Outback Steakhouse — Restaurant in Garland

Okay- this is a 5 star coming from a 1 star review earlier in the month. On our first visit, unknowing to us, the gift card program was not working. This was the sole reason my wife picked the restaurant, that put her in a mood. Then our waitress Erin- seems like it could have been her first day- she was awful. We put in drinks and appetizer, waited ten minutes for drinks. We put in our order asked for the soup of the day- she told us cheddar broccoli so we order, comes back to inform us that they don’t have the soup of the day anymore or cheddar broccoli. Doesn’t know when they took it off the menu. Okay we reorder. Good come out- still no appetizer. We have to tell her that it’s still missing and that we need a few additional things with our menu, ketchup for kids cheeseburger, the extra ranch we ordered w the chicken sandwich and silverware. Wait ten more min, she being the onion blossom still not condiments for the food- more annoying bc the kids cheeseburger is now cold, wife and I just share set of utensils. We over hear her tell the customer behind us, I brought you your soup- but we are out of spoons so I brought you a fork til more get cleaned???? WHAT- I totally understand how this customer felt bc our experience was as bad. We leave most the food- it’s cold waiting for things as for our check and decided will drive to the one in Plano from now on. Now today- we still have the gift card and I call to verify they can us it- wife’s not happy about us returning to this one bc of our experience. We get Betty- oh wow what a difference a server can make. This young lady was hustling everywhere- she asked tons of questions, asked right off the bat if we wanted extra sauces with all items including onion blossom. Food came out in order- and he refilled our drinks multiple times!!! Ask to sit with Betty- especially at this location. She makes this a 5 star on experience and service. Food never got cold because everything came with the food like we asked! Outback- please give this young lady more hours and her preferred shifts because you need good people like that. Erin tried her best, but she is not made for the service industry and is hurting...

My immediate family do not visit Outback as much as we used to. As a matter of fact, before yesterday, I don’t remember the last time. We decided to go this time to celebrate my niece’s birthday. We had a party of 12. We get there and luckily my in laws already had us a seat waiting. So the wait time for us was nil. The waitress was very nice. She took our drink order and asked if we wanted an appetizer. We decided on a blooming onion. They bring it out and to me it looks over done. Like it was left in the fryer a little too long or the oil was too hot. But others didn’t seem to mind it. My son orders off the kids meal, chicken and fries. My wife orders the six ounce center cut sirloin cooked to medium. The chimichurri filet sounded good to me, so that’s what I got. Firstly, the kids meal. Hard to mess that up. My chimichurri sirloin, though the amount of steak compared to price seemed minimal, the taste was good. Now my wife’s center cut sirloin, there was so much fat and gristle, you couldn’t even get through it with a serrated knife. A manager happened to be walking by and asked if everything was ok. We showed him the steak, and he asked if he wanted him to take it away or replace it. Which was weird to me, because why would you pay for something you wouldn’t eat. So we asked to replace it please. It took so long, but the time it got back, my wife was already full from the bread or the blooming onion. It came out and she cut into and and behold, a huge glob of fat. Where do they get their steaks from? Out of the back of a guys truck in a Walmart parking lot? Now I know that places have bad nights and not everything is going to be great. But after send it back once, and you make it “right”, make it right. I can probably guarantee a return visit will not happen. But maybe your experience will different....

I just returned from this Outback. This Outback is the worst Outback in the entire world. The first time I went to this Outback was about a year ago. Service and food were the worst I have ever eaten. My food order took 55 minutes to arrive on my table. My steak was so burnt, it was like charcoal. I gave this restaurant another try back in January of 2023. I placed an order for pick up when they open at 11:00 am. When I arrived at 11:00 am, I had to wait another 20 minutes. Then I went inside and the manager said that they don't start serving until noon. I explained to him that their website stated that 11:00 am was when the store open. I demanded for a full refund immediately and had to return to work on an empty stomach.

Today, while my wife and I were dining. The manager I believe his name was Jason or Kason. he was very friendly with Caucasian patrons. The Caucasian diners sitting behind me were offered free baked potatoes and sweet tea in a to go cup. He also, checked on every Caucasian diner in the bar area, where we sat. However, my wife and I are Asian, and another African American couple sitting two booth down from us were never even greeted by the manager. My Sweet tea cup was empty for over 10 minutes, and he walked past me at least 5 times within the 10 minutes and never even looked at me. I felt being discriminate against at this establishment. This manager should be fired immediately. The attention he gives to Caucasian patrons compared to other nationality will lead someone to file a lawsuit against Outback establishment. I was extremely disappointed.

If I see him there again next time I visit, I will be expressing to him my feelings in a...