Chili's Grill & Bar
- Price Range: $$
- Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
- Attire: Casual
- Good for Groups: Yes
- Good for Kids: Yes
- Takes Reservations: No
- Delivers: No
- Take-out: Yes
- Waiter Service: Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
- Outdoor Seating: No
- Alcohol: Full Bar
225 reviews
Tustin, CA
"I loved this place. The ambiance, food, service is always really good. It's like little tapas. They have a great selection for all types…" read more »
10 Reviews for Chili's Grill & Bar
There was nobody covering at the host stand, but what really peeved us were the FIVE employees chilling behind the bar within eyeshot for a good six minutes doing a whole lot of NOTHING.
After some profuse apology from the manager, we settle into a booth towards the back and scan the menu. We ended up getting the grilled ribeye and chipotle crisper. Was so hungry we even went so far as to order chips and salsa. All in all, the food was fine. What we expected. Just that first impression really stung.
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I come to this plaza all the time but I never come to Chili's. The food is your average American fare - reminiscent of places like Claim Jumpers or TGIF... places I'd rather go to over Chili's. My friend used to work here as a server so I can't complain about the service here! The environment itself is kind of dark and dreary, but it is very accommodating for large parties.
Try their "Awesome Blossom" for a starter - it is this huuuge blooming thing of onions... deep fried. You pick off the onions and you get onion rings.. what a smart idea (oh wait, I just remembered that Outback has the same idea!)
Pretty decent American food - large portions (like most American restaurants) so you definitely get your money's worth. I really like their fajitas here, try the steak and portabello one!
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Here is the thing about Chili's:
1. Their Chicken Fajita Pita Sandwich is supposed to be like one of the only 'fast-ish food" healthy entrees out there -- and it is good.
2. Their Old Timer with Cheese is arguably the best (non-boutique) burger out there.
3. Their To Go service is FAST and ALWAYS gets your order right.
You gotta give them props for that.
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It's been about 5-6 years since I've last been to a Chili's. I don't like to eat at chain restaurants per se so tend to avoid them. However, tonight, we thought we could possibly give it a try again, so we treked down here and had an early dinner.
I was surprised to find that the menu was nothing like what I remembered. Since lil guy likes ribs, we got him the ribs off the kid's menu for $5.99. It comes with a drink and a choice of one side. I made him get the steamed broccoli.
I got the chipotle blue cheese burger and hubby got the mesquite chicken salad. I must say, everything tasted pretty good (using other chain places as comparison) and portions were really big. I shared my burger with hubby and took a few bites of his salad, but overall, half a burger with a couple of fries was enough for me. I think next time I might try a different burger though as I felt with the chipotle sauce, together with melted blue cheese, it was a bit too 'saucy' for me. I like my burgers a little drier. I liked the bacon which they put in my burger as well. Hubby's salad was supposed to have the chicken brushed with BBQ sauce, but I asked for that to be on the side. They usually serve dressing (ranch in this case) on the side so that wasn't an issue. I'm glad I asked for that because I don't like a lot of dressing or sauce on stuff.
Service was okay, nothing exceptional, but still acceptable. I was really impressed by tonight's visit food-wise. I have noticed that lots of chains have updated their menus in recent times maybe due to the constant barrage of competition, however, it's not going to make me a regular at chains anytime soon. As far as chains go, Chili's gets a 4 star vote from me.
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well... what can you expect from when sitting at the bar booth of a chain restaurant?
It was Lakers-V-Sun last night so I though to grab a good meal to enjoy the game at the bar. I work in Irvine so I searched around what's good...
I found The Auld Dubliner @ The District (http://www.yelp.com/bi...). It's next to DSW store... but what a bummer, only 2 small TV showing European soccer?! Next I tried Lucille's Smokehouse BBQ (http://www.yelp.com/bi...) that's diagonally across the street... but freaking packed. grrrrrrr... There's also this JT Schmid's brewry... but that place look a bit too up tight for me to let loose and enjoy myself.
Without much options that's close by in Irvine/Tustin... Chili's was where I ended up at. I was able to snare a booth as a party were leaving. The server must be a newbie... anyway I ordered my rib and beers... the shrimp came out sort of cold. not much of service if you are in the bar booth I guess... and when I'm done he just brought the check without even asking I want a dessert or not! pssst.
if there's a next time... I think I'll go for Firecracker Tilapia with Honey-Chipotle Baby Back Ribs instead... figner-crossed it'll be warm through the meal.
Maybe next time I should drive further to BJ at Tustin Marketplace...
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Hmm.. this place advertises their baby back ribs so much, but I've never seen anyone get it. Weird.
The food is average, and the only reason I used to come here was because it was close to my old apt, and we would rotate around the restaurants in the area.
Generally, the service here is horrible. Although there are a few servers who are friendly and actually do their job, most of them are really lazy and greedy. I mean who asks for a tip when you're picking up a delivery?? Freakin insane.
The only thing I like about this place is the dessert. They have this molten chocolate lava cake. yum! I pay extra for more ice cream, but they go so well together.
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Prices are very reasonable. The credit crunch, combined with survey information made these casual eateries drop prices, and drop portion sizes commesurately to keep up w/the economy.
That's the extent of my economy lecture, paraphrased and probably plagiarized from the LA Times.
$15.99 for a full rack of ribs and two side orders. You'd think this would be a boatload of food. But it all fit on one plate. In a sense, you get what you pay for.
Ribs were OKAY. Get the hickory ones, much tastier than the habanero (which had crushed spices, but was not SPICY at all). Mashed potatoes were good, but heavy.
Get steamed brocolli. They do it right here, ask for no butter. Nice crunch to offset the rib fat, lol.
W/two diet sodas, the bill came to roughly $22. Can't say the food is that special. But, nice atmosphere, and very attentive service.
They have a happy hour which is pretty good from what I hear.
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This is our standby. I love the chicken sandwich which has a wonderful mustard dressing on it and the Cajun steak is awesome. They make the steam broccoli just right with tons of butter. You must get the peach or blackberry ice tea. Taste so refreshing! fries are ok and the chicken poppers are fantastic with the mustard sauce. I don't care too much for their ribs or appetizers.
Service is usually good and the prices are fair.
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4 Stars because quite honestly, where else is open past 11:00pm on a Friday Night in Irvine??? Other than the Spectrum, you'd be hard pressed to find any place. So Chili's fills a void and I will go there until better late night dining options appear in the glorious city of Irvine and I say 'glorious' with much contempt.
***This review is strictly based on the service received***
Like any other Chili's in the world, the food will taste the same, and is about average quality, no "wow" that was good factor.
But anyway, it was high noon on a Friday and a group of 10 of us from work decided to go there for lunch. ....OK, we know it's busy, knowing it's lunch hour for most people so we'd expect the wait to seat a party of 10 may take a while.
So finally after 20 minutes or so, we were seated. We ordered our food and the round of drinks came. And before you know it, a second, and third round of drinks came, and by this time it was already 40-45 minutes into our lunch break from 12-1pm. when we finally got our food,,,let me rephrase that, when 8 of the 10 people got their food, 5-10 minutes had past before the last dish arrived. And the funny thing is, the last two plates were chicken/shrimp fajitas and a chicken sandwich.....does a chicken sandwich take longer to prepare than a steak?
Anyway, this is most likely an isolated incident, and dining here at all other times besides lunch may present better services.
But they get 2 stars from me for now.
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