Outback Steakhouse — Restaurant in Dover

It's a chain. I know this. But man...the few times we have been to Outback (various locations) it is always the same story. Poor service and mediocre food that is overpriced. We decided to go a few nights ago because we had a gift card we wanted to use. We were immediately seated, but then waited almost 20 minutes for service. It was around 715pm and although there were other customers, the restaurant was not busy by any means. A server did stop by about 5 mins after we got there and told us they would be with us shortly. But it was not shortly. I understand being busy, but seeing the server stand on the other side of the bar and chat with a few coworkers for a good 5 minutes was also not very assuring during our wait. We ordered our meals and asked for salads with them. The salads were typical, but the dressing looked and tasted like a giant gob of mayonnaise (asked for ranch) almost as if they forgot to add the ranch spices. The onions in the salad were the size of onion petals, which also was not appetizing. I did not eat my salad and left it on the edge of the table to be picked up because it tasted that gross. The French onion smothered steak was decent, I asked for med rare and it was medium...but that's pretty normal in a restaurant. My husband got the ribeye and Lobster tail with the loaded brussel sprouts and fries. His steak was also over cooked, but edible. The Lobster was flavorless and rubbery, definitely not worth the cost. Fries were cold and the Brussels looked appetizing but were very undercooked..not talking steamed crunch but raw crunch. They also were in a lot of liquid which did not add to the flavor or texture. We were checked on twice during our meal...but then it took forever to get our check and even more time for our server to come back for the payment. We had giftcards and cash so we ended up leaving them for her since we didn't need to sign and she was no where in site. I don't understand the draw of this chain. Never have we had a good experience and the price/quality of food seriously is just not worth it. There is nothing special about the atmosphere either so truly, we don't feel any reason to choose an Outback for a meal at this point. We even heard a group at the bar commenting that "it is always hit or miss going to Outback when it comes to food and service"...that does not seem like a good selling point when choosing a place to eat. We definitely do not plan to go back to this location at all. Just as an added note, we would 100% choose Texas Roadhouse over Outback because we know the food is consistently cooked well and decently priced. Even on an "off night" where service might have been a little slow, we were still satisfied with our meal. We've also been to Longhorn and found that although they are a little more in cost, they too have consistently made a...

Saturday, my husband and I dined in for our anniversary. We arrived just before the dinner rush. Originally we were seated in a back booth under a vent that seemed to be blowing out cold air...it was freezing. The patrons across from us also said something. Clay was our server and went to see about increasing the heat temperature. When he returned he said that we could move to a warmer spot which was a booth by the bathroom with a window. We were happy to do so. The restaurant wasn't extremely busy at this time. Once at our new seats Clay said...you can close the shade if you'd like. We said no, we loved looking outside and having the Sun shine in. About 20 minutes into our service, the restaurant started to get busy. A server came and asked if we could shut the shade to appease another table. I said we're enjoying the Sun. About 10 minutes later, another server woman came to ask the same thing to which we responded the same. Lastly, and for a third time Angie the restaurant mgr came over, demanded we close the shade because it was her restaurant and the adjacent table did not want the blind open. I mentioned that we were also paying customers, had arrived first, and had a window seat. Angie stated that it was in the manual that the shade could be closed regardless of customers request. At this point, other patrons were looking. I asked Angie why the complaining customers couldn't move seats. She said because they didn't want to. I then said, so my husband and I have to be inconvenienced due to other customers...the same as my husband and I. She didn't care and said the meal was on her. I asked for corporate cards. She came back and threw them on the table, said have a nice day and walked off. My husband and I did not finish all of our food but decided to leave. It was just wayy too much of an unpleasant experience for our anniversary dinner.

We were treated like as if we were second hand customers in comparison to the patrons at a whole different table that wanted to and ultimately did control our dining experience. Extremely disappointed in the way "manager" Angela handled us and the...

My family and I ordered takeout from Outback in Dover on Friday, February 5th. I placed our takeout order online a little after 4:00pm, for a 6:40pm pickup. We arrived at the takeout area at 6:50pm and waited for someone to come to our car to greet us. About 8-10 minutes later, an employee greeted us (they were pretty busy, so we understood and were patient). They said that our order "would be done soon." 10 more minutes go by and we still don't have our food (at this point, our food is 30 minutes late) so my husband goes up to the takeout door and speaks with them. The excuse they gave was that "they were busy" and "just because we ordered ahead didn't mean our food would be ready any sooner because they don't start cooking it until around our pickup time." They were pretty rude about it and uncaring. I understand being busy can set you back a little, but when you have someone that orders that far ahead, you should be plenty prepared to have their food ready in time. A half hour after the set pickup time is just ridiculous.

They also forgot our child's fruit so we had to go back up to the door and ask them for it. Some of the takeout boxes had melted on the tops, so I know they sat in the window for a good bit of time, and most of our food was room temperature, not hot. What is the point of ordering ahead if the food will still not be ready for a good while after you get there, or they will just not pay attention enough to bring it out in time when it has been ready? To say I'm disappointed would be an understatement. Not only with the wait time, but also with the way that the staff handled us -...