Applebee's at 2780 Crossroads Blvd, Waterloo, IA 50702 delivered a true 5 star plus experience and reminded me why simple comfort food, done right, still wins. I ordered the 6 ounce sirloin and it came out looking like it actually mattered to somebody in the kitchen. The steak was cooked just right, juicy, and full of that clean, grilled flavor that hits you on the first bite. Not over salted, not drowned in sauce, just a solid, well seasoned sirloin with a nice sear that gave it that little edge of char you want. For a 6 ounce portion, it felt generous because it was thick, tender, and did not taste like it had been sitting under a heat lamp. The sides were the real surprise in the best way. The broccoli was bright green, fresh, and cooked to that perfect point where it is still crisp but not raw. It tasted clean and lightly seasoned, like it was meant to balance the plate instead of being an afterthought. The mac and cheese was straight comfort. Creamy, rich, and smooth, with that warm cheesy bite that makes you slow down and enjoy it. The portion was more than enough, and it held its texture instead of turning into a greasy mess. Then there was the salad, which honestly tied the whole meal together. Fresh greens, crisp toppings, and everything tasted like it had just been prepped. Nothing wilted, nothing soggy. It added that cool, clean crunch that made the plate feel complete. Overall, the flavor, freshness, and portions were outstanding. This meal felt filling without feeling heavy, and every part of the plate tasted like it was made with care. If you are in Waterloo and you want a reliable, satisfying meal that tastes better than you expect, this Applebee's absolutely earns a strong recommendation. read more

Service was alright but I'll get to that in a minute. We were sat in a booth, love that. Our server was great!! I ordered the garlic sirloin skillet and it looked and smelled amazing when it was brought out but there was just one issue: I ordered RARE and received medium well... 5-6 minutes later a woman who I assume to be a manager of some sort brought me another steak (with no garlic topping on it) and again, medium at best. When I told her it still was over cooked she looked at me like she was waiting for me to just accept it.. so I did and said "ya know what, it's fine I'll eat it." SPOILER ALERT: I didn't lol. She discounted our meal about $10, which yea okay fine but I still wanted my food to my liking and never got it. I still tipped the server because it wasn't her fault that her manager needs to practice customer service and the kitchen needs to learn how to cook a steak. ALSO my boyfriends chicken was dry (he wanted me to add that) read more

Excellent service every time I go. Food was great. Atmosphere was great and the drinks were amazing

Literally was the worse service we have ever had. The staff was just sitting around while our waiter ran his legs off. Store owner needs to take a trip to this store and get the staff excited about the service they should be giving to the customers. read more

Applebee's Grill + Bar - Not even edible as they burnt the bun. Waited 55 minutes to get food. Ton of help but just milking the clock. - Sports Bars Near Me - Waterloo, Iowa

Great food stake was just the way we wanted. Good service cook did good. Dylan did good at seeing if we had good food or needed anything. We came here for our 13th year anniversary date. Will come back. read more

Great place! The Cedar Falls location closed early and my group was going to get 1/2 price apps and drinks so we came here! It was busy for being so late, but the service was excellent! Our waiter was quick, attentive, and remembered all our orders without writing them down. My favorite apps to get are the wings and the pretzels! read more

This particular location reminds me of a school cafeteria. It's edible and not terribly expensive. The service even though polite and helpful was bothersome. I think she asked 6 times and we felt rushed. Do a greeting, menu, offer a beverage, come back when you see the menus on the table. I doubt I would hurry back anytime soon. It just a place to eat. read more

the service was amazing! We had a great server but the food and wait time was incredibly long me and my boyfriend were just trying to enjoy a date night but the restaurant was so loud we couldn't stay until we got our food we just got it boxed up and left once we go in the car to continue our date night the food was terrible I would not recommend any of their pasta I had gotten the chicken a and it was all broccoli and had like no chicken or alfredo taste. and he had gotten the honey chicken tender and Mac and cheese and it was all oil and grease and the oil was really sweet to like a point where he was gagging so definitely 1/10 in my opinion very disappointed for $60 read more

this was the worst!!! went here today at 5pm, the waitress was very friendly at all. the veteran were there when we walked in 4 of them, love veterans but think it was a bit much considering they only had two sections open and people were waiting ti be seated. There was a large groups of older people next to us and the hostesses who don't speak wouldn't even help them older people move the table. Wow!! then our waitress dropped our ticket off, I payed my cc on the table and she didn't even say nothing just picked it up and walked off. I don't understand this generation at all!!!' Won't Be Back!!!!' then to top it all OFF there was spitballs on the light in front of our table. read more

Got there, sat all of us down. Sat there for like 30 minutes before someone even came to our table, didn't even ask us what to drink and by the time they came to us we've had a lot of time to know what we wanted to eat and finally got to order. We get SOME of our food and two are late so waited some more and by the time they got their food everyone else was almost done. My husband's chicken sandwich he had to wait for ended up being way overcooked. We should have just left after waiting in the beginning for so long. Not going back to this location. read more

Requested NO LETTUCE but guess what the wrap had??????..... yeppers lettuce‍‍‍‍‍. This is not a one time occurrence, repeated mistakes. For the love of anything decent this is not brain surgery it's chain restaurant food!!! Can't even eat this so thanks Applebee's never will we meet again read more

I came in with my wife who has a handicap and cannot stand for long periods. The waiting benches are much too low for her to use. We politely asked if we could sit at one of the many empty tables why we waited for a server to get free. We were told that we were not allowed to sit because if we sat we needed to be served and no servers were free. We understand being short staffed but to not let a lady using a walker to sit at a vacant table seems pretty ridiculous read more

Had a great experience ! the food was great as always, and received it in a timely manner. KeKe went out of her way to help a family who had an infant, instead of letting the sun shine in on the baby, she closed the shade without being asked, she's very helpful and is VERY personable !! Shout out to KeKe. read more

I want to compliment the waiter that we had on Friday June 9th around 6 pm. I didn't catch his name but he did an excellent job. He had a huge table of softball girls and still checked on us like we were his only customer. Thank you for the great service. read more

9pm 5/22/24 What can I say about this place? We went to a Applebees for the first when we were in St. Louis. Amazing hospitality and food. Traveling back to Minnesota while the Timberwolves were playing a playoff game we made this Applebees a stop so we could eat and watch the game. We called ahead to make sure it would be on there. We come in have to greet the hostess ourselves. Explain we are trying to watch the game. The person says oh. You can sit at the bar. Or wait 10 mins and we will get you a table. We said we will wait. 10 mins go by and we happen to talk to the manager to explain what we are trying to do. He tries to turn on like 5 tvs that are currently off with no luck. By this time the bar seating had filled up. The manager came and said they weren't going to be able to seat us. It's me and my young son and he recommends I go down the street to a bar. Umm ok. He's like yeah they have food and stuff. We go down the street to the bar to at least catch the last part of the game after all this. Get there. Guess what? Their kitchen was already closed. So now after driving many hours we don't get to eat if we want to watch the game. How can 1 Applebees be so good and another be so terrible? I would definitely go to the one in St. Louis again but I wouldn't step into this one again if it was the only place in town. read more

The food was good I recommend 5 stars I had the baked chicken with shrimp and mashed potatoes best choice

Awful food not anything like I remember ordered chicken sandwich and it takes like it was raw rubbery I had to spit it out in a napkin. Service was horrible. read more

Just a wonderful location with good staffing, great menu and lots of parking. Highly recommend!

As much as i like to hide my snobby pickiness of restaurants I'll use it to say something positive of my experience here. I don't frequent Applebee's or any other chain for that matter because I'm a "local"restaurant-try all the different ones- let's go someplace new type of person. We ate dinner today here because we wanted, comfort food, had a gift card, and truly my wife and I are just waiting for our new oven to be shipped to us so can't cook warm food at home. I've been to other Applebee's before, service is fine, food is fine. So I came in with certain expectations. We ordered the 2 for $20 mozzarella sticks, zesty chicken, and American burger. I was hungry for a burger and I had in mind a certain texture and flavor that I was going to get from this burger. Let's just say I thought it would be sub-par. To my positive surprise I was wrong. It was a great tasting patty well cooked, hot, and good texture. Everything else was fine. Ok so the real reason for the 5th star review. I wasn't expecting the server to treat me like a king, I wasn't expecting the server to serve me perfectly. I wasn't expecting much of the server, maybe too long of a delay in general service, too much talking possibly, forgetting something important, because it was a Sunday night and I get it there where a lot of table to wait on, etc. MATT OUR SERVER was just on point. Like I said it's not that he did anything special, that was until the very last minute where he stepped out of the restaurant to hand us something we forgot, his service was professional, straight to the point, just the right amount of courtesy, he looked very presentable, and timeliness was good too. So I write this really for him, I hope this gets attention internally so he can get attention. Give him something on my behalf for his excellent service. PS and hats off to all the cooks back there, ya'll are the real MVP's food was hot and well seasoned. read more

Let me start by saying that I *used* to love this particular Applebee's. I suppose its downfall was so gradual that it was hard to notice at first, but when a restaurant starts blundering so ridiculously and so consistently, you can't help but notice. Sometimes it is so blatant and unbelievable, and would be worthy of a laugh, if it weren't so bloody annoying. Once last year, for example, a couple of us went out for dinner there. The incredibly sharp and talented hostess seated us at a table, and there was water all over the booth seat which I pointed out. "OH!" she said, feigning concern, before running off to fetch a dirty rag which she promptly handed me, giving me the amazing opportunity to clean it myself. Just as promptly, I tossed said rag aside and we walked out. A couple of months later, we entered on a quiet night. Only about 1/4 of the tables were taken. The hostess, bless her little heart, brought us to a table and warned us that some party-girls had just been there and there may be some glitter on the seat, and it might get on our clothes. I looked to the empty table to the left, and then to the empty table to the right, before looking at the two empty tables behind us. I looked at her, shocked that I even had to ask this, and inquired if we could just have one of the many other non-bedazzled seats. The "Deer-in-the-Headlights" look crossed her face for a good five seconds before her synapses fired and she blinked, smiled, and agreed before moving two feet and giving us a clean seat. These days, if you're lucky enough to get silverware, you're usually going to be ok. I've been there many times since, drawn in only by the late hours and half-off appetizers deals, and I have had some excellent service. Unfortunately, it's going to be really hard to offset the blunders. Now, when you're trying to eat your food, some weird (manager?) guy comes and visits your table, trying to act suave as he checks on you, but comes off as annoying and creepy when he interrupts you. Come on, fella, lots of restaurant staff know how to check up on a table without seeming like an old creep at a sorority party. read more

Had a horrible experience when four of us came here last Sunday. The ribs in my dinner were mealy and overcooked, seemed leftover or warmed up from a previous day, certainly not falling off the bone. I asked for butter for my mashed potatoes, the waiter says, "there is already butter spritzed on, do you still want some?" YES, I want some, bring it, don't question your customer! Both adult meals were cold and the manager took the cost of mine off. I couldn't eat any of it. The appetizer platter was cold too, with weird sauce on the buffalo wings. Really a bad experience. read more

I'm generally disappointed with the meal. You can tell the food sat under a warmer for an extended period of time. The salad was very warm and slimy. My classic chicken and broccoli Alfredo appeared to be dried out and cold in the middle. The Alfredo has a film on top from resting to long. I've spent numerous years in the restaurant industry and I'm very dissatisfied with my entire overall experience. read more

Applebee's Grill + Bar - Sports Bars Near Me - Waterloo, Iowa

I tend to have a love/hate relationship with Applebee's. This location was a win. I had the stir fry and the waitress recommended a spicy Asian sauce. It was packed with flavor and had a good kick to it. The won ton tacos are always my favorite. read more

Delicious well priced food (we got the 2 for $22 deal). Good customer service too. Fiesta chicken and chicken tenders were tasty, loved the artichoke spinach appetizer. read more

I met a friend here for dinner here on a Monday night at 6 o'clock. We were seated right away by a nice gentleman who held the door open for us. Our waitress came and got us our drinks immediately and gave us the menus. I really like their flavored lemonade. I got strawberry lemonade and my friend got pomegranate lemonade. They come with free refills to which is the best part. I ordered the Asian shrimp salad and my friend ordered bacon mac & cheese with chicken tenders. Our food was out rather quickly in about 10 minutes or so. The portions were really good and very filling. What I wasn't so excited about was I forgot that they tend to overdress their salads. So much dressing that it's almost nauseating to eat. If you get a salad you should ask for the dressing on the side. My salad was okay besides too much dressing. There was a fair quantity of shrimp on it. Nothing else really stood out it had a lot of cabbage and carrots on it. It was part of their low-calorie menu but with all the dressing I doubt it stuck to the calorie content it advertised. My friend and I stayed at the booth and talked for quite a while after we were done eating. I kind of felt rushed out. After clearing our plates we were promptly given the bill. Didn't even ask about dessert. Not that I wanted anything but the option wasn't given. My friend and I stayed and chatted awhile because we hadn't seen each other in so long. The restaurant was half empty so it wasn't like they needed our seats but the waitress vacuumed under the table we were sitting at and seemed annoyed we were still there. She didn't fill either of our empty glasses after we paid or even asked if we needed anything else. It was quite expensive for two people too. $32 without tip for a bowl of macaroni and a salad. All in all it wasn't terrible. But it just cemented why Applebee's is not my first choice in restaurants. read more

This is a review of a visit we did in early May 2014. When we came in, we were tired, the kids were starving, and our day is slam-packed with appointments that we had to make. So basically this was a sit down, eat, and get the hey-ho out of there. I kindly let the host know to pass it along to our server that we needed to be some place in short-order. So he stepped up to make sure that our table was ready to receive us. The kids got their kids menus, my wife and I had ours, he took down any up-front drink orders, and the table seemed already bussed and ready for the next patron. So far so good. So our server gets to us, gets our entré orders, and we wait for the food to arrive. In a reasonable amount of time later, something like three or four servers come with EVERYTHING, all laid out for us to start. WOW. Now that's what I call attending well to customers who gotta go. We have visited Applebee's a couple times after this one visit, and it seems to be that when the entrées are served, it's normally not just your one server. Oh well... But they did get us served and out of there ON TIME. So they deserve the big 5 for responding well. The food was cooked/prepared well, the plates/flatware was all clean, the restrooms are in good order. The only thing we did not experience was the bar. All else seemed good. I think the food is a bit pricy for my taste, the portions are not enlarged to make up for it. But then again, this is a name-brand restaurant. This positive experience has left a good mark with me. read more

Had an awesome time tonight with my family! We had a great server named William B. He was very polite, funny, and gave us great service! Best server we've had in the 2 years we have lived here! read more

Usually we get a great meal at this Applebee's but tonight all three of our meals were below par. My steak was raw, my green beans were cold. My husband's chicken was dry and tough. My daughters 4 cheese mac n cheese has little to no sauce. read more

Usually Applebees sits at the 3 star rating, but our server, Tasha, was just so nice and genuine. She was great; way to go Tasha! :) To drink, I tried the pomegranate lemonade and thought that was really good, little sour, little sweet. They had a whole bunch of flavored lemonades and iced teas (this is great if you don't drink pop). We got the 2 for $20, which is an appetizer and two entrees for $20. The appetizer was full-sized (big mozz sticks with marinara, yum!) I almost always get the Oriental Chicken Salad and this time was no different, but the 2 for $20 meals to choose from offered a good variety. There was steak, chicken, pasta and salads. read more

I love coming here. I am never able to finish my rib-lets. My family and I come here every weekend and we love it. There is one waiter who dropped off our appetizer and just left instead of asking if we needing anything. read more

Love the atmosphere and food. Great deals for the menu and kids night is always a plus. Great dining for any occasion.

Ditto from the previous reviewer ---employees who just got off their shift should NOT be sitting at the bar yapping about other employees! Hostess was worthless --couldn't understand her. Seated us at a table in the bar--NO ONE came to wait on us after 10 min, so we went to the bar. Kelsey waited on us immediately :). The tortilla soup was luke warm after 2 attempts to get it right. Kelsey got the manager to take it off the bill. Was told the soup is always cold ---fix that corporate Applebee's !! Way too many waiters mingling around. Poor productivity ! Won't be back --- read more

This was the worst. I used to like Applebee's but not anymore. I ordered ribs thinking they can't be that bad but these had little meat and were extremely tough. Not again. read more

Employees should not sit at the bar and complain about other employees from previous shifts. Supervisors need to learn to be professional and sometimes when they are younger and inexperienced they need to be mentored to act appropriately. read more

ordered oriental chicken salad, 10 pieces of chicken, not good little end chuncks, the lettuce should have been thrown away last week, all brown and wilted. surprised how bad this salad is, won't oder from them ever again! total waste of money and effort. gross gross gross read more

Service is kind of slow Been waiting on a refill for 15 minutes but hey have a good variety of food and great cook

Play bar food on a per night bring your friend enjoy I love itHarden their phone server fun event good service if you're in town stop by and see us read more

Definitely worth 5 star. Service was outstanding, first steak I got wasn't good, I asked them and they gave me a whole new meal and took 8 dollars off the total! The second steak was fantastic. read more

The place was dirty, food and garbage on the floor - told the hostesses it was dirty and she still didn't clean it up even after we got done eating. The mixed drinks were not shaken all the liquor was on top.French onion soup was good, mozzarella cheese sticks were good chicken quinoa with granny Smith apples was terrible read more

I went here with my daughter, and we had a modern take on Mac n cheese, a salad and some tortilla chips. The chips where boring and the two salsas were worse than some cheap supermarket salsa. The salad was limp and uninspired, but the mac n cheese was the worst. It has these pieces of chicken and bacon added, which had that distinct hardness of something heated for too long or heated in a microwave. The pasta itself was terrible. In spite of coming directly from the pool, and being really hungry, neither my daughter nor I could eat it. It was covered in huge amounts of something that tasted just like cheap syrup. I thought going to Applebee's was going to allow me to feed us both, so we could go shopping. But neither of us came out of there sated, so we ended up going home to eat anyway. Not ok! read more