Applebee’s has been a neighborhood favorite for decades, serving up casual dining classics across America. While the chain offers plenty of crowd-pleasers, not every menu item lives up to expectations.
Some dishes fall short on flavor, value, or quality, leaving diners wondering if they should have ordered something else. Here are the menu items you might want to skip on your next visit.
1. Southwest Chicken Bowl
Bland chicken sits atop a bed of underwhelming rice and beans in this lackluster creation. The protein lacks seasoning and often arrives dry, making each bite a chore rather than a pleasure.
Vegetables appear wilted and sad, while the promised Southwest flavors never materialize. The portion size seems generous at first glance, but quantity doesn’t make up for the missing quality and taste.
For the price point, you’d expect vibrant spices and fresh ingredients. Instead, this bowl delivers cafeteria-style food that leaves you craving something with actual flavor and proper preparation techniques.
2. Breadsticks With Alfredo Sauce
Dense, chewy breadsticks arrive at your table lacking the warm, fluffy texture you’d hope for. These carb-heavy sticks taste more like day-old dinner rolls than fresh-baked bread.
The accompanying alfredo sauce disappoints with its watery consistency and artificial flavor profile. Rather than creamy richness, you get a thin, flavorless liquid that barely clings to the bread.
Most chain restaurants excel at simple appetizers like this, but Applebee’s version misses the mark completely. You’re better off asking for regular bread rolls, which somehow manage to taste fresher and more satisfying than this overpriced starter option.
3. Triple Chocolate Meltdown
Excessive sweetness overwhelms your taste buds in this chocolate overload disaster. The cake portion tastes artificial and dry, while multiple chocolate elements compete rather than complement each other.
Temperature contrast between warm cake and cold ice cream sounds appealing in theory. Unfortunately, the execution falls flat with poorly timed service that often results in melted ice cream soup.
Portion size appears impressive but becomes a burden rather than a treat. Most diners can’t finish this sugar bomb, and those who try often feel sick afterward from the overwhelming richness and artificial flavoring throughout.
4. Loaded Chicken Fajitas
Overcooked chicken strips arrive tough and chewy, lacking the tender juiciness that makes fajitas enjoyable. The meat often appears gray and unappetizing, suggesting it’s been sitting under heat lamps too long.
Bell peppers and onions turn mushy from overcooking, losing their crisp texture and fresh flavor. The vegetables taste more steamed than grilled, missing that essential char and smokiness.
Tortillas come cold and stiff, requiring extra effort to make them pliable enough for wrapping. The overall presentation looks impressive with the sizzling platter, but the actual food quality doesn’t match the theatrical delivery method.
5. Classic Broccoli Chicken Alfredo
Mushy pasta swimming in watery sauce creates an unappetizing mess on your plate. The alfredo lacks the creamy richness that defines this classic dish, tasting more like milk than proper cream sauce.
Broccoli florets arrive overcooked and lifeless, having lost their vibrant green color and crisp texture. The chicken pieces feel rubbery and flavorless, clearly reheated rather than freshly prepared.
Italian restaurants nail this combination effortlessly, but Applebee’s version feels like a cafeteria interpretation. The dish lacks seasoning, proper sauce consistency, and fresh ingredients that would elevate it from disappointing to decent.
6. Classic Combo Appetizer
Multiple mediocre appetizers clustered together don’t magically become better than ordering them separately. Each component suffers from the same quality issues that plague individual items on the menu.
Fried foods arrive soggy and greasy, suggesting they’ve been sitting under heat lamps or reheated multiple times. The variety seems appealing until you realize you’re paying premium prices for subpar execution.
Portion sizes look generous but consist mainly of breading and filler rather than quality ingredients. You’d get better value and taste by choosing one well-made appetizer from a different section of the menu instead of this disappointing sampler.
7. Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad
Wilted lettuce leaves create an unappealing foundation for this supposedly fresh salad option. The romaine often appears brown around the edges, suggesting it’s been sitting cut for too long.
Grilled chicken arrives dry and flavorless, clearly reheated rather than freshly cooked. The protein lacks seasoning and proper grilling marks, resembling cafeteria-style preparation more than restaurant quality.
Caesar dressing comes sparse and watery, failing to coat the leaves properly or deliver the rich, garlicky flavor expected. Croutons taste stale, and the parmesan cheese appears to be the pre-shredded variety rather than fresh-grated quality.
8. Chicken Tenders Platter
Thick, heavy breading overwhelms the actual chicken inside these oversized tenders. The coating often slides off in chunks, revealing dry, stringy meat underneath that lacks proper seasoning.
Fast-food chains consistently outperform this platter in both taste and value. The chicken tastes reheated and processed, missing the juicy tenderness that defines quality chicken tenders.
Side dishes accompanying the platter feel like afterthoughts, with frozen fries and basic coleslaw that add nothing to the experience. For the price charged, you’d expect restaurant-quality preparation rather than this disappointing interpretation of a simple comfort food classic.
9. Chicken Wonton Tacos
Fusion confusion results when Asian and Mexican cuisines collide without proper execution or understanding. The wonton shells become soggy quickly, losing their intended crispiness within minutes of arrival.
Chicken filling tastes bland and generic, lacking the bold flavors that would justify this creative combination. The fusion concept sounds innovative but fails to deliver on either Asian or Mexican flavor profiles.
Traditional tacos or wontons would serve you better than this identity crisis on a plate. The dish tries too hard to be unique without focusing on fundamental taste and texture quality that makes fusion cuisine successful.
10. Four-Cheese Mac & Cheese with Honey Pepper Chicken
Heavy, gluey cheese sauce weighs down overcooked pasta in this comfort food gone wrong. The four-cheese blend tastes artificial and processed, lacking the sharp, distinct flavors that make quality mac and cheese memorable.
Honey pepper chicken on top adds unnecessary complexity to an already struggling dish. The protein arrives dry and over-seasoned, competing with rather than complementing the cheese below.
This combination feels like two separate menu failures combined into one expensive mistake. Simple mac and cheese should be creamy and comforting, not a heavy, artificial mess that leaves you feeling uncomfortably full.
11. Quesadilla Burger
Identity crisis strikes again with this confused creation that satisfies neither burger nor quesadilla cravings. The tortilla “buns” become soggy and fall apart, making the entire meal difficult to eat properly.
Burger patty quality suffers from the same issues plaguing other Applebee’s beef dishes – overcooked, dry, and lacking proper seasoning. The combination feels forced rather than natural or innovative.
Traditional burgers and quesadillas exist separately for good reasons. This fusion attempt creates more problems than it solves, resulting in a messy, unsatisfying meal that fails to deliver on either concept’s strengths and appeal.
12. Crispy Chicken Tender Salad
Fried chicken on salad defeats the purpose of ordering something supposedly healthy. The heavy breading and oil from the tenders wilts the lettuce below, creating an unappetizing soggy mess.
Greens arrive pre-wilted and tired-looking, suggesting they’ve been sitting prepared for too long. The chicken tenders suffer from the same quality issues as the standalone platter version.
If you want fried chicken, order it properly. If you want salad, choose one without heavy fried proteins that compromise the freshness. This combination satisfies neither craving effectively and costs more than ordering components separately.
13. Bourbon Street Chicken & Shrimp
Overcooked proteins dominate this New Orleans-inspired disaster that insults the vibrant cuisine it attempts to represent. Both chicken and shrimp arrive tough and rubbery from excessive cooking.
The bourbon sauce tastes artificial and overly sweet, lacking the complex flavors that define authentic Bourbon Street cooking. Spice levels remain disappointingly mild despite the dish’s bold name.
Authentic Creole and Cajun restaurants excel at this combination with proper seasoning and cooking techniques. Applebee’s version feels like a pale imitation that misunderstands the cuisine’s fundamental principles and flavor profiles completely.
14. Mozzarella Sticks
Thick, heavy breading overwhelms the minimal cheese inside these overpriced sticks. The coating often separates from the cheese, leaving you with empty breaded shells and stringy cheese remnants.
Marinara sauce tastes like it came straight from a jar without any enhancement or seasoning. The temperature contrast between hot breading and cold sauce creates an unpleasant eating experience.
Chain restaurants should excel at simple appetizers like this, but Applebee’s version fails basic execution. Frozen grocery store mozzarella sticks often taste better and cost significantly less than this disappointing restaurant interpretation.
15. Fiesta Lime Chicken
Dry chicken breast masquerades under a name promising zesty lime flavors and festive seasonings. The protein arrives overcooked and flavorless, suggesting it’s been reheated multiple times.
Lime flavoring tastes artificial and sparse, failing to penetrate the meat or provide the bright acidity that makes citrus-marinated chicken appealing. The fiesta elements remain mysteriously absent.
Mexican and Tex-Mex restaurants nearby likely offer superior lime chicken dishes with proper marination and cooking techniques. This version feels like a missed opportunity to showcase bright, bold flavors that could elevate simple grilled chicken into something memorable.
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