Outback Steakhouse — Restaurant in Palmetto Bay

Went in early before dinner rush, thinking we'd have no problems. Well, that didn't happen..... We were only one's at the bar top, even the seater commented on that. Didn’t take to long to get our first round of drinks, but from there on went down hlll.....a few more people came in, and our bartender's attention went south....not sure if she knew the people or not, but shen seem to spend more time on them. Mind you, I was a bartender for over 20 years, so we are pretty relaxed people, but sorry her service was not good. She got our order wrong, no problem, I got the 2 meats, so I just ate my steak and green beans, husband's ordered rare, with blue crumble, nope got medium with some kind of cheese spead....did het her to make us another drink, while she was there about wrong food orders. After that we didn't see her much more......when she did finally come back like 10 mins later, she said "oh let me go check on your chicken. Again, we are fairly easy going, but now even I am getting tired of it. She disappeared again, with our drinks empty. She reappears and goes to other end where the people I believe she knows are gets them drinks, walks by our empty glasses without saying anything. At this time we have already decided not to stay for the free desert we really came for. As we both got emails from Outback about it.....lol She shows back up with my chicken on the barbie, I ask her for a go box and ticket. I look at the chicken breast and can tell it's not cooked, I cut into it and it is pink....then the husband comes back from restroom, puts what's left of our meals in the box. And tells me, looks like there's blood on the bathroom floor, like some spit up blood. When finally get to speak with the manager, again like another 10-15 min.....husband shows him the chicken, and by now you can actually see the red juices coming out.... Now the manager was very nice about it and apologized for it and offered to cook me another, but we said no thank you, dont want to wait another 30 mins for it. He did take care of atleast my meal, and a round of drinks, as I told him how long we were waiting....so that was nice. Now we remember why we haven't been there in...

To Outback Management,

I would like to take a moment to sincerely recognize the exceptional service I recently received at your Outback location across from the Falls Shopping Center. I am a frequent guest of Outback restaurants across the country because I appreciate the consistent quality of your food and the reliable service. However, during this particular visit, something extraordinary happened that I will never forget.

As I was driving to the restaurant, I began to feel lightheaded and realized that my blood sugar was dropping rapidly. When I arrived, I immediately informed the host, Paul, as he was seating me, that I needed a glass of Coke right away because I was not feeling well. Without hesitation, Paul rushed to get the Coke and quickly explained my situation to my server. The server, going above and beyond, said, “I have something even better,” and swiftly brought me a glass of Sprite mixed with grenadine, which helped me stabilize almost immediately.

The way they both responded—with such urgency, care, and genuine concern—truly touched me. It was as if they had done this a thousand times before, so seamless and attentive was their teamwork. In that moment, they were not just employees doing their jobs; they were compassionate human beings who truly cared about the well-being of a guest.

I wanted to make sure management is aware of the remarkable actions of these two individuals. They truly went beyond the call of duty, and I am deeply grateful. It’s easy to write a review about a great meal, and yes—the food was excellent, as always. My sirloin was cooked perfectly, the cheese fries were delicious, and of course, the bread and butter were just as I remembered. But what stayed with me was the kindness, the quick thinking, and the genuine care I was shown.

Thank you, Outback, for fostering a culture where this kind of service happens. I look forward to returning, as I always have, many more times in the future.

With heartfelt...

This place is very hit-or-miss. And it seems lately, mostly a miss. Tonight I watched as one server and one expo (the ones who bring you drinks/sauce/etc.) covered 15 or 20 tables! Every one of them had their food delivered in a sub-par amount of time, typically 30 minutes or more.

In my case I ordered some fried chicken. In the picture, the chicken is as big as the plate. What they brought me was half that size, and was missing the sauce. And soggy too, like the vegetables got the chicken wet. Which is stupid, any competent kitchen knows that anything with juice should be plated up in a separate bowl or saucer. I asked the expo for sauce but he forgot all about it. After the passing of 10 minutes I got the server and explained that my chicken was very soggy and asked if she'd make me another one. The replacement did come out relatively quickly, let's say 15 minutes. But it was even smaller than the first one! When I asked why, I was met with a lot of "uhhh", "well", basically non-answers. I handed the chicken back to the person who brought it to me and asked if she'd take it off my check. I later found out that the server was probably to blame for that, she apparently rang in a replacement for my chicken which came with 1 side and was supposed to be a smaller piece of chicken. Why would you do that, knowing I was going to get less food than what I paid for?! Obviously she paid the price for that, the 18% I generously left on the check only accounted for the face-value of the check, so she ended up with less than $3 for 2 people.

This is so stupid, I really think corporate needs to hear about it. I think i'll write them. This isn't the only "miss", there have been other times I've ordered fried chicken, asked specifically for the veggies to be put in a bowl, my request ignored, chicken is soggy, and some amount of money comes off the check. Pending corporate's response, I may...