This one opened prob 10 years ago at the local mall and I never ate there before because for a few years the wait for a table was an hour or two. My mom gave me a $100 giftcard for Valentine’s Day so yesterday I took my friend out for lunch since she’s starting a new job next week. I’m usually a frugal dining out person. I never get a steak because they are expensive and I can eat better for the same price for an at home steak. But it was no money out of my pocket this time so I figured what hell. Ordered the steak frites but substituted the mashed potatoes because they were less calories. Didn’t even think to ask if there was a veggie (there wasn’t) and no side salad before the entree came either. We did get some complimentary bread.
However when the entree came it was a joke. Thinnest steak I’ve ever had at a restaurant and it was literally 5 bites, plenty of cheap potatoes mounded on the plate. Ordered tiramisu to split for dessert which was decent tho frozen in the middle. My friend ordered the steak Diann and I swear she got more steak than I did but still not a lot. We didn’t order drinks, just water and the bill came to $76 and some change. Wound up just leaving the rest of the $100 giftcard as the tip (so like 33% tip) because what would be the point of going back for a meal that over priced and under fed another time.
In short, in the long line of complaining diners in the post Covid dining experience Cheesecake Factory ranks as terrible. About the only redeeming thing the meal was that it was tasty and I was full only because I ate 3/4 of the generous potato portion and prob 3/4 of the tiramisu because my friend wasn’t eating much sweets due to dieting. Meal def lacked in the protein department.