A recent Applebee’s “All You Can Eat” deal has some customers disappointed.
Instead of a fun all-you-can-eat challenge outing with her husband at Applebee’s, one TikTok creator says she felt “assaulted” by the meal she received.
What’s Wrong With Applebee’s All You Can Eat Deal?
In her video, which got over 50,600 views, TikTok creator Lizi Gomez (@lizi.gomezz) takes viewers through her lackluster experience.
“Applebee’s 15.99 all you can eat. A raw review,” she wrote in the video’s text overlay.
“We just waited an entire hour to get the Applebee’s all-you-can-eat 15.99 special,” Gomez says.
Then she asks her husband how many plates he thinks he’s going to eat.
“I’m shooting for four,” he says.
“I’m shooting for four, too,” Gomez responds.
The first round included boneless wings and fried shrimp. At first, Gomez’s review was pretty neutral. “Tasting exactly how I would expect Applebee’s to taste,” she says. “Like middle-class America. Kind of dry, but I’m not mad. $15, what can I expect?”
After finishing the first plate, she still seemed ready to keep going. “First plate down the hatch. Absolutely easy,” she says.
“I feel like they’re trying to make us lose by not bringing the rounds fast enough,” Gomez says. “But I’m not leaving.”
She says they started “obsessively watching the door” while waiting for the next round of food.
“All this for freezer-prepared meals,” she says. “Applebee’s, do better.”
The Waiting Soured Their Mood
“Feeling like an absolute fool right now for waiting an hour and a half for the 15.99 Applebee’s riblets, shrimp, boneless wing special,” Gomez says.
When the next plates finally arrive, she is not impressed. “Extremely unappetizing,” she says. “But I don’t know if I’m just in a bad mood or—”
Then she tries the riblet. “It’s horrible,” she says.
Gomez says she does not consider herself particularly picky. But this time, she felt like they had been played.
“I would have rather had $15 worth of McDonald’s, which is like a sandwich,” she says.
Even though she originally said she wanted to eat four plates, she gave up.
“I know I said four plates, but I’ve suffered enough,” she says. “I’m just taking my loss and going home.”
At the end, she gives Applebee’s a brutal final review.
“Applebee’s needs to count their days ’cause I was literally assaulted by that meal,” she says. “0 out of ten.”
How Does The Deal Work?
Applebee’s limited-time All You Can Eat deal includes boneless wings, riblets, Double Crunch Shrimp, and endless fries for $15.99. It is only available for dine-in customers.
Customers can choose between several sauces for the boneless wings: classic buffalo, honey BBQ, sweet Asian chili, garlic parmesan, extra hot buffalo, and hot honey glaze. The wings are served with classic fries, signature coleslaw, and either bleu cheese or house-made buttermilk ranch dressing.
The riblets can come with Honey BBQ, Hot Honey Glaze, or Sweet Asian Chile sauce. The Double Crunch Shrimp is served with cocktail sauce, coleslaw, and endless fries.
Guests also do not have to stick to one option the whole time. They can switch between boneless wings, riblets, and shrimp when ordering more rounds.
What Do Other Applebee’s Customers Think?
As previously reported by BroBible, other customers have shared grievances very similar to the ones Gomez shared.
Some customers took to Applebee’s official TikTok account to complain under a video promoting the deal.
“Don’t forget you have to wait 20-25 minutes in between orders,” one person wrote. “And that staff are trained to take their time visiting your table.”
Another claimed the portions shrink after the first plate.
“Riblets look nothing like this in store and after first plate they only give you like 4 wings with a 20 minute wait between each order,” they wrote.
Other customers have complained about similar issues in the past. One Reddit user, who reviewed a previous version of the deal, said their first order of wings came out with the rest of the table’s food. But after that, they said each refill took 15 to 20 minutes.
“When I got it, it was only 5 wings and they were barely sauced,” the Redditor wrote.
They also claimed that after ordering riblets, they were eventually brought “one single gross looking riblet slathered in cold sauce.”
“My question is: does management specifically tell FOH to drag orders when people do AYCE in order to minimize cost?” they wrote. “It was honestly pretty frustrating and I felt ripped off.”
Commenters Under Gomez’s Video Were Not Kind Either
Under Gomez’s video, several commenters were not exactly rushing to defend Applebee’s.
“I’m not a chain restaurant hater but Applebees is literally the worst restaurant I can possibly think of,” one commenter wrote. “I don’t understand why anyone would spend money to eat here .. even if it’s an ok deal I feel like there’s better that actually tastes good.”
Another viewer was even harsher.
“Applebees is just the worst freezer food available heated in a microwave,” they wrote.
Not everyone agreed, though.
“… am I the only one who genuinely loves Applebee’s food,” one commenter asked.
Another person compared the pacing to a different chain’s endless deal.
“They take forever on purpose so you leave,” they wrote. “Olive Garden brings it before you even finish.”
@lizi.gomezz Applebees count your days because that meal assaulted me. Waited mad long for bad riblets but i don’t know what I expected.
BroBible has reached out to Applebee’s via email and Gomez via TikTok and Instagram for comment.