Review: Red Robin…Yuck.

“Red Robin…yum.”  So short, so catchy!  I’ve been wanting to visit ever since the little jingle first got stuck in my head a few years ago. I see commercials for the burger chain on TV frequently, but the closest one is nearly two hours away.

Well, I finally got my wish on a recent trip to Orlando.  Sadly, Red Robin was a big letdown.  More like “Red Robin…yuck.”

Okay, the food wasn’t yucky, but the service certainly was and the food wasn’t good enough to make up for it.

We visited the location on International Drive, one of the busiest areas of Orlando.  We arrived around 2 p.m., avoiding the lunch rush.

Red Robin is a sit down restaurant.  There were plenty of empty tables, so we were surprised when we were told it would be a ten minute wait.  It was actually fifteen minutes.

It’s very frustrating to be waiting when you see open tables.  I’d never experienced that.  I asked the hostess why we were waiting.  She said they only had two servers, so we had to wait until a table left so they could keep up.

We were finally seated at a booth.  Booths and tables all around us were covered with dirty dishes and food.  They weren’t cleared the entire time we were there.  It was not pleasant or relaxing to dine next to garbage.

Our waiter was extremely slow and unfriendly.  I understood – he was one of only two on duty for the whole restaurant.  The customers suffered and I’m sure the waiters did, too, as most people blame them for slow service, which means lower tips.

Our drinks needed refilled, but the waiter didn’t check on us.  We finally grabbed the hostess when she happened to walk by and asked her to let him know we needed refills.

The food took nearly an hour to be delivered.  My daughter had a grilled chicken salad.  Her friend, my husband and I all had burgers and fries.

My husband’s order was wrong.  He asked for a plain burger on a plain bun and was delivered an onion bun.  The replacement was delivered quickly, though.

No one ever came to see if we wanted more of the bottomless fries (so what’s the point of offering them?) or to ask if the food was okay.  I had to flag someone down to ask for the bill, which the waiter was quick to process.

It was over $50 for the four of us, and yes, I still left a 20% tip.

Red Robin’s food was okay, but not great.  Terrible service and okay food at premium prices?  This is why I say, “Red Robin…yuck.”