Outback Steakhouse — Restaurant in Norman

I would have given this restaurant a 2-star rating if it weren’t for my kids enjoying their chicken Alfredo. I ordered the 13 oz ribeye with the shrimp, with asparagus, garlic butter, and a baked potato, requesting the steak well-done. When it arrived, I was extremely disappointed. The steak was rubbery, tough as leather, thin, and nothing like the juicy, marbled ribeye I expected. The taste was equally unappetizing. The shrimp was also really dried out and didn't taste very good either.

As someone who travels frequently and eats out often, I’m no stranger to dining at a variety of restaurants, and I take the time to write honest reviews. I was meeting my best friend to celebrate his birthday, so I didn’t want to cause a scene, but when the server noticed I hadn’t touched much of my $37 steak, he politely asked if everything was okay. After some back and forth, I finally told him the steak was terrible. He brought over the manager, who offered to replace the steak.

The second steak was definitely an improvement—juicier and more flavorful—but still not the quality I’d expect for the price. Honestly, for what they’re charging, this place doesn’t deliver. I don’t mind spending upwards to $60 on a steak and have paid that at plenty of other places, but it needs to be exceptional to justify that kind of price. Unfortunately, this meal wasn’t worth my money, and I won’t be coming back.

On a positive note, our server, Brenden, was outstanding. He was friendly, attentive, and his warm energy made the experience more enjoyable. He even made us laugh a few times, which is why I’m giving this restaurant 3 stars...

All 3 off our steaks were cooked wrong. Mine and my son's had way too much fat. Our appetizer was ordered wrong. Our waiter was a space cadet and before any haters comment he admitted to us he "just wasn't there tonight". Only reason I gave a 3 star instead of 1 was the manager insisted she comp the meal. I tried 3 times to pay and she just brought a check for the one cocktail. This is the 3rd time I've visited Outback and all 3 times received poor service, food or both.

EDIT: Visited today to celebrate my son's birthday. Only reason we came was because he picked it. The food was really bad. The fried, breaded mushrooms were just awful, the mushroom wasn't cooked, it was raw inside the breading. The breading tasted like they were cooked in old grease. My ribeye steak was 40% fat and cooked on a flat grill. Steak doesn't taste good cooked on a flat grill, especially when you cook it so long the outside is hard and almost burned. The waitress offered a new steak so I tried the sirloin. It was also cooked on a flat grill, hard on the outside and rare on the inside ( I ordered it medium rare). The ceasar salad dressing was way too strong, I couldn't eat it either. The baked potato was OK. A little dry because they forgot to put butter on it and it had very little sour cream. My son was really disappointed in the poor food. The staff was allowing kids to holler and slam their shoes on the bench and table. The Manger was notified that our food was a disaster and she didn't even offer to comp any of the items we didn't eat. I will definitely...

Today was the absolute worst experience I've ever had at an Outback. My husband and I swung in to grab lunch together and were looking forward to it. Most enjoyable part was walking through the door, then it went downhill pretty quickly. I can handle the tea not being brewed yet, no big deal. Ordered a Coke because who doesn't like that? Bread was even good. That's it. That's the last thing that was good. The Blooming Onion was incredibly bitter. We used the butter on the table to remove the taste from our mouths. We both ordered a steak, potato and caesar salad. Two bites into the caesar I couldn't taste anything but lettuce and finally said something to the waitress, the manager did offer another salad but I said no. We still had steaks coming so whatever. My filet was supposed to be medium rare, but I could've cooked this cow more with a Bic lighter. My husband got the Ribeye which was just so, so. When the manager came back and asked about our experience I said it was just "okay" because that's all it was. She told me to let them know if they could make it better next time. Comping even the onion off of our bill would've helped. Instead we dropped our money on the table and left. Legitimately only having enjoyed bread and part of a potato. If you like only carbs I guess this may have been a good experience. For the price of eating a steak these days this was like a kick in the teeth to have it not work out.

Edit: The general manager has reached out and provided us with the opportunity to come back and try then again. I can...