After 13 hours of travel, the welcoming staff, clean environment and great food met our expectations and a bit more. My husband and I aren't frequent visitors to Applebee's however the grill was within walking distance of our hotel so we decided to have dinner. The wait staff was friendly and suggested meals, made sure we had all the appropriate condiments without asking and was super pleasant. The food was neatly plated, HOT, and flavored appropriately. No one was standing around, the entire staff was helping each other with tables and prepping to do after hours cleaning. I would recommend this stop to anyone traveling Rt 90 in MN. read more

Went three times last week. Casual banter about politics happening around the bar. Staff could not help portray thier disdain for the discussion. Some were better than others. One server sitting barside had a horrible disposition towards the group (to be fair she was not on shift) but the attitude leeched into those that were. Food was Applebee's...I know what I'm getting...spare me your modern day suffregest mentality read more

I called before driving an hour away & staff stated they were open until 12a. I got there around 10:30p. & the doors were locked. Staff was sitting around doing nothing. I end up leaving & went to the other Applebees 20 min away in Austin. read more

We have eaten at this Applebee's several times in the past while travelling and staying at nearby motels. It's convenient. This time we noticed that the menu didn't have prices for any of the wines, beers, or drinks. We asked the waitress how much the drinks cost, and her peeved reply was, "I only make minimum wage, so I don't know the prices". Shame on the restaurant for not posting their prices, and shame on the waitress for not knowing her business. We left and went elsewhere. read more

Possibly the worst Applebee's I ever been to. I would definitely avoid this place the food taste like it was cooked on a dirty stove top. They gave me a half a cup au jus. The quality of food is just not worth it for the price. There are better options out there other than Applebee's. Applebee's became the new expensive fast food restaurant. You're better off eating dog food. read more

Applebee's Grill + Bar - Probably the worst "French dip " I ever tasted. Gave me less than half a cup of Au Jus. Meat was chewy - American Near Me - Albert Lea, Minnesota

Server very rude! Called us guys, I asked to be called folks, we are close to 80 years old. She refused, called us guys 5 more times while being served! Last time we visit here! Calling main office to report! We wrote letter to office to report! read more

Not up to the usual standards for an Applebees, we were disappointed with our mean here. Service was fine, our waitress actually was working really hard. Despite her best efforts it took half a century to get drinks refilled at the bar. Our food was over cooked and the kitchen was clearly over run by orders. It took more than 45 minutes to get our food, and when we did it was beyond well done. It was disappointing to say the least. By the end of the night, we spend almost $75 and gave away 2 hours of our life only to leave disappointed. I'm not sure what other options exist, but some friends ate at Taco King instead and seemed a lot more fulfilled. read more

Grace was training in behind the bar and provided excellent service on a busy Monday night. Beers were cold and refreshing. Steak was a little overdone, but the ribeye was a satisfying meal. I'd recommend this Applebees. read more

Food is the normal good Applebee's fare, however Scott the waiter is exceptional he always takes good care of us every time we are here. He makes the experience worth the 40 minute round trip drive read more

Applebee's Grill + Bar - American Near Me - Albert Lea, Minnesota

this was one of the worst experiences I've had at any restaurant. It took over an hour and a half to get our appetizer. The sever took 30 or more minutes to get one water for a member of our table. The vibe was ruined by the incompetent people who did not know how to do their job in a timely manner. The Mcdonalds across the street could be better classified as good serviced sit down dining. read more

I stopped here for lunch on a long road trip, hoping for a hot meal that could work with the food allergies in our group (gluten being the biggest). Our server, who apparently was the lead cook on this shift as well, admitted that he didn't really know much about gluten but that he wanted to learn. He asked another server who was more knowledgeable, offered us some choices, and made sure we were okay. The food was tasty, and I am happy! Nothing fancy, but a really nice experience. read more

BBQ ribs were very tough and chewy. Beer was good though. The restaurant was busy and service was slow.

Do not order takeout it will be cold when you finally get it 20 min after it was to be done.

Short of it: Met all expectations. Waitstaff was nice. Long of it: I had near negative expectations when begrudgingly agreeing to stop at this stellar restaurant. Went on the promise to have meal covered. Started at 5 stars on Yelp and went from there: -1.0 Sat at dirty table when place almost completely empty, without silverware. Friendly waitress soon righted the two previous wrongs. -1.0 Vikings game on in inexplicably Standard definition with picture on a sort stretch/magnified view- unsure how one would even program that. -1.0 Food comes out at a lukewarm temperature, which is strange considering 98% of the order was fried. -1.0 Wanted to ask a waitress for a side of ranch, but none were to be seen. Used the table side machine to page server, again was another 5 minutes for one to stroll by to take the order. read more

Applebee's Grill + Bar - American Near Me - Albert Lea, Minnesota

Typical menu and meals for this chain. Nothing spectacular to write about. Place was ice box cold and it must've frozen their service because it was almighty slow. Drinks, meals, servers, clean up, bills everything was really slow. I'd try a local joint before going back here. read more

My grilled club was very tasty! My husband got ribs with mashed potatoes, the meat wasn't very tender and the mashed potatoes were cold. But overall, pretty good experience and great service. read more

We had an amazing time and will be returning. Our waiter Scott was the most pleasant waiter I've had in awhile and was very funny. Awesome experience overall. read more

Applebees happens to be one of my favorite chains. I think this is primarily due to their delicious Oriental Chicken Salad and their $5.99 Lunch Pairings Special (offered Mon-Fri). As for this Applebees location, they have a little pond with an evil spitting turtle fountain outside. Not only is this Bees conveniently located right off of Highway I-90 and a few minutes from downtown Albert Lea (pronounced lee not leah), but the staff are super friendly. Almost so friendly it could be scary. Perhaps it's more noticeable as a now 'big city boy' who is used to having his guard up but I enjoyed talking to random people. This location was packed with tourists passing through to the West to South Dakota (7 hours to the Badlands National Park) and other destinations, so it's even more important to have a smiley, nice environment. read more

Horrible. This is one of the worst places I've eaten in a while. The food was overpriced and hardly edible. I ordered the Mac and cheese and it came out watered down with one small piece of chicken. It had a weird sweet aftertaste and the breadstick that came with it was hard. My boyfriend ordered the peppered steak with whole grains. It came out a muddled mess. Old wet kale and mushrooms were a sopping mess. The steak was also burned black and crunchy. He couldn't eat it at all. The service was good and quick but save your money and avoid this place like the plague. read more

Originally I am from Hawaii and we do not have Applebee's over there. So I was quite excited when I actually got the opportunity to try it for the first time! I have eaten here three times already and I have tried the 2 for $20 deal they have going on at the moment. The boneless buffalo wings are awesome, especially the bbq ones. Then comes the burgers, I love the burgers! Cooked great and big enough to fill you up during lunch or dinner. The three-cheese chicken penne is simple but tasty, highly recommended. Overall friendly staff and reasonable prices makes this a hot spot in Albert Lea, MN. read more

First we walk in no waitstaff to be found. Bartender had to seat us. We waited over 8 minutes and finally we said we will just order on the presto tablet. Then two minutes after we order a waitress shows up and asked for drinks and order. I informed her we ordered on the tablet just needed drinks. Then finally BBQ wings and nachos show and wings had little to no sauce and nachos came out very blah. No refills on soda and during the promo no one offered gift cards until after we finished paying. Very unsatisfied with my visit on 12/2/2016 right at 10pm. Pictures to show. read more

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So this afternoon after shopping at HYVEE we decided to go to your establishment, we where seated right away, given menus and left there for 20 minutes, I had 3 waitress look at me, 1 clean the floor next to us and that was it......no one bothered to see what we wanted to drink, eat, or anything. The gal who seated us looked at me twice and then left her shift, a young man took over...we decided to walk out, we will never eat there again !!! The young man is the only who who spoke to us and he said, Thank you have a nice day.....I said, No, we are leaving because no one helped us and he said he was sorry and I replied, Your loss !!! Oh this was around 1:20 that we arrived and we left at 1:45.....TRAINING WOULD HELP YOU !!! read more

We stopped at this Applebees while on a road trip, en route to another state. I am not a fan of the Applebees at all, however on the road at least I know I can get a salad, and they have steamed broccoli with their kids meals. If you are on the road or in Albert Lea, I think you can get a healthy, inexpensive meal here, with some healthy side choices for kids. I am a foodie and have just had SO much better food then this, which definitely affects my score. However, for the town of Albert Lea, I would give this 4 stars. It's hard to get a vegetarian option though with any of their meal deals. I finally ordered their Chicken Salad special without the chicken. One hilarious thing that happened here is that I asked our waiter if they offered Garden Burgers instead of regular burgers. He said he had never heard of that before, and asked me to explain what it was. He said "Well, there already is a garden on the burger, with the lettuce, tomato, and onion, is that what you mean?" And then asked if I just wanted that on the bun, with cheese and bacon. LOL! read more

Very disappointed this time . Ordered the Fiesta Lime Chicken. Presentation is no longer a festival. They replaced the colored chip strips with plain yellow chip strips. Chicken came Cold. They returned and heated it up. Flavor of the sauce was bland this time. Need to rename the dish "Blaw Lime Chicken. It may be awhile before I return. read more

I was there last night and ordered baby back ribs, garlic potatoes and spinach as my birthday meal. When my order came, the spinach appeared like it had been fried and the potatoes were cold and lumpy. Needless to say, that plate went back. When my food returned, I received a really small amount of spinach! The ribs were extremely spicy for my taste for which I then sent the plate back and received ribettes. By now, I'm ready to go. I will be finding somewhere else to eat while here in Albert Lea. read more

I can't tell you what the food was like, as it never arrived. I sat at the bar because I thought it would be quicker. It wasn't. I sat for over 30 minutes after ordering and saw other people who had come in after me getting their food. I finally put $3 on the bar to pay for my iced tea and told the waitress that I'd find another place to eat. She said something about not having to pay for it but I was not in the mood to hear it. Avoid this place at all cost! Maybe if they replace the wait staff or get a new manager... maybe, but I doubt it. Never again. read more

I traveled to Owatonna for business for the last few months. Ordered from Applebee's off of bridge street because of the convenience. I must say the food was excellent. I continued to order different items off the menu for the week I was there. Everything was so delicious and cooked perfectly. Whoever they currently have there as a chef is excellent. Came back a month later and food is still superb. They really should pay this person and have them train the other Applebee's chefs as I wish the one in my hometown was this good. This is my favorite restaurant in Owatonna based solely on the food as I have done curbside only. So delicious! Is chef Ramsey working back there? read more

Our waiter was crap, it was my sister's birthday and he forgot to sing and give us ice cream. We also asked for a refill for our waters twice and never got them. read more

We were on our way back home to Sioux Falls SD when we descided to stop in at Applebee's in Albert Lea MN. The place was super clean and friendly. Our waitress was so nice. My brother has cancer and walks with a cane. She let him pick out what table he wanted. She than waited on us with supper courtesy. She even made him smile and laugh which was great as just received bad news from Mayo Clinic. The food was great. First time in 3 days that he ate all the food gone. Thanks Applebee's read more

The food was alright, but just had a one hour ticket time to get it. The manager did come over to make things right. Local feedback is that this location has been on the decline lately, I hope they can turn it around. read more

This Applebee's is nice and tidy, they wipe down stuff good, but they seem to be slow making the food. My family and I went to an Applebee's here in my town and it was a Sunday night and wasn't packed, we ordered just a regular meal for three people and it took like twenty minutes to cook. When my dad got his food he took a bite and it was still cold, so I don't know what happened! Did they just let it sit and forget about it? Or did they not cook it enough? Otherwise we really like this Applebee's because of how friendly the waitresses are! They also tell us about the amazing deals they have so we can get a good deal! read more

The staff is made of several trained monkeys that have rehearsed everything the "Applebee's" way. Food was from a box. Not good. Can't see myself going here ever again. read more

Decided to have early dinner here was seated promptly and ordered drinks and ordered appetizer we both had fish and chips..fish was very good fries ok service was very good and reasonable prices we will be back for burger night on Mondays and wine night on Tuesdays read more

They served me a live chicken. I ended up keeping the chicken and decided to name it apple since I got it applebees but I still wanted chicken tenders. read more

Very disappointed with the service. Our waitress was nice, but not attentive. The chicken was burnt on the caesar salads and it was 45 minutes before we even got our food. Also, tables were seated after us yet received their food first. read more

My wife and I went there last night for the first time in quite some time and the service was really horrible our waitress was kind of rude the food was okay she never asked how I wanted my burger and it come out burnt but it was a terrible and then the waitress messed up and had somebody else pay for our food and then she wanted us to pay for their food and it was going to cost more and I said no way am I doing that and they kind of had to Hee-Haw around about it and then the manager finally came out and took care of it now normally I have good service here at Albert Lee's Applebee's but this time it really stunk and I don't know if I want to go back read more

The service is super amazing. The staff even opens up the door for customers. The atmosphere of the establishment was really relaxing plus the food wasn't half bad either. The servers are very knowledgable and well trained in communicating with the customer which I find very impressive read more

I have not always been a huge fan of Applebee's or chain restaurants in general, but when we started coming to the one in Albert Lea, it definitely changed my outlook, for the better. We have yet to have anything less than fantastic service, the food was quick and hot. I also appreciate a server who can hold her own when going head to head with a table full of elderly women who love to complain. The last time my boyfriend and I ate here we had the unfortunate luck to sit just behind a table full of elderly people on their way to the casino. (Another bad sign) These people really gave their server a run for her money. They complained about everything from the temperature of their water to the fact that something the wanted was not being offered anymore. This server never even let them get her down. She continued to wait on them with a smile on her face and a great attitude. Whoever trains the staff here needs to get a raise because they are all phenomenal. My boyfriend and I have a combined total of 30 + years in the restaurant and bar business and we were both in awe of the service at this place. Keep up the outstanding work!!! read more

Can't say I enjoyed this Applebee's. I ordered French onion soup and it came mixed with a different soup. The steak I ordered, medium rare, honestly looked like a fake steak that was microwaved and had a slimy texture to it. Then my grandmother ordered the chicken quesadilla and it had hot jalapeños in it. My sister ordered the chicken penne, wrong noodles were used and very over cooked. There were even people around us saying they "ordered no mushrooms" or "ordered this but got something else". Overall, bad food service.. But the waitresses were very nice and tried to fix it. read more

I just picked up a business lunch of 6 orders from Carside To Go and had wonderful service from Kathy! She had everything ready for me when I pulled up, had a wonderful attitude, greeted me by name, reviewed my order in person and even added in condiments that we might need for some of our sides. Very impressed! read more