Chili’s

Great little place for dinners with my kiddos. Fast, friendly, and very convenient.
Usually pretty clean. (but can smell the bar — always, where ever you are in the restaurant.)
Staff is usually helpful and in a good mood, but may be just due to the fact I have my 5 year old with me. Food is always hot, predictably fast, and 9.5 out of 10 times they get the order right the first time.
There is always a slight air of confusion among the hostess and seating staff, I think because I am usually there at rush hour and turnover. It doesn’t last throughout the meal though… but the confused glances and hushed conversations about what table is open or not is just about 100% of the time.
Will recommend this restaurant to my friends/​family.
Thanks!
— RTJ

My girlfriend and tried this place three times because it is so close to us. I can safely say, their management really needs work. One time it was a Friday night, and for some reason the only bartender was running food? Like full bar and people waiting for drinks and she’s running food? This isn’t a uncommon occurrence, its happened ²⁄₃ times we were there.
Always disappointed about the food, I got overcooked chicken last time, and my girlfriend got a medium rare steak that was so overcooked she could not cut into it (our dog enjoyed it). Potatoes were cold and asparagus was not cooked?
We as customers are always friendly and always try a place at least two times before judging it. Employees are so busy that you don’t even want to bother them to tell them your meal is awful. They all seem so stressed out all the time, like they don’t know what’s going on, or they are understaffed. Hard to tell.
Anyways, won’t be going back for awhile, it seems they need a new manager or two, employees seem very unhappy. Horrible vibe.

Well all I have to say is they need more employees. We went in and I informed to hostess that there will be 8 people and a baby. She gave me a wait time of 10 to 15 mins. Then I had to help the hostess figure out how to seat us. We sat and waited for the waiter 5 mins, ordered drinks and apps at the same time and apps came first.
Before dinner was ordered we had ordered two beers a vodka and grapefruit and a house margarita. It took quite a while for our food to come out but we were still waiting on our drinks. We had finished eating our dinner and finally we had gotten our drinks. After about 10 — 15 mins later the waiter comes up and asks what we would want for our desert. Then a girl comes up and asked us again what we would like. Then the waiter comes back up one more time to asks again what we had ordered. Then 20 – 25 mins the manager came over and informed us later that they had run out of ice cream and had to go to the store to get more. 20 mins later they serve our desert. We asked for a to go container for our desert the waiter forgot 3 times had get it ourselves.
So disappointed. We were not a difficult group and tried to give the waiter the benefit of the doubt but this is inexcusable. Not one apology for the disorganization or lack of service. Doesn’t help that I had family visiting from out of state and we had such a poor experience, I literally felt embarrassed to represent San Diego.

Me and my hubby love coming here for football and their $ 20 for two deal. If we feel like drinking we get the $ 35 for two deal which includes an appetizer, full entrée, desert, and two margarita shakers which is awesome!!! Food is nothing special but the waiters, tvs, and drinks are always great! Casual atmosphere I love coming here!

As someone who worked at chilis for over 4 years, I’m a little disappointed in the service I received tonight. I placed an order online and when I arrived there was no one in the Togo area. Understandably so– it was later and that person was probably cut earlier. After waiting a few seconds a server told me someone would be right with me. Then another server said the same. Then I was told to go to the bar and that the bartender would help me. She told me she’d be right with me. Then after a minute or so asked what the name of the order was. When she came back she said that someone would help me around the corner. When I walked back around there was a server hustling to put my order together. When I ordered online i was told my order would be ready at 9:28. By 940 I still don’t have my order even put together. In fact the soup I ordered had ran out. Why even bother ordering ahead if when i come in my order isn’t put together? Not to mention the kitchen chatter i could hear across the entire kitchen. While the sweet, very nice server who got stuck putting our order together was arranging everything, another server with glasses, a headband, and her hair in a bun came around and began to swear loudly about how «the to go people need to stock their ****ing station.»
A sign needs to go up in to go or someone needs to be assigned to that area. I understand there are off nights, it was just one thing after another. This is why I go to the chilis in Oceanside.
I very much appreciate the server who stepped in.
Also: just arrived home and there are no utensils in the bag. And my nachos are cold.

Service is not bad or the best. Food comes out wrong almost every time but when its right its delicious.

Received a gift card to Chilis so decided to use it.
It was busy but our wait time was about 10 – 15 minutes. While waiting decided to read reviews. I was a bit concern. Most of the reviews talked about the service so I figured I would quickly speak up if there was an issue.
We didn’t have to wait long. Our server was polite and attentive. He recommended the Tito’ s Punch. I recommend it.
We ordered the 2 for $ 20. The food was very basic nothing spectacular. The chicken fajitas, ribs, rice and beans were ok.
My overall experience was a 4, The service was good but I can’t give the food a 5 star.

It was a Friday night, so needless to say it was a busy night. I almost decided to walk out and go somewhere else.
I ask about the wait, they said it would be about 10 to 15 minutes. So we decided to wait it out. I was pleasantly surprised to be called within 10 minutes.
Food was good, service was good.
All in all, not bad, but not great. Tgif

I always like Chili’s but it’s always with the assumption that it’s just a bit above average. Tonight’s experience was much different. To start, our server, and also bartender I think, Mitchell was the best we’ve had at any Chili’s. He waited on us attentively, brought things before we asked, and was polite and fun. Made our night.
Also, the food was excellent tonight! I had the triple dipper with the big bite sliders, southwestern egg rolls and honey bbq boneless wings. All were excellent. My girlfriend’s steak was prepared just as ordered and everything came out quickly. As always, the margaritas were on point. Overall perhaps the best Chili’s experience we have had, great job!

Food at any Chili’s reminds me of McDonald’s, despite the wider variety being offered. There is a bland, homogeneity to all of it. Food prep is all SOP corporate-​driven, of course, which leads to consistency no matter where you go, but nothing on the menu will have you amazed and craving more. In particular, their attempts at TexMex are deplorable – just utter crap.
Having patronized this location many times due to proximity, this particular Chili’s has always been inconsistent, however, when it comes to the training and attitude of servers. For example, never ask a server in the bar area (where we usually sit) exactly what a particular drink will cost… they NEVER know, but will merely offer a guess that is usually not anywhere near what it rings up as. If you challenge them, you’ll just get a shrug and a «sorry»…that’s it! I think they must pool tips, because none of the bar area people are efficient or overly friendly… they just have no desire to exceed expectation. Some even have an attitude, when you’ve asked them three times for a condiment, while your food gets progressively cold.
Sometimes I wish I could function as a secret shopper for restaurants. I don’t think management often has any idea how their employees destroy continued business. I understand that the people who get these jobs aren’t high in the gene pool, but training in hospitality and menu knowledge seems totally lacking. I won’t go to Chili’s anymore, unless it’s really convenient and before 4PM on weekdays (so I can get the cheaper lunch combo stuff).
Reading through all the reviews here, it’s easy to see they have critical problems: some bad eggs as servers, slow/​inefficient service and long waits for food. What else is left? And they wonder why their business has decreased so drastically? I have managed people before; if I WAS the manager at this location, I think I’d watch, listen and ask customers for feedback for a few weeks. Then I’d give the poor performers a warning, start training new servers, and progressively get rid of the jerks and slugs. Like a losing team in sports, sometimes you gotta shake things up to get people to pay attention.

I don’t think I’ve ever had such a bad experience at restaurant before. We came on Friday night for dinner and luckily we got seated right away. My bf and I ordered a glass of water with lemon since their watermelon margarita was only seasonal :(Our server came back with the waters with NO LEMON! I didn’t even bother asking for the lemon since I already knew then I would continue asking for other things. We placed our order. My bf first ordered an onion rings appetizer, and got the grilled shrimp and steak fajitas with rice and beans for a $ 1 extra and I ordered the Mex plate with an enchilada and salad along with rice and beans. I understand that Friday’s can be extremely busy but we seriously waited about 40 mins for our food to come in. Another server came with our food and we asked him where our appetizer was. He left to check with our server. Our server came back and asked what was the problem. We advised him that we ordered onion rings but no longer wanted them since our food was already here. He apologized and left. My bf noticed the rice and beans didn’t come with plate as well. The fajita place was pretty tasty. The Mex plate I ordered was OK and the salad that came in a little bowl was literally super messy to eat, didn’t even enjoy it. We were really irked knowing that during this whole experience something went wrong. All I wanted to do was just finish my food and leave. I don’t think i’ll ever come back to this location again.

Great drinks and hamburgers but a terrible wait that’s why I’m not giving them five stars. I love the appetizers and desserts, one of the best happy hours in Vista

I have always loved every location I’ve ever been too. My husband isn’t a fan of the place because he can never seem to find a plate he likes but I myself LOVE it.
I always order the two ontree meal that comes with salmon, chicken, mashed potatoes, and steamed broccoli. Absolutely perfect every time. There desserts are AMAZING. Even my picky husband loves them! Ive tried them all and loved them.
The service is always very nice as well. I LOVE the little IPad table thing they have. No more waiting to put in orders, no more waiting for the check; You do it all through there. They have fun games on it too that we enjoy. The trivia is our favorite because you’re playing against other people in the restaurant. Great for keeping kids busy too!
Highly reccomemd (:

Great Experience! When you arrive it feels like a super packed sardines can due to the layout of the hostess stand and waiting area.
Typical franchise set up. The new touch screens keep you entertained and basically not reliant on human service when it comes to ordering and paying for your meal. Not sure how I feel about that…
5 stars for the awesome food quality and time the food reached our table.

My fiancè and I went to chili’s after a hard day of work. The waiter joshua was super nice. As we were eating we had an incident with our food. My fiancè was approached by joshua the waiter and my fiancè explained to joshua what was going on. He was very polite and helpful. The manager jenn t. Approached us and made sure my fiancè was taken care. Manager Jenn b. Was very professional. After a long hard day of work it feels good to recieve excellent costumer service. Regardless of the incident, we deff will be back to chilis!!!

Service: Very friendly if not very attentive. Our server was very sweet but completely ignored us for a good 20 minutes during which time we had wished to get in under the HH time. When finally flagged down he said «no problem, I got you»…then charged us the full prices. Hmmm, not cool.
Food: Nowhere near good or what we typically expect as Chilis regulars. My husband barely touched his overcooked, dry, Margarita Chicken. The chips and salsa we ordered were the worst we’ve ever experienced: old, obviously expired chips for sure and nasty, flavor less salsa. My Chicken tostada was served on the hardest, most dried out and inedible corn tortilla I’ve ever experienced. The beans and rice were okay and I had to scrape all the tostada toppings off in order to slightly enjoy my meal. (And only because I was completely famished) Sadly, I had really been looking forward to a whole crispy taco or tostada experience when choosing the location. I should have known better and next time, will definitely choose more wisely. $ 60 for barely edible food and a few beers? Not thrilled. Sorry Chili’s, there are so many better dining experiences to be had.

They have the 2 for $ 20 deal here. This includes appetizer and main course they have a few choices you can choose from. Doesn’t include dessert though. Waited a long time for our appetizer. Our main food came out 1^st then our appetizer. Our waitress apologized for the inconvenience and the manager later came to our table to do the same and took the appetizer off our bill. Good American food cannot go wrong. I got the cajun chicken pasta, my husband got the honey chipotle crispers. There’s an electronic device on the table which keeps track of the food you order, you can print your receipt here or have a copy sent to your email address. Pretty cool. This same device has games for kids but not all are free.

Eh decent service, below average food. Every time I sit at a booth here I feel dirty, from the tables to that new touch screen menu, it just all feels gross. I’ve never experienced a server with a truly great personality. The food used to make me extremely sick after every visit so I hadn’t wasted my time for a few years. Recently I began coming again because I’ve heard good things about the drinks/​happy hour. Still not a huge fan.
Last night, the girl who was in the managerial outfit stormed around everywhere she went. I gave her a passing smile a few times and she had the worst stank face.
I will never pick chilis on my own. I get invites every so often since friends and family live close. Personally, I prefer to spend my money elsewhere where the food is great along with the service.

Came here on cinco de mayo because for some unknown reason we were really craving gringo Mexican fare. For a 3star Unilocal restaurant, this place was packed! I’m glad to report their happy hour ends at 7pm daily. We had the presidente margaritas ($ 5 special) and it was worth every penny! I felt very warm and fuzzy after quenching my thirst. The food was very good. We had the chicken nachos and shared a steak and shrimp fajita. My portion of the fajita (all shrimp) was enough for 3 small tacos. Small shrimp but flavorful! Of course salsa was gringo spiciness but their margaritas make up for it!
Now the ambiance… The last time I hung at chills bar I must’ve been early twenties, barely over legal drinking age. This place hasn’t really changed except the average age now is late 40s +. I’m glad I didn’t take any extra time or effort to change from my office clothes to something cute because the demographics of this place is Mature. With that said, mature is great because you meet some talkative classy career professionals in a bar environment.
Overall, good place for good food and drinks. Will be back!

My mom and I were hungry, but I wasn’t feeling too well and wasn’t in the mood to cook. As her and I went through the list of take out places, I knew she wanted her Southwest Chicken Salad, so I told her why not order it and go pick it up.
I decided to try their Cheeseburger with fries since I was craving beef and my mom and I also split the Molten Lava Cake.
You’re probably asking, how on Earth are you able to order ice cream and cake to go? First, I don’t live that far from this location and they keep they’re ice cream almost rock hard frozen because they know by the time you get home, it will be the perfect ice cream consistency.
I loved the fact that when I was putting my order in (through the Unilocal app too), I was able to customize everything the way I wanted it! I wanted the veggies on the side so they didn’t make my burger soggy. I was able to be putting the salad dressing on the salad along with ordering extra tortilla chips for the salad. The little things I asked for they put them together!
My burger was ok, nothing wowed me, but I always like to try something new at Chilis just to see if anything else strikes my fancy. That Southwest Chicken Salad is still #1!
I would recommend ordering to go on Friday or Saturday night because the parking lot was super crowded and if you’re not in the mood to wait, they had the order all set to go when we got there. I also like how they show you your food before bagging it up for you to see that this is your order and everything is done to your liking!