Dining at chain restaurants can be a hit-or-miss experience, and Applebee’s is a prime example. With an extensive menu designed to appeal to a wide range of tastes, it’s easy to assume you’ll find something satisfying. But in reality, some dishes fall disappointingly short of expectations. Whether it’s due to bland flavors, questionable textures, or lackluster presentation, certain Applebee’s menu items just don’t deliver the comfort or crave-worthiness you’d hope for in a sit-down meal.
After numerous visits and plenty of trial and error, we’ve identified the biggest offenders—meals that may sound tempting in the description but consistently disappoint on the plate. These are the dishes that leave you pushing your plate aside, wondering why you didn’t just opt for something simpler at home. From overcooked proteins to soggy sides, here’s a rundown of the Applebee’s items you might want to skip on your next visit. Save your appetite for something that’s truly worth your time and money.
1. Quesadilla Burger
Combining two beloved foods sounds genius in theory, but execution matters more than creativity. This frankenstein creation tries to marry a burger with a quesadilla and fails spectacularly at both.
The tortilla becomes soggy from burger juices, creating an unappetizing mess that’s difficult to eat. Meanwhile, the beef patty gets lost among conflicting flavors and textures.
Rather than enhancing either dish, this combination creates confusion on your plate. Skip this gimmicky option and order a proper burger or quesadilla separately for much better results.
2. Oriental Chicken Salad
Freshness should be the cornerstone of any salad, but this dish misses that mark entirely. The lettuce often arrives wilted and past its prime, while the chicken feels like it’s been sitting under heat lamps for hours.
Portion sizes are inconsistent, sometimes leaving you with mostly greens and very little protein. The dressing lacks the tangy punch you’d expect, tasting more like sugary water than authentic Asian flavors.
For the price point, you’re better off making this salad at home where you can control ingredient quality and freshness levels.
3. Spinach & Artichoke Dip
Everyone loves a good spinach artichoke dip, which makes this version even more heartbreaking. The texture resembles thick paste rather than creamy, melted cheese perfection you’d expect from this classic appetizer.
Spinach pieces are often stringy and tough, while artichoke hearts are scarce and flavorless. The cheese blend tastes artificial and leaves an unpleasant aftertaste that lingers long after eating.
Temperature consistency is another major issue – sometimes it arrives lukewarm, other times scorching hot on top but cold underneath. Save yourself the disappointment and order something else.
4. Double Crunch Shrimp
Crispy shrimp should be golden perfection, but this dish delivers soggy disappointment instead. The double breading becomes heavy and greasy, overwhelming the delicate shrimp inside with unnecessary bulk and oil.
Cooking times seem inconsistent, resulting in either rubbery, overcooked shrimp or undercooked breading that tastes like raw flour. The coating often falls off in chunks, leaving you with sad, naked shrimp.
Even the accompanying sauce can’t save this disaster. You’ll find better frozen shrimp options in your grocery store’s freezer section that cost half the price and taste twice as good.
5. Mozzarella Sticks
These should be foolproof – cheese wrapped in breading and fried until golden. Unfortunately, timing seems to be this kitchen’s biggest enemy when preparing this simple appetizer.
Half the time they arrive overcooked with rock-hard breading and rubbery cheese inside. The other half, they’re undercooked with breading that falls apart and cheese that hasn’t properly melted.
When the cheese does leak out during cooking, you’re left with hollow shells of breading and a plate covered in congealed mozzarella. The marinara sauce is watery and flavorless, providing no redemption for this appetizer fail.
6. Fiesta Lime Chicken
Chicken breast can be tricky to cook properly, and this dish proves that point repeatedly. The meat consistently arrives dry and tough, suggesting it’s been overcooked or reheated multiple times throughout the day.
The lime flavor is barely detectable, replaced instead by an artificial taste that doesn’t resemble real citrus. Rice and beans served alongside are equally uninspiring, often cold or mushy in texture.
Seasoning feels like an afterthought, with most of the flavor coming from whatever sauce they drizzle on top. For a dish that should celebrate fresh, vibrant Mexican flavors, this version falls completely flat and leaves you craving authentic cuisine.
7. Triple Chocolate Meltdown
Chocolate desserts should be decadent indulgences that make you forget your troubles, but this creation does the opposite. The cake portion is dense and dry, lacking the moist richness you’d expect from quality chocolate dessert.
Despite promising triple chocolate, the flavor is surprisingly muted and artificial. The hot fudge sauce often arrives cold or congealed, failing to provide that warm, gooey contrast against ice cream.
Presentation is equally disappointing, often looking like it was hastily assembled rather than carefully crafted. For the high calorie count and premium dessert pricing, you deserve something that actually tastes worth the indulgence.
8. White Queso Dip & Chips
Good queso should be smooth, creamy, and addictive enough to make you forget about your main course. This version manages to be none of those things, instead resembling thick paste more than melted cheese.
Temperature issues plague this appetizer consistently – either arriving lukewarm and congealing quickly, or so hot it burns your mouth while remaining cold underneath. The flavor lacks depth and tastes processed rather than made with real cheese.
Tortilla chips are frequently stale or oversalted, making the entire experience unpleasant. You’ll find better queso at gas station convenience stores, which says everything you need to know about this particular menu item.
9. Four‑Cheese Mac & Cheese with Honey Pepper Chicken Tenders
Comfort food combinations should feel like a warm hug, but this dish delivers cold disappointment instead. The mac and cheese lacks creaminess, with pasta that’s often overcooked and sauce that separates into greasy pools.
Chicken tenders arrive either dried out from sitting too long or undercooked with rubbery texture. The honey pepper coating is inconsistent, sometimes nonexistent and other times overwhelmingly sweet without any real pepper heat.
Four different cheeses sound impressive until you realize none of them provide distinct flavors or proper melting qualities. This expensive combination fails to deliver on both comfort and flavor, leaving you hungry for real homemade versions.
10. Nachos Chipotle Lime Chicken
Nachos should be a celebration of textures and flavors, but this version turns into a soggy mess before you can enjoy it. The chips become limp and chewy from sitting under toppings that release moisture over time.
Chipotle lime chicken lacks both promised flavors, tasting more like plain grilled meat with artificial seasoning sprinkled on top. Cheese sauce is often cold by the time it reaches your table, creating an unappetizing coating over everything.
Toppings are sparse and unevenly distributed, leaving some chips bare while others are overloaded. For an appetizer meant to be shared, this creates awkward situations where everyone fights over the few properly loaded chips available.
11. Whole Lotta Bacon Burger
Sometimes more isn’t better, and this bacon-loaded burger proves that point definitively. The excessive bacon overwhelms every other flavor, turning what should be a balanced burger into a one-note salty experience.
Construction is consistently poor, with ingredients sliding around and the burger falling apart before you finish eating. The beef patty gets lost among all the bacon, making you question why you’re paying burger prices for what’s essentially a bacon sandwich.
Grease levels are off the charts, leaving your hands, plate, and stomach feeling heavy and uncomfortable. The novelty wears off quickly when you realize you’re not actually enjoying the eating experience despite the impressive bacon quantities.
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