Outback Steakhouse

"We used to enjoy this Outback but the last several months it has seriously gone downhill. Our last meal was on a slow Monday evening at 5:45. Drinks arrived promptly but the server took over 15 minutes to come take our order. Then it took over 30 minutes to get our incomplete order. She said they were waiting on the fries so brought out my burger and my husband's steak. Both dishes were barely warm. My husband left for a couple minutes so she took my burger back to be warmed up. Then came out with the fries and no burger. I said I wanted hot fries and hot burger at the same time. My husband returned to find his food barely warm at the same time so she in a huff taking everything away for a replacement order. In the meantime, someone brought out my dessert before we got our food! The manager brought out the new food which was better although the burger still must have been waiting for the other food and wasn't very hot. By that time (over an hour), my beer was no longer cold. We voiced our surprise at these problems to the manager and he gave us a bunch of excuses. A fresh cold beer was brought to the table and our bill was reduced 50%. When we finally left over two hours later, the facility was a mess with stuff all over the floor and many tables with dirty dishes still sitting there. Our previous experience was not as bad but certainly not up to par. We will give this restaurant one more try and if it is still problematic simply not return to what was once one of our favorite places to eat."

"My family of four came in since we got gift cards for Christmas. Our server was Red, she was amazing. She was in the lounge section and was killing it. She was the bartender for the restaurant and our server. Everyone enjoyed their drinks, my mom thought hers was very cute. The food was great. I asked if I could get the blue cheese pecan salad as a meal with chicken and it was amazing. I didn’t get a picture of my mom’s food but the steaks were all great. And you can never go wrong with their Mac and cheese. If we weren’t so full we would have gotten dessert. It was a really nice lunch."

"Not a good place to make a reservation. I called ahead three weeks for my graduation dinner, party of 10, and called the day of to confirm. When I arrive they then decide to tell me it is a call-ahead which does not reserve your seat. I have worked at a restaurant before, and if the establishment only allows call aheads it should have been explained on the phone. I waited for 10 minutes before approaching the host stand and explained to them the situation and that my elderly grandparents were waiting. The two hostesses at the front were rude to me and said it was a call-ahead. I see a clean open table and we are seated less than a minute later. Not a good experience there as the hostesses were not understanding of the situation and seemed confused. They did not apologize and instead rudely said my table was never guaranteed. I should have been informed beforehand it was a call ahead especially for a special occasion like my graduation. Regardless of that, the food was very good. We got 2 appetizers, the shrimp and wings both were really good. I got the salmon with mushrooms and it was amazing. Our waiters were also very understanding and attentive. We received our food quickly and many of the staff attended to us. The restaurant itself is also very clean and nice."

"As a family, we have been going to the Outback-Gainesville, Florida, for 15 years. What once was a real treat back in 2008-2010 became a complete waste of our money in the years between then and now. UNTIL NOW! This afternoon, for my birthday, (which was unannounced and kept from staff), we took a chance and returned to the Outback after a hiatus of atleast a year. The restaurant has a new look which we found very inviting. We were greeted and seated promptly. Our server, Thelwell, immediately introduced himself and took our drink orders using a tablet. The drinks arrived very quickly. We placed our order, and again, the tablet was used. This tablet system was a new experience for us at Outback and it truly streamlined the process. Our food arrived. It’s presentation, outstanding! It was also absolutely delicious! And we were appreciative that the manager, Keith, came to our table to make sure we had a great meal. It is fair to say, we were extremely satisfied with our experience and will return in the near future."