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Mon-Thu. 11:00 a.m. - 11:30 p.m.
Fri-Sat. 11:00 a.m. - 12:30 a.m.
Sun. 10:00 a.m. - 11:00 p.m.
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Cheesecake factory has such a huge menu and that means only one thing: they make nothing really well. It is disastrous to run a kitchen when you have a menu so varied and assorted as this chain.
I tried the southern-style chicken sliders and they were worse than you could get at Krystal -- basically they lacked flavorings and the dipping sauces were super bland. The cashew chicken was humongous but ordinary. The calamari was over-fried. The bread was good, however.
However, the service was excellent. That's why I am giving this place three stars. Don't go here expecting gourmet food -- it's just a generic chain place like Olive Garden where you take your friends so everyone can find something to eat.
Cheesecake Factory definitely has its flaws, but like a long-running marriage, if you know how to focus on its good points and manage the flaws, you will be happy with it.
First, their food is consistent and generally good. The prices are somewhat high, but their serving size is huge, so plan accordingly. My wife and I order the same small group of things over and over again because, well, they taste good. Here's what we order, in some random rotation -- chicken piccata, jambalaya pasta (or sometimes we ask for it over rice), thai lettuce cups, sliders, their burgers, and the tuna tataki appetizer. With the onset of the recession, they'd introduced a "small plates" menu, and some of those are winners, too -- the ahi tartare, fried zucchini, arugula salad, and beets with goat cheese are our favorites from that menu.
We never order the cheesecake because it is overpriced. Also, I prefer the denser, New York-style cheesecake over the fluffy ones that they serve.
We also never go there during Friday or Saturday dinner time because the wait can be extremely long. And one can always do better than wait for an hour with a little buzzer in one's hand.
One area where this restaurant can stand to improve is to expand the bar and the walk-in-and-sit down bar area. That way, the grown-ups can wait with a drink in hand until a table opens up.
Chain or not, I was definitely digging them at 11pm on Christmas Eve and VERY thankful that they were actually open (when nobody else was).
So, first things first. Does anybody else think the interior looks like something you'd find at one of the hotels on the strip in Vegas?
In any case.... what I liked:
The server was a bucket of cheer and full of smiles, even though he was working at 11pm on Christmas Eve (and he admitted that he didn't want to be there). He was also quite amazing at keeping my friend's glass of diet coke full.
The Greek Salad off the Small Bites menu was delicious and the perfect size for the two of us to share. We liked the dressing, all the veggies, and the interesting addition of little cubes of cheese.
The Hot Cheese & Spinach Dip (served with chips) was quite addicting, but sadly there were waaaay too many chips for us to be able to finish everything. We stopped eating when we finished the dip. I think there should be a "small bites" version!
The cons:
My glass of Stella Artois was $5.50. Are you freaking serious???
The menu is too big. I have become a big fan of focused restaurants that specialize in a handful of things. Plus it's much harder to make up my mind when the menu is a small book! (It was also weird to see advertisements for other stores in that menu....)
Wording in the menu. There was a section called "Weight Management Salads" that contained salads that were under.... 590 calories or something like that. "Weight Management"? Seriously? Couldn't you have come up with some better way to phrase it?
So... I didn't like a few things.... but I mostly enjoyed my experience.
Fellow Bellevue Yelpers -
Avoid the Sausage & Ricotta Pizzette [$4.95 + tax $0.50 + tip $1.00] = $6.45] - too small, doughy & bland;
Instead walk across the street to Palomino for
the Sausage & Roasted Mushroom flatbread pizza - same price, twice the size & flavorful.
Your basic suburban mall Cheesecake Factory. Essentially an upscale dinner with every choice you can imagine. They definitely make a good attempt at authenticity but the food can be borderline generic. Of course, the real star is the cheesecake so you can't beat it for a filling dessert. Also they have a very fulfilling southern chicken sandwich appetizer.
I've never reviewed this place? Did this page churn over?
Anyhow, all in all it is typical Cheesecake Factory that you will get anywhere else, but within the Bellevue powerhouse of restaurants it is relatively a so-so choice.
My most recent experiences here have been for breakfast/brunch. The first of these I had amazing omelet. Once I find something I like, I usually stick with it until it does me wrong. So here is the sequence of wrong doing...
The second time I got it, there was very little cheese, and oddities within that I did not include on my order....
The last time there was no cheese at all ....this was 2 of the 4 things I could put in the omelet. Basically effing up half of your whole meal. The waiter said he would fix, which he forgot about until he came back to my dissatisfied face about 30min later. He eventually took it off our bill, but it was really poor crisis management. And I don't think I am going to give them a strike 3 opportunity.
Farewell Cheesecake Factory ...we had a good run while it lasted
Question, why is it that I go here when I don't even eat cheesecake :)?
I think most folks who come here, come for the desserts. However, the entrees are so large that it defeats the purpose of leaving room for dessert.
I have been here once and once at the Seattle downtown location. It seems both places get packed most nights. The ambiance is fun and the decor is nicer than your typical chain restaurants.
I enjoy their Cajun pasta, Corn Cakes and Strawberry Shortcake (should be shared with multiple folks). The portions are really large though and I never manage to finish my entree.
It is not a place I would regularly go to eat but of the two experiences I have had at the Cheesecake Factory, I think the food and service was good.
Like any restaurant chain you will have bad customer service as they already have a settled clientele. I prefer the Bellevue location over downtown Seattle sheerly because of the parking situation (free parking in Bellevue). Let's face it, Cheesecake Factory is pretty pricey but they have a ton of very good choices, their food is consistently good, and their cheesecake is unparalleled. Unfortunately they don't take reservations and you're probably going to wait 45 min - 1 hour on a busy day to get seated. I prefer to go during less busy times such as late night and I've never been disappointed.
really good food not over priced. the place is nice and the waiters and food is very good as well. Well priced for the amount of food and the bar was cheap as well. i had the Louisiana Pasta it was very good no words to explain the good food. try it out!!
How have I not reviewed this place yet?!
Cheesecake Factory was my old stomping grounds in college. Had you asked me back then how many stars I would have given it, I probably would have given it a 5, simply because I used to live off Ramen and sandwiches and anything seemed like a good alternative. Now, because of my acquired culinary expertise (insert laughter here) I have been able to identify finer establishments.
So my Bellevue experience...7 pm on a Friday night, the wait was OVER an HOUR. I think this is probably the longest I've ever waited at a Bellevue restaurant. I know it is the weekend...but are there really no better places to go than CHEESECAKE FACTORY on a Friday night?! I mean, geez. I arrived to meet some friends and was already running about 20 minutes late...and still had to wait close to an hour. Luckily I was in good company and didn't mind.
The service here was good once we got in. Our orders were taken prompty and we received our beverages, food, and checks in a timely manner. Just so you know, the drinks average around $10 but they don't put prices on the menu. Just an FYI.
What I should warn you about is the phonebook of a menu. It's seriously a freaking novel. You have to flip through and normally decide based on what you're feeling like because they have just about everything. I always get the Thai Chicken pasta which is usually pretty standard every time. Ginormous portions and a to-go box later, I'm usually fat and happy.
Sadly, I never have room for dessert but the cheesecake here is good. Like, really good.
Things I was NOT so happy about:
1) The lighting. When we got in there, the lighting was perfect but while we were in there, they adjusted it to the point where I could barely see my food. I wasn't going to be the crazy lady who complained and said that I couldn't see, but I legitimately couldn't.
2) When I got home and pulled out my to-go box for a late night snack, there was a RED TWISTY TIE in my food. Like, no joke. I thought it was a carrot at first, but the wire suggested otherwise. Gross.
All in all, it's not a bad place to eat, but I always wonder why it's so packed when there are tons of other great places to eat on the Eastside. One thing I will say though is that it's a great place to bring picky eaters because there are just so many choices.
I can't believe I haven't reviewed this place yet! I've always had good experiences here. I've never had a problem with service and the food is really good, however ever since I started eating here years ago I always get the same thing - chicken farfalle bowtie pasta, so I wouldn't have the most diverse opinion. Their portions are huge. Pasta can be shared between 2-3 people. I'd prefer they just make smaller portions and make the prices more reasonable - oh well. By the way, I've seen someone order a salad which was basically the size of a PLATTER. I really mean it when I say large portions.
I LOVE that you get a unlimited bread basket with 2 types of bread (sourdough and the dark brown one). I'm a big fan of bread and butter and this is definitely no exception! Order a few so you can dip some in your pasta sauce, and take some home with your leftovers :) I've learned to pass on the cheescake. I'm not a big fan of cheesecake and have tried a wide variety of theirs - from the original with strawberry (tip: they will gladly give you extra strawberries if you just ask) to the other fruity ones and fancy chocolate ones (tiramisu is nothing special). They're not worth the $7/slice in my opinion.
Cons: They don't take reservations so expect a long wait if they're busy (which is a lot). It's slightly overpriced.
On your birthday: you get a free slice of cheesecake
This place is overrated, but can sometimes be overlooked. For some reason (one I have yet to discover), this place is ALWAYS packed. It's busy on weeknights and there is a wait. It's CRAZY busy on weekends. The wait can easily get up to one hour for even a part of four. Pure madness. And once they ring your busy and you get all excited and they call your name, you go up to the hostess desk and then they bring you to another line next to the hostess desk and you mill around until someone finally seats you. It's quite odd... and confusing.
This is the place teenage girls go to dress up, share entrees, and take lots and lots of pictures. This is the place that high school dates happen. This is the nightmare when people try to have their birthday dinners here because they don't take reservations and the wait ends up being anywhere from 60-90 minutes. This is why I try as hard as I can to avoid this restaurant.
The menus are very extensive and have a wide range of food. They have jambalaya and thai dishes and burgers and quesadillas. I am always wary of places with menus like this. They also have ADVERTISEMENTS on each page. If I wanted to read a magazine, I would have gone to the grocery store to buy one. I'm at a restaurant! I want to read about the food! I don't want to know where I should get my nails done. Blah.
On top of this, if I happen to get dragged to a birthday party here, service is bad because the servers (naturally) are annoyed. We take a million pictures, we take forever to order, and then we end up sharing a bunch of dishes. Then, to top it off, we want the bill split a million ways. I don't blame them for hating us. BUT, sometimes when I go with my boyfriend (and we both look late teens, early twenties), we also get treated poorly. I'm sorry you work at Cheesecake Factory, but let's try to be nice, okay? We will leave you a 20% tip, just don't roll your eyes if we don't order three courses or get drinks. Thanks.
Anyways, even with all these negatives, some of their food items are legit. Their fettucine with chicken and sun-dried tomatoes is just the way fettucine should be. Saucy, creamy, and thick. Their cajun jambalaya pasta is surprisingly flavorful and spicy (for a "New American" restaurant). Their Chicken Bellagio is actually really quite good. It's a huge portion (no wonder Americans are obese) with two slices of tender and moist chicken on a bed of pesto noodles with some leafy greens and proscuitto. They probably put chemicals in this dish, but it's yummy.
Their cheesecake is pretty tasty. If they do something well, it's their cheesecake. And it BETTER be good if cheesecake is in their name! Their cheesecake is heavy and calorie-laden (I'm pretty sure one piece is my entire day's allowance of calories), but it always takes me 10 minutes to decide which kind to get. And then I usually end up getting two :) Their original with strawberries is always a safe and delicious choice. Their Godiva chocolate cheesecake is heavenly, thick (it's flourless), and chocolate heaven. Oreo is also good. If you're not into cheesecake, their chocolate cake is hit-or-miss. The first two times I had it, it was deep, moist, and chocolately. The last two times I've had it, it's been dry and after two bites, I stopped eating it. Next time I go, along with a piece of cheesecake I order, I think I'm going to try to blackout cake. It sounds like fudge heaven. MmMM!
My friend was having a birthday dinner here one weekday night, and the place was looking pretty empty (I'd say about 75% of the restaurant was empty), so we thought we'd be seated pretty quickly. But the hostesses claimed that since we had a big party (10 people?) that we would have to wait a bit for them to set up. 20 minutes passed by, 40 minutes passed by, finally after an hour, we complained to the front desk. They said they were working on our tables (how hard is it to push a couple tables together? I could've done it for them! Cmon now!)
FINALLY, after an hour and ten minutes, we were seated. It is a hit or miss with waiters and waitresses there. I have been to Cheesecake on days when the waiter is very chill. He attends to your every need. I've also been there when the waitresses look unhappy and impatient. This was a night with the latter.
After ordering our drinks and entrees, we waited. We waited, and waited. After about 20-30 minutes, our food finally arrived. Good thing we had bread to keep our stomachs from eating itself.
The dishes are GIANT. I recommend an appetizer; even that can fill you up. Even though the dishes are giant, they aren't very special tasting or well-cooked.
Some extra notes about why I dislike this place:
1) It is darkened to a point where you can't see your food.
2) The service is a hit or miss.
3) This place does not take reservations, so the waits are long.
4) Even when the place is not busy, they still seem to find a way of making you wait.
5) You can't walk around outside/in the mall when you are holding a buzzer. The buzzer is close range only, and stepping outside the door is probably the furthest you can go with that thing.
I only come to this place for birthday dinners; otherwise, I refuse to come here on my own time.
Overpriced, majorly. For a beer, a sandwich, and 1/2 a slice of cheesecake, I paid $26. Which might have been fine if it had all been better than mediocre. Which it wasn't. I had the Cuban sandwich, since it looked a little Paseo-esque. It was good, but of course couldn't compare.
Service was good though, considering we had a regular waiter and his "waiter-in-training". They split up our bills, and even split the price of cheesecake onto two different tickets; something that you don't see very often (without eye-rolling, that is). But we had to ask for water, which should be the first thing they put in front of you, in my opinion.
I left feeling like ten pounds of cr@p in a five pound sack. Maybe that's not their fault. But I'm going to pretend it is.
Two bar-stools down, a braying moll with pancake makeup and vermilion lips addresses a circle of boys with the unseemly confidence that arises from being the only woman in a room full of dick-blinded, oversexed young players.
(Stupid people are never reticent. Never.)
She turns to the bartender and tells him she's going out for a smoke. Asks him can he save her seat. He tells he he'll be glad to, but that when she returns, she's gonna need to tone it down on the F-bombs, since there are kids in earshot.
When he comes to my end of the bar, he says, "Next one's on me. Sorry you had to hear all that."
This is a qualified endorsement. You'd never want to take a date here. But the bartender is a superb fellow.
If you are a carnivore and love to work out, try this: prior to heading to the gym, go here for the Energy Breakfast. It consists of a chicken breast, scrambled egg whites, and a few tomato slices. It is the juice.
Other than that, I generally would avoid all the shit on this menu.
Food, service, cleanliness, atmosphere & value all suck. I been here probably......at least a dozen times. Hate it when I have to go here but sometimes family or friends setup dinner here. I really don't understand why Cheesecake Factory is so popular.
Only reason why I gave them 2 stars is because I have to admit, the concept of building a restaurant around cheesecake is clever.
Co-worker: So is the Chicken Salad like Tuna Salad?
Waiter: No, it's Chicken, not Tuna..... wait, are you pulling a Jessica Simpson?
(Table all laughs hysterically)
Waiter: Oops, I probably shouldn't have said that
Other Co-worker: No, you really should have!
That was pretty much the highlight of my lunch the other day. Besides some confusion re: Chicken of The Sea, lunch went well and service was pretty darn good, the food was decent (and in HUGE portions) and we left, happily, with containers of to-go cheesecake. SCORE!!
People at my office seem to really like Cheesecake Factory. I'm probably here about once a month (if not more) for one reason or another but I really don't mind. Who doesn't love a good Cheesecake? While the wait can be long, the service spotty and the menu.... errr, I mean magazine with pages of ads and about 2390482834 food options..... the food is overall pretty decent and you have a ton of stuff to choose from.
The Avocado Egg Rolls as a starter are frickin' amazing! Full of avocado, perfectly fried, and served with a sweet, nutty dressing, they're a winner. The Factory Favorites comes with Quesadillas, Corn Cakes, Calamari, Avocado Egg Rolls, Spring Rolls..... and a mystery item.... as well as one or two other items. The amount of food they serve you for the Factory Favorites pretty much filled up our table of 9 before we even got our entrees. Craziness! For the most part I'll order the Navajo Sandwich (fry bread, chicken, avocado, lettuce, tomato, etc) as my entree but every now and then I'll change it up and order a pasta dish of some kind (love the Bistro Shrimp Pasta) and I really like that it will always, always taste the exact same. The Cheesecake is also always good. It's heavy but not too heavy and is always super moist and slightly fluffy. The White Chocolate Raspberry Truffle and the Kahlua ones are sort of my standby, although I also really like the lemony, citrusy lightness in the Lemon Raspberry. Again, you can always depend on a good slice of Cheesecake. Who says consistency is a bad thing?
Sure there are probably better options than the Cheesecake Factory, but it's so convenient, reasonably priced, HUGE portions, consistent quality and friendly staff. Oh, and it's always a crowd pleaser, how can you not find something you want?
Respect your body. Nourish it. Don't stuff it at the Cheesecake Factory.
Food here is bad. Period. Undercooked. Overcooked. Stuffed with all the varieties of grease. Portions are enough to feed 3 people easily.
Wait times are always big.
1 star for making decent cheesecakes.
My friends took me to Cheesecake Factory as a belated birthday dinner (yay!). I haven't been here in over 4 years so I had a hard time deciding what to get. I ended up getting what one of my friends was ordering - I got the spicy chicken chipotle pasta. It was goooood. The asparagus and peas in the pasta were fresh and soooo goooood. Unfortunately I ate too much bread and could only finish half the pasta hehe. O well-leftovers! It wasn't too spicy nor too bland.
Service was not worth mentioning-not exceptional nor horrible.
Place is always packed. I wish the tables were further apart. I don't like the fact that I'm sitting almost elbow-to-elbow with the next table customer and that they can hear me ranting about my co-workers.
Valentina's music variations on classics about chains. All in parenthesis.
1. Chain. Fleetwood Mac.
Listen to the wind blow (Valentina, don't...just don't do a chain)
Watch the sun rise (stay away from Cheesecake Factory)
Run in the shadows (of overly fatty appetizers)
Damn your love (for Criiisssco)
Damn your lies (no so good stuff)
And if
You don't love me now (of course you don't! You're making me fat, CF food!)
You will never love me again (I won't be back on my own--please groups of friends, no CF)
I can still hear you saying
You (Cheesecake Factory) would never break the chain.
2. Chain of Fools. Aretha Franklin.
For five long years (back in Atlanta)
I thought you were my man (I thought CF was decent)
But I found out, I'm just a link in your chain (but now you treated me like an anonymous customer)
Oh, you got me where you want me (and eating all your cals)
I ain't nothin' but your fool (that means 30 laps at the pool)
Ya treated me mean (and made my a** huge)
Oh you treated me cruel (my stomach is full)
Chain, chain, chain
Chain, chain, chain
Chain of fools
Every chain, has got a weak link (what? This 30-something pages thing is your menu?)
I might be weak child, but I'll give you strength (what should I order?)
Oh, babe (Appetizer Fantasy platter)
Woo, woo, woo, woo (that's my stomach, after you!)
You told me to leave you alone (when playing that 90s sax music)
(Ooo, ooo, ooo, ooo)
My father said 'Come on home' (go back to Seattle or find a restaurant whose name isn't repeated 3,000 times across country)
(Ooo, ooo, ooo, ooo)
My doctor said 'Take it easy' (no more CF por favor!)
(Ooo, ooo, ooo, ooo)
Oh but your lovin is just too strong (well, not so much anymore...)
(Ooo, ooo, ooo, ooo)
I'm added to your
Chain, chain, chain, etc.
Chain of fools (and fatty food)
Oh, one of these mornings
The chain is gonna break
But up until the day
I'm gonna take all I can take, oh babe.
No more chain restaurants for me. http://I.just.cannot.d....anymore. And I strongly suggest CF to stop playing ambient music so loud. I felt the food waltzing on my stomach to something even worse than Kenny G's Greatest Christmas Hits album. Decor is as messy as this post. Structurally correct but dirty ladies room. Uncomfortable seating for large groups. Sans personnalite service.
No mas! Gracias!
Chain, chain, chain....
I'm only giving this place two stars because of their cheesecake. Otherwise, I'd give it one or none. I have been here several times and have still yet to eat something that is any good or worth the price. So far, I've had:
--Boston Salad
--Skirt Steak
--Chicken Pot Pie (this was at the downtown Seattle location)
--Chicken Bellagio
--Potstickers
--Chicken Marsala
Yes, their menu is huge. But that's the problem. They try to do so many different things that they don't do anything very well. They would be wiser to reduce their menu and focus their offerings on 2-3 styles.
With a name like Cheesecake Factory, it's a good thing their cheesecakes are as good as they are. They're just about the only thing that they do right. Unfortunately, my three favourite cheesecakes have been removed from the menu (Boston Cream Cheesecake, German Chocolate Cheesecake, Toblerone Cheesecake), so I now have almost next to no reason to come here.
If you're looking for a place for dinner, definitely go somewhere else. If you're just after dessert, this is a good bet.
After the past couple bad, and REALLY bad experiences at Cheesecake Factory. I found it incredibly difficult to come back for anything other than a Cheesecake To-Go. Anyway, I dunno why, but the gf and finally gave in and we decided to go to Cheesecake Factory in Bellevue for a nice dinner before heading out for the night.
The wait on a friday night was typical, 20-30 minute wait was what we were told. We took their little buzzer, went into the mall to get a coffee, came back, and our buzzer buzzed about 10 minutes later. So it didn't feel that bad. My only real question is why do they buzz you, then move you near the cheesecake pickup area only to wait another 5 minutes until your table is actually ready? Just kind of weird.
So service this time around was actually fantastic. Which is even more surprising considering our server got off halfway through our meal, but she introduced our new server before leaving. And our new server was also great during the entire meal. constant refills, checking on items, etc.
Food as usual is of good quality, and huge portions (nothing wrong with left overs). The lady ordered the Chicken Piccata and I ordered the Chicken Fingers. I must say that the Chicken Piccata is damn delicious, and my Chicken Fingers were surprisingly tender for white meat chicken. Sadly we did not have enough mashed potatoes this time to make a mashed potato snowman, but that's another story. Of course no dinner to Cheesecake factory is finished without Dessert. She had the Godiva as usual, and I had the fresh strawberry. Both delicious, I wish mine was a little bigger slice.
Anyway this was a great experience at Cheesecake Factory. I am bumping them to 3 stars, as this was a redeeming experience. Cheesecake Factory is now an option again for dinner, and hopefully they keep this up. Because honestly aside from the long wait for a table, I do love Cheesecake Factory.
~G
Atmosphere: Typical of your Cheesecake factory, so dim and fitting for groups and/or dates. Although… Read more »
This is the standard Cheesecake Factory. Nothing special. It's located in a mall.
The place is gorgeous. The people are nice. And I chose to go with my frenzy and get the Eggplant Sandwich, Cream of Wild Mushroom Soup with Ginger Ale.
The sandwich is actually a nice array of grilled vegetables, (japanese eggplant, roasted red peppers red onions) with cheese on a soft bun. One could barely taste the eggplant. The only thing remotely fattening about this is the herb aioli. And it's served with french fries.
As for the Cream Wild Mushroom Soup, it taste good. A pleasant cream soup with the subtle flavor of mushrooms that seemed to stay on my palette.
This restaurant falls safely under 'places to go when with parents.' I don't hate it, but it's not my style, either.
Things I liked about the Cheesecake Factory: the cheesecake. Thank God; I had better have liked the cheesecake at CHEESECAKE Factory, otherwise, they better change their name. The burger wasn't bad, but I'll get to it in a second.
I came here wanting a burger with bacon on it. My choices were A) a sandwich with 'steak pieces' or B) a double patty bbq bacon burger. The monster burger at least fell under the category I was looking for, so I got it. The taste was fine-it didn't blow me away, nor did I expect it to, but I could have done without onion rings on my burger. I didn't know this was the State Fair.
Now for the bad: wayyyyy too busy. Since it's at Bellevue Square, and since it was a day after Christmas, of course it was going to be busy. I have a feeling it's busy all the time on the weekends, though. Another bad: wayyyy too much food. Yeah, the prices were good (put that up top), but do I really need too gargantuan patties of beef? Finally, I dislike chains. I dislike the service from High School Seniors/ Underclassmen earning a wage while in school (that being one of a robotic nature-our table ordered 2 pieces of cheesecake-raspberry and vanilla bean-surprisingly, these were her two favorites!)
All in all, it was a good experience. If I were to go somewhere next time my parents were in town, I wouldn't shudder-I won't, however, come back here on my own accord. Sorry, CF.
I would give this place two stars for their food, but the service negates that extra star. The hostess gave us a buzzer. The buzzer buzzed. She told us to stand in the corner and wait to be seated in "just a sec!". Then they forgot about us for another 20 minutes. Their response? "Oh, oups. uhh...oups..." If they had given us a free appetizer or something to soften the blow of being ignored and forgotten, all would have been forgotten. But no, we had a juicy "oups!" to gnaw on as we stormed out the door, furious. The best part? Their minions are so programmed to spew out false hospitality that nearly five employees said "Have a great night!" in the exact same tone of voice as we walked out the door. Clearly we are nothing but a dollar sign to these people.
Total wait time: 1 hour
Total meals eaten: 0
Total experience: FAIL
I've usually had very good run with the Cheesecake Factory but they lost it last time and here is the review to trump all bad reviews for this place.
We had a gift card so we decided to use it up while we were in downtown Bellevue because we hate that god forsaken place. Anyway, we were seated immediately. Seems good, right? Psh. Wrong.
We took a while to order but he did get his Fresca right away. I ordered a
-Honey Vanilla Latte
-A Caesar Salad
-Garlic Noodles
He ordered:
-Fresca
-Bow Tie Pasta
I got my Latte from someone that wasn't my waiter (1).
It was the wrong latte.
We sent it back.
We got a new latte that was just pure sugar water with honey on top from somone that wasn't our waiter (2).
It took FOREVER to get our entree. My noodles were stuck together as if burnt on the bottom of the pan. His bow-tie pasta was okay random Penne and Spaghetti mixed in with his bow-tie.
After recieving our entrees, here comes our Caesar Salad. Um? WRONG. Also, the person that brought it to us who WASN'T our waiter (3), brought it to the wrong table before realizing it was us. Terrible communication, clearly.
We tried the Caesar Salad which just tasted of vinegar. It was awful. There was no anchovy flavor that makes a caesar so wonderful. So, we sent that back and someone (4) (who didn't introduce herself so off assumption we guess it's the manager). Anyway, she claimed she thought it was "Weird" that the salad wasn't up to par. Yeah. We thought it was too.
After that, we finished the meal, we also had some horrifying experiences (i.e. all the waiters claiming that they were under staffed although having long personal conversations in a huddle, including one about how blazed they were going to get and talking about their "Weed Man".) No joke. It was awful.
Don't go. Just don't.
This place just pisses me off.
The decor is supposed to be this grandiose mess, and in the middle of the newly ritzified downtown Bellevue (which now offers many GOOD restaurants) it's hardly anything other then a poser. The wait is always oppressive. I tend to attract more then a few looks of 'who-the-hell-are-you?', both from the staff and the overly pretentious clientle's who have been brainwashed into thinking that paying for food at this place somehow empowers them to a holier then thou attitude.
The food is what I would humbly call 'un-inspired'. I think they are striving for a higher end 'American' food or something equally blaise and vague. They fail. Their desserts are not bad, but are not worth the raving that I hear from them. And most of them have the pre-fab feeling of a freezer.
That being said, I offer them two stars rather then a goose-egg because you can get food to-go there, saving you the hassle of being looked down upon overly much.
Avoid, if at all possible.
I have only been to this place a couple times (not very recently) but I do recall two things:
The waiting? Crazy. Not their fault, but jeez.
The menu? Really? we need a novel? I like food, don't get me wrong but with one million and one choices how the fuck am I supposed to decide? Thai food? Pasta? Salad? Sandwich? Is this the "Cheesecake Factory" or the food factory?
The second star is added because they make a good cheesecake.
For a chain restaurant, I feel this place deserves a good review. Of course you can't compare it to a fine dining establishment in the Seattle area, but for what it is, I think it is pretty good. Now the other thing I will say is that I've only visited it once. My girlfriends and I decided to grab lunch after some Memorial day shopping at Bellevue Square.
I had the Fresh spring rolls. It was an appetizer, but I was trying to aim for something light and healthy. The taste was as a fresh spring roll should be. It also came with some pretty delicious dipping sauces. However, for the price, and compared to the size usually served at Thai restaurants, it fell a little short. Also, whoever made it ripped the wrapper on one of them, so all of the insides were falling out, and it was a bit difficult to eat.
My one friend had a veggie pizza with goat cheese and a huge lunch sized salad. I had a bite of each and both were tasty.
My other friend had the Miso Salmon. I was expecting it to be a healthier option, but it came slathered in a cream sauce, along with the miso. It was rather delicious though. The salmon was extremely moist and well prepared.
Do I prefer chain restaurants? No, especially pricier ones like this. However, if I have to eat at one, this one is ok with me.
Bad enough to be told we'd have to wait 20 minutes... when arriving at 10pm.
Insulting, though, to have the little pager go off after 10 -- then be told to go stand around by the bakery and "wait to be called".
After ANOTHER 20 minutes, I asked what was going on (after watching tables come in and be immediately seated), and the snarky-ass hostess said "you're being paged right now"; when I explained what happened she gave me a snotty smile and told me they'd call us "in a few minutes".
One star because something intervened and convinced us to leave before I punched someone in the neck.
This place is just gawd aweful. No other way around describing it.
We were seated at the bar, which as bars go is nice enough. Drinks were served immediately. If I can say anything was done well - the service from the bartenders was pretty good. From there on - everything went downhill.
The place really lives up to its name. I've certainly had better chocolate cheesecake in my life. Slapping "Godiva" on the name didn't really help. In fact, the people who own the Godiva brand should be righteously concerned about this place co-branding their product with the Godiva name on it. Or perhaps Cheesecake Factory and Godiva have become a unified institution flying under a corporate flag of blandness.
Bottom line, there's better restaraunts. There's better cheesecake to be had. Why go to The Cheesecake Factor? I don't have an answer. Neither should you.
I should be 2 1/2 star but, 2 stars would have been too low.
Service was pathetic for that level of a restaurant. We waited too long at bar seating to get served and we could figure out who was responsible for the table, since the waiter kept on switching.
We asked for bread twice and was told they were out, then they are expecting a new batch from the oven, then, they ran out again. We finally got some half way through our meal.
Food wise, it's what you would expect from Cheesecake...nothing really new and exciting but it was good nonetheless. However, don't order the tuna tempura roll...it was over fried and not very good at all.
My fellow penniless graduate student friend found a gift card for Cheesecake Factory, so we decided to hit up Bellevue on a Saturday night. We picked Bellevue because we figured if we ended up having to wait, at least we'd have the mall to keep up pre-occupied. Plus there's free parking (unlike the Downtown Seattle location; I'm a sucker for free parking.).
Uhm - if we had to wait? We got there at 7, and were told "it'll be about 45 minutes". So we go shopping and come back 40 minutes later (because I'll be damned if I lose my spot in line). We go to the counter: it'll be another 30 or so minutes. Seriously? Tell me it'll be at least an hour next time, and I'll scat until then. It's not like there's ample waiting room at Cheesecake either, so you can either standing and linger around the side door, or you can stand and linger across from the dessert bar. Either way, you're standing and lingering.
We pick the dessert bar. We find a menu and make dinner picks. Then we went to admire the different cheesecakes in the display case. Before we turned to "dessert for dinner" the pager goes off. Wohoo! We go to the counter only to be told "Please stand in the area across from the dessert bar and wait for someone to call your name." Hello! You paged me. I am hungry. FEED ME!!
The service was at best mediocre. The waiter for our area (we ended up in the bar) was horrible. After we ordered, our drinks didn't come for 10 minute (and bear in mind, we got sodas - nothing fancy). 10 more minutes later, I was told that they were out of the Hungarian Beef Goulash that I had my heart set on. Luckily, I had my back up already picked out: the Sheppard's Pie. 20 minutes later our food showed up. Thank God. Because I swear I was about to snatch the bread off the table next to us - right out of the hands of the nice couple sitting there.
There was none of that regular waiter service during the meal. No water refills, no drink refills. I had to flag down the waiter after the couple with the bread had finally managed to stop him. I practically had to jump in his face to get his attention and then beg for a refill. Luckily his shift came up and he was replaced with a different, significantly better waiter. Unfortunately, we were stuffed and ready for our check, and the service experience (and tip) was already ruined by the guy who had been working before him.
We got out of there at 10. Half of that was waiting for a freakin' table. How come this place doesn't take reservations?! Is it really that difficult and costly to let people call in and then put their names into little time blocks? WHY?!
Food was good (with a huge selection), but half-assed (if even that) service the greater part of the night really doesn't make me want to come here again. Ever. In fact, I think it's been over 3 years since I've visited any of the restaurants in this chain. Tonight, I remembered why.
I would never go here but one of my friends LOVES it. We went last week for dinner. I just had a small salad- mozz w/ tom's it was ok. Not the best. Then I got cheesecake to go. The cheesecake- lemon rasp was not THAT good- WAY too much whip and the crust was icky...
Next time, I'll put up more of a fight over where we go for dinner- what a waste of $17...
service was the best thing about the evening...they are competent.
I ate here yesterday with co-workers, and it was OK, not incredible.
The endive appetizer salad that others got looked good; I couldn't eat it because it had walnuts. One gal got lettuce wraps; a beautiful and huge plate of ingredients, sadly (if you're allergic) including peanut-encrusted chicken and peanut sauce. Evelyn's Pasta was pronounced acceptable, and the pepperoni pizza looked OK, though the 11" size was ordered but two personal size pizzas and an apology were received instead.
I ordered the barbecue double bacon cheeseburger without the barbecue ranch sauce or pickles. I would definitely get this again; it was huge for $10 and pretty tasty, too. The fries were above average, crispy and hot. I took half of this lunch back to the office and enjoyed it later, so I actually felt like I got a reasonable value.
$2.50 for a soda is ridiculous and the dessert prices are high too, running around $6 for a single huge slice of cheesecake if I remember correctly.
Service and the wait for a table were both acceptable but not remarkable. It was loud in there and our server was a little quiet, which led to us repeating ourselves a little, but that wasn't her fault really.
There's no kids' menu, so although the appetizer menu is extensive and has some stuff kids will like, you have to plan on $12-15 per kid, which is very steep.
I LOVE their cheesecake; haven't had one yet I didn't like. They are all delicious, and very expensive, but its worth the quality. Their other food, however, is just okay. I never go here for the other food; I usually just go and get some cheesecake to go.
Dining in is a pain, no matter what day you go in. They don't take reservations, and waits are always looooonnnnggg. No reservations...you've got to be kidding me. Guess they are worried they'd lose business.
Atmosphere is okay, service is really good (this earns them 4 stars instead of 3). We went on a double date, and we all ordered our food which was promptly brought out to us. They gave us ketchup, which apparently didn't have the lid screwed on, and when our friend's date went to shake it up ketchup went EVERYWHERE - including on his date's food, and she didn't like ketchup.
Management was very accommodating; they gave them both a free meal, and brought her out a fresh plate, and offered to dry clean the guy's shirt as ketchup was on that too. Overall I was very impressed.
Service and Cheesecake are excellent, rest of the menu is okay.
ugh. i dont care for people who have to turn up their nose to non-boutique restaurants and talk about how they haven't visited the cheesecake since highschool. I KNOW cheesecake is something you love when you think it's real fancy...then grow up and say...wow this is really over priced. but so is pf changs and most every other establishment. suck it up!
okay, that was actually really intended for one horrible blind dater i decided to meet for lunch at the local cheesecake. i didn't care for him at all-and he was too cool for the cheesecake factory-or so he kept saying.
but lucky for you yelpers. i'm not too cool for anything! well...except desperation. i'm too cool for desperation-but everything else i'm game!
i love the luau salad. i crave the luau salad. like so many salads out in the restaurant world. it's not gonna be healthy for you. it's sweet, it's got macademia nuts and this crunchy won ton thing that is satisfying to chop down with your fork and munch away.
besides that dish...i admit there are not true craveables for me at the local cheese fac. my friends love the egg rolls and i know their tuna/sashimi salad is pretty yummy-but nothing beats (in my book) the crave-creating powers of the luau.
wait...then again, i have been known to highlight the cheesecake's tiramisu's and factory mud pie. the mud pie is bigger than a new born baby and has so much going on, you will need at least 5 people to eat it. during your communal experience savor the moist black forest cake with the ice cream and whipped cream...but also...please be responsible. do not let your friend decide that it would be a good idea to pour the chocolate sauce they giv eyou on the side onto the mud pie. seriously. you guys will all get mad and that will just spoil that.
other than all of that, i have to also add (just to be extra useful) that the bellevue location has consistently provided better food (and no food poisoning anecdotes) as opposed to my (and my friends') experience(s) at the downtown seattle location. just goes to show you can be a franchise, but, like a snowflake, perhaps each is just a little bit different....
Went here recently with another Yelper and had a great time! In retrospect the majority of those stars up there can be attributed to the company I had that evening, but still, much fun can be had at Cheesecake even if you aren't accompanied by a hottie!
We took the edge off by starting in the crowded bar, and lucked out getting two seats. Another couple tried to swoop in on the seats, and she-who-shall-remain-nameless and I gave each other the glance that said we knew we were going to have to throw down until they found other seating. Bartenders were quick and courteous, and we had just started on our glasses of vino when we were buzzed on our handy pager.
You've got to love a place that's so busy, that there's a tiered waiting system. First you get the pager, and once you get buzzed, you move to "Tier 2" staging area, where you again wait...except this time your sequestered in the foyer, away from the BAR where we had practically just fought over SEATS. Lovely.
The place was pretty busy for a Sunday night, and we had a little 4-top table tucked into a corner that was quiet enough where we could go through the Q&A, getting-to-know-you routine. I was riveted...and out of practice! I've eaten at Cheesecake several times before, but it takes a while to work through their menu BOOK....so it helped that my date wisely suggested an appetizer (Thai chicken lettuce rolls...SO GOOD) and then splitting a main course. Sadly I don't remember what it was, but that it was GREAT!
All in all, a great place to take a date - good environment, good service, good food, good prices...good night!
Jim's review prompted me to write one as well - because I do not understand the whole "wait for your table twice" method that seems to be trademarked by this Cheesecake Factory.
This place is ALWAYS busy - doesn't matter what time of day - you will wait. I am a patient person, don't mind waiting a bit - but yes, the pager "wait line" and then the "Cheesecake Counter" wait line are ridiculous.
DUH hosts - page us when we can WALK TO OUR TABLE. Is this something management came up with? Eek!
The food is consistently decent - but when you have been shopping all day at Bell Square and have worked up quite an appetite, its hard to make a decision as to WHAT to eat on their 40 page menu.
I don't frequent this restaurant often enough (usually only with a small group of friends who think this is the only place in Bellevue) to memorize any of my favorite selections from the past - I can only tell you that I had a spicy shrimp dish once that was nice. I'm willing to bet there are 5 more just like it on the menu.
Service is usually good, but I must say their drinks are weak.
2.5 stars on this one for me, because I know I'll be forced to go back even though I'll complain about waiting twice and won't know what to order - chances are I'll probably have a piece of Cheesecake and forget why I was mad in the first place!
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