When entering the establishment there was a male host with long hair. As we made eye contact my wife and I noticed him playing with his hair. He greeted us and grabbed a couple of menus with his unsanitary hands. When we were seated we flipped through the menu with napkins provided. The waitress attending to us was very nice and tentative. As we were eating I was the one to face the male host with the long hair. There weren't any guest coming into AB's and during that time he fussed with his hair. This host ran his fingers through his hair, splitting the ends and scratching the part in the middle of his hair. The manager past and asked how our meal was. We said, fine. The manager then went to speak with host. Lo and behold he continued to scratch, split and run his fingers through his hair. He did this 75% of my meal time. You would think that the manger would address a possible health issue but she did not. I am from Las Vegas/Hospitality and have experienced many levels of dining. This is host 101 duties and responsibility. Shame on me for not checking Yelp for the 1.5 rating. I will not be returning because I will have this image on my mind for a long time. read more

One of my favorite meals is the 4 Cheese Mac n Cheese with Honey Pepper Chicken, so when I saw that Shelby had an Applebees I had to go. It is a typical Applebees with Shelby decor. We had to wait for a little while before the host ever came to seat us but our waitress immediately came and got our drinks. I ordered my favorite, the 4 Cheese Mac n Cheese with honey pepper chicken and my husband got the grilled chicken sandwich with fries. Food came out pretty fast but my pasta was cold and the bacon was burnt. I was hungry and it wasn't terrible, so I ate it. My husband said his chicken sandwich was ok but it was definitely not worth the price they charge. We probably won't be back just because the food really isn't worth the price. read more

Applebee's Grill + Bar - 4 Four-Cheese Mac & Cheese with Honey Pepper Chicken. - American Near Me - Shelby, North Carolina

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I went today 5/23/2026 at approximately 5:15pm. The hostess (blonde hair with glasses) took me to my table. about 15 mins went by and the hostess came and ask what I'd like to drink. So she went and got me my tea. She was very nice. They were not busy, maybe approximately 1/4 full. I sit there for another 45 mins and still no waitress had showed up. There was a couple that would walk by then disappear. There was a couple sitting on the opposite side of me telling the manager about the lousy service they received and all the lame excuses that everyone was coming up with. Even the manager was saying well I was in the back washing dishes, so I don't know what was going on out here. Well I let her know also that they were not busy enough to have people sitting waiting on service. The waitress came up to the manager and she was told to take our orders. Well there was another couple that was sitting next to me that was there about ten mins and she took their order. The manager tried to smooth things over by saying well your meal will be on us. I told her I didn't think so. Why would you take someone's order that came in after everyone else. I know now why I haven't eaten there in so long. I would not recommend this place to anyone. I think they need to clean house or better yet SHUT THE DOOR! SORRY PLACE TO GO!! read more

I saw that this location had a 1.6 rating on Yelp, my grandmother and I used to come here years ago so I thought I would try them out again. Let me tell you I was not disappointed, our server Elizabeth was excellent, the food was so good, we got the 2 for $25, I got the chicken tenders(I added onion rings) and y'all let me tell you they were great, they actually had chicken in them. My husband got the Cheeseburger it was so good. The kids got the taco, it was a little overcooked but they said the chicken inside was good. The place needs some updating but it's expected from a business that has been there a long time. The music was pretty good not too loud. We will go back. read more

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First time in town. Applebee's use to be a treat. The establishment in Shelby leaves a lot to be desired. The building needs to gutted. The wait staff look like they rolled in off a soup line. It took way too long to get an appetizer, not to mention a burger. The food was subpar. Recommend avoiding this restaurant. read more

The food was absolutely trash on this day and no one seemed to care. At least the decorum was okay and ambiance was okay! This generation don't take pride in being cooks or chefs.. read more

The $15 all you can eat was great The server Bradley was awesome and was a fablous server read more

As a server myself I don't complain much, food was decent no complaints about that. As far as the service I won't be back because of it. I ordered drink as I watched them be made and put in the well I waited an additional 10 minutes for them to hit the table watching my server in the corner on her phone and talking to coworkers. I also heard my server (Amanda) and the manager talking about "they didn't tip" then the manager proceeds to say "that's f up" I paid in cash and was going to leave a cash tip on the table when I left but after hearing that I didn't appreciate it. read more

Honestly, any of us who live in Shelby that still fall for giving this place another try, deserve exactly what we know we will definitely get. The sloppiest looking servers, everyone going in and out of the building, running out to cars that pull up tell me all I need to know. Entire staff needs rehab and nicotine patches so they stop coming back in stinking. They smoke in the bathroom, standing on the toilet and think customers can't tell. read more

Waitress went outside several times. Never checked on us. Hamburger was sent back not done. Came back same way. Couldn't eat it. Service very poor. read more

Ordered online for shrimp n sausage pasta. Receipt says shrimp n sausage even the top of the container says shrimp n sausage. But lo and behold FUCKING CHICKEN on top of the pasta. Completely ruined my lunch. read more

My ribs were kinda gross and dry but the loaded waffle fries were so good and our waitress was amazing! read more

Applebee's Grill + Bar - NEW Brew Pub Loaded Waffle Fries - American Near Me - Shelby, North Carolina

My wife and I stopped in for dinner last week. The food was cold, the beer and liquor selections were limited and very basic and when we asked the manager, Joseph, to please exchange our meals for hot ones he became very intimidating and condescending. We won't be back. K McCord. read more

Growing up, I loved Applebee's. It was the place to go for celebration. I always loved the spinach dip. But something has definitely changed. Yesterday I ordered delivery, first the drink was missing. Not too big of a deal but a little disappointing. I ordered the spinach dip, wonton tacos, and bone-in wings. The spinach dip was not good, so disappointing because for years it was my favorite but the recipe was certainly NOT the same. The wonton tacos were good except for the fact that they contain they put the meat in was about 1/5th full and really only enough for two tacos. The wings were really good, but by the time they got to me they weren't crunchy because they were sitting in a pile of butter and were softened from that. read more

Applebee's Grill + Bar - American Near Me - Shelby, North Carolina

If it was possible this review would be a zero star. Took forever to get a waiter, and even longer to get food. Didn't get a single refill on drinks. Asked for food To-Go but it came on regular Dine-In plates. My salad tasted like it was under a heat lamp. My mother's chicken tasted like soap, so she didn't even eat it. I tried some and agreed with her judgement. On top of it all being gross and my mother still being hungry, it was NOT cheap. Overall I'm not even sure why we tried Applebee's again, cause it's pretty consistent in how absolutely awful it is. read more

Hostess was rude and snappy and insecure as well as the waitress , took forever to bring our food and food was cold and undercooked. Would not recommend read more

The food is so bland and just gross over all. Spinach and Artichoke Dip tasted like nothing. Chicken tenders were not warm. Honey mustard smelled sour. Macaroni was not cheesy at all, just tasted like noodles. And the best part was the infestation of ants all over the window seal by our booth. Not just one or two ants but a whole dang family of ants. So gross. Will never be returning staff was very friendly on the bright side. read more

Just read K. mcCord's review and I believe we were the table across. The order did arrive in a reasonable amount of time however two of the orders were incorrect... understandable...the waitress promptly sent the incorrect orders back to the kitchen and after 10 minutes passed, the Manager came back with the correct orders but instead of apologizing or ask if there would be anything else, he just pushed the plates across the table like he was dealing cards and then turned around and bounded back to the kitchen. Same manager that K. McCord referenced. Food was good but that experience with that particular manager will make me think again entering if he is working... kinda destroyed the atmosphere read more

I love Applebees but , the building prevents any signal from coming through and thus no internet. Bummer. Also I re ently drove 30 miles to get some of their great salmon only to find that they were OUT ! What a disappointment ! Decided to get a sirloin , unfortunately it was very grisly .It tasted like meat flavored bubblegum . read more

I have never been a fan of Applebee's but my friend wanted to go so we tried it in spite of the bad reviews at this location. I was very happy with our server and the food was excellent. I got the hamburger with no bun and a side salad. My friend got the grilled chicken salad, which was huge, and said it was delicious. Now I'm a fan of Applebee's because of this experience. I'm sure we will come back here when I'm in Shelby. read more

My family and friends went to Applebee's today after church for lunch there was a total of 9 people 4 adults 4 kids and 1 toddler. It started off ok but quickly went down hill. First they had my daughters food wrong we asked for a kids quesadilla she got a taco then they brought the correct thing out and it had a hair in it. They also had my friends food wrong as well. We waited for drinks and had to ask for refills 3. ( on 2 different occasions) Times before ever getting them. Then our actual waitress stopped coming to our table and had another waitress checking on us. The manager never came to check on us or anything. The manager never came out to check on us after all the incidents never an im sorry or anything just rude read more

Let me start by saying Applebee's has improved a bit. We we're a party of four , it was a busy Friday night. We arrived n was seated right away. As we sat we we're greeted by our waiter Mathew he was very nice, patient and friendly. The food was cooked to our liking and was delicious. Wait time for food was a bit longer but it was Friday and they we're busy but we did I mind because Mathew kept up with our drink orders so we were happy and didn't mind waiting. read more

I typically only go to Applebees when someone else is picking and wants to go there. I think the last time I went was back in 2018. I went with some friends last night and it was very, very unimpressive. I ordered the Bourbon Street chicken which looked like a nice skillet cooked chicken breast with shrimp, onions, mushrooms, and mashed potatoes. What I got looked like an overcooked TV dinner. I'm guessing that sending it back wouldn't have gotten me anything better. The chicken wasn't bad but the shrimp were more like little river shrimp and the flavor was basically salty and burned. Not completely inedible but just very unimpressive. Applebees, at least this one, has really gone down hill it would seem. read more

I wish there was more space. The waitress that I had (Brittany) was a sweetheart. And she was pregnant so we left her a good tip. The night we went was prom night so it was really packed and very busy. We still received our food in a timely mannor and it was still good. Some of the customers were horrible but you can't really blame the restaraunt for that. It was an ok experience. read more

Applebee's Grill + Bar - Blue Hawaiian long island ice tea - American Near Me - Shelby, North Carolina

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Weird bug frozen in ice in my sons soda. Ordered 2 beers took 15 min to get. They reused my fiancés glass to get her more wine. This place is crazy. It wasn't even busy. It's been years since I went to a Applebees and I just moved here 3 weeks ago smh. #GETYOURACTTOGETHER! read more

We are here on a short vacation and decided to go to Applebee's for dinner, even after reading the latest reviews. We were very pleased with the food and the cleanliness of the restaurant. I want to give a shout out to Ivan, our waiter. He was awesome, had a smile on his face, was very pleasant in greeting us and taking our orders. He chatted with us and was just all around very nice. I hope his management team sees this and recognizes him. If we get back to Shelby, we will go back to there and ask for him. read more

I have been in the restaurant industry for 20 years. I have been a bartender for 13 years. I am well-versed in best practices for the restaurant industry. The Shelby, NC location of Applebee's failed miserably at nearly every step during our visit. The town is small, and there were very limited options for our Valentine's dinner. We were in town for my husband's business, and chose Applebee's for our special date. This was a mistake. When we arrived at the restaurant, we were told there would be a 45-minute wait for a table. This was even though at least 50% of the tables were empty. I understand that occasionally restaurants must go on a "kitchen wait" when the BOH gets backed up, but this didn't seem to be the case. There were servers milling about, and nobody was acting with a sense of urgency. There happened to be two seats available at the bar, so we elected to sit there instead of waiting for a table. Far less than ideal for a romantic date, but better than waiting to sit at tables that were already empty. Once we sat at the bar, it took nearly 5 minutes for the bartender to even acknowledge us. I understand sometimes it gets busy behind the bar, but it takes minimal effort to make eye contact and signal or say that you'll be right with a guest. When we finally were greeted, we got coasters dropped and were told by the bartender (Kristin D) that she'd be right back. Once she finally took our drink order, I ordered two Tito's and soda with a splash of pineapple. Seeing as I have been behind the bar for over a decade, I know how to pour liquor (both with and without jiggers). Regardless of the fact that I can count liquor, I can also use my eyeballs and see when somebody has not filled the jigger completely. The bottle of Tito's did not have enough vodka in it to make two drinks, so Kristin D split the liquor between our glasses and attempted to serve us the short-poured drinks. When I called her attention to this fact, Kristin D was rude and dismissive and questioned as to what motivation she would have for short-pouring drinks. Generally speaking, corporate restaurants keep the back-up bottles of liquor locked in a cage in dry storage or locked in the office and you have to get a manager to get another bottle. This bartender obviously did not want to take the time to get a new bottle of Tito's and pour our drinks properly. We asked to have Bud Light with some olives in the beer instead. Kristin D poured the Bud Lights and opened the cooler to get olives. She came over with our beers and reported that they were out of olives. Again, I understand that sometimes bars and restaurants run out of stock. But also in general, bar olives come in very large jars, and the back-ups are kept in the back in dry storage. Kristin D made no attempt to check to see if there was another large jar of olives in dry storage. At this point, it began to strike me that we had a very lazy bartender on our hands. She had a bar back/server drink maker helping her, and the bar was not even full. The restaurant wasn't full either. Kristin D was incredibly inefficient at her job and made no effort to deliver the basic minimum of decent service. After finally getting drinks, we wanted to see a menu. After all, we were out for our Valentine's Day dinner. Kristin D did not offer menus or ask us if we wanted to have something to eat. I had to get up and go to the host stand (where there was no host on duty) and retrieve menus myself. After deciding what we wanted to eat, and indicating such by folding our menus and putting them forward on the bar, we had to wait quite some time for our dinner order to be taken. I mean, this was just seriously slow and awful service. We started off by ordering an appetizer, and decided we would wait until the app arrived to put our entree order in so we could enjoy our food and each other's company. Once the appetizer arrived, we informed the food runner (who was the bar back) that we would like to place an entree order. The bar back told us she would inform Kristin D that we wanted to order dinner and I watched the bar back tell Kristin D we were ready to order. It took Kristin D over ten minutes to come over and take our order. She served multiple other guests before us, and didn't even check to make sure we had everything we needed or do a two-minute check back. Our beers ran empty and once again, we sat waiting. Our beers had been empty for over five minutes before Kristin D came to check and see if we would like another round and if we knew what we wanted to order for dinner. She took our order, but didn't write it down. She had to turn around and ask us twice what we had told her. It looks so unprofessional if you can't remember what you don't write down. Just go get a server pad. Yelp doesn't give enough space to report how bad this place was. Steak was inedible, mac and cheese was cold, There was puke in the bathroom! I'd give this place negative stars if I could. read more

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My steak salad had meat on it so tough and burnt I felt like I was served dog food. TERRIBLE!!!!!'

Food was good and our server was nice however the bar area of the store was a disaster! We sat with dirty dishes almost the entire time we were at the bar. Another server came and filled the ice bin area then took her hands with no gloves on and spread the ice out. Clearly the store needs some assistance from top managers because the one on duty was overwhelmed!! This store was dirty guys get it cleaned up. read more

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Got there and they had no clue where to sit us. Asked if we would set at the bar... sure. Bartender took forever to acknowledge us. Then we never got refills on drinks. She helped certain people at the bar while others got ignored. The veggies in the pasta bowl wasn't cooked at all. I'm usually a great tipper but it was so bad I didn't leave anything. Absolutely the worst Applebees ever. read more

We use to enjoy this Applebees but no longer, it has been a few years since we have been here The food is ok but the service is lousy I realize they have trouble getting help but this was beyond lousy won't be going back. Bourbon Street Steak. read more

Only eating here out of necessity. Put in a 15 person to go order for the team the night before. The people were nice, but we had to take a few orders back in because the orders were incorrect. I ordered the strawberry salad with chicken. The dressing was good, but it's a really small salad for $10 with a few slices of cold chicken. I found myself thinking how thankful I am to live in Charleston and have much better non-chain options. read more

First time here...sat at the bar for 10 minutes with no service. Got up and left. Won't be back.

We came here looking for a late dinner (10pm) after driving 8hrs from Indianapolis. It's Applebee's, which is the middle of the road, sit down, variety restaurant for when you can't decide what to eat. Our server was polite and friendly (Nick) and was quick and attentive to our needs. The portions were smaller than in Indiana so I'm not sure why that was the case. My only complaints are that the boneless wings were dry/hard that time and the area/crowd seemed shady at times. For example, loud bar crowd and a distinct herbal aroma in the parking lot. All things considered, it was okay food (not fast food at least) and the waiter really saved our overall experience by being on top of it. 1\2 to overall. read more

Terrible service, the manager really tried but the server was not good. Went with a team and they did not know how to handle serving a larger party. We got appetizers at the same time as food. Food was cold and dry! DO NOT RECOMMEND AT ALL! read more

No one greeted us first off. Then went to bar to sit some guy cane made a drink, didn't say a word to us either. After 10 mins we left, don't waste your gas and time going there I PROMISE YOU I WILL NOT BE BACK read more

This use to be a good place to eat. Now not so much. There always out of something and don't tell you till you're there to pick up your food. This place has seriously gone down hill. I won't be back. Only thing good here is the beer. read more

I live locally, and there is not a lot of options in this small town. It seems like every time I eat here there is a problem. Either the service is terrible or the food gets completely messed up. My most recent experience I got the three cheese chicken penne, but what I got was chicken and penne, there was absolutely nothing else. I think I have finally had enough of this location, and they need new management obviously from all the negative reviews on here. read more

I really do not like to give one star reviews because I do realize that this place of business is someone's livelihood. This will be my last visit/check-in here as you will see. I can not even be lured back with craft beer on tap. We went about two weeks ago on a Friday night. Pulling up we saw who we learned later to be the general manager sitting on the stoop/sidewalk by the dumpster with other employees, smoking cigarettes. Very professional. We were seated with the intention of having a couple of beers that were on special. We noted a waitress cleaning the table next to us. She wiped the table and literally chunks of food were falling on the carpet in front of the table. Did anyone come and pick up the chunks/sweep? Of course not. A family was seated there and they were stepping all over the food on the floor. I am very suprised those people did not say anything; I would have. We were told what the price for our beers would be for a "Brutus" (their tall glass), and the actual price was $1.50 more per beer (apparently they weren't on special like the waiter said they were). We were also told that appetizers were half off after 10 PM, so we ordered Green Bean Fries and Won Ton Tacos. They were just okay; they left that super greasy feeling in your mouth (like how a ducks back repels water). So we get the bill and all of the prices are wrong. We talk with our waiter and he goes to check the prices; apparently our appetizers weren't half off. He turned over a placard on the table and showed which ones were half off. Jeez - just terrible. You could tell he was really embarrased and we decided not to call a manager over and get him in trouble. Is running a "chain" restaurant that follows a corporate formula really that difficult? Apparently it is. read more

Looking for a place slightly more disappointing than a truck stop Denny's? Welcome to Applebees in Shelby! We get there on a Tuesday evening to a 1/4 full restaurant, there is no one to seat us. After five minutes someone from the bar yells someone will help us in a moment. All this while there are two bartenders at an empty bar, two waitresses/one waiter milling around said bar chit chatting and one person I can only assume was the manager walking around aimlessly. At this point a couple came in after us swore, and promptly left. The only reason we even stayed at this point is due to my mother in law. I finally said screw it and led us to an empty booth. Once we sit down a few employees walk past us multiple times even though it's obvious we don't even have menus. Eventually by some random chance, the person I'm guessing was the manager drops some menus off and walks away. Skip ahead. Three people ordered steak all medium done and I ordered their philly steak sub option. Two steaks arrive fine, one arrives brown and fucking purple/cold on the inside. When we brought this up the waitress said that's how it was ordered, after a short lesson on what medium means she agreed to have it taken back and refired, not replace but just cooked more. My philly arrived with no onions or jalapanenos, when I brought this up to the manager she said oh I'm sorry and offered to get me a refill on my drink. On top of it all, a couple hours later I'm spewing copious amounts of liquids from both ends of my body. I've eaten egg salad sandwiches from gas stations and not gotten sick, one trip to Applebees and I'm down with food poisoning. A fucking joke. In short, go like three blocks down to a drive through burger and shake joint that had cars lined up to order, next time I will. read more