My Family of 4 Tried Applebee’s: Disappointing; Not As Good As Chili’s

We visited our local Applebee’s around 6:30 p.m. on a Friday night, and it wasn’t very crowded.

We were seated immediately and, start-to-finish, the meal took less than 45 minutes to complete.

The restaurant had a sports-bar feel, from its loud music to the several mounted television sets throughout the space. It wasn’t our favorite vibe, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t someone’s cup of tea.

The menu at Applebee’s has many different kinds of food, from pasta dishes to quesadillas to salads. The variety makes it a good choice for groups where everyone’s craving something different.

On this visit, we all took advantage of Applebee’s “2 for $25” deal.

It seemed like a solid promotion: For $25, you can get a full-size appetizer and two entrées from a set list.

However, many items in this deal had upgrade charges ranging from $1 to $5. Both my grilled chicken and my son’s girlfriend’s chicken tenders had a $1 upcharge, making each meal $26 instead.

That said, I could see the “2 for $25” quickly costing more than expected if you’re not reading the fine print.

We shared the spinach-and-artichoke dip appetizer, which came with tortilla chips and a side of salsa.

A bit watery and not at all creamy, the dip was just OK and nothing to write home about. To me, it tasted like store-bought spinach-artichoke dips I’ve purchased in the frozen section at the supermarket.

My son and his girlfriend shared the mozzarella sticks as their appetizer. Though their cheese-pulls were on point, the sticks they were served seemed a little on the small side.

A few weeks prior, we’d gone to Chili’s for its plank-style mozzarella sticks, and both teens felt like those were a much better value given their large size.

My husband and son both chose the Big Bangin’ Burger as their entrée — a beef patty topped with American cheese and served with jalapeño-bacon sauce.

A picky eater, my son ordered his burger with just cheese. He’s a bit of a burger aficionado — he even orders them at steakhouses like Morton’s. He considered Applebee’s burger to be just so-so.

My husband, who ordered his burger with all the fixings (lettuce, tomato, onion), agreed. He enjoyed the jalapeño-bacon sauce, but said the burger was “forgettable” and wouldn’t really rank high on his list.

Both found the burger a bit dry and overcooked, and said the bun felt slightly stale.

My son’s girlfriend and I are huge fans of the chicken tenders at Chili’s, so I wasn’t surprised when she ordered them as her meal at Applebee’s (for a $1 upcharge).

A $2 upgrade was also available to make the entrée a platter that included coleslaw, but she declined.

Applebee’s chicken tenders are good, she said, but they’re not as good as the ones at Chili’s. She felt the chicken tenders at Applebee’s weren’t as crispy and breaded as they are at Chili’s, and found these to be a bit dry.

I ordered the grilled chicken-breast entrée (also a $1 upcharge) because I wasn’t in the mood for fried food.

My meal came with a chicken breast, redskin mashed potatoes, and steamed broccoli. The chicken was well-cooked and tender, and I liked the smoky flavor the grill marks seemed to add.

Still, it wasn’t as good as the grilled chicken I’ve had at other restaurants … or that I’ve prepared myself at home.

The real star of my meal was the mashed potatoes, which were flavorful and perfectly seasoned with salt and pepper.

Sadly, the broccoli was just your basic side of not-super-seasoned steamed vegetables, rounding out a pretty average dish that I wasn’t unhappy with, but wasn’t overly impressed with either.

Based on our experience at Applebee’s, I’m not sure we’d go back.

Though our $65 meal — which also included my $3 soda and my husband’s $6 beer (the teens ordered water) — was OK, it wasn’t overly impressive.

Our appetizers were pretty middle-of-the-road, just like the burgers. Given the overall quality of the grilled chicken and tenders, the $1 upcharges we paid for them seemed a bit unnecessary, too.

There are lots of other spots where I’d prefer to spend my money on dinner, including nearby chains like Chili’s or Longhorn Steakhouse.

My teens commented that they wished we’d just gone to Chili’s, and I can’t blame them. It’s not my favorite, but our last meal felt like a good value and was fairly tasty. (They ended up going on a date there to get their Triple Dipper fix a week later.)

We promised them that, on our next dinner and movie date, we’ll start the evening at their favorite chain restaurant instead.