Applebees - Swedesboro, NJ
Bait and Switch Reduce
Applebees - Swedesboro, NJ
Meal: Dinner (For Two)
Price: $29.93 (Excludes Tip)
Menu: Appleebees Corporate Site
What can I say? The darn Television Commercials did me in. I have been watching for a few weeks the advertisement about a special; an appetizer, entree, and dessert starting at $9.99. What a deal! Of course the key word in the sentence is “starting”.
There actually was one special for $9.99.The other limited selections were more money. Ok. Ok. I am already in the restaurant so let’s try one of the higher price specials. My friend ordered the Fried Shrimp Special. He was happy with his shrimp, but then he eats anything that involves shrimp so I am not sure this is a fair assessment. With him it is shrimp and quantity. I ordered the 7 oz Sirlion Special. I was not happy with mine. I did not like the flavor or the texture of the meat. My meal came with a baked potato and a side. I ordered the salad. I know portions are smaller with these specials, but I am still looking for any lettuce. I did find two slices of cucumber, a grape tomato, croutons, and onion slice or two. This was very sad!
We each were entitled to an appetizer. I ordered the onion rings which turned out to be 4 onion rings with barbecue sauce. My friend ordered mozzarella sticks. There were 4 of these also. Both appetizers were good but the quantity and the presentation was lacking. We were not served any bread with the meal. Now it is dessert time. We were allowed to pick from 5 desserts. All sounded delicious and they were good, but again the size was incredibly small. Picture a double size pudding cup in a fancy 8 ounce glass with some broken up graham crackers and whipped cream. I know there are many Applebees fans. I am not sure why. I have tried the chain on a few occasions in different locations and to date I have not been impressed.
Let’s add up my complaints. I think with a big television promotion there should be more than one $9.99 special. I also think a salad should have some lettuce no matter how small the portion. I think people should be told that the portions for the specials are very small. Lastly don’t mess with my dessert. Tell me ahead of time that it is a child’s portion; maybe a 3 year old child at that. Then I can decide if getting the special is really better than ordering off the menu. I admit it is a good gimic to get customers in the door, but it won’t get me to return.
As far as atmophere, the music is too loud and the seats are uncomfortable. It has been maybe 4 years since I ate at an Applebees. It may be 4 more.
La Critique’s Score: 2.5 Chews
Subjective rating: Right there in the middle.
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I’m glad you submitted this review because they have a bunch of billboards up around here about that $9.99 three-course meal and from your review it would appear that they’re getting you in the portion sizes, and that’s not something looked kindly upon on Chewru! I think Friday’s tried this for a while (not sure if they are still running it), but there’s a trend among these national chains to scale back portions under the auspices of ‘health’, although it’s undoubtedly strictly a financial decision. If they could afford to sell you a 10oz steak instead of a 7oz, they would do so in a heartbeat. The economy is changing. These places have to get really competitive with the ‘mom and pop’ diners we love so much or they’re going to ‘flair’ themselves out of business. Why spend $10 at Applebees when I can spend $10 at the dinner and get a full salad, soup, entree, coffee, and a slice of cake?