Texas Roadhouse — Restaurant in Manassas

My grandparents and I came here on Nov 7, 2022. This location is in close proximity to another steak house not even a 1/2 mile away, called LongHorn Steakhouse. Don't get them confused - Texas Roadhouse is far superior to anything you may get at LongHorn. We were seated quickly, and the area looked to be in a great state of cleanliness and very orderly. Our server for the night was Chelsea, and she did an amazing job. She was very friendly, seemed happy to be at work, and was fast and attentive.

For an appetizer/starter we got the Cactus Blossom; I will tell you now - If you're on the fence about getting this appetizer, just do it. It is AMAZING. The onion inside was nice and tender, with a lovely flavor and a perfect crunchy exterior. It's worth the money.

As you can see in the photos, I got the 12oz Fort Worth Ribeye (It comes in 10 oz. / 12 oz. / 14 oz. / 16 oz. portions) with mashed potatoes and gravy, and a side of corn. The corn was good, and the mashed potatoes were great as well - I would have preferred it if the skins were completely removed, but oh well! At a price of $21.99, it's a bit high, but considering that you get free rolls, 2 sides and a steak, it's a decent price. I would visit more if it was a few dollars lower, say 16-18, for a 12 oz... The steak was tender, delicious, had great marbling and no goofy garnish or sauces on it - Just a plain lovely seasoned steak.

My grandparents got the 8oz Strip, at $17.49, and a 6oz Filet & Shrimp, which KILLED my wallet, at a staggering $27.49. To further top it all off, and ensure my wallet was well-and-truly dead, they ordered a whole bottle of Ecco Pinot Grigio wine ($29) - Don't worry, myself being the only sober one in the whole family was destined to spend my entire life chauffeuring them as their designated driver any time we go out together.

It was extremely pleasing to see that at our booth they had an advertisement for Veterans to get a free meal voucher on Veteran's Day (Nov 11). This company clearly cares about the vets in the community and thus has my support for life.

We had no major complaints or issues the whole night. Our whole party had a great time out, and hope to visit again...

My career is in hospitality with 25+ years experience, outside of what I do now there was a good 10 years of bartending, my favorite job to date, and I have had high paying "careers" in Data Analytics and "Financial Analytics". When I go out I only sit at the bar unless I'm with a larger group. So this review is mainly for the bar. These bartenders are awesome, every single one I've encountered.

1. They personalize the experience within the first 20 seconds of greeting you, they introduce themselves by name and ask you yours. From then on they will refer to you by your name. This is huge and I don't think people understand how big it is. In the first 20 seconds they have broken down your barriers and personalized your experience. They have set a platform to greet you by name when you walk in. Subconsciously, a guest will tend to return to that establishment bc of the "Cheers" feel (younger crowd Google the show). It changes the guests sentiment towards the establishment.

2. They read their guests incredibly well. I watch them interact with their guests. I'm the type that doesn't want to talk a lot, it's a lot of what I do for a living and on my time I don't want to "work", unless I've stayed too long and had that extra drink I didn't plan on. Last time I was there the bartender was chatting it up with this couple like they were old pals, I assumed they were regulars. The guests were talking about their kids and sports, the bartender about her upcoming wedding, and then I realized they were from out of town, the guests lived in NC. Meanwhile she completely understood me and wasn't one of those annoying bartenders that tried to force conversation, keep asking if your ready, etc.

I can say I have had several bartenders here, they have the right culture behind that bar. Oh, and the food is on point. Their price point and quality is a no brainer. ...

Here's my 3-star review of Texas Roadhouse:

The famous Texas Roadhouse hospitality was nowhere to be found during our disappointing visit. While those warm rolls with cinnamon butter usually make everything better, even free food couldn't save this experience – mainly because we never got it! Our server apparently decided that the kitchen's feelings about comp meals were more important than actually serving their customers.

Speaking of our server, they seemed to have mastered the art of disappearing whenever we needed something. Perhaps they were practicing to be a magician rather than a server? The level of inattentiveness was impressive, in the worst way possible. It did improve somewhat with the new waiter.

I ordered my steak medium well (yes, I know steak purists are cringing), but what I got was closer to beef jerky than a proper steak. There's a difference between well-done and well-dried, and this was definitely the latter.

The most memorable part of our server's performance was their brutally honest admission that the kitchen staff "gets mad" about comp meal tickets, so they just throw them away. While I appreciate the behind-the-scenes intel, maybe fix the internal issues instead of making them the customer's problem? Also, my son's drink was never asked to be refilled.

On the plus side, the restaurant successfully maintained its reputation for having peanut shells on the floor. At least something was consistent with the Texas Roadhouse brand.

Pros: The building was definitely a Texas Roadhouse Nice enough waiter (Sebastian) We saved money on the free meal we never received

Cons: Vanishing server Dry steak Never received promised comp meal Staff openly admitted to ignoring comp tickets

Would I come back? Only if I'm really craving those rolls and have several hours to spare waiting...