Outback Steakhouse — Restaurant in Davie

My husband and I went here last night to use a giftcard he received for his birthday. Outback used to be my favorite restaurant, but we haven’t been in several months. Upon entering, around 8pm on a Friday night, we were shocked to see the place was not crowded at all…in fact, there was only 1 other couple at the bar the whole time we were there. Upon sitting at the basically empty bar, we noticed that it didn’t look like it had been cleaned recently. There were no dirty dishes on it, but it was covered with food remnants. Also, just to add, the 2 frozen drink machines on the bar were spinning with drinks in them (I assume the wallaby darned and frozen margarita), but neither of them had a lid on them the entire time we were there, making them easily accessible to bugs or other outside elements. Pretty sure that wouldn’t pass a health inspection. When the bartender approached us she handed us menus and noticed that I glanced down at the dirty bar and asked if she should wipe it down. I responded with “yes, please” so she grabbed a bar towel (no cleaning spray), started at 1 end of the bar, and quickly wiped her way down to us. We ordered 2 beers and 2 appetizers, a bloomin onion and aussie cheese fries (my favorite for the last 25 years). A few moments later a random server brought us a loaf of bread with no knife and told us that they were out of knifes, so to use the knife we had in our silverware setting. Ok, no big deal, but a little odd. After a substantial amount of time our bartender (who was friendly, but extremely inattentive) went back to check on our appetizers and said something about them having a new system, so things were a little crazy. She comes back with our bloomin onion, and mentioned that our cheese fries weren’t ready, but would be comped for the inconvenience. We weren’t in a rush, and had never even questioned the amount of time it was taking, or complained about anything, so that was a nice surprise for us. A blonde lady manager delivered the cheese fries to us about 10 minutes later and they looked AMAZING! If my whole experience would just be based on those they would’ve had 4.5 stars, only losing 1/2 star for an almost non-existent amount of bacon (remember, these have been a lifelong favorite of mine so my standards are high). She apologized and asked if we needed anything. She was very friendly. A little while later our meal arrived, an 18 ounce bone in ribeye, ordered medium rare, for us to share. My first observation was that the steak was thin, looked fattier than normal, and was very charred on the outside, almost ensuring it was overcooked. As we cut into it that observation was proven correct, our medium rare steak was cooked medium well. We contemplated not sending it back, but when you pay $30.99 for a meal you would like it cooked the way you requested. Once again, the waitstaff were very friendly and brought us a new steak cooked correctly in a short amount of time. Although there was nothing wrong with the steak, per say, it lacked the flavor and quality we used to enjoy at outback. We also paid the extra $6.99 for the side of grilled shrimp, which were only 4 medium sized shrimp, nothing special and definitely not worth the money. We tried to make the most of the situation, but to say my husband was disappointed in his meal would be an understatement. We took most of the steak home, as it wasn’t even enjoyable to eat, and gave it to our chocolate lab, who would probably give it 5 stars. When we finally received our bill, the cheese fries they told us would be comped, had not been, so we mentioned it to the bartender who adjusted it. Once again, not a big deal, but if you tell someone something you should follow through with it. At the end of the night my husband told me he would probably never go back to Outback, as the steak did not come close to comparing to the quality you get at Texas Road house. I guess I’ll have to order my occasional aussie fries to go...

What an incredible time my family had here at the Davie Outback on New Year's Day 2021!! What an amazing server we had to make my brother-in-law's birthday dinner an unforgettable experience. Charming JEAN MOTTOLA not only anticipated our every need but was most witty, sweet, extremely capable, efficient, pleasant, and intelligent! We had so much fun talking with him, that we included him in on our conversations, and chatted each time he came by to check on us! We couldn't wait to talk to him as he came by each time! My twin sister and I, and brother-in-law really wish him well in all his endeavors! We have a restaurant in our family and we realize the great value of an excellent, conscientious server! I, myself am a missionary to Thailand, rescuing children from human trafficking. As an educator of 40 years, I mentor and train young people & equip them for difficult tasks, so when I see a young person as diligent, dedicated to excellence, and as motivated as this young man, Jean, I feel it is important and encouraging to commend them for a good job done with outstanding efficiency! My party of 3 was so impressed that we wanted to meet ALL the employees in this restaurant! So JEAN got his manager, Leigh, and we were able to chat on the principles with which these young people are trained. Leigh gathered up the employees briefly, and we were able to give each person a little tip. I spoke with both managers, (Leigh & Dominique) and was impressed with their care & concern for their staff. As a person in leadership I realized why all these young people were so exceptional! Their managers were people of strong character and cared for their employees. Leigh spent a few minutes with me and thanked me for encouraging the staff. I told her I am writing a review and she was genuinely excited that I would commend the server. That's a manager who truly cares!! I have been here many times over the years, sometimes with a group of 30, and have never been disappointed! On that day, even Virginia, who brought the birthday cake was sweet & delightful. What an Outback Steakhouse...the best in all of America! I am a World Traveler, and I should know!! Thank you, Outback, for training your staff to hold excellence in...

STAY AWAY We had been to this location before several months back and the food was ok so we decided to return last week for dinner while my parents were in town. Possibly new management or stopped caring??? Well, that was the wrong choice and we should have known better than to enter the restaurant after parking on the East side of the business where it reeked of sewage (super unpleasant smell). We decided to dine in anyhow (big mistake). Upon being seated, we noticed the floor by our table was an oily ice rink but since we were seated, we ignored this sign as well and decided to go ahead and order. (the red flags should've made us walk out)

I want to say the young man who served us was very professional and polite but his inexperience did not help the situation.

So two people in our party of seven ordered the filet and lobster, when the plates arrived at the table (while still on the tray) the strong odor of ammonia overwhelmed the entire table. It was confirmed the smell came from the two lobster tails. We immediately inform our waiter of this and the lobster tails were removed from the plates but did not offer to replace the plate with a clean one until we asked. (the plates reeked of ammonia even after the lobster tails were removed). We had to asked for clean plates at which time the manager came to our table asking if we wanted another lobster tail (HECK NO, are you kidding me?) How can a cook, prep person, waiter not smell that horrific smell or chose to ignore it to serve it to customers to potentially get them sick?? Inexcusable. So the manager brings two "clean" plates to the table and proceed to apologize.

When we got our check, the lobster tails were removed from the bill but nothing else was offered or comp for the disgusting experienced.

Do yourself a favor and take our experience as a warning not to dine at this nasty...