LongHorn Steakhouse — Restaurant in Lavonia

The kitchen staff is doing all the heavy lifting at the Lavonia location. The food is always perfect. Steaks or burgers are cooked perfect every time I’ve been there. Everything is hot and prepared correctly. Never once has the food been an issue. Service on the other hand is hit and miss. Occasionally you get a really good server but the last three times in a row were horrible. They blamed a forgotten drink on a slow bartender without knowing I had a clear line of sight and saw our drinks (draft beer and a red wine) sitting on the bar for ten minutes and then the bartender eventually brought them over herself (after our food arrived). A second time, I ate an entire meal without a drink or condiments for my burger because another server did a drop and dash of our food, never asked if we needed anything else, and then our server never came back by to check on us until we were finished and ready for the check. Third time I went and had a burger at the bar for lunch and while the food was perfect, I sat for probably ten minutes with an empty glass before she came with a refill. She passed by me several times (only two of us in the bar/lounge area) but she was on her phone by the kitchen entrance in plain sight. Then her, another server and a manager were discussing tips in front of me. When I got my food, I had to ask for another refill before she walked away from my empty glass. None of these three instances were busy or during peak hours. Usually between 1:00 and 3:00pm. It’s just a shame that this could be a really good restaurant but the service is so poor. I served and bartended for six years, so I know a bit about customer service and how hard it can be but none of these situations were caused by someone being “in the weeds”, it was all a lack of caring or doing a good job. Every time. But thanks to the unsung heroes in the kitchen who deliver time and time again! P..S…I always say “please” and “thank you” and “yes ma’am”, and “yes sir”. I don’t cause a scene, or make weird requests or demands. I still tip 20% and I never say a word of complaint or cause a scene because I’m not wired that way, I wish I wasn’t (but I’ll tip 50% if it’s great service). If it wasn’t for the food being good, I don’t think I would go back. So please, step up your game, Longhorn! It’s not difficult to smile and ask, “I’ll bring you a refill for your Coke, is there anything else I can bring you?” or “Is everything prepared to...

The food was really good, but....everything else was not. I looked online at the waitlist, and it showed less than 15-minutes, and I signed up. Got there and a couple leaving the restaurant said "it's an hour-and-a-half wait!" We went in, told the hostess we had signed up online, and she told us it was a 90-min wait, even though we had signed up, and even thought there were MANY empty tables and MANY servers (they were definitely not short-staffed.) The hostess could not explain why the waitlist online showed less than 15-min, and she was saying 90-min, and she really didn't care. We went to bar and ordered a drink. The tall brunette bartender was very nice....the shorter blond bartender was very rude. After being at the bar for less than 20-mins, I got a text that our table was ready! Our server was on her very first day, so her poor service was likely due to that she was new, but her "trainer" only checked on us once. The biggest issue was that at the table booth behind us, there was a Longhorn employee who was talking with nearly the entire waitstaff - often 5 or 6 at a time hovering around her booth, while many customers (including me) were not able to get the attention of our servers. There were so many empty tables and so many servers it was puzzling, and the hostess was still turning people away saying it was a 60-90 minute wait (we could hear her while sitting at the bar.) From a service perspective, it was just awful all around. But the food...

Went there two days in a row while on business in the area. I ordered the 6oz filet and lo ster tail the first night slo g with asparagus and house salad. The service was great, salad was as expected, the asparagus cooked perfectly, the lobster tail was perfect, the filet - not good. I asked for the filet to be cooked to medium rare but it was medium well to well done. I could only eat half and left the rest. On my next visit I ordered the same thing and explained to the waitress my previous experience and asked her to make sure the chef knew to cook my steak medium rare. When I received my meal, the salad was fine, the asparagus though was over cooked, the lobster tail was once again perfect, and unfortunately my filet was o ce again overcooked. This time closer to medium / medium well but definitely not medium rare. I let the waitress know and she was polite and offered to replace the filet. I decided to keep it since it did taste good. I really appreciated the attentiveness of the waitress though. Very good service on her part. Funny thing is that the cook on the steaks that I saw with the rest of the party that I dined with all looked great. I think the chef had trouble getting the correct cook on the small filet.

Overall, good food withe very good service which made up for the inconvenience of the overcooked steaks.

I will probably be back when I'm in the...