Applebee’s

Craving for French onion soup again. Today, Applebees is decorated with Christmas lights and a tree. Even Bridgett, my waitress, is wearing a Blinking Christmas light necklace! Carols are playing. I love it!

We went in last night & none of the food that we got was great– my friend got a Caesar salad and it had entirely too much dressing so it was soggy. They should give the person the option for how much dressing to put on it themselves. I got chicken tenders and fries– average as usual, I’ve had fries at other Applebee’s and they were better. My boyfriend got the four cheese pasta and it had a terrible aftertaste almost like that of throw up… I had to use the bathroom and going in there my experience was entirely ruined– two of the toilets had shit in them & toilet paper all over the floor– I had to use the big stall which still was quite disgusting– the baby changing station was down and had nasty stuff all over it– and in the sink there were paper towels. I was honestly scared to touch anything in there so I used a PT to use the sink and that’s probably what other people did. The waitress also didn’t seem to care much about us– we had to ask her for more water because she walked by multiple times ignoring that they were all empty. Terrible place never coming back

Applebee’s has changed for the better. And not from bad to ok, they are now a good restaurant. The food tastes great, the service is fast and friendly — they are doing it right. If you’ve spent years away from this restaurant, it’s time to reacquaint yourself. I suggest a burger — it is hard to find a better one regardless of where you go. Seriously.

Have been here two times with my family and I don’t ever want to go back. The quality of food that they use is subpar and never tastes good. I know it’s a chain restaurant and I wasn’t expecting the best meal, but this was underwhelming to say the least.

I’ve been in Sarasota for 15 days for business. This applebeas is very close to my hotel so I’ve come here maybe 6 or 7 times. It’s been delicious each time, and the service has been really great. On my last night here, I got terrible service at the bar and was given an attitude at the door. Other then tonight, the food has been really good (way better then the applebeas in my home town) and if it wasn’t for the last experience here they would’ve gotten 5 stars.

Ok, it’s Applebee’s, and it’s a chain… We know that when we choose to go there, right? I, for one, have chosen NOT to go to Applebee’s for the last few years, based on some forgotten survey that rated them as the «most unhealthiest of menus» chain restaurants. I’ve found that to be different in the last year. I absolutely love the selections on their «Have it All» menu (under 600 cal). Addicted to the Thai Shrimp Salad and Pepper Crusted Sirloin. In the interest of full disclosure, I usually travel and dine solo, so a comfortable, consistent experience is important to me. This Applebees delivers that for me, along with great kitchen and wait service… kudos to Krista! P. s. However you can, justify a full order of the caramel salted pretzels and ignore the calories! I’m giving 4 stars, not compared to all of Sarasota’s options, just the national chains.

Always a safe place to stop; consistent chain décor and food. Tina was friendly and efficient. Not crowded for a Thursday evening.

Truly disappointed with this chain. The location has been remodeled and it seems they are trying to get it right. The food is not tasting all that grand. Too greasy for me. Disappointed is the best I can say. Seems like a regular crowd of blue collar enjoy this spot. Booths need to be redone, very lumpy.

Astronaut food that is tough to swallow even if you know that with your 50 dollar gift card you wont have to pay anything. The worst part is trying to spend it all at once and having to order more than you even wanted to begin with. Im not sure who still goes here but one thing is for sure. They haven’t done anything to improve this place!

The menu looks better than it tastes. I haven’t had anything that is so bad I won’t go back, but it’s pretty average. The food is cooked fairly quickly.

They have 3 soups listed, tomato basil, chicken tortilla and french onion. I ordered tomato basil and was told they would have to check because they usually didn’t have it. Then I said well how about the chicken tortilla? Our waitress then tells me «no they didn’t have that either». I asked what they had and was told I could get a salad. Hmmmm… if I had wanted a salad that would probably have been what I ordered. Overall, not very impressed or pleased. Will not be back.

Not my favorite place to eat. Does not seem to be as good as years past but still a decent place. Recently I have started ordering the quesadilla burger. Pretty greasy but tast good.

In line with expectations. Don’t get carried away by the photographs on the menu. The food was average for this type of restaurant. Clean bathrooms with soap in the dispenser. Jen our waitress was very good and made it a good dinning experience.

We hadn’t been Applebee people for quite sometime and not really sure why. Maybe it’s just too corporate, but they certainly have changed their menu and I think somewhat our attitude toward the place. We’ve had two meals recently at two different Sarasota locations.
On our first visit to the Clark Road location, I was not impressed by my selection of ($ 11.69) Double Crunch Shrimp. A pile of fried shrimp like those flat as a board fried shrimp from the grocery store freezer section. They were plentiful, crunchy and tasteless served with equally unimpressive fries and a small side of coleslaw.
My wife enjoyed her selection of beef fajitas ($ 12.29) although she felt it was prepared with a heavy hand and oilier than need be… more on this later.
Another of our group had a 9oz «House» Sirloin ($ 12.99) served with a vegetable and choice of potato. Cooked as ordered and he was pleasantly surprised. And our fourth had the Fiesta Lime Chicken served with a «Mexi-​Ranch» dressing. I guess Mexi-​Ranch is a corporate kitchen creation but the meal was enjoyed.
Our second visit was to the University Parkway location. At that location they have a gizmo that looks like wireless mouse that is used to «page» your waitress. Kind of a fun innovation and if they don’t respond in a timely manner you can always take the thing and heave it in their direction. Fortunately, the service was fine so no pager toss was needed.
I tried a new item (their menu is loaded with NEW ITEM logos) Sizzling Asian Shrimp at $ 9.99. Really a tasty dish with many fresh shrimp, broccoli, bok choy, mushrooms, red peppers, water chestnuts and a sprinkling of wonton strips in a spicy sauce. The server advised it is quite spicy and she was right but just the right amount for me. The bottom of the sizzling platter is covered in microwave prepared white rice and could have used more sauce. She suggested some «stir fry» sauce and it was the perfect addition.
My wife is attracted to their Weight Watcher tie-​in that lists the calories of each WW dish. #1 She’s the last one at the table that needs to eat light and right (she’s slim and trim, guess that’s why huh?) and #2 she finds the calorie counts hard to believe. This time she chose the WW item Grilled Dijon Chicken with Portobello mushrooms ($ 9.49). The mushroom was cut into thin strips along with roasted red pepper strips, and served with a steamed vegetable medley and some small cubed red potatoes. She enjoyed the steamed vegetables but really liked how the potatoes were prepared.
Our two experiences earn the food a good rating. The «new» items menu is just chock full of corporate kitchen creations, not necessarily a bad thing and maybe a nice switch from the restaurant chains that try so hard it pretend their homegrown and local… I’m talking about you Johnny and Damien.
Our one recurring complaint is in the preparation and presentation of the food. It is heavy handed and lacks any touch. My wife’s fajitas were served in kind of hap-​hazard chunks rather than strips, the platter looked greasy. Both our fajita and Asian Shrimp dishes were presented with food and seasonings all over the plate. It was hard to tell if this was the nouvelle cuisine style of sprinkling parsley and such around the edge or just plain sloppiness. Is it a heavy handed cook or a lackadaisical expediter? Not sure.

Very good food, friendly service. We’ve been there at least 30 – 40 times and never experienced anything negative to write about…