Outback Steakhouse — Restaurant in Fort Smith

I don't sugar-coat things. Tonight, service at Outback started out rough. Granted, they were busy when I came in, but when the three hosts/hostesses appear to scatter as a way to determine who helps the person coming in, it sets a bad precedent. On top of that, the woman who appeared to lose forgot my silverware.

After that, however, things immediately looked up.

I began my meal with a Down Under Mule (made up of Ketel One, ginger beer, lime, and muddled mint) and sweet tea. The tea was in that perfect spot where you can taste the sweetener without it overpowering the tea itself, and the mule was well-balanced, each flavor complimenting the other.

My appetizer was the Bloomin' Onion, because of course it was! To be honest, since Outback came to Fort Smith, I haven't heard of a single person who dislikes the Bloom. My only complaint here is that the cook seems to have gotten ahead of themself, or perhaps the prep cook, because the onion still had the skin on it. However, I enjoy odd experiences, and while I know it's not for everyone, I gave the fried onion skin a try. Again, not for everyone, but I didn't hate it. The rest of the Bloom, however, was spot-on.

For my entree, the Toowoomba Salmon was calling. Now, disclaimer: I judge restaurants by their salmon dishes, and I judge harshly. Tonight, that harshness was unwarranted, as the meat was perfectly cooked and seared, with that creamy sauce and atop it, accompanied by mushrooms and shrimp. Not a single flaw could be found, and the sides met that same bar. The mixed veggies were the right temperature and had lost none of their flavor, and every grain of rice was cooked all-through.

Dessert was probably too much for me, as the portions on the other courses were quite generous, especially compared to certain other restaurants, but I pushed through because of one item in particular: New York style cheesecake, with a raspberry sauce topping. I do not understand how the cheesecake was at once so large, so thick, and yet perfectly light in the belly. If you abide my comparison, it was dense with flavor, and the crust- usually the part that ruins a cheesecake or pie for me- added to the overall experience.

And I could not, in good faith, end this without talking about the wait staff. From my vantage point, I could only see two servers, but I watched them both juggle all their tables, remember customers' orders without error, and punctually return to their tables, all while accommodating each guest and their needs.

Javier and Adaya, I was highly impressed with both of you! Thank you for your attention and good attitude! It is folks like you two that make dining out such a pleasure, and I greatly appreciate you both, even if only one of you...

We have only been to this location one other time since they reopened after COVID and were nervous about going back this time. They struggle like so many other places to get any help let alone good help. This time was better but far from where it should be. We were sat down and it took a solid 10 minutes before our server came over to greet us and take our drink order. Upon his arrival there was no apology or anything just immediate trying to upsell us to a premium beverage or appetizer. We gave him our order and my husband had to correct him twice about what he wanted. He said chicken and the kid read back shrimp - twice. The food came out pretty quickly and both steaks the table ordered were cooked correctly but my husband got shrimp not chicken like he ordered. The waiter went back and got the chicken for him pretty quickly and the meal tasted fantastic!! We ordered dessert and we had to ask about it's status two times because it took so long for it to come. Not sure if it was old or what - but the slice of carrot cake we ordered was very dry! It has always been one of our favorites at Outback too and at $10 a slice it was far from worth it. The slice was also much smaller than they used to be. We are long time Outback fans and this was a great meal overall. However with a ticket of over $100 for me and my family to eat I still just expect better. Will we be back? Probably one day - just not quickly because we continue to receive sub par service at this specific location. Eating out is expensive and while this is not a gourmet restaurant it is expensive enough I expect good service. We will just choose somewhere else until we are brave enough to try it again because we are missing our favorite dishes again. Also took a star from atmosphere because there were not one but two tables that had screaming children at them. One of those things where I never allow my children to act that way in public and I do not pay to listen to children act that way. I'm sure if the manager had said something to the parents they would have been angry - but I also feel it is their responsibility to address this for...

I leave reviews in order to help consumers make an informed choice and for businesses to get honest feedback on how they are doing. We like Outback and have ate at a few different locations. This one however was not that good at all. The waiter did well and was very attentive but honestly the food sucked. We ordered salads and they were both made a few days prior at the very least. The lettuce was turning a funny color and my wife got hers with the dressing on the side and you could see much more of the tainted lettuce on hers than you could mine so I ate mine and she asked for a new fresh salad. The waiter came back with a salad and again it had old lettuce and it honestly looked like they had picked through that one before bringing it to the table because it did not have much lettuce in it at all. We had the mushrooms as an appetizer and they were “ok” but had a lot of grease in them and weren’t properly drained in the basket before serving them to us. Getting to our entree we split the ribeye, baked potato, and Brussel sprouts. We ordered the steak medium well and it honestly cane out more medium rare. The owner himself even acknowledged that at our table. I do appreciate that he came to our table and also appreciated that he did not make us pay for the entree or her salad. My wife and I both are excellent cooks and cook a lot of our meals at home. We do like going out at least once a week to eat to take the work load off sometimes but it’s disappointing to go pay for a meal that when you leave you aren’t satisfied and feel a little nauseous. I truly hope they can get these things fixed for the sake of there business because I’m not sure we will be back honestly. I hope this review helps both consumer and business . My reviews are always meant to be informational and not degrading or...