Applebee’s Grill + Bar

Reviews

• Lorraine G.

  star star star star_border star_border 2 June 2026

  Herself was worn from running around for the last few days and Bro cancelled his birthday gathering, so she asked if we could eat at the Cook's Corner or Applebee's. We haven't been back to Applebee's for a few years and decided to give it a shot. Besides, it was early and there was plenty of parking even alongside Merle Hay Mall at Christmas.
  I ordered from the steak special. I got a lovely little 6 oz sirloin with the mushroom and onion topper and garlic mashed potatoes. The server wasn't certain if they could hold the bacon and cheddar, (I'm a purest) but the serving came delightfully unadulterated. However, my medium rare steak was seriously overcooked. It was dry and chewy. I also didn't actually encounter a mushroom in the topper.
  Herself ordered the pasta with spinach and artichoke (cavatappi) with chicken. It was very good but she couldn't finish it (big news) and would order it again. However, she only found a piece of artichoke.
  She was able to sneak in a brownie bite. Frankly, it was a perfect portion, I wish more restaurants offered these sweet little treats.  
  The server was very pleasant, as were the other employees. Although we did have to ask for drink refills.

• Jennifer G.

  star star star star_border star_border 20 May 2026

  Service: Four of us arrived around 7:00 and were seated promptly. Our waitress arrived quickly for the drink orders. After she left, it was awhile before we saw her again. She apologized when she came back and the rest of our visit was very timely with everything.
  Food: We all ordered a beef and potatoe dish, chicken quesadilla, spin art with chips, and lemon Chx with cranberry rice. The chicken quesadilla got a great review and our waitress said it is her favorite item on the menu. The beef and potatoe dish was good but the portion was smaller than expected. The spin art was a hit as well.
  
  What peaked my interest the most was the drink menu, specifically the rasberry Cosmo and bourbon berry drink. I didn't try either but if like to. The blonde brownie dessert also sounded pretty good too.

• Andrea M.

  star star star star_border star_border 15 May 2026

  Not a huge fan of chains, It seems like every time I have eaten  at Applebee's the past 10 years nothing is really good anymore. We were seated quickly, I ordered the 6oz Sirloin with horseradish gravy topping, it came with broccoli, some potato twists and I ordered their potato casserole that was topped with these little potato chip sticks, their was hardly any of the actual potato casserole in the dish and it didn't taste good at all, should have gone with the mashed potatoes. I ordered my steak rare and the waitress had me cut into it to be sure it looked good. It was cooked rare and it looked good, but was definitely a low quality sirloin, it was so chewy that I had to spit most of it out. My mom also ordered the 6oz sirloin cooked medium and didn't care for it either. The waitress seemed nice, wasn't very knowledgeable about happy hour items until she asked the kitchen. The food did come out pretty fast. I never got a drink refill so I shared my daughters water, she seemed to enjoy her chicken and Mott's Applesauce Pouch. I keep hoping to get a good meal here, oh well. The broccoli was pretty good.

• Desiree A.

  star star_border star_border star_border star_border 11 May 2026

  I find it interesting that when you order to go from her the people working at applebees on Merle Hay decide to put your cheesecake on the bottom of your order of hot food.  I'm glad I checked because by the time they gave it to me it was already very soft.  When asked why they did it, "because heat rises" first of all maybe with your hot desserts that's fine but when ordering cheesecake it should be in a seperate bag from the hot food.  I also never received my cracker jacks so I'm glad I actually had some at home.  On that note the cheesecake had more whip cream on it then cheesecake.
  
  I also ordered the 4-cheese mac and cheese.  It seems like every time I go to Applebee's they don't serve the breadsticks with their pasta anymore if that's the case they need to update their picture.

• Kristyn M.

  star star star star_border star_border 9 May 2026

  Merl Hay location.
  I have not been here in a long time and the menu has changed. It was still overly huge and what a mess to try and read and navigate.
  According to other Yelp reviews it looks like it went downhill for a short time but is how a bit better.  ***They use MSG in their food like its going out of style. See note at end***
  
  The waitress was nice and was fairly on top of everything. We had a mudslide which I have always enjoyed from Applebees cause last I knew they were still using real ice cream which many places dont.
  We had an app, a starter, food before food.... Salsa Verde Nachos
  Choice of shredded brisket or pulled pork, spicy queso blanco, pico, fresh jalapenos. $10.99
  This could have been a meal in its own. We all enjoyed the pulled pork but picked off the jalapenos.
  Then the main meals came out a little awhile later.
  I thought that it took them a little longer than they should have considering it was not that busy.
  Our meals came out all together: Bonus;  One person noticed the nuts on her meal, and she cant eat the nuts, bummer: Plus: the waitress snagged it right up and said we could fix that no problem and disappeared back to the kitchen with it.
  The only bummer after that was how long we ate in front of her before she was able to bring the meal back out fixed.....and it was just a salad.
  
  We had Grilled Shrimp 'N Spinach Salad: Spinach, crisp bacon, roasted red peppers, red onions, toasted almonds and hot bacon vinaigrette topped with grilled shrimp. (This is the one we had to have the nuts removed.)
  
  Also at the table was a big burger FRANWHICH. This burger came with onion rings and fries and by purchasing it there was a donation made to a fundraiser.
  
  I had the 4-Cheese Mac & Cheese with Honey Pepper Chicken Tenders
  Honey pepper balances the richness of this dish by giving a sweet and savory flavor to our breaded chicken tenders. They're served atop a mound of our indulgent 4-Cheese Mac & Cheese loaded with Applewood smoked bacon. - This is a huge helping. I had to box up half of it. It was a little oily in the bottom of the bowl but nothing that couldn't be overlooked as the taste and the chicken and bacon made up for it. I am glad I only ate a small portion.
  
  Last but not least was Cedar Salmon
  A variety of spring vegetables sit atop steamed potatoes. Then it all meets rich, delicious salmon grilled with cedar seasoning, finished with a creamy white wine & lemon artichoke spread. This was also a great gluten free option.
  
  So the quality of the food was pretty good. I hadn't been there in a long time and was happy with the new choices of meals. Lots and lots of choices on an over sized menu. What a mess.  It did seem to take a long time for us to get the correction on the salad just to remove the nuts. However it was a little busy and we all did enjoy our meals once we all had them.  
  
  ****Only thing that we wish (all four of us) was that we knew what was in ALL our meals that gave us gas. I am guessing MSG. I am not shy to tell you that before we got our meals one of our guests was sharing that something always upset  their stomach the last time they ate at this chain. Later that evening it was obvious that there was something that was in all our meals that gave us bloating and gas. So this might be something you want to keep in mind. A lot of what I am reading online says Applebees uses MSG in almost all their food. I don't think they will be on the top of my list to visit due to how upset all our stomachs were after this one visit. I can share that one of us made a run for the bathroom that night. *****