LongHorn Steakhouse — Restaurant in Jacksonville

A friend and I went to this location yesterday for the first time. (We were going to go to the gym, however, we decided Longhorns sounded like a better idea.) Upon entering we were seated promptly. -The restaurant was not busy at all being as it was a Wednesday around 4:30 - Our waiter greeted us and asked for our drinks. At first he was very attentive and pleasant. We placed our order. I ordered the 11oz Ribeye (medium well) and mashed potatoes and she ordered the 11oz Ribeye (Medium Rare) with asparagus. Someone other than our waiter delivered our food. We cut open our ribeyes to ensure they were cooked right; they were perfect. We both cut 2-3 strips and began to eat. Before we knew it we were literally choking on the amount of pepper on these steaks. The pepper was so bad that our mouths, lips were burning. When they first arrived we just assumed the black on top was a little charred. Once our mouths were burning we began noticing the pepper. We had to scrape the pepper off with our forks. There was so much pepper that there were literal mounds on our plate. We looked around for our waiter to inform him of this. (By this time we were both out of our drinks) We both made eye contact with the waiter more than once. That did not bring him over to us. He was standing behind the bar, talking. He made his way around our table to talk to other guests. We were ignored for over 20 minutes. Weirdly, I noticed our food was brought out at 4:52 and he finally came over to our table after we waved him down at 5:10. He looked at our plates - both our steaks were hardly touched and everything else was eaten -. His first question was, " Are you ready for to-go boxes?" At this point we were both livid and on the border line of asking for the manager. We both hate complaining about our food but this was just over the line. We told him there was too much pepper on our steaks and we physically could not eat them. He looked at us for a moment and then offered to bring us new ones. At this time we were unsure of whether or not we wanted to even stay and try out new steaks. However, we stayed and asked him to bring us new steaks. Before leaving we had to ask him to bring us new drinks. We had been out of drinks for 20 minutes along with waiting for him to come by our table. He brought us out new drinks and then our new steaks. The steaks definitely had no pepper on them, but they had no seasoning whatsoever! None at all. Along with that, my friend's steak which she asked medium rare was cooked to medium. We didn't complain about this due to already being there for over and hour and a half. The waiter did not come over again until he brought our checks. We were surprised that the manager not once came over to us to ask about the situation or apologize. Come to find out the manager was standing at the table behind us for a while talking to a couple who you could tell were regulars. We were appreciative of the new steaks being offered to us, however, I was not happy how were not compensated with an apology by the manager or at least a small refund. I've never experienced customer service quite like this in a restaurant before. It was horrible. I love Longhorns and I have never experienced a service this bad before. We will not being going back to the Longhorns located on Kernan and Atlantic. The one at the Avenues is...

*Long Post

I must say that in these times kindness, courtesy, and customer service seem to be a lost art, unless you happen to visit Longhorn at Atlantic Blvd and Kernan. We generally try to avoid restaurants on special days like Valentine’s Day as they are always overcrowded and wait times are ridiculous. However we decided to try our luck and I will say we were very pleasantly surprised. We were greeted by our waitress Anell who had the most radiant smile and bubbly personality. She was very attentive made sure our drinks remained full and that our meal was to our liking. She took this same approach with every single table that served throughout the night. We noticed that she had several service pins around her collar and upon asking her about them she explained that they were for recognition of outstanding service. We wanted to share with management how amazing her service was and to ensure that she received another pin. We then had the opportunity to meet Dante the store manager who was just as equally pleasant that truly took his time to speak with us. Often time managers in fast paced industries tend to rush their conversations with you; however Dante truly listened and was thankful for our feedback.

Fast forward 3 weeks later after several failed attempts to secure reservations for my daughter’s 16th birthday dinner at different venues of her choice, I reached out to Dante. I previously spoke to a hostess days earlier that advised they would not be able to take a reservations, however Dante immediately said “Don’t worry I will be glad to take care of you and your family.” Dante even went as far as to check the schedule and secure Anell for serving our table. At that moment were at ease and knew that we would have a great meal with exemplary service. What brought utter shock to us was not only was Anell our waitress, but she had candies and bouquet of flowers for my daughter. For someone to take that much pride in their profession and craft and to go above and beyond meant so much. She brought tears to my daughter’s eyes. Anell is by far an extraordinary waitress and human being. She truly made our evening special and we left feeling like we gained an additional member of our family. This isn’t just a review but a Huge Thank You to Anell and Dante for making both of our special...

I recently had an incredibly frustrating experience at Longhorn Steakhouse that has left me deeply disappointed and dissatisfied with their overall service. As a loyal customer who has always enjoyed their delicious food, this incident has truly tarnished my opinion of the restaurant.

Upon placing my order, I was informed that it would be ready for pickup at a specific time. However, I ended up waiting for over 20 minutes past the promised pickup time. This prolonged delay left me feeling frustrated, inconvenienced, and questioning the reliability of their staff.

What baffled me even more was the fact that the staff seemed completely oblivious to the inconvenience they were causing. There was no communication or acknowledgment of the delay whatsoever. It was as if my time was of no importance to them.

During my wait, I observed several staff members leisurely chatting amongst themselves, seeming unfazed by the growing line of disgruntled customers. This lack of concern for their customers' time and satisfaction is unacceptable and reflects poorly on the restaurant's management.

The experience was made even worse by the lack of transparency. No apologies were offered, no updates were provided, and there was no indication of when my order would be ready. The absence of basic communication left me feeling neglected and disrespected as a paying customer.

By the time my order was finally ready, I was already filled with frustration and disappointment, which ultimately tainted my dining experience. The food itself, although tasty, could not make up for the subpar service I had endured.

Longhorn Steakhouse should take this incident as an opportunity to reassess their customer service practices. Promptness, communication, and respect for their customers' time should be prioritized to ensure a positive dining experience.

Regrettably, I cannot recommend Longhorn Steakhouse based on my recent encounter. As a customer, I expect timely service and open communication, both of which were severely lacking during my visit. I hope they take this feedback constructively and make the necessary improvements to prevent others from experiencing similar frustrations...