Texas Roadhouse — Restaurant in Fairborn

Kind of hard to find even with using GPS because it's in a shopping center area which does not have multiple entrances into plus the sign for it is kind of small and since the restaurant sits back in the parking lot of a small strip mall it can be confusing plus there's lots of construction going on around there currently as of this writing.... So if you're not from this area it could be a minor headache.

The place was moderately busy when we arrived we were greeted by friendly hostesses and promptly taken to our seat and given menus.... Our waitress asked us what drinks we would like, so we gave our drink order & said we needed time to think about what we needed to order. (btw, Me and my son were meeting with my nephew because he was heading to Europe hadn't seen him in 6 years).... So in exactly a minute she was back interjecting right into the middle of a conversation, which we found was a little pushy & rude however she was friendly. She did this several times within 5 minutes, finally we ordered an onion pedal appetizer and we told her we would think about what we wanted to eat while we were snacking on the onion pedal hoping we could get some talk time....

However our waitress was back at numerous different times asking if we needed drinks asking if we were ready to order finally we ordered right before the onion pedal came I think this was at the 10 minute mark. I ordered a 14 oz ribeye smothered and mushroom and onions, cooked medium with baked potato and salad. My nephew ordered an 8 oz steak and my son I believe ordered salmon. The food came in a reasonable amount of time and looked and smelled appealing. My nephew was slightly shocked at the size of his 8 oz steak I could see it on his face but he didn't say anything. During our meal and conversations our waitress was continually peppering us with do you need a drink do you need a drink do you need a drink right in the middle of conversations and chewing with a full mouth of food. The food was excellent there's no complaints in regards to any of us the food was good quality all of the food tasted as good as we expected it to be. The atmosphere in the place was very pleasant, the inside of the restaurant gave you a Texas rancher feel and that was excellent, the tables were spaced decently apart from other patrons with large divides to help give you a sense of privacy. The menu prices were what you would expect a typical steakhouse to be.

Eventually we finished but wanted to enjoy the time just sipping on drinks and discussing his trip.

And again right in the middle of conversation we were interrupted once again, not by the waitress this time, but the manager, who peppered us with a few questions asking our experience and and we said everything was fine the food was excellent.

So as we were leaving we were discussing all the way out to the parking lot how we felt like the staff were trying to quickly get us in and quickly get us out.

I give four stars because locations kind of hard to find if you're not from the area which we are from the other side of town, and the staff is pushy, which makes you feel like you're being rushed when all you want to do is come spend time with friends or family and enjoy a good meal. Thankfully the meal and atmosphere pulled this to a 4 star however I'm being generous.

Final note, train your waitresses and managers to not be interjecting into conversations or asking patrons who have a full mouth of food questions.

I've actually been to top notch restaurants and they don't even ask you if you need a drink they rarely say anything to you until they can see that you're not in conversation or with a mouth full of food a well-trained waiter or waitress should know how to smoothly come in and do what they need to do... It's maybe if the restaurant would pay the waiters and waitresses a decent hourly salary maybe that would change that. So again...

Another update

Please look at this picture of disgusting potato skins. I wish my husband had checked them before he left the restaurant, but just got home and opened them up. These things are dried out and hard. This is terrible

Update: I went back and decided to try the salmon instead of the catfish because it’s hit or miss. I ordered the salmon to cooked medium rare translucent in the middle. I put that under the special instructions and it shows that on the receipt, that they printed out for me. However, the salmon was hard on top and was not cooked medium rare. When I told the manager, instead of just being apologetic and immediately going back to get the salmon cooked properly. She wanted to debate with me to tell me that I should call and ask for special instructions instead of putting them on the website. I began to ask her then why does the website allow you to enter the special instructions if people should call. Obviously, no one is reading the special instructions that people take time to enter in. I was irritated because I realized she was wasting time when they could’ve been cooking my salmon properly so thatI would have to wait another 30 minutes for my food. Bad customer service. When I got back to the window to pick up my recooked food the manager told me they were not allowed to cook salmon, medium rare, and said it was a health violations. If that is true, that every other steakhouse that I’ve ever been to is under a violation because I’ve always ordered my salmon med rare often times it is recommended that way by the chef at other steakhouses. Clearly, they do not know how to cook salmon properly. Also, I guess they’ve never heard of raw salmon and sushi rolls clearly if you know how to handle the salmon properly it doesn’t have to be hard and well done. Just a modest internal temperature of 145 degrees. Slow cooked. They need a new cook and manager.

I really have enjoyed the fried catfish. But this time the fish was cut so paper thin that I think all I was eating was the cornmeal batter it was really bad. I am not sure if they’re trying to save money and cut cost but I really didn’t get any fish inside of my three slices of cornmeal batter they forgot the fish. The green beans were excellent as usual. And the mashed potatoes and gravy were also good however they skimmed on the gravy and I did not have enough to cover the potatoes. The pick up service was a little slow. My food was ready 45 minutes after I placed my order. When I went to the window to pick it up it didn’t appear there were any other orders there so I’m not sure why mine was so slow. I will revisit and give them a chance again to see if the catfish is back to how it is normally prepared.

Update. Tried it again. Catfish was much better!! Not so hard and cornmealy. The wait time was not bad either…. Seems like it...

Short version: The process of getting a table for a family of 7 was awful. Parties of 6 or less would probably be a lot better, but that isn't what we needed. The food was fine, but nothing special (except the sidekick of shrimp was really good). Our server killed it and the manager listened carefully as I explained my concerns with the process of getting a table. Of course there is no guarantee that your server will be as awesome as mine was. Our family will not be regulars if Texas Roadhouse.

Long version: To start this off, I need to say that I have a family of 7, and that is where my troubles began with Texas Roadhouse. We wanted to get put on the waiting list before arriving, especially because we have a need for a larger table. We got on the app and we were turned away because we needed a table for more than 6 people. So, we called the restaurant and waited on hold for over 20 minutes with no one answering. At that point we gave up and waited until we got there to get on the list. Once on the list, we got a text saying it would only be 15 minutes, but the hostess said it would be 75 minutes. At this point we were frustrated and ready to leave. We were able to get in sooner because we had small children that could squeeze onto a bench and fit where adults wouldn't be able to.

The food was fine. Nothing special in our minds, but it wasn't bad either. The shrimp were quite tasty with the seasoning that was used; I felt no need to dip them in the supplied butter or squeeze the lemon wedge on them. The portions were sufficient, but not huge. There is no real presentation to the food, just plopped on the plate like I might do in my backyard at a BBQ, again with the exception of the shrimp.

The server was attentive and friendly to the kids which is really important to us. She used her notepad and got everything right. The one thing we didn't like was that she brought out 4 plates of food for 4 out of 5 of the kids, but the last kid, my wife, and I had to wait at least 5 -10 more minutes to get our food. That was awkward waiting for our food, and then having them have to wait for us to finish eating. All the food should come out at...