Chili's

We came here for an evening meal to a newly remodeled restaurant. After waiting 5 to 10 minutes at the hostess station all we received were stares.  I called shortly after leaving to inform the manager of the situation.  She let me explain then hung he phone up on me.  All and all not the best restaurant to visit.

I joined <a href="http://yelp.com">http://yelp.com</a> specifically to review this restaurant.

My 7yo daughter is particularly fond of Chili's for some reason. She loves the queso, which is a favorite of mine as well. Really, all the food is okay. It's Chili's. Everyone has been to a Chili's. Everyone knows the menu - the baby back ribs, the burgers and Awesome Blossum. The food is decent. It's the food you would expect on a high school date after a Friday night football game. Just decent. Nothing to rave. In fact, if out of town looking for a restaurant, it would more than likely be the last on your list of choices.

The reason I felt the urgency to write a review: This particular Chili's is the worst. It is horribly understaffed; the service is consistently slow; and, whether a weekday or Thanksgiving weekend, the service is always bad. Never great. Rarely good. Frequently bad.  

Tonight, in particular, after dance practice, my daughter requested dinner out at Chili's. Upon arrival, half the parking lot was full on this Wednesday night yet the entry way was filled with about fifteen people waiting. No one was available to greet or assist for five minutes. Finally, a young man returned to his post and asked our party number. He told us the wait time would be around five additional minutes. We sat on a bench facing into the dining area. I counted four empty tables, covered in dirty plates, half-filled glasses and discarded napkins. I then counted the wait staff. Amazingly, the number of aforementioned tables was greater than wait staff. After five minutes grew to fifteen, even my daughter was no longer enchanted with Chili's. We left, and, if my choice going forward, will not return, ever.

I would understand the staffing issues if this restaurant was in a small town with one or two places to dine. Quite the opposite here. We live in a major college town with several high schools; the restaurant is in the center of a large shopping and entertainment district; and it is surrounded by many, many, many restaurants. All those considered, this Chili's is ALWAYS understaffed. Horribly understaffed. Other restaurants in the area never seem this unorganized.

I doubt anyone reads this review, because, again, Chili's is Chili's; everyone knows what to expect from Chili's. However, should you come to this particular restaurant, be prepared to wait, for a table, to order, for refills, for food, for the check, etc.

We ate a late lunch around 4:15. Ordered one soup, one soup and salad , and shrimp tacos. The soups came out 15 minutes later. We waited another 15-20 minutes for my sons shrimp tacos . I almost complained to Manager but my kids said no. The salad came out same time as tacos and was terrible . The lettuce was wilted and had brown pieces in and the cucumbers were not fresh. Terrible service and food .