Applebees's Neighbourhood Grill & Bar, Gordon Head

I visited Applebee's for the first time the other night; and, even after eating their, I am struggling with writing a solid review of it.

Applebee's is like many other franchise restaurants, it doesn't offer anything special in the way of decor or food. However, like other successful franchise restaurants it must be doing something right, or  it wouldn't last long.

The overall feel of Applebee's leads me to believe that they are trying to target younger to middle age people. There food says the same; typical American pub style dining (burger, wings, beer, etc...).

I wasn't wowed in anyway by my food, but I wasn't dissapointed either. If you don't have the expectations of fine dining cuisine, then you may just be happy with the food you order and the available menu options. I had a trio of appetizers, which by my choosing consisted of Wonton Tacos, Spinach & Artichoke dip & Buffalo Chicken Bites. The Tacos were filled with coleslaw and pulled pork, they were tasty; however, by the third one the over salted pork became a little hard to swallow. I can't say anything bad about the Spinach and Artichoke dip, in fact, I quite enjoyed it! As for the Buffalo Chicken Bites, they were tender, but the Buffalo sauce lacked any kick, and was actually quite bland.

If I do have one major complaint about Applebee's it is this: the service sucks! Maybe, I just happened to go on a night when the "B" team was on....but I will never know. I shouldn't say it sucks, better yet, it was non existent. Never once were we offered refills on our beverages, we actually had to track someone down after waiting for about 10 minutes with our empty glasses sitting on the edge of the table. The only times we saw our server was when she brought out the menus; and, when she brought us our bill.

Overall, I wouldn't avoid Applebee's like the plague, it isn't that bad. I do think that there are other restaurants similar to this that offer better food, atmosphere and  definitely better service.

Please keep in mind this is my own personal opinion, my fiance and step son both quite enjoyed their food.

Food: 3 out of 5 Stars

Service: 1.5 out of 5 Stars

Overall: 2.75 out of 5 Stars