LongHorn Steakhouse — Restaurant in Fort Smith

My experience at Longhorn seemed to fall squarely in the middle of the intersection between "good enough", "plain", "not bad", "fair", "mediocre", and "average". I was not upset about any particular aspect of my meal, but neither was I impressed in any particular way either.

I arrived at 5:30 on a Friday (Feb. 15, 2019.) The steakhouse was about 1/2 full, when I arrived; so I was seated immediately, but far in the back, well away from any windows or TV screens, with my main view being a blank wall connecting to a hallway leading off somewhere into the back. The waitstaff were polite, but mechanical - I sensed little general concern for me (as a person) beyond their robotic "how are you doing?" or "can I get you anything?" given with a forced smile. The staff stopped by frequently, which started to get annoying towards the end; but the service was quick and I wanted for nothing the entire I was there, which was good.

I ordered the Outlaw Ribeye (18 oz. bone-in), medium, with a salad w/ ranch dressing, and fries. The salad arrived quickly, which is good, but was not very fresh and the dressing was watery. I suspect the salad had been made ahead of time, and spent some time in a refrigerator, as the greens were showing signs of wilting around the edges and the tomatoes were likewise starting to get a bit mushy. Acceptable, under the circumstances, but mediocre & unimpressive. I also received a small baguette-shaped loaf of dark bread with honey butter, but the loaf was a little stiff and dried out on the pointy ends, like it had been sitting around under a heat lamp for a little too long. The middle was adequate & the honey butter was good, so I ate that portion without any problems or complaint - again, "good enough".

The ribeye showed up quickly, but had an unsightly puddle of grey translucent grease right in the middle of the eye portion, which wasn't very appetizing to look at; however, the char was good, as was the flavor, and the eye portion was done to an exact medium as ordered. The last inch & a half of steak near the bone, though, was underdone almost to the point of being raw at the bone end. By that point, I'd eaten so much steak that I wasn't very hungry any more, so I left the last inch behind on the bone with no great regret. The fries were nothing to write home about, but mostly adequate; the smaller slices (2-3 inches long) were cooked through and tasted good, but several of the longer slices (4-5 inches) were slightly undercooked and tasted grainy.

There was a pepper mill at the table, but it ground the pepper so course that I bit into chunks of pepper corn a few times - nothing bad enough to complain about, but it lowered the overall experience another half-notch.

When I left, at 6 p.m., the place was nearly full and customers were starting to stack up by the door, waiting for a table … so, apparently, the place is locally popular.

Anyway, I don't think I'll be going back. When I pay $32 at a chain steakhouse for a ribeye meal, I want a good experience, not a "just adequate" one. I can get that at Logan's or Texas Roadhouse for the same price, and have done so within the past 2 months - both of which steakhouses also did not impress me in any particular way, except for their excess of decorations and wall hangings (none of which were edible.)

All-in-all, Longhorn is not a bad place to go, but not a good one either, just "uninspiringly average and adequate". I'd rather pay more for a meal that impresses, and staff that seem genuinely dedicated to their job beyond just getting the work done; so I'll be adding Longhorn to my list of places to just pass on by, when looking for a good and enjoyable steak meal experience, along with Logan's and...

We went for dinner on a Sunday at 4 p.m. The restaurant was nearly empty, so when we got seated at the table literally next to the entrance, I was a bit confused. I asked if we could sit at another table, and I was simply told "No" as I stared into an empty dining hall. Ok, whatever, we have a seat while anyone walking in and out of the dining hall walks around us during our dinner. Our waitress shows up and clearly has no time for us. I don't know her story that day, but she had something going on in her life. She asked if we wanted an appetizer and then walked off in a huff because we had to reference the menu since we had not committed the entire menu to memory yet. Ok, I guess no appetizers today. I had ample time to take in the scenery while waiting an extremely long time for anything we ordered. The trash (Straw wrappers, food, napkins) littered the floor during our entire meal, and the tables around us stayed littered for over half of our meal. On to the meal. The salads are good, fresh, nothing brown or wilted. The sides are good, and my baked potato, sadly, was the best thing on my plate. Our steaks came at the temperature we ordered, so kudos to the chef. The quality of the steak itself was absolutely horrendous. 12oz ribeye was sandwich-meat thin and void of flavor outside of their seasonings. I'm convinced the seasonings are used to mask subpar cuts. A ribeye has a higher fat content than a New York strip or sirloin. This was as lean as a sirloin and while medium rare, it was as dry as a sirloin. If I had to guess this was a "Select" cut (Below prime, below choice) with 2-4% marbling. I say this without exaggeration, these steaks are worse than Western Sizzlin. We don't have a lot of choices in Fort Smith, even less if you're looking for something a tad upscale, and look. I know I shouldn't expect Ruth's Chris quality but I certainly did not expect a waffle house experience out...

This was my first visit and I’m not interested in returning. Soon as I arrived, I was greeted and seated. The restaurant was packed but I didn’t mind a wait. My server came and I ordered a drink from the bar and at the same time placed my dinner order. The waiter brought my drink the Patron Dragon fruit margarita. She didn’t leave a straw. I waited about 5 mins thinking she would return to check on me and I could get a straw. After 20 minutes of waiting I was able to flag someone down to ask for a manager. Within 5 minutes the manager arrived. I advised him that I never received a straw and it’s been almost 30 minutes since I seen my waiter, I don’t even know who she is. He was very sarcastic and just kept repeating sure after everything I was saying. He then states he will get me a straw. I told him this drink been sitting on the table 30 minutes and he just looked like OK. I had to ask him to replace the drink, again SURE! The manager told me the bar drinks doesn’t come with straws (well I guess only here because other states it does). The waiter now appears with a beverage straw, places it on the table and says sorry. She then walks off. Within 5 minutes she comes back with my food. And this point the service has been so poor, I’ve waited so long and loss my appetite. I got up and left DO NOT PLAN to return. I’ve been treated better and more less...