LongHorn Steakhouse — Restaurant in Fairview Heights

I have been to LongHorns before (not this one) and have had mixed experiences. First time I went was so-so. Second time was great. Third time, they had a problem with me b/c I sent back a steak that was overcooked (I asked for medium and they gave me a steak that was brown almost throughout) and claimed that my original steak was cooked to order.

Anyway, I was somewhat apprehensive when I tried this one. I've only been here once so maybe my opinion will change upon later visits but the first time here was one of the best dining experiences I've ever had. At first we were seated at a two person booth which I didn't have a problem with except that it was against one of the kitchen walls that had some sort of machine (dishwasher?) on the other side and caused the table to vibrate somewhat annoyingly. So I asked to be moved. The waitress wasn't happy about it but was polite and moved us to another waitress' section.

That waitress was hands down one of the best servers I have ever had. Never had more than a min. with an empty drink and she was very attentive and on top of things but not hovering. My steak was as perfect a steak as I've ever had (I got the ribeye). I don't remember how the rest of the food was but it must not have been bad; otherwise I would remember.

And their pop was good. I'm very picky and sensitive to the carbonation to syrup ratio in pop and I don't remember their's being off much if at all. Conversely, I tried the Dr. Pepper at the Cracker Barrel over in O'fallon and it was abysmal; might have been a bad day or something.

Anyway, the wait time was good; we were seating almost right away (maybe just lucky timing; I don't remember what day of the week or time) even though they were moderately busy but I don't mind waiting a little (20-30 mins). The manager did come by to see how we were doing but he did so before we got our food so that was a little odd (typically, I think they come around during the meal or at the end) but kinda pointless as our experience was excellent and I had no complaints at the end. Kinda wished I would've tipped the waitress a little better (wasn't an awful tip: ~20%) but maybe I wasn't really thinking about it. Whatever the reason, first visit was great; might have to alter this review a bit after next visit but...

We had plans to take our family to Longhorn to celebrate their fathers 60th Birthday. We went to Longhorn fairview heights location a week and half before and asked about possible reservations or call ahead seating option for 10 people. I was concerned the potential wait time with a 9 month pregnant daughter in law plus a 1yr old and 2yr old. The server indicated if we called ahead they would be ready for us as we would be on the top of the list. I called over my lunch (5 hours before our arrival) and talked to Rebecca ~ I asked about bringing a cake...she was very accommodating with our request...I again stressed about the possible wait time being an issue. She assured me we should not wait long at all. I told her we would be there at 6PM on Monday May 14, 2018. We arrived at 5:45pm and the server indicated we would need to split up...I was very upset and indicated I called ahead and was assured this was not an issue. She went to get her manager and the manager indicated it would be a 20 minute wait... which we were ok with.. after waiting 35 minutes, I went to ask the server how much longer..she indicated any minute. After 45 minutes I told the server we are going somewhere else. Longhorn was not busy-plenty of open tables but not together! They finally seated us after waiting almost 50 minutes..again I stressed these concerns when I called in. CALL AHEAD SEATING DOES NOT WORK AS THEY INDICATED!!! We placed our order, and salads arrived quickly....and then we waited an additional hour plus for the main course. WHAT A HORRIBLE EXPERIENCE!!! The manager knew I was upset with the situation, however, she never offered anything to compensate us for the timing problems! I ordered a sweet potato that was NOT DONE ~ the waitress only said I am sorry.. no offer to get a different one or discount on the price. Now it was past the 1yr old and 2yr old bedtime...we finally walked out of the restaurant at 8:30pm. WOULD DEFINITELY NOT RECOMMEND for a group of 10...during the week, when it is slower!! BAD EXPERIENCE!!!! I always order the steak FLO, it was tougher than I have ever had at Longhorn. CALL AHEAD SEATING DOES NOT WORK AS THEY INDICATED ~ will definitely make a different choice next time we go out for a special...

When I say I was so disappointed in Longhorn. This is usually my go to Steak place, but Saturday, Dec 23rd was the worse. We had a party of 12, 10 adults and 2 kids. We were told that the wait would be 1 1/2 hours, but it was only about 30 min, it was 6:39 when we got seated. The manager was nice and said she found us a table together. We just knew the night was going to great, but it went downhill from there. Our waiter took our drink order and disappeared. It took so long that we went and asked the manager if he could get some help. He was serving our table and other tables. She said, she would put another server on the table, that never happened. When he returned 2 drinks were missing. He took our order, and came back later saying that they were out of Ribs, and then a little later they were out of Wings. Now, while all this is happening tables are coming, eating, and leaving. The table behind us came after us and they got Ribs. The last straw was the person that ordered wings, changed to chicken fingers. Her order came out before the rest of the table. We didn't get food until 8:30, maybe a little later. The 2 kids we had, hadn't even received their food. We asked for the manager again, and expressed how disappointed we were. She said she would discount the tickets and left the table. The food is now coming out. We had food missing, my steak was burnt, and my husband shrimp was cold. The manager never came back to check on us. We asked for to go plates and I sent my steak back. Then we had to wait for the waiter to bring the tickets back 3 times, because the manager was discounting them. This was a mess!!! We didn't leave until almost 10 pm. They need new management at this location. The people I asked to come with me, said they will never come again. I left a review on Longhorn website and I didn't even get a call I got a $25 gift card. I guess I should split this with the other 9 adults that were with me.

The one good thing was when I git my second steak, it was good. And, my friend steak was good. The chicken tenders were great also. I'm attaching the first 2 steaks they brought to the table. The cook had to have known this...