The Cheesecake Factory
| Address: | 130 University Town Center Dr, Sarasota, FL 34243, USA |
| Phone: | +1 941-256-3760 |
| Site: | thecheesecakefactory.com |
| Rating: | 3.8 |
| Working: | 11AM–11:30PM 11AM–11:30PM 11AM–11:30PM 11AM–11:30PM 11AM–12:30AM 11AM–12:30AM 10AM–11PM |
Location
Photos 100
Reviews 6
TO
Tom Batchelor
Went for a family deal (birthday) and the place was packed on a Wednesday. Figured it was just normal, but by the end of the encounter, found the real reason. They told us about an hour wait for outdoor seating, hour and a half for indoor. We chose outside and to our pleasant surprise, only waited about 35 minutes. However, after being seated and orders taken, it was just over an hour before the food came out. Which explains why the place was so backed up with people, it stands to reason everyone was getting served slowly. Have to make some assumptions that the place isnt staffed adequately with that kind of wait -- on a weekday. From entry to eating, it was about an hour and a half. Totally unacceptable especially since the food wasnt that great and everything is expensive. Eating that late (for us) I went lighter, with a club sandwich. It simply wasnt that good. Bread was not fresh, vegetables bland. Fries were good, however. But overall, mediocre to average. I considered sending it back, but with the wait already experienced, it wasnt practical to do so. Our group wasnt that large either, but probably large enough to warrant two servers, yet they staffed with only one. Overall, I find this place not worthy of any further patronage. Its just not that good for that kind of wait. And the worst part, the bar is incredibly expensive. Over the top, expensive. Nine dollars for 6 oz of cheap wine? Thats ridiculous. No, you wont find me going back to this place or any Cheesecake Factory location. I recommend you stay away also. Not worth the cost in money and time.
KA
Katie Johnson
Called ahead a few days in advance and informed them we had a party of 18 coming and they told us no reservations. So we called early the day of telling the manager again what time we were coming and how many. Got told again that one of us would just have to show up early and put our name in (youd think for a party that large management might make an exception). So I showed up at 5 and was told the wait would be 1.5 hours or LESS (the manager recognized me as the party who had been calling in for 18). Our group all went into a different restaurant bar in the mall to kill time...An hour and 45 minutes later we still had not received a call. So we went to check and the manager said he could seat half of our party but the rest would have to wait...now it had been 2 full hours and we were all still standing. When one of us approached the manager to express our frustration that we were told 1.5 hours at the MOST and its now been 2 full hours and the best that has been offered us is seating for 9...his response was "its really not that big of a deal". As someone in the hospitality industry myself I am absolutely disgusted with the level of service the MANAGER of this location gave us. It was a busy night and we get that. All we expected was a sincere attempt to accommodate us (especially considering the mutilple advanced notices we gave) and a simple "so sorry, we are doing the best we can" would have sufficed rather than brushing us off like we were of no value to the restaurant. Not one of us intend on returning to this location.
LA
Lakewood Ranch
It still amazes me that even restaurant like The Cheesecake Factory subscribes to what I call Floridas state motto "Half Assed is Good Enough". No one wants to listen to what customers want these days but unfortunately for the general public companies like this have the attitude that theres always a replacement customer to give crappy service to. Ive been to this particular location several times however am wondering if Ill go back or not. One of the biggest problems this location has is serving cold/lukewarm food and I often wonder how often people get sick from eating here. Several times Ive ordered my food and have specifically asked them to cook it twice (namely their super burrito) as it is a good sized burrito and always comes out cold to lukewarm. I went there the other night for dinner and again, asked them to "run it through" twice to make it hot but to no avail, the kitchen chooses to ignore a customers request because they know best. My recommendation, pick somewhere else to eat if you want to have a say on how your food is cooked. Gordon Ramsay would have a fit over the size of their menu. Pick some quality recipes and stick to them.
LA
Larry Casto
PASS ON PICKUP! Because of the usual wait time at peak hours my wife decided to order pickup and avoid the wait. She ordered , ready to go in 25 minutes . I arrived on time , was instructed by my wife to go to the pastry counter and the food will be there .Well ,it was there waiting but as I approached the counter I was ordered to the end of the line ,the end of the 20-25 minute wait line for cheesecake orders .I left ,called my wife , she called the manager and he told her to tell me to go back again and tell them that is our to go order and why cant I just pay and go as instructed by the manager? I fought thru the crowd again ,went back to the counter to the same attendant and asked why cant I just get my food which is right there , pay and go. Again I was ordered to the back of the line and told its only a 20 -25 minute wait . UNBELIEVABLE ..........I left , never to return ,... Beware and pass on this place.They are too busy to need your or my business .At least for now , With that type of service they will surely eliminate the wait lines .
JI
Jim Eman
I have been to other Cheesecake Factory locations and they have all been excellent. The Sarasota location is a huge disappointment. We were seated at a dirty table, with crumbs on the chairs, a menu on the chair from a previous guest and stained napkins on the table. Then, we were handed sticky menus with food crumbs in them. It only takes a second to wipe down a plastic-encased menu. After we were at the table for a few minutes, my wife noticed something on my arm. I picked up chocolate syrup, which was on my side of the table from a previous guest. When I raised this to our server, he dropped a towel off at the table so I could clean the mess. He didnt seem surprised at the condition of the table. He said the busboys must have been busy. The food was tasty as always. Although, we should have left before ordering, given the condition of the table we were offered. There are many good restaurants in Sarasota. I would recommend selecting a different one if you want service.
TR
Trevor Himes
My mother and I stopped by the mall for a little Christmas shopping. She hadnt eaten and she is diabetic so we stopped at the Cheesecake Factory for something to eat. We walked in from inside the mall and a hostess to the left behind a computer pointed around the corner and told us to go around the corner (later on finding out that was the waiting area) so we had a seat thinking it was self seating. Had the hostess been more informative than just a smile we would have already been in line. After a server asked us why we were sitting instead of in the waiting area we looked at each other and wanted to leave. Other potential patrons overheard us and agreed that there is no Exit sign to distinguish people walking in from the mall area.. it appears to have very little organization. We left and visited Four Seasons a crossed the hall with no wait time and a staff that seated us right away. We might try CF again some day.
