Hanger is very real, and nothing can exacerbate it more than a long wait. Chain restaurants are supposed to be convenient, easy dinner experiences, but it’s not always that way. Sometimes you end up waiting for your food for so long that you don’t even want it by the time it hits the table.
Does it feel like the same places always take the longest? Solitaired, the online solitaire website, put together a report on the chain restaurants with the slowest service. I know what you’re thinking: Who better than a solitaire website to report on chain restaurants?
You’re probably also thinking you want to know which of them actually have the slowest service across the U.S. Here are the top 10.
Methodology
Curious as to how Solitaired pulled off scoring data of this magnitude? They claim to have collected over 22,000 reviews from restaurants across the 10 biggest cities in each state. Then, they dove into the reviews, looking for restaurants that had over 20 keyword mentions of waiting and slow service. This data was used to rank the cities and states for the slowest service across these restaurants.
Does that make it comprehensive and final? No way. But it’s a start, for sure.
1. IHOP
IHOPS are usually 24-hour establishments, which means that you’re not always going to find the A-Team working at this place. There aren’t enough employees in the world to staff an IHOP with the A-Team 24/7. So instead, you’re looking at service slow enough to cause people to smash glass.
2. Texas Roadhouse
While Texas Roadhouse is well-loved in the chain community, it’s not known for its blazing speeds. The place is a high-volume steakhouse, and quickly rushed, unrested steaks aren’t the name of the game here. Some fans have noted that the Roadhouse is starting to go downhill, with complaints about service and food.
3. Buffalo Wild Wings
Wingstop is smart; they know better than to make a full-service sports bar out of their wing establishment, opting instead to focus on the food itself.
Buffalo Wild Wings, on the other hand? It’s a lawless place, and I’ve never seen a location across this country without a carpet made of 50% smashed chicken wing. The service isn’t exactly famous, either.
4. Cracker Barrel
Cracker Barrel is struggling right now, which isn’t much of a secret. The place is closing its locations left and right, and you know what’s not helping? Boasting the fourth slowest service in the country.
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5. First Watch
First Watch, the American cafe that began in California, is now based in Florida and popular across the Southeast. Service is apparently sluggishly slow here, despite corporate initiatives to try to squeeze people’s orders out of them within the first two minutes.
6. Denny’s
Denny’s is a miserable place. The dining room is a miserable room to be in while you eat miserable food, served to you by people that are somehow more miserable than you, probably because they have to work at Denny’s. Even DoorDashers can’t catch a break at this place.
7. Chili’s
The annoyance of staring at a bunch of empty tables, waiting to be sat, is real. Usually this is because there isn’t enough staff, but there are scores of people out there who are sick of waiting around for Chili’s to pick up the pace.
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8. Another Broken Egg Cafe
At peak hours, there can be a line to get in. Once you’re in, you’re gonna wait to have your order taken. Then, you’re gonna wait until everything is made fresh. Is it worth it? Some people say no.
9. Longhorn Steakhouse
The idea of going to a chain restaurant when you want a steak is not one I understand, but people keep doing it. With this type of food, you want servers who have been trained by real restaurateurs, not corporate policy. No wonder people say the service stinks.
10. BJ’s Brewhouse & Restaurant
BJ’s is good for Pizookies and not much else. Just pick one up and take it home; That way, you can skip the two-hour experience you can’t get back.
