Chili’s Grill & Bar

Well we came here on a Friday nite to get away but it was a big mistake because the service sucked. We were left with our mouths burning from a lack of drink service because our waiter only came to our table once. There weren’t even that many people there. Next time we will just stay in.

How do you mess up a Chili’s?
Stopped here mid-​week for a quick lunch on the way to an appointment. arrived fairly early (11:15). Restaurant was still pretty empty.
Husband and I decided to split the pick three appetizer sampler along with each ordering drinks. Our soda and tea arrived promptly, but the lemons for the tea took over 15 minutes to show up. After about 30 minutes the appetizer (buffalo wings, egg rolls and potato skins arrived.) why it took 30 minutes, I have no idea but we weren’t too upset — just hungry. We dig in only to discover all of the food was cold. After tracking down the waitress and sending the order back, they did offer a complimentary bowl of soup while we waited for the order to be remade. 20 minutes later — our remade plate appeared and sadly was cold. The manager was a bit shocked saying he had been waiting on the food to be cooked. His only explanation was that maybe the food was «frozen frozen.» Whatever that means.
At this point we did not have another 20 + minutes to wait for the food to be redo e again. The manager graciously comped the lunch. We still tipped the waitress and left. Worst location ever– will not be back.

The worst location I have ever been to. Ordered to-​go the order was not right on pick up. I should have then known better to check the new order before leaving. Once I got home the order was still wrong. I called to correct the problem and when I arrived for the second time the order was wrong again! I fail to see the miscommunication that could have been had I was very clear in what I wanted and had the order repeated back to me. I was overly disappointed with the entire experience and the professionalism of the staff.

Bad service thought we’d give it a second chance and was worse the second time around and the food was over cooked

I gave an extra star because the manager was nice and tried to fix the situation, but the service still stunk.
Not only were people waiting a long time for their food when everyone else was served, but we kept having to remind them that there was food that hadn’t been received. Our drinks were never refilled and when it came time for the check, we had to hunt down someone, ANYONE, to help us!
Also, they added gratuity, which is totally fine, but then the waiter (the one that never showed his face and ignored us the whole time) had the audacity to not return my change and keep it as an additional tip!
I will not be returning.

They were very gracious. Me and my friends and family were «those people» to come in 30 minutes before closing time with 13 people but they were very kind to us despite the fact they wanted to leave (which is understandable) nevertheless we were satisfied with our service and the manager was very understanding and even kept the door unlocked while we waited for another person to come.

This place is not managed well. In the times I’ve been there, and my coworkers have been there, the delay between getting food and ordering is horrible. It’s Not worth the wait. Even when the place is basically Empty, you’d think it was packed! The wait staff also seems to have serious issues between new hires to those who have been there for longer, communication seems to be an issue.
Having orders taken twice, after being identified that someone previously took the order (they did not want to have to deal with the other waiter, and I gather for good reason), to having had to wait Over an Hour for food to NOT arrive – this was right before it got busy, and what was ordered should take no longer than 20 minutes to prep and send out. Avoid, unless you like a wait and confusion on what you want.

Might as well start documenting what I think is good here etc.
I’ve always liked their buffalo sauce. Had the chicken buffalo ranch sandwhich and it was pretty decent. Fries were very meh though.
Never again get the coleslaw — I guess it doesn’t sell well or something — mine was pretty old and not good tasting. The crispy chicken tacos were pretty meh.
I LOVED the ham and cheese sandwich. Swiss cheese, ham, and cilantro mayo. God, that was good. The sweet potato fries were also very good.

Came in on my lunch break, sat at the bar and waited about 15 minutes. Several servers walked passed, the bartender walked past a few times too, just as I was about to gather my things and head out my waitress finally emerged. She was very prompted, took my order right away, had everything out quickly. I won’t be back because it’s no where near my home, but it’s chilis, been to one been to all.

Went for lunch. Table and silverware (wrapped) were sticky. Waiter was stoned. Bun for my grilled chicken was stale, dry and tasteless. For low expectations, go here.

Wow! I know it’s not Pappa’s Steakhouse or even a 59 Diner… but this could be the worst service at a casual dine in restaurant I’ve ever had. Granted we were a large table of 13 or 14 there to celebrate a birthday. But don’t give that table your least experienced and capable waiter. We were his only table he told us and he still was confused, overwhelmed and under trained. More on that later.
The food: We all had something different I think. From chicken fingers which looked huge and tasty to the signature baby back ribs which were fall off the bone tender and really decent for a cheap chain place.
The steak had to be sent back because the medium rare came out char broiled. They took it back and fixed it and the manager came over and offered a salad or soup while waiting on it to return. That was nice. The baked potato with it wasn’t really baked potato we decided but something that just looked like a real potato.
The hamburger, though served with toppings specifically requested to be left off, was juicy and the fries were tasty. The dinners for 2 for $ 20 certainly are a good deal because the entrees are worth maybe $ 10 each. But nothing too nasty — except maybe the broccoli side for the steak.
If you are on a budget the 2 for $ 20 menu is really a great deal as they have a variety of items to choose.
Apps: Once they finally all arrived at the table were pretty decent. The skillet queso, to me, was horrid. But some of the other folks at the table dug in. It looked like it had already been eaten and that’s all I have to say ’bout that.
The sweet potato fries (not offered on the 2 for $ 20 menu) were a bit greasy but I love those things no matter. The Texas cheese fries became a brick of cheese almost the minute they arrived at the table and got cold. Cheese sticks were cheese sticks.
We had called the day before to tell them that a very large party would be arriving for a birthday at 2pm the following day. They said they would be ready. We waited nearly 30 minutes in the bar before our table was set up. So much for being ready. We did get to visit some though as everyone filed in.
The waiter actually sat down at our table to take the orders, couldn’t get the apps out together, couldn’t get the special orders of some of us with food allergies right and took almost 20 minutes to get us the check after we asked because he had «lost» his paperwork on our orders on it. How do you lose the ticket to your only table?
We had originally asked for separate checks. You would think he would write them down as separate checks when taking the orders — which seemed to piss him off as the people on each check weren’t sitting next to each other. He looked flustered, put out, bored and angry through most of the ordering process.
When he finally «found» the original ticket he wrote everything down on it was all on one sheet with no indication of who went with who and a total mess. We finally asked for it all together and divided it up ourselves. So my advice is don’t go with a big group and if you do contact a manager about your waiter if you think yours is in over his head and heaven forbid don’t ask for separate checks.
We were his only table and yet we had to go find him twice for more beers and he wasn’t even the one who brought our food from the kitchen.
It’s a Chili’s and if I were to base my review simply on the better food in our huge party I might give it 3 stars. But I’m basing it on all the food and the amazingly inept waiter during this visit. So 2 stars seems right because I have experienced better.

It’s a chili’s. If you like chili’s it’s a good one. If you don’t know what Chili’s is, then I’m confused.

We been meaning to check this location out for a while and finally got the opportunity yesterday. The service was really good we were seated in less than two minutes and we even got a booth on a busy Saturday night.
They normally have the two for $ 20 special and all of the items on the menu are usually what my wife and I normally eat anyway. We also had a free appetizer coupon because I’m signed up for their emails so we actually scored two free appetizers.
My wife ordered the fried shrimp and it was seasoned very well and battered very well as well. I ordered the honey chipotle chicken tenders and for the first time the portions were a lot larger than I normally have seen before. No qualms with our experience from start to finish it was very good our waitress did really good job and we will be back soon

This Chili’s location has seen service level slip through the years. It’s to the point now that I am surprised when I get good service because I expect awful service. Our family still goes here because it’s close to home and we like the Chili’s menu, but this location is not one I would recommend to anyone right now.

I think this place deserves a 1 star for having clean salon.
I haven’t been to Chili’s in about a year. I remember always liking the place and when it comes for casual dining with a little bit of flavor — Chili’s always provided that in spades.
Well, this one did, so much actually that I am probably not going there again… well, if there’s famine, and that’s the only place that has food, maybe, but I’ll still think about it…
So, we decide that she wants to get a burger and I want a country fried stake (one of their staple foods). We get there and we order. I ask the waiter about imported beer — he says hmmm, Bud Light, Budweiser, Sam Adams, Corona. Notice something wrong here? I order an Amstel after going over their menu. He is surprised at my choice as he’s never seen that beer before. Pretty obvious as the beer that came was stale and flat, way past its expiration date. He also managed to stick his full hand in the mug as he was bringing it… ok, I’ll drink from the bottle. Beer is so old and disgusting that I have to have that changed to a Heineken…
While I am waiting on that the food arrives — my wife’s burger is way undercooked and my country fried steak is so overcooked that it is like a brick. What I mean brick is — it doesn’t move at all, I’d need a sledgehammer to separate pieces out of it.
The manager offered to recook but at that point there were so many things wrong with the place that we decided to go for a better fare at Rudy Lechner’s down the street on Gessner towards Westheimer. There the country fried steak is called a chicken schnitzel (and is priced about the same) and they actually know the difference between a lager and a hefe-​weisen.
So — that’s basically it, we are done with Chili’s for good.

Was in a pinch for time, but trying ot eat less fast food. Finally decided to go to Chili’s. Their lunch menu is very filing. For 7 bucks +tax I had a chicken bacon and cheese quesadilla, homemade fries and a bowl of chili. All the years I’ve know about Chili’s I never thought they served Chili! Even though it is kind of hot to eat chili, The guy’s bowl of chili looked really scrumptous and hearty. Looks werent deceiving – the chili was not liquidy or too heavy. Not a tomato paste, but just spicy and seasoned quite well. It was a meal by itself! The quesadilla was quite satisfying as well. Bacon was a great compliment with the tender chicken and cheese. Fries were on point as well, crispy but not crunchy. Best of all, my meal was ready really quick! I ate the chili and fries and one quesadilla triangle and I was full! Saved the rest for a snack later. Nice delicious deal for the money.
PS Ate at the bar and it was very clean! Friendly staff too. made sure my water glass was filled all the time. Will be back for an express lunch soon!

This particular restaurant is around the corner from home. I head there when I just don’t feel like cooking (or after Ike struck, when I was out of power for 2 weeks).
I typically get the honey chipotle chicken crispers (holy smokes amazing!!) or the Cajun pasta. I have to say that they have recently changed their prices (up) and the quantity of food (down). The past couple of times I’ve been in there they were training a lot of new servers so less-​then-​stellar service is kind of understandable. I have also had their chicken caesar pita which is delicious and a slightly more healthy option on the menu.

The chicken crispers are super greasy! Atleast they were hot. Waitress was completely scatter brains. This location was so so. Not really excited to go back any time soon. The only reason I went because it was Veterans Day and I ate for free.

So I come in around 3:20 in the afternoon, by myself at first, as I was waiting on my husband and a friend of mine to come study before our next class. I asked to be seated away from everyone else so we could study in peace so when I asked if so and so booth was ok the hostess was like uhh yeah ok. Apparently, it wasn’t, because no waitress came by for the first 20 minutes. When she finally did take my drink order I asked for a water and a michelada from the bar. She looks at me, and is like a michewha? with all the added glory of ebonics. I tell her its a drink from the bar and tell her roughly what is in it in case she has to tell the bartender (I should hope not though, seeing as I had one the previous Monday at the same Chilis). She comes back and says they don’t have the ingredients for it… so I ask her if they’re out of bloody mary mix and she says no. Anyway, long story short, they had everything. She would say she didn’t have an ingredient, then I would ask her incredously (yall don’t have hotsauce?) and «of course we have hotsauce!»
SO our waitress was terrible. THEN, when it came time to order (had to flag her down twice) I ordered the bottomless soup and salad express lunch and she goes ok and leaves, without, of course, asking which kind of soup (I tried to tell her but she walked away too fast)
anywayyyyy the order wasn’t put in until after 4 pm so I was charged the extra 2.00 dollars… even though the manager told me he would take care of everything. A couple of other things happened involving the manager (who said he was going to be our waiter and was never to be seen again) and another waiter (who was wonderful — I forget his name but he was very attentive and helped us out more than the manager and our previous waitress did). I will, unfortunately, be back to this location because it is the closest place for a drink when I get out of class at HCC while I wait the couple of hours until my next one.

«Credo» is a Latin word that is usually translated with a first-​person singular pronoun as «I believe.» The English word «creed» is derived from it. Some creeds are ancient and hold together worldwide communities of faith. Other creeds originate in pop culture. My favorite one of these was uttered by «Crash» Davis in the movie, Bull Durham:
«Well, I believe in the soul… the small of a woman’s back, the hanging curve ball, high fiber, good Scotch, that the novels of Susan Sontag are self-​indulgent, overrated crap. I believe Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone. I believe there ought to be a constitutional amendment outlawing Astroturf and the designated hitter. I believe in the sweet spot, soft-​core pornography, opening your presents Christmas morning rather than Christmas Eve and I believe in long, slow, deep, soft, wet kisses that last three days.»
NB: An anatomical parts list at the beginning of Crash’s creed was omitted to retain this review’s PG rating.
There are also billions of personal creeds that each of us hold. Some of these are being recorded and broadcast by NPR in their media project entitled «This I Believe.» One article of my personal Credo is:
«I believe that three-​star chain restaurants were put on this earth for a good purpose.»
You can find all sorts of goodness at these places. Restaurants of this ilk provide employment opportunities for youth. They have strict guidelines that emphasize efficiency and consistency. They provide good value for (not very much) money. They’re convenient. Much of their fare is bland enough for picky kid’s palates.
The popularity of Chili’s attests to the fact they’re doing all of the above very well. When you dine there, your expectations are almost always met. If you have more or less than a three-​star experience, it usually means the local staff aren’t following the corporate guidelines to the letter (for better or worse).
My family and I had a solid three-​star dinner at this location a few nights ago. It had been a busy Sunday and food hadn’t been prepared at the Dolph residence.
«Let’s eat out,» my lovely wife suggested.
«Pei Wei!» chimed in my eleven-​year-​old son. I groaned.
«How ’bout Chili’s?» suggested my sixteen-​year-​old daughter, «I want steak.»
«Done!» my wife quickly exclaimed to preclude another groan from me.
«Good enough. Let’s go,» I assented.
My daughter ordered their classic sirloin with a double order of fries. It came out looking exactly like the picture in their menu. She scarfed up every last bit. My son stayed well within his comfort zone and ate the kid’s cheese pizza – excruciatingly boring, but exactly what he wanted. I got to munch on my wife’s leftover chicken crispers after I finished my very ordinary chicken caesar salad and yummy cup of potato soup.
Everything was EXACTLY as expected. Our youthful waitress wasn’t as attentive as she could have been, but that was expected too. All our bellies were full, it was tasty enough, I only spent $ 51 (with tip) for four of us and I got to watch a Rocket’s victory on the high definition screen across the way in the bar. We were in and out in well less than an hour.
I believe we can score that as (yet another) three stars for Chili’s.