Chili's Grill & Bar

Food was decent, but has anyone seen the new pay by machine? I did not like that it makes the whole dining experience way too impersonal. If I wanted that kind of service I'd go to royal farms or a buffet at least there you are not expected to tip

Stopped in on a recent afternoon to pick up lunch on the way home. After some very pleasant experiences here since the middle 1990s, this would be my household's last visit to this Chili's, and probably any other.

At the front station I ordered three items to go: two chicken sandwiches and one of those "Big Mouth" hamburgers that requires cutting it in two first. Each of these offerings includes French fries.

A blue-shirted manager wrote this down. He said I could pay when I picked it up. He said it would be ready in about 15 minutes. It took 40 minutes. In that time I wandered around outside, wandered around inside, and generally tried to avoid the appearance of loitering. It wasn't easy.

The place was almost empty. (Word must be getting around.) A uniformed kitchen staffer sat at one of the many empty tables, enjoying the air-conditioning and his smartphone while waiting for his shift to start.

One of the tables has been removed and replaced with a coin-operated bowling video game which looks as though it was dusted off and plugged in after 31 years of storage. Apparently that is a more gainful use of space than serving food and drink at a table for two.

If like me you haven't visited a Chili's lately, or at least this one, it appears they have fitted each table with self-service ordering and payment devices that resemble small tablet computers. So it appears that Chili's, at least this one, is becoming a self-service restaurant. Except the service is worse and the wait is longer.

Ask yourself if any of these developments sound like improvements.

As was every other employee, the blue-shirted manager was now hiding from me. Through the kitchen door I could see what was plainly my order (who else's could it be), a stack of plasticfoam clamshells in a plastic bag, waiting forlornly on the steel counter.

The manager reappeared, bearing the bag of take-out food. Having decided to henceforth steer clear of this wasteland, I kept quiet and did not complain. He seemed apologetic. He probably lost track of the time, hiding somewhere in or near the building, using his smartphone to apply to other jobs.

Because I was waiting so long, he asked if I'd like to have some free soda. Sure, why not, I said. So he brought out two bucketesque 32-ounce plasticfoam cups of Coca-Cola product in one of those cardboard drinks carriers.

Here's what we found when I got home.

Though the drive home didn't take 15 minutes, the food had grown cold and needed microwave reheating.

Though it took so long to prepare, the hamburgers were lopsided and looked as though they were slapped together in a hurry.

They really scrimped on the French fries. Each serving looked like they were running low and couldn't be bothered to prepare more.

And the soda was flat. So the manager wanted it to look like he was compensating me for my time when really someone didn't want to be seen pouring out another customer's rejected soft-drink orders.

Chili's, 2339 Forest Drive, Annapolis, Maryland 21401, on the corner of Forest Drive and Riva Road. I'm not going back. Let's put them out of their misery.

Footnote 1. Any manager or official from Chili's is welcome to contact me here via Yelp and quibble with any aspect of this consumer's findings.

Footnote 2. I don't know either Jake T. of Lindenhurst, Illinois, nor Kathryn L., of Hampton, Virginia. But notice how similar are our experiences.

This place was awful!  
I went with my Husband for our date night. As a huge fan of Chili's, I was excited to eat there. Well I was very wrong.
First off, The service was terrible. We got in there, and was greeted by no one. Literally had a waitress, leaving to go home, had to go back and find someone to seat us. We then waited for another ten minutes to be seated. Our waiter was friendly, but was very slow on taking out order and hardly came to top our drinks.
Second, The food was awful. Our appetizer was somewhat decent. But the biggest thing was our entries. Our Ribs were awful, and barely seemed Fresh. Our fries were old and tasted awful.

I'm not one to complain over a mainstream restaurant. However this place was beyond the crappiest Chili's I'd ever been too. Just be aware they aren't worth the money.