Texas Roadhouse — Restaurant in Hot Springs

My family and I chose to have a nice steak dinner at Texas Roadhouse, and I was looking forward to it. Having been to several of their restaurants over the years, I've come to expect a certain level of quality, but this particular location in Hot Springs, AR, was a letdown.

The start was promising enough. Even with a large line outside, the hostess was friendly and assured us the wait would be brief. And it was. We were soon seated, and our server, Hannah, was attentive and took our orders promptly. The initial service was, to my disappointment, the high point of the evening.

The real problem began when our food arrived (our server was great). My wife’s 16oz Fort Worth Ribeye looked fantastic, but my 20oz "Bone-in" Ribeye was a mangled, pathetic mess. It was conspicuously smaller than my wife's steak, and a piece of it even appeared to be missing. Despite the standard explanation that the bone adds weight, this steak was clearly undersized. I had hoped simply for a proper piece of meat, but this initial disappointment was only a prelude.

When I sent the steak back, a manager named Kaleigh came to the table. She proceeded to place the steak on the table in front of me and mansplain that my steak was smaller because of the bone, as if I didn't already understand how a bone-in cut works. There was no apology for the steak's appearance or size, only an insulting justification for what was clearly a poor cut of meat. I was so disappointed that I simply requested a different, smaller steak—a 16oz one, just like my wife’s—which ultimately came out fine.

What’s truly frustrating is that I wasn't looking for a discount or free meal. I was a paying customer, choosing to spend a good amount of money at their establishment, and all I wanted was to be treated with respect and served a meal that met a basic standard of quality. Instead, I left with a profoundly unfavorable impression of the management and a feeling that our expectations had been ignored.

Dani (sp?) came out and apologized, said she was a senior manager. We did appreciate her and wished we had dealt with her from...

I will never support the frequent, loud birthday shout-outs, but the service and food-fare are second to none, so I tolerate them. Also, their ribeyes and catfish are tops, as is their prime rib and racked ribs. Plenty of meal choices, including an all vegetable option if that's what you're after.

I'm really not a bread guy, but their rolls are very tasty and come with a wonderful cinnamon butter. Many celebrate it.

I really, really, am a salad guy though, and their house salad includes fresh croutons, boiled egg slices, and includes tomatoe chunks and cheese... Olive Garden used to serve my favorite, and it's surely still grand, but the Roadhouse salad makes me happier still.

So... entrees are consistent and excellent, but what about sides? I was graced with a vegetable-free childhood, but nowadays... I'm a bonafide vegetable junkie. To that end, the sides at Roadhouse are like fine dining on the cheap by my reckoning. They never fail to liven me. Their dinner rice is uniquely flavorful, and uh... pro tip... order the grilled shrimp plate and it comes on a large bed of that awesome rice, still has the two sides, and you also get the shrimp. Not steak feast mind you, but it is three (3) sides instead of two, a tad healthier, and of course still Roadhouse-excellent. Also, we can't always be poppin down red meat -- if you're not up for their excellent catfish, this shrimp might be the deal for you to target. I miss John Wayne, don't you?... Mr steak-3-meals-a-day left us way too early. ;)

I've never gotten bad service here... ever. I won't bother naming my most-cherished servers, because they're all pretty awesome. TIP those servers folks, they're yet another precious resource that isn't renewable, and it's really not an easy job if they're doing it well.

They have desserts too, but I'm always too full. And yes, that's still another buried compliment.

I'd give atmosphere 5 stars too, but I'm old and crotchety... I'll surely fix it if they ever end those obnoxiously loud birthday celebrations that raise up my BP and lower...

This review specifically has to do with items being left out of to go orders. The food itself is always good but the last three times I’ve ordered to go there is always something missing off the order. Today it was boneless buffalo wings and the last 2 times it was sides of rice. We actually checked to make sure there was rice today in ours so we thought everything was good but when we got home that’s when we noticed the missing appetizer we paid for. We live 40 minutes away so it’s not like we can just run back to the restaurant quickly to get it. I called back this time to bring it their attention and while the lady who did our to go order apologized and was super nice and I’m sure it was an honest mistake it is still frustrating. But when I asked her if they do a checklist or double check the bags before they go out she said they do not generally. I think management needs to start requiring pick slips or printing two separate receipts one for the customer and one for the packer to reference so that they can just do a check off to make sure everything makes it into the bag. It’s not always feasible to take your Togo order to your car in the parking lot and unpack everything in the cargo area if there are a lot of containers to look through to double check everything or if it’s raining. If management would have them double check or do a check off list slip with the orders it should fix it going forward and I think it would be relatively easy to implement. Besides the recent to go mishaps the food is always good and dine in service is always good. I’m just going to have to make a mental note to check everything from now on before leaving the...