This is the second time in the past two weeks that we have ordered from Applebee's. The first time, we ordered the New Orleans Mushroom and Swiss burger for both me and the wife). They were EXCELLENT! Well prepared and delicious. No complaints. Today however, we ordered the New Orleans Shrimp & Andouille sausage with penne pasta, and it was AWFUL! To begin with, all of the veggies were placed on the bottom, underneath a boatload of pasta and the protein was placed on top of everything. #PoorPresentation. Whatever the sauce was supposed to be on the pasta, it was nonexistent ‍, so it made the pasta dry, sticky, and bland. We both just choked down the shrimp and sausage and threw the rest away. Thank goodness for the Won Ton Tacos that we got as an appetizer, or we would have had to order from somewhere else. My advice to anyone who orders from them is that, with the exception of the mushroom and Swiss burger, please stay away from the "New Orleans" menu. It's not that good. I hope that either Applebee's had an off day, or they need to fix this issue. Thanks for reading. read more

Don't waste your time ribs were cold sent them back and when they returned they were cold. My wife ordered chicken wings and got chicken nuggets, sad we used to love this place not it is empty and the food is aweful. read more

Food good! Manager great, my waitress super sweet, the hostess's however, were the worst rude disrespectful and not helpful. The air conditioner was broke so we asked to be seated somewhere that was as cool as possible o e of the two sat us by a window unopened of course and regardless of the black shade pulled down it was warm. So, we moved to the table directly crossed from ours. Then one of the two young hostess's came up to us and says you can't sit there. Did I mention the air was broken? Okay so I simply said it's a tad cooler here it's it okay and she said no So my husband moved down a couple tables where a waitress NOT MINE!!! Was helping a customer and she rudely says you can't sit here!! You have to have them meaning the young hostess's however sit you!! Did I mention the air was broken? Yep place wasn't busy at all. So I walked back to the young hostess's at the front and said can you please sit us over there she was defiant and one of the two simply started at me then turned her back as if we didn't exist. What a joke these three employees were. Yes we spoke to the manager yes he was understanding. But, talk about rude and the lack of customer service services. This place needs to do better!!! I will not be returning read more

Listen, I realize I'm always stopping in somewhere for a quick bite.. mind ya business ! Lol! Once again with the bestie for our monthly date. I had the Bourbon Street Steak with a side salad. It comes with mashed potatoes.. my friend had the Shrimp and Parmesan Sirloin. Which also came with mashed potatoes and broccoli .. for our appetizer we had the Spinach Artichoke Dip.. I also had the Blue Margarita and I honestly feel like that was my fav part of the entire meal! Everything was delicious and fresh and our server Kaeli-Lynne was a real sweetheart! She took very good care of us! Even though we had a little bit of a wait, it WAS a Friday night and I think it was around 20 mins before we were sat. Everyone was kind and courteous and did a great job handling all the people stopping in! I really appreciated the service we received! read more

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Always good food at a reasonable price. It isn't quite Texas Roadhouse but, for the price you can't beat them. Not to mention the variety in comparison. The portions are huge as well depending on what you are getting. I ordered the New Orleans pasta bowl and it was enough for two people. If I had known there was that much to it, I wouldn't have ordered the side salad ( which ya know you would think was a small side salad) It was enough for 2 people as well. The server was outstanding ( we were in Valpo). Every time a drink was low she was on top of it. She even showed us where we could save more money by combining. What place does that? She deserves a gold star..Many places may not have enjoyed that but it will keep this customer returning. Hopefully something they will think about. As always we usually tip pretty well as these people work their butts off and deserve it. Let's hope President Trump eliminates taxes on tips to put more money in their pockets. ( If the establishments don't take advantage of it) read more

I would rate this establishment negative stars if I could. I was at applebee's with my husband and 2 children (ages 7 and 9) tonight for lunch/dinner. When we got there we were greeted by our wonderful hostess (didn't catch the name she had dark brown hair with highlights underneath) we were seated for an estimate of a 15 minute wait. While waiting a manager whose name was ray I believe was so disrespectful and rude to the hostess. She was very busy even me and my husband could tell and had rudely asked her to sweep the building again even though she was super busy. When she had stated she was to busy (she was) he got an attitude and mocked her on how it only takes "5 steps" to do that. He REENACTED this in front of all the waiting customers. Then after this he went around to another coworker or manager and was looking at her and talking about her i'm assuming. This was completely rude and unprofessional. He should not be a manager especially treating his employees like this in front of customers some even being children!! She even started crying and I overheard her say to a coworker he had done something similar yesterday. Do better Applebee's, will not be coming back again!! read more

This location is decently good. Both hostesses were sitting down when I walked in and had to decide who would seat us. I used to work at Applebees and was a server trainer and the major points of the job like being a friendly server should not have changed but definitely has! Our server literally didn't even greet me just said, waiting for the third person? Husband was meeting my daughter and I to eat dinner and I said no, I can order drinks, appetizer then we can order dinner when he arrives. The server had no personality at all and was not friendly. My husband and I both ordered the Prime Rib sandwich and my daughter ordered the kids mac and cheese with yogurt and strawberries. The food came out hot and they forgot our au jus for the sandwiches which the server (never got her name) had to go back and get. The au jus is just their french onion soup without the bread and cheese! I never saw the manager once on the floor and he or she is supposed to visible and asking tables how food and drinks are throughout. The sign was broken or not turned on so couldn't find the location at night. Disappointed to say the least as it has really gone down hill! read more

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Honestly I haven't been to an Applebees in years so I didn't expect much, but the staff here are actually really cool and nice. Not overly nice or fake but like genuinely chill af. Lol food was really good also, no complaints or anything. read more

We ate at Applebee's 10/25/24. There was a 20 minute wait with a lot of tables empty. The bar was filled. The hostess was keeping track of guests and tables on 3 dry erase boards. It looks like they didn't have enough servers. All the TVs seemed to be playing an hours long history of the NFL but without sound. There was also strange music playing over the sound system. When we were seated the service was acceptable. The food was excellent. This was a strange visit compared to previous visits we've had. More servers and moderation of customer seating instead of dry erase boards would help. read more

Love their appetizers and drink specials, but the Portage, IN location needs an update. This used to be THE place on a Friday or Saturday night...The ambiance is lacking and outdated--not sure how they compete with surrounding restaurants. I also feel sorry for staff as they always seem overworked due to staffing shortages. read more

Pretty good spot for lunch. Wait staff was friendly, and the food was pretty good by Applebee's standards. I'll probably visit again. read more

good very nice people. Had a pleasant sandwich. Customer service was strong and very polite. read more

To many God's Trash! They do not tip properly Also the service is very erratic! And not consistent like they use to be! Either clean up or Close up! read more

There are a few things the staff and management do not have control over. Sometimes an order comes out wrong and it's not a big deal. They can just correct it and it isn't a problem. But if I want to eat a meal in a restaurant where the temperature is the same as a county jail I will go to Waffle House. They turned the heat off at 6:30pm when it was 36 degrees outside. It's no secret that Applebee's restaurants overall have really lowered the quality of their food over the last several years. But the Bourbon Street Steak is supposed to come out on a hot skillet. The management and kitchen of this particular store obviously likes their food to be served as cold as their dining area. Nobody chooses to go to Applebee's, but it is right across the road from Discount Tire and it seems like a pretty good option when there is a jagged piece of steel protruding from a right rear tire. I can't think of any other reason to eat at this particular restaurant. There is another Applebee's pretty close by in Valparaiso on Highway 30 and it is ran a lot better than this one. read more

Don't order take out. They will use your food for in house guest then have you wait 20 minutes to replace while the rest of your order gets rock hard under lights.. read more

These are by far my favorite garlic parm wings ever!! The ranch is delicious and the garlic sauce is even better. read more

Applebee's Grill + Bar - garlic parmesan boneless wings with ranch and celery. - American Near Me - Portage, Indiana

First off it's ok. the pizza on kids menu is good. The fries are blah. I found not one not two but three hairs in my food. Ew My grandma's chicken was very dry she was upset, I can not say anything on that though. Overall do not recommend read more

This location has been hit or miss of late. Granted it's an Applebee's and not fine cuisine, but you would expect good service and properly cooked food. Ordered car side to go this particular time. Forgot part of the order and noticed upon returning home. After calling and driving back which was about 30 minutes total, a "fresh" order of steak fajitas was prepared. Returned home to find a "undercooked" steak. I mean it was almost "mooing." Returned to business with pictures sent to me from wife (as I was not home)..Managers care level was about a 4 out of 10. Offered me another fajita, or piece of chicken, or a $10 credit (that is apparently put into a computer system, we shall see as that is the option I took). Lots of competing businesses for my $$$. Not sure we will ever use the magical credit. I see why they are closing Applebee's nationwide. read more

Applebee's Grill + Bar - Steak Fajitas - American Near Me - Portage, Indiana

Wasn't impressed with my experience tonight. The waitress, Kaylee was great, but the food wasn't good as I was expecting. The ribs were charred too much. The fries were too salty. Plus very expensive and not worth my time on waste my money. read more

Not a huge fan of Applebee's but I ate lunch here with friends and family while on a visit to my hometown. My husband ordered a sort of french dip sandwich; he was the only one who enjoyed his meal. I had an oriental chicken salad and french onion soup. The salad was good (how can you really mess up a salad?) but the soup was so thick with blobs of runny onions, it was as if it had been sitting there for days. Ick. My friend ordered the Southwest Chicken salad and said it was just so-so. My mom had just eaten, so she went for the Maple Butter Pecan Blondie. Our visit was going smoothly until Jennifer, our waitress tried to poison my mother with melted plastic from a container of what she called "sauce" for the Blondie. When she delivered the dessert to our table, the sauce comes in a plastic cup on the side, which she set on the hot plate obviously by mistake and it melted, dripping "sauce" and plastic all over the plate. At first, she tried to play it off like everything was fine, saying, "oh, it's just the sauce that spilled out." She even set the plate down in front of my mom and started to walk away with the melted plastic container!! We couldn't believe our eyes!! There was black plastic melted, mixed in with the sauce all over her dessert!! I called her back and pointed out that the plastic melted in with the sauce and I can't believe she expected my mom to eat that!! Upon being "caught" she offered to bring us a new dessert. I sure wish I had caught this on video... Terrible. read more

I don't care for this chainy restaurant anymore, the food is usually just eh.....the only thing I like is the sizzling apple dessert they have. Other than that, I'd rather go and find someplace else. read more

Applebee's Grill + Bar - American Near Me - Portage, Indiana

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Worse service ever, we go all the time only because my daughter likes their chicken tenders if it wasn't for that I'd never go here again because of how poorly they treat regulars and how bad their food is. Went tonight for my daughters birthday, was out on the waitlist for 50 minutes and go inside to be seated and am told they can't put a high chair at the end of the booth like they always do and that we have to wait even longer when we told them we needed a high chair in the first place absolutely worse service and restaurant by far and these are the people who want $15/hr read more

Christina was wonderful. Great service and the food was delicious. I had the bourbon chicken and shrimp and the sautéed veggies and potatoes were amazing with it. We came here with two children with cognitive disabilities and she was amazing with them and the other children and super attentive to them and our separate table also. We are thankful for the experience. read more

Michael H was an awful server. started the interaction with a "this might cross the line, I tend to do that, but I'm a personal trainer and you look like you've lost a lot of weight." after handing him my ID for a drink (that I had to order twice because he didn't put it in the first time). for reference, I have lost no weight since the ID picture he explicitly referred to so the off-putting objectified comment he made very much came across as insulting. we had to ask for refills, had to ask him to take the empty glasses so we had room on the table to eat, had to ask for boxes, had to ask for a lid for our sauce, etc. im not sure if he was ignoring our table because he was embarrassed about what he said to me, but if that was the case he could- and should- have apologized for it. read more

This is one place I will grow to love more and more over time. I've had some really hard times in my life and I've mourned them here. Good times and celebrated them here. My first date with my husband was here. The day we got married we stopped in here. And many years later..... Here again just for lunch. This place has seen me through all times in my life. I love it. We have such a wonderful relationship with each of the managers. They are so nice they come up to us just to chat. Gotta love it. I always fail to do a review on the places I go to the most and I feel so bad. But it's like they are family so I tend to forget. Service is always excellent. Courteous, prompt and knowledgeable. Prices are lower than any other place to get food. Guaranteed. Location is so convenient. And it's always so chill. And it's always clean. Every time I've ever had to use the restroom I haven't cringed so. That's a plus. The food has definitely improved over the past few years. I'm going to continue to come here until I physically can't anymore. I do recommend! Location: excellent 5 Prices: way below average 5 Cleanliness: exceptional 5 Customer service: 5 Quality: excellent 5 25 out of 25=5stars read more

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I saw the advertisement on TV showing a steak dinner plus shrimp ... Sounded and looked great , so my wife and I went to portage to give it a try.. I had two Coors Lights and that was the best thing about the dinner. The shrimp was just OK and potatoes were great, but that steak !! I asked for medium rare, but got well dome, but that's OK as sometimes I like well done, but after I had a bite of the steak !! YUK ! I thought perhaps just too much seasoning, so I took it home thinking I could later eat it cold ( I like cold steak ) I just sawed through half the steak and sat down to watch TV while eating steak..thinking YUM ! I could hardly bite a piece off ! I started to try to chew, but spit it out .. so I tried another piece ', but same ! I tried to bite one more piece off, but YUK ! It was like a piece of thick leather ! I will not be going back !! read more

Stopped in because I was starving and had a long drive ahead of me and didn't want fast food. While the food was what I expected, the service was insanely horrible and slooooowwwww. Ordered soup which took easily 15 min. I ate it and when I finished waited another 15 for my food. My dirty plates that clearly symboled "please take these away" sat in front of me for another 15 min. Almost wished I had stopped for fast food so I could be almost an hour ahead of where I am now. And that's all I have to say about that. Jackée read more

First of all. I used to like Applebee's. It's cozy, has cliche junk on the walls and I could always count on it for a good time with my family. No complaints there. Until I became a vegetarian and realized that the only vegetarian thing on the menu was some pizza hors devoure item. Now, I am not some elite vegetarian, not every restaurant has to have a full section of meatless meals. But I expect to find something reletively healthy for us vegetarians or at least flexitarians out there who want to enjoy a night out with friends and family and not have to starve. Strike two against this and any other Applebee's I have had the displeasure of visiting is thier wait staff knowing close to nothing about he menu. "Does this have chicken in it?" (Blank stare and shrugs shoulders) Know your menu for those of us that need you to!!! Applebee's should realize that it needs to cater to the very large portion of its guests who choose not to eat meat. read more

Service was terrible. We were asked the same questions multiple times. My food over way over cooked. The quality of my steak was poor to say the least. Additionally, the music was horribly loud and frankly bad choice in music too. We could t hold a conversation because the music was so loud. We won't be coming back anytime soon. read more

After reading some of the reviews here on Yelp, was worried we had stopped in here. But what problems they may had in the past, are gone. All of the staff are very pleasant and helpful. Appetizers were very tasty. Cheeseburger Egg Rolls and mozzarella cheese sticks, both very good. Served in a very timely manner and hot. Lunches were all very good. Also served very timely and hot. Give this place a try. You won't be disappointed. read more

The three of us came to Applebee's in Portage because I asked my 82-year-old aunt, who lives in Hobart, where she would like to go for lunch. Although it was a hot day, the air conditioning on my Civic was working well, so we drove down Route 6 until we found National Vendor Row in Portage. it was a Monday, and the restaurant wasn't busy at noon. I was surprised to see the advertisements for alcoholic beverages when we came in. That didn't fit with my image of a family restaurant, but I've seen many articles in the last year that discussed how Applebee's fortunes have been on the decline. Maybe they added alcoholic beverages to entice more diners. It was lunchtime, however, and none of us were inclined to imbibe. The menu is very large and requires some time to peruse. My aunt very quickly found an Asian Chicken Salad that appealed to her. For me, as a vegetarian, the menu was a problem. There is almost nothing -- literally, ALMOST NOTHING --for a vegetarian. And I eat milk and cheese. If you're a vegan, maybe you can get French fries. All I found was a 4-cheese grilled sandwich with tomato basil soup. Mind you, the temperature that day was 94 degrees, and it was humid. I asked our waiter, could I substitute a salad for the soup? He checked, and said sure, for another $1.59. I went with the soup. My friend ordered the same thing as me. She's not vegetarian, so maybe she was trying to empathize with me. Anyway, I have to say, the grilled cheese was really good. It wasn't your ordinary grilled cheese. And the tomato soup was good, too. Our waiter was a young man who said it was only his 3rd day on the job. As a long-time restaurant worker, I could tell he had prior experience. He may have been learning the new menu, but his service was professional and friendly. Would I return to Applebee's? Only if my aunt insisted on it. It's 2014, Applebee's. You need to have menu options for vegetarians and vegans. Sheesh, even the macaroni and cheese had chicken in it! Whoever heard of such a crazy thing! Add a veggie burger. Add a pasta without cream or meat. It's not that hard. While the experience was okay for service and atmosphere, I can't return to a place where I have only one menu item to enjoy. Even if it is good. read more

Chain restaurants have an Achilles heel of zero control over food quality, so I'll say this about the food: average. Not even sure why I went there, with quality option all around. Variety, I guess. Anyhoo, nice decor and decent service. The price was way too much for the product. Itch scratched. No need to go back. read more

Dirty cherries, wont order drinks here again. I've been here several times and have had negative experiences with the evening waitstaff in the past 3 months. I know its busy in the evening so i always try to give everyone the benefit of the doubt. Last night i dined in with a couple of friends before we went to a movie. We sat in the bar section and i watched the bartender get angry with our waiter for mishearing our drink order and generally seem angry with a lot of the waitstaff. The most egregious and unforgivable thing i saw happen though was she went to grab a maraschino cherry for a drink missed the drink and i watched it roll through several spilled liquids on the bar top, onto those silicone mats, she caught it before it rolled off the counter and threw it back into the drink. Thats not acceptable behind the walls in the kitchen but also not at a bar in the CENTER OF THE RESTAURANT. If that is happening in front of my eyes, what is happening in the kitchen? read more

Service is pretty good. Food is alright. There is nothing here that will surprise you good or bad. Just what you expect.

I decided to give AppleBee's another chance. I was pleasantly surprised that they had the tastiest breadsticks and dip you could imagine. My last review mentioned they didn't have any bread to serve with their meals but this time they had a complete order of 6. I was happy and I will go back again with my friend as he loves Applebee's. They listened! read more

Our waitress was talking with the hostess next to our table and complaining that she wasn't making a lot in tips that night because people kept cutting her short. Come the end of our meal (2-bills). Our friends tipped her 5 dollars and we tipped her 10 (hearing her talk about not making a lot that night and feeling bad for her). We leave and she runs outside and follows our friend to their truck and we saw them direct her to our truck. She came up to the window and said that we took the wrong receipt and that the one she received didn't have a tip on it. We told her we were POSITIVE we gave her the right receipt. She looked at us and said "if I don't have the receipt then I don't get my tip" and she looked at my boyfriends wallet in the cup holder. He looked at her and said "I don't know what to tell you, we gave you the right receipt." And closed the window and drove off with her storming back into the restaurant. We checked our bank account the next morning and there was a 43 dollar charge to apple bees when our bill was 33. So she definitely got her tip. Pretty sad that she feels the need to lie to people who tipped her more than she deserved when we received mediocre service. We haven't come back to this location because of that waitress and experience. She had purple hair at the time. I can't remember her name. Pretty trashy but it's Portage so I never expect too much. read more

Brought my whole family here on a Sunday. 6 adults and 5 kids under the age of five. The food was very salty. Two of the adults who had the macaroni and cheese felt sick afterwards. Nobody enjoyed the meal, we won't be going back. read more

Pretty sure, I would have been more satisfied with a Kid Cuisine T.V dinner. It was pretty comical how disgusting everything was. I forgot my I.d. I'm sure that would have made my experience a little bit better. Server was decent. read more