We were anticipating a good experience based on the hype from others. We were seated right away at a booth. There was a sticky substance on the surface of the table that my wife laid her arm on. The waitress cleaned it immediately. We got drinks and Onion Rings, very good. We ordered the burger, no cheese and Nachos, no Jalapeños. We got our order there was cheese on the burger and the waitress offered to replace it but we said no problem. I then realized my Nachos were covered with jalapenos, I picked them off. My wife bit into her burger and something fell onto her napkin. After close inspection I realized it was plastic and it was stuck to the bottom of the bun. We called the waitress and she got the manager, Jeremy Reed. He said he would get us a new one but we declined and I told him she ingested some of the plastic, ewe!!!!! He hurried away with the plate and never came back. The waitress asked if she could get us anything else. he brought the bill and it was minus the burger. No sorry folks, let us comp your meal, sorry for the numerous problems, nothing. We will not be going back there. We got pics and posted on Facebook and were surprised at others who had bad experiences too. read more

You may want to find another restaurant in the area. We waited a reasonable time to be seated, but once we ordered the food, it took about thirty minutes before it was placed on the table. About five minutes before we were finally served, the manager appeared after we complained to the server. He apologized and said he would deliver the food himself, but he did not. He also offered nothing in return to the poor service. I will not return. read more

When this location opened up the food was outstanding. Over the years things have gone down hill. Between the dirty flatware, incorrect order and flavorless food. With the abundance of food variety in Sanford we now have a choice for our dollars. read more

I am always excited when a new restaurant opens up in my neighborhood, especially when it is one that I am not familiar with. Following Cheddar's opening, I heard a lot of mixed reviews on both the quality of the food and service. Unfortunately this kept me away for several months. I finally decided to try it and am happy to say that I did. Their menu is amazing - they have everything from burgers to steaks to pasta and interesting dishes like spasagna (lasagna made with spaghetti) and Shepard's pie. We started out with the onion ring appetizer which is huge and only cost about $4.49. The batter on the onion rings was amazing. I ordered Shepard's Pie which was also very good. The portion sizes are large and the prices are extremely reasonable with entrees averaging between $8 and $9. Our server was amazing. She was definitely a well seasoned server and made recommendations from the menu for our next visit. I would recommend ignoring the negative reviews on this restaurant due to the fact that it is new and has likely had the normal growing pains of any new establishment and try it for yourself. I will definitely be returning in the near future. read more

Recently went to this Cheddars for a business lunch. I arrived at 11:30 and there was a 15 minute wait. We were seated in about 15 minutes, and left almost 2 hours later. The service staff seemed over taxed. Our server made several apologies for the back up but managed to stop by regularly to let us know. DON'T order a burger unless you like is killed twice. I ordered a Smokehouse Burger and the server asked if I wanted it medium well or well. I replied medium rare, to which I learned that is not possible. He said he would write get it as close medium as possible, it was closer to dried out cooked to the max than anything else. The beef was dry and the barbecue sauce was barely noticed. The only good thing I can say it wasn't an $8 burger. ($5.95) It was crowded and I can understand a new location, new staff etc. but I would not go back based on the food quality alone. My silverware was dirty and they were wrapped in a napkin at the table. I would think you wouldn't wrap a dirty utensil, so it probably means the attention to detail is lacking. read more

This was my first visit to Cheddars. I ordered the philly steak sandwich it took over 45 minutes to get it. The manager came out and apologized and asked if I wanted anything, since this was my first visit I didn't even know what to tell him. After I received my sandwich the waitress came by and wanted to clear my table. Plenty of open tables, but I was feeling rushed. So in short I will never be back. read more

Wow! All I can say is, I'm glad I didn't read these reviews before we tried it out. We went yesterday (Aug 2) for dinner, and got there about 5:30pm. They were super busy, and we were told it would be an hour wait. It only took 25 minutes before we were called. We were seated in a booth, and the waitress (Jessica) was there immediately, and was very attentive the whole time we were there. I ordered the Citrus Miso Salmon with broccoli and side salad. My DH ordered the Spasagna with side salad, and my sister-in-law ordered the lunch portion of Whitefish with broccoli. The salmon was cooked very well, and the broccoli was seasoned and cooked perfectly. DH's Spasagna is similar to baked spaghetti, and he loved it. The whitefish (Jessica told us it was catfish) was very hot and very good. Even though it was the lunch portion, we were told it has 3 strips of fish, while the dinner portion has 5. It was still a lot. We also each had the 99 cent chocolate dessert shots, which were very good as well. The food and service were very good. At the end of the meal, the wait manager came to ask us about how our service was. We were very happy to report that it was fine. The prices were very reasonable too. We will definitely be going back, but next time it'll be at a (hopefully) not-so-busy time of day. read more

I would love to give this restaurant a much better rating than this but I simply can not. I have been here atleast 6 times and it always seems to go down the same path. When we arrive no matter what time it is it always seems to be like a 35-45 minute wait, most of the time it takes longer than they tell us. This is after driving around the parking lot for a few mins looking for a spot that they don't have which is only going to get worse since they are building 2 more restaurants next door. We decided to try it again last night and after a 35 minuet wait and finally sitting down we ordered our drinks and appetizers. Since I just got off a 12 hour shift I wanted something fast to eat well 25 mins later appetizers finally come out. Then about 10 mins later our food came out. Well the food is amazing which is why I rated this a 3 star otherwise would be lower. When we were finally ready to go because our babies were getting a little fussy since was way past bed time we asked for our checks to pay. Well the waitress decided to instead take the order of the new table before checking us out. These people decided to basically ask about everything on the menu so 15 mins later we finally were able to leave. This is unacceptable, we were trying to be good guest and leave before our children were too tired and caused a scene. It will truly take a lot for me to go back. It's sad when anytime someone ask about this place I say the food is good but the service suck, prepare to have a 2-3 hour meal. read more

Not a good look Cheddar's. Either hire servers with experience or start training employees. The service has never been good but after this terrible experience I can't justify ever spending money at this location in the future. read more

Heard about Cheddars from word of mouth. Was in Lake Mary today so I decided to try the place out. First off the staff was very friendly. Our waitress Doreen was one of the best, great personality, very attentive, always smiling. The restaurant was very clean and I loved the crazy ceiling fan. We all ordered the Chicken Fried Chicken lunch portion. My sides were Mashed n Gravy and Mac n Cheese. The portion was vert generous. The Chicken was Delicious and melted in my mouth. The Gravy was very good, wish I had more. The Mashed Potatoes were like hand mashed and excellent. I thought the Mac N cheese was kind of bland. All in all I will definitely be back! read more

This place went down hill big time.....they were really good when they first opened (used to be my favorite restaurant), but now the portions are small, you have to pay almost $4.00 more if you want a salad with your meal, and my green beans I swore were from a can. They don't even give you bread! The dessert was literally 2 mouthfuls. I left there still hungry! Won't be back......shame on you Cheddar's. read more

Great food, varied menu, good prices, and excellent service. Can't beat this location!

I had hopes because it was busy. My guess it is the case of a new place in town Hostess was friendly. That is where it stops. All the servers seem unhappy including ours. Food was mediocre bar food with a southern twist. Skip thesuper sampler. All was rated a 2 out of 10. Margarita good, Chicken and waffle was ok. The waffle was hard not the fluffy,golden waffle you hope for, chicken tenders on top were fine. Rated 5 out of 10. My husband had ribs. He said they tasted boilrd first and and the taste of cracked pepper. Rated 5 out of 10. My sons meal was cold. Overall rating, not going back. Typed in car if typos. read more

Not worth it. I've heard from a few people that this was a good place to eat, so my husband and I tried it for dinner one night. When we got to the restaurant it was pretty packed but only waited about 30 minutes or so...pretty good considering the amount of people that were there that night. By the time we were seated we already knew what we wanted so we ordered drinks, appetizers and our meals as soon as we met our waitress. The drinks took 25 minutes to arrive, and even then we had to ask twice for water to go with our drinks. My husband's drink was wrong too. Another 30 minutes later, we get our food. When we asked the waitress for our appetizer, she acted completely shocked that we hadn't gotten it yet, but then quickly mentioned that they were out of nachos, which was what we ordered. She never came back after that, but another waiter came and brought us our appetizer when we were just about finished with our meals. We were full by then and didn't want it anymore, but he left it at the table anyway. The food was barely warm despite taking nearly an hour to get to our table, and it wasn't very good either. I had the steak and shrimp. The shrimp was breaded and dripping with grease, and my steak was dry and dull. My husband got ribs and steak and said the same thing about his meal. We're really hoping we just had a bad waitress. We're also trying to give the kitchen the benefit of the doubt because there were so many people there that night. I'm pretty sure they were swamped back there. Hopefully it will be better if we ever visit again, but our first experience was horrible. read more

Lets start at the bar. This restaurant is new, the surge of people trying it produces long wait times, we had an hour wait so we snagged a seat at the bar and ordered some drinks and appetizers, Angelica and Kendra were both fantastic young women who deserve a shout of for wonderful, happy, service behind the bar. Our Appetizers arrived and a few minutes later our table was ready, we moved the remainder of our appetizers and drinks to the table with us, We sat there, at the table for 30 minutes, no waiter ever approached, no one introduced themselves of offered refills or taking an order. We asked for a manager and got the Guest Relations Coordinator who came and took our order and refilled our drinks and found our server for us. Our server, Scott, was a young, cocky, and confused person. he had no basic concept of how a restaurant should run, he turned his bad service into a joke and laughed it off, while we sat there, still waiting, it took him 10 minutes to "find" a to-go box, and the table next to us asked him for lemon wedges and was told 15 minutes later when they got the lemons, they were growing on the money tree (haha)... Food comes out, or half of it does, this seemed to be a miscommunication between dining room and kitchen which is understandable because the Guest relations woman is not a server, but took our order. One of the two that came out was wrong, so they had to redo a basic burger, and cook the other two entrees all together. They bring out the remade burger and my Dijon Chicken but my mother's burger STILL DIDN'T COME. it was almost 10 more minutes before the order was complete. The restaurant manager had come out at this point and talked to us and apologized and offered free dessert and said they'd see what he could do for our bill, by this time, with the errors on our food, it had turned into the whole meal on the house. it took another 15 minutes to "find" boxes to package out entrees. The food, was actually very good, i don't know what the reviews complaining about the food are about, their food is fantastic, the Ribs are fall off the bone, saucy and great, the dijon chicken was good, the sauce on it was very good. the burgers look frozen but i'm not sure, but there were no complaints. The prices are OUTSTANDING! their food prices are reasonable, their drink prices are great! total value for the good quality food you get! Although our service was awful, the food was good, the management was wonderful and know what they're doing, We will go back, my recommendation would be give them some time, let them train their staff more, and the influx of new customers cool off. read more

We went back for our third visit. 45 mon wait to get a table but the good and service made up for it. They must have made some management changes. We will be back read more

Cheddar's always delivers! I have been to this restaurant many times and it is consistently delicious. If it is your first time, you can't go wrong with the chicken tender platter. As for alcohol selection, I would recommend the painkiller. read more

Meh. Caesar salad with honey butter croissant was great. But thats where it ended. My little boys cheeseburger was 100% raw inside. My blackened redfish with crab sauce was ok, nothing special. Broccoli casserole tasted bland & not homemade, more like something that came out of a box. Server was pleasant but very slow. He did remove the raw burger from the bill which was appreciated. But overall I just wasn't impressed. Won't be back. read more

Doubt we'll ever return to this restaurant...We waited only 20 minutes to get seated, which was acceptable. BUT then we waited 10 minutes for our waitress to even come to take our drink orders. We asked for only water with extra lemon. Took another 10 minutes to get the water with a promise of the extra lemons; which were NEVER delivered. Then waited another 15 minutes to place our order. We waited 30 minutes to get our soup and salad. Then 10 minutes later our main courses were served. And those were nothing to recommend. Service was horrible, virtually non-existent! Not going back to this particular establishment! Additionally, the menu had only 2 vegetarian main courses offered and only a side salad without meat on the menu. In the past we've patronized Cheddar's in Asheville NC and always had an excellent experience with more menu options...NOT so with this one! :-( read more

I am surprised to see this restaurant has so many negative reviews. My wife and I have eaten here five or six times. The prices of food are relatively cheap compared to the portions. We have ordered something different every time we went. Many items on the menu to choose from. Our food has always been good and our orders correct. Service has been great every time except for once but the restaurant was really busy. There is usually a 30-45 minute wait to be seated but we do go on the weekends for dinner. read more

9.6.2014 Went for lunch for the second time with my shopping friend. We had burgers the first time and service and food great, but that was right after they opened. We had no trouble being seated immediately, we usually lunch early before shopping. I was shocked I got to give the waitress my order. I was once a waitress when I was young, so know how hard a job this is, and always leave a decent or more than decent tip. BUT, this waitress only took my order and delivered it, she never acknowledged me after that point, my friends strawberry tea was replaced three times even before she had drank the first glass. My unsweetened tea was never refreshed, nor was I ever asked if I would like more, so my 1 glass to my friends 3 glasses.. then she kept trying to remove things from our table while still eating, then asked my friend if she needed a doggie bag, not once but twice, when I was the one with the food on my plate. She never even asked me or looked my way. This was the most rude service and treatment I have ever received anyplace.. the more I thought about the whole lunch the angrier I became and took all but one dollar tip back, and she did not deserve even that from me.. Do not go unless you know your server.... Not sure if I will ever go back, it will become a teen hangout most likely, they can put up with that sort of service... read more

Worst service ever. Food was cold. Never got salad. Drinks took literally 25 mins. Manager said he would remake the RAW chicken and instead because it was a few minutes passed closed.... He just remade my rice and broccoli which was obviously microwaved. Horrible situation. Manager made us feel bad because he had to cook it using a pan because his grill was off. They took the raw chicken originally and heated in the microwave. It was so dry and gross and they actually served it. Bad experience. Not ever going back!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! read more

The restaurant wasn't busy, however there were a few large parties. Much to our surprise we were seated very quickly in the bar area. Once seated, we were never given any silverware or napkins. Our waiter greeted us (if you can call it that) and took our drink orders then proceeded to tell us we better order appetizers because dinner orders were backed up and it was taking a very long time to deliver meals that evening...What?!? I asked if he would bring us silverware when he delivered our drinks and he acknowledged. When our drinks arrived, no silverware and our drinks probably had 5 ice cubes...it was 100 degrees outside, do you honestly think your patrons would not like a cool, refreshing beverage? When the chips and queso arrived that my son ordered, again, no silverware! We finally went to the hostess table and requested it. Our waiter was so unpleasant and it was clear that he absolutely loved his job, NOT! When our appetizer was finished, the plates, empty glasses, etc. were never removed from the table. It wasn't until our food arrived, and no room existed on the table, that I requested it be removed. Boy, oh boy, the eye rolling! Out of the four meals ordered, two did not have their sides and my salad had an empty container with no dressing. The young man that delivered the meals was so apologetic and clearly embarrassed. It was somewhat sad, but amusing to then watch our waiter place the blame on the incompetency of the deliverer and kitchen. Out of the four meals; New Orleans Pasta, Maple Bacon Chicken Sandwich, Steak and Grilled Chicken Salad with Pecans, only the sandwich was enjoyed. It was painful to pay for this meal, even more painful to tip our waiter! There are other restaurants in the area, avoid Cheddars! read more

We should have paid attention to the reviews. Got a table promptly but waited 45 min for the meal. Appetizer never came. Waitress said she was looking for it. We were looking at several other tables being served the same app we requested. Country fried steak was overly breaded and of poor quality. Philly cheese steak had dried out cheese. good French fries. Very loud and cold room read more

The food was great. We had lasagna and key lime grilled chicken and shrimp. The service was good, wait minimal. For the price you can not beat it. Definitely recommended, especially for families or low cost date night. read more

Chef Ramsey would eat these guys alive. If you like a pancake done on one side and never flipped over then buy all means, order the Monte Cristo. You'll love it. If you want breading that is cooked all the way through, you'd better stay away from the battered shrimp as well! I think they have a team of service managers all waiting to apologize. Not unlike a cab stand where they wait in line for the next fair, I saw managers in wait mode coming out one after another to give a perfect song and dance. If only half of them stood near the food as it came out at least half of THOSE plates might come out cooked. The Cesar Salad was at least cold, I'll give them that much. read more

Probably the best restaurant within 100 miles. Very reasonable,large portions and plain good. Service slower but always busy and expected. Everything tried so far is excellent. Wish their were more of them in Florida. read more

Have eaten at cheddars in Springfield mo, where I went for school. It was great then, and still great in Florida. The chicken tenders are always huge and juicy. read more

The restaurant is beautiful but the food is fried and/or bland. The only thing I somewhat liked was the monte cristo.

Every time I come here I get a great experience. The servers are always friendly and patient, the food is reasonably priced, delicious, and always comes out in a timely manner. The lighting/ambiance is beautiful, and they have a wide selection for vegetarians like myself. (Try the vegetable platter!) The best food and service in the Sanford area, definitely worth your time! read more

Went to Cheddar's in Sanford on Rinehart Road it was amazing . I sat @ bar Veronica was my main server along with Brian . Veronica was very pleasant , kind and helpful on what to order . I had the Samoan it was delicious everything was cooked perfect . It's a great place to visit . Service and food I will give a 10 for excellent . I will diffidently go back to Cheddars .., Thank you guys. read more

Terrible service. Cheap food. Franchise is put to a disgrace. Really disappointed. Been about 5 times and got up and walked out one of the times. read more

The wait can be a little long but worth it. Would have given five stars if not for that. Food is amazing and service is always pleasant and quick. Even during the lunch rush. Recommend to family and friends. read more

I do think they were just opened and experiencing some of the growing pains with a new establishment. That said, food was bland, service was slow. The building itself is beautiful. I might give them a second change in the future. read more

The food and prices are fantastic; their Cheddars' Painkiller cocktail and monte cristo sandwich are delicious! Service is less than desirable though. This is our third trip to the Sanford location and all three times, we've been disappointed with the service. We always sit at the bar. Today, the entire bar was sticky, we had to ask more than once for waters, we had to ask for silverware and napkins after our food was served, and our to-go order was incomplete. If the service was more polite, prompt, and aware, this place would be 5 stars. read more

Amazing food,service and prices. I've never been disappointed here ever. My waitress April was on point the whole time. I always get the steak and shrimp when I come here. read more

We have been to this Cheddar's twice since they opened. The first time was horrible service and the food was okay. We wowed never to go back but a few weeks ago we went since a friend who goes there frequently said the food is great and service is better than before. So on Sept. 30, 2016 we decided to try it again. We had a 45 minute wait :( then once we get our table we all order appetizers, regular drinks and two alcoholic beverages (we had to restate a lot of our order). Everyone's drinks arrive except for my Painkiller. When I decide to finally ask where is my drink the server looks me dead in the eye and says you never ordered a Painkiller. After confirming with my friend that I did in fact order one the server says she will bring it to me. We then order our food. Food takes forever to get to us and when it does it tastes good. After eating we ask for 4 to go boxes. We then realize we need a bag to easily carry it all out so we ask our server for a bag, she brings the check no bag, we ask again when she comes to collect the money and again no bag. She returns to pick up the signed slips and still no bag. By this time I am frustrated so we just carry in hand when the hostess sees me she immediately offers to get me the bag that the server never gave us. Since this time I went online and completed one of guest relations to advise them and we are now at Day 3 with no response from them either. This is very sad because we really enjoyed out food the second time around but not the service. I'm not sure we will ever return unless the service gets better and it first needs to start with an apology, acknowledgement and compensation. read more

Can someone please explain the concept of this restaurant? The name would suggest some kind of cheese reference, but nope...the decor doesn't help either, literally nothing hanging on the walls...just paint and some stonework....yawn. The menu is like any Applebee's/Chili's/Ruby Tuesday's etc with a 15%-20% markup...think burgers, sandwiches, wraps, salads, "American fare" and the like....no sense of identity or pushing the culinary envelope for sure. Factoring in the lack of execution and poor management it really boggles the mind the popularity of this place. read more

Bad all the way....horrible service (the servers were socializing next to our table the whole time), waited for almost an hour after ordered food. To make things worse....found penne pasta in my dessert! Neither our waitress or a chief acted like it was a big deal, asked me if I wanted them to bring me a another one! NO, THANK YOU!!!My husband spoke with a manager who requested our address to send discount or not sure what (that was not the reason why my husband wanted to speak with the manager) but 3 weeks later, did not get anything. I would not even go there for a free food! read more

This is by far my favorite restaurant! I love everything I get there.. their salads are fantastic, their soup is fantastic, everything here is great. read more