The staff here seems a little bizarre. When we first walked in the hostess was asking the same peoples names over and over again as she seemed overwhelmed at the hostess booth. She apologized and we told her it was fine. Later on she was playing on her phone with some guys at the table behind the booth so it seems like she got over her anxiety. As we were waiting, what looked like a manager walked up and asked us if we would like to sit in the bar. A game was going on and I hate when people scream when I’m eating. He noticed my hesitation and said«everywhere else you in here you’ll be overwhelmed with children.» I thought that was a weird thing to say. Whatever. We went and sat in a tiny booth in the bar area. Our waiter also acted like this was the hardest day of his life. He brought my drink and did not bring my husbands for a full 15 minutes afterwards. He did not take our food order until we had already been there for 30 minutes. It was crazy. He ran around the bar area like a chicken with his head cut off except the game had long been over and he didn’t really have anyone to help. Even my husband(who for some reason feels like it’s his job in life to defend wait staff) asked me why he was acting so busy when he wasn’t doing anything. It was stupid. I added an extra star because the food is awesome. If you feel like eating chilies this is a good one to go to for great food if you can ignore the ridic staff.
Sajid M.
Place rating: 3 San Diego, CA
Food and service was average. Which is very good for chili’s because chili’s is middle of the road fare.
Wei L.
Place rating: 3 San Diego, CA
We’ll i’ve been begging my roommates to come here for the past three months when finally the day came and there was nowhere else to go. I wanted to go there because I REALLY craved ribs, and it also has been quite a long while since i’ve done so. Anyways, I digress, this place has a wooden interior setting, me and my friends were seated at the bar, the place is a casual dining experience, the food was Okay, I ordered the Full-Rack of ribs with a side of fries and brocoli. I would say it was delicious, but definitely not the best, the meat on it was acceptable, overall I come out of it full, however, I don’t think it was worth my 20 $. However our waiter was very friendly, i assumed she was either trying to get a nice tip or just had nothing to do at the time. Overall my experience here was okay, it got my lunch outta the way. No real food I recommend since i’ve only been here twice and only had ribs Lol.
Ma-e M.
Place rating: 3 Anne Arundel County, MD
There are so many Mexican restaurants in San Diego but we ended up at Chili’s when we got chilled out at Phil’s BBQ next door. We don’t care for Chili’s that much but for kids that got used to going to Chili’s and have grown up still want to go back to good old time and food then, this is their place of hang out.
Saba Y.
Place rating: 1 San Diego, CA
Worse customer service. I Came with a couple of friends & sat in the bar area. Keep in mind we are African American & we sat for about 20 minutes & we were not greeted in any way & when another group of friends came in who were Caucasian, they were greeted & their drinks were brought to them within 5 minutes. Will never come back here or any chilis to be exact.
Tony G.
Place rating: 5 San Diego, CA
So good, friendly staff, and the presidente margariTas where very good. Will come back soon.
Ruben H.
Place rating: 1 San Diego, CA
Filthy floor, didn’t get any silverware, and didn’t have what I wanted, $ 10 for some bullshit ass nachos I could count the number of chips with my hands… would rate no stars if I could
Breanne M.
Place rating: 3 San Diego, CA
I’ve actually loved Chili’s and there service had always been great but this last visit was very disappointing. After we were seated, it took over 10 minutes to even be acknowledged! I had to ask THREE servers who our server was and instead of just helping us we got«I’ll find out» WTH? It was pretty bad. I also was very grossed out at how duet or table was including the huge light on the table(see photo). I do have to say that once we were served our waitress was very attentive but before that happened I was not a happy camper.
Jeff I.
Place rating: 3 San Diego, CA
Chili’s is one of my «go to» spots when I can’t decide on what I want to eat. This time we went because I had my 5 year old God Daughter and we wanted/needed a varied menu. We dined after 6, not my OPT(Old Peoples Time) so the place was super busy. The wife had a strawberry margarita and I had my beer to go along with the fried pickles for starters. The pickles were alright because anything fried is alright! Then, the sadness began. I ordered a half-rack of ribs and the wife had a grilled steak. The ribs looked and smelled delicious but looks were deceiving on this night. The ribs were overcooked and tough. I had the waitress take them back and decided that I didn’t want a replacement because I didn’t want to make my wife wait. The wife offered me a bite of her steak, which was really good, until she cut through the middle and found it to be extremely rare so she had to send her meal back and declined another meal because we had to get our God Daughter home, Now, having spoke negatively about this meal, I am not speaking bad about this Chilis. We’ve ate here many times over the years so I just chalk this up to an off night. The waitress was super attentive and felt really bad about the wait and the food. The manager was really attentive and did more than he had to make up for our visit. Of course the two meals were taken off the ticket but the manager gifted us with coupons for our next visit so everything worked out well. This probably would have been a scorching review had it not been for the manager and our wonderful waitress trying to appease us. Sometimes you just have a bad experience. It happens.
Kav M.
Place rating: 3 San Diego, CA
My wife and I usually go to the Chili’s on Jackson in La Mesa and it’s always a good meal on a budget, but we were already in Mission Valley so we thought we’d try this one. It was a bizarre experience when we ate at this location. Our server«Fi» or «Phi» was basically non existent except to drop off our food. The restaurant was maybe at 35 percent capacity so it seemed strange we wouldn’t at least get a refill. I asked him if their medium was pink throughout on their sirloin and he said yes, but the steak came well done. It’s Chili’s so I let it go. Where I got irritated was that after my wife grabbed her own to go boxes, Mr. No Name-Tag comes to our table while I’m paying out on the touch pad and says, «Make sure to give me 5 stars on the survey». I x’d out of the survey prompt in front of him and we left. Is their management team okay with this? 3 stars may be generous but we do usually enjoy our experience.
Kief Z.
Place rating: 5 San Diego, CA
My family and I go to this Chili’s on a regular basis, originally because of convenience. The staff is friendly, the service is fast and polite. This location has become our family go to place if we don’t want to cook. With a 2yo and a 6mo… it is crucial to have a great place like this to visit. The crayons provided for the 2yo are a nice touch as well.
Alexandra D.
Place rating: 3 Poway, CA
For the type of restaurant it is, I would normally give this a 4 star rating because the menu is decent and prices are good. However, at this location, nobody greeted me as I stood there for several minutes waiting for the rest of my party. The place was pretty empty. I ended up seating myself and moved to three different tables because they were so dirty. It was 1130 am and the restaurant had only been open half an hour. This is an indication that cleanliness is not their priority. I got my dirty mug of water. There was some blue substance on the rim. The steak was overcooked. It was barely pink and I ordered medium rare. But the chocolate molten lava cake was good but not as good as the white chocolate version that they no longer serve.
Victor H.
Place rating: 4 San Diego, CA
It’s all about expectations. After all, if you’re fine dining, and are fully committed to spending 100-plus clams, you expect outstanding food, great service and a memorable experience. Anything less is reason to gripe in my book. But when it comes to chain restaurants — and there is absolutely no shame in chain restaurant food — my expectations are lower. I’m spending less in a restaurant that puts less of a premium on ambience and, when busy, has a more turn-and-burn mindset. Not the case at Chili’s tonight. We were seated quickly by a Robin Lord Taylor devotee, albeit in a dirty booth(tables and booths get wiped) and our waiter, Wayne, was great! We started with bone-in chicken wings in a creamy jalapeño sauce that rated highest on their heat scale(not that hot) and which Wayne recommended. Delicious!(That celery, though, could use a little fattening up. Skinny ain’t pretty on white girls or celery.) For dinner, we shared my friend’s combo — Sirloin cooked to absolute medium-rare perfection and Grilled Baby Shrimps and my Tilapia in a Mango Chile Sauce. To be honest. I was blown out of the water by the quality, texture and portion size of my dish. And that I didn’t have to argue about substituting a mouth-watering cob of corn with gaseous steamed broccoli? Heaven…I’m in heaven and my heart beats so that I can hardly chew fast enough! Another fun touch, for me at least, was the ability to play trivia with others across the Chiliverse with a little gaming device on each of the tables. Very Nice Touch! Especially, for a generally family-friendly restaurant. I won twice at Movies and once at Psychedelic 60s. I can understand others’ gripes. I really can. Some of my very first jobs were in restaurants like Bennigans and T.G.I. Friday’s and when its busy, it’s busy. Service suffers. Deal. Aren’t you paying like, what, $ 10 dollars for that steak? Shut up and eat your creamy mashed potatoes. All in all, it was a great evening. Just please remember to check back with your tables w/i two minutes I dropped my fork. Luckily, I had saved my other. Nobody — and I mean nobody! — wants to see me eat Mango Chile Tilapia with my hands, OK? And, finally, ask for Wayne, whatever you order. At least you won’t be able to complain about the service.
Marie I.
Place rating: 5 San Diego, CA
Thank you Chili’s for accommodating our party of 20… Great service! Great food! Great time! This was our second year having our Christmas dinner here:)
Ernie C.
Place rating: 3 San Diego, CA
I realized why I don’t visit Chili’s very often, my order always tends to be incorrect. Had to return because my Togo order wasn’t right, the up side of it is that they gave me Chili dollars for a free entrée. Maybe they shouldn’t be in to much of a rush so they can catch their mistakes.
Matthew h.
Place rating: 1 Lemon Grove, CA
Wah wah wah… Chili’s is a crappy chain joint, but this was too good to keep quiet. Sat us at a dirty table… later scooped off the food debris, no sanitizing(remember this) Table side iPad was dead… waiter never replaced it Had three waiters… all three missed the ball, never saw the same one twice Ordered salmon entrée, substitute with shrimp skewer… brought out a SIDECUPOFRICE, a SIDECUPOFBROCCOLI, and a SIDECUPOFSHRIMP… WTFISTHIS!!! Waiter #3 asked«is there anything I can get you»? We needed a minute. LMAO! Ketchup was empty Flagged waiter #2…she’s gonna fix the salmon thing. Best part… nearby table cleaner drops a bottle of cleaning agent right next to my seat. I TAKE A BATHINIT! I ask«what’s in the bottle». She blinks, lost. I ask«what’s in the bottle» she says«it’s just sanitizer???» OMG!!! She didn’t have a clue what it was. Get me a manager! Manager says«it’s just sanitizer, ill get you a dry towel». No fucker. I’m going home now to take a bath. And where is the apology? I had enough exposure to chemicals in the military, I don’t need it at chilis. Box me up, I’m out.
Alyssa D.
Place rating: 1 Spring Valley, CA
On our way here, we called to make reservations. Jessica told us that we couldn’t make reservations for a party under 10 people. We asked her how long the wait was and if they were busy. She told us they were fairly busy and the wait was 15 minutes. We arrive about 10 minutes after making the initial phone call and the woman in the front said the wait was 45 minutes. I understand it can get busy really quick, but the woman in the front also told us we could’ve made a reservation. Uhhhh wait, what? Jessica told us we couldn’t for parties of two. She then said yes, you can. And you can also«text» in a reservation on some app. This place seemed super unorganized and chaotic. I’m an 8 month pregnant woman who is HUNGRY and frustrated at this point. We left and decided never to come back. It’s a shame because I’ve never been there. Whatever.
Iris A.
Place rating: 2 San Diego, CA
Service is getting worse here. My last two visits the server keeps forgetting to bring utensils. It took forever to get my burger and it tasted dry. I should have gone to Smashburger. My margarita didn’t taste right. I felt it had lots of mix and not a lot of tequila. It wasn’t a good Tequila to margarita ratio. We asked for more salsa for our chips and it never came. They also stopped making sweet potato fries. Bummer. They were so good.
Tommy M.
Place rating: 3 Jamul, CA
Casual themed dinning experience with moderate dishes/plates. Last time I tried the signerature burgers that are supposed to have applewood bacon… did not have applewood bacon. They looked like the backn found on cheap fast food sandwiches. The molten chocolate lava cake is definately a must try. …however last time it was a bit hard underneath as opposed to being completely moist. This location includes little terminals/touch screens at each table that allows you and your party to order desserts and/or pay the bill. This is so you do not need to wait in the waiter/waitress. In addition, when paying your check in the terminals you can split the check. Credit only of course
Joseph Y.
Place rating: 3 La Mesa, CA
I come to Chili’s exclusively for lunch with my coworkers. The deal here for them is getting the endless Chips and Salsa for about $ 3, some of the guys fill up on chips and order a simple soup. The lunch combos that Chili’s offers are pretty good, the $ 6÷7÷8 combos all come with a side of soup or salad. Just the right size entrée in my opinion. As far as the service goes here, its kinda hit and miss. Sometimes they get our food out right away and other times it takes forever even though there’s not many people in the restaurant. We always get there right when they open, so its kinda weird to wait thirty minutes for food. The servers here are always friendly and nice, never had any issues with them. For me, Chili’s will always be the a-okay chain restaurant.