By now, you may have heard about the return of the $1 margaritas, known as the Dollarita, at Applebee’s. However, an Applebee’s bartender is spilling the tea about the true nature of the deal, claiming that customers will get cut off after they’ve have more than three drinks.
The video comes from TikTok user Nicki (@peacockexperience) who revealed that people are “misinformed” about the Dollarita.
“These Dollaritas, yes, they are a dollar. It’s house tequila and margarita mix which is your standard margaritas,” she says. “They are a dollar before 9 p.m. You only get three per person, one at a time.”
She then explains that after a customer has had their third drink, the manager or bartender is notified. “And that’s not Applebee’s law, that’s ABC law,” she adds, referring to California’s Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC), which is an agency of the state’s government charged with regulating alcoholic beverages.
Furthermore, she says, Applebee’s isn’t permitted to “sell half-price appetizers” and “dollar drinks” simultaneously so after 9 p.m., the price of a Dollarita is bumped up to $3.
Nicki concludes her video urging customers to be “patient” with their waitstaff and to “tip” well.
@peacockexperience The #Truth about #applebeesdollardrinks #dollardrinkapplebees from your #neighborhoodbartender #bartender #applebees ♬ original sound – Peacock Experience
The video garnered over 119,000 views, and the information revealed seemed to make the Dollarita less appealing for many Applebee’s customers.
“It’s 2 many rules I’ll just drink at home,” one user stated.
“Just go to Costco and get a big margarita bottle. Drink as many as you want at home,” a second comment echoed.
On the other hand, many pointed out that not all locations follow the 3-drink cut off, especially those that aren’t in California.
“It depends on the location because we didn’t have a limit on the margaritas and still got half off appetizers,” one viewer wrote.
“I think it depends on the bartender, my friend and I went yesterday and she had 5 drinks not one time did they stop her and I had 4,” another agreed.
However, there have been other content creators who have documented being cut off by Applebee’s after three drinks. One TikToker recently called out the restaurant for lying about its unlimited drinks after she filmed herself and her friends getting cut off. Another customer also encountered the three-drink rule after he tried to order more than the limit. “I guess you can get five drinks max but after 3 drinks, the manager has to approve it to make sure that you’re good,” he said.
The Daily Dot reached out to Nicki via TikTok comment and Applebee’s via press email for further information.