Outback Steakhouse — Restaurant in Poway

We wanted the great Bloomin Onion experience, and arrived excited for our meal.

Place was not busy, only about a third of the tables were occupied. The reception lady took our name and we sat to wait for our table.

We sat, and sat..

after about 15 minutes she escorted us to our booth, on a row where both sides of the aisle had every table fully unoccupied.

The waiter swung by right away saying he would be right back.

We sat and we sat...

Finally he returned and we ordered our beverages and Bloomin Onion.

We sat and sat...

15 minutes later my lukewarm coffee arrived along with my son's soda. He took our orders. We both had chosen the same meal - steak and shrimp over fettuccine Alfredo.

Our Bloomin Onion arrived and it really was delicious! Shortly thereafter another waiter brings.out our main courses. We thanked him and as he walked away noticed one was chicken and the other was Shrimp.

It took about 5 min to get the attention of our waiter to point out the discrepancy and he apologized saying he would go get the order fixed. I told him it would be ok, we had already been here over an hour, I could eat the chicken. He made some comment about not charging for the coffee 😂

We completed the meal and the check arrived, in full, for both shrimp dinners and my coffee. He said he couldn't change it once he entered the order in the computer.

I was more amused than bothered to be honest, but it just doesn't seem right. I paid the bill, left him a good 15% and we departed.

I don't feel a chain like the Outback would be hurt by allowing a free cup of coffee on an $80 meal, actually the meal should have even been cheaper considering we had only one shrimp, the other was downgraded to chicken.

I think Outback will be sitting, and sitting.... For a long time before I have the...

Ordered curbside pickup tonight. We arrived two minutes after order was ready (4:45pm). I called to let them know we arrived. At 5pm, nothing so I went to the side door where take out is and our order was sitting on counter but no one around. I waited there for 5 mins, no one still not around. I went back to car and called again asking if we can please get our order. The lady said I work the front but I will come and give you your order, so she did. Not another soul in sight. Get home and our salad was there but no dressing despite it saying type of dressing to include on receipt. Steak was overcooked and saturated in pepper and salt not edible and the steaksauce that was supposed to be included on side was not included. The butter for bread and potato were also not included. What the heck! Its an expensive meal that we paid for yet they don't included everything and gave us poor quality food. I am not packing kids back up to drive 30 mins to return order. I called but the guy only took my name and number and said someone may call you back when they can. I might file a claim with my bank as this is bad, poor service, poor quality of food - never experienced this anywhere.

EDIT to add to their response: Like I said in my review; I DID reach out via phone call, left a message and person answered took my name and number and said someone MAY call u back when they can so still waiting!

EDIT to add 09/25/2025, 3 days later... Never did get a...

This week my roommate and I celebrated our birthdays. A neighbor offered to take us anywhere we wanted, so I picked Outback. I knew from previous visits the food was flavored well and overall was a good steak house. We were seated right away and given our drinks within 5 minutes after sitting. One of the hostesses made a mistake and sat other guests in an area that was reserved for a larger party. The staff made them all get up and move tables. How rude! The waitress answered questions and took our order around 4:30pm on a Wednesday night. The wait for dinner to be served was over 45 minutes. Since it was a birthday celebration I ordered a piece of chocolate cake and asked for 2 plates so we could share. The waitress came back with one plate, with the cake on it and two spoons. Who eats cake with a spoon? I asked for two plates again. She bought 2 plates but one was wet. The waitress clearly had a hard time listening to what the customers were asking for I watched her struggling giving other customers items that they had ordered and she was the one that took their order. I was very disappointed in our service. The food was wonderful. The server needs some review on better customer service skills. I'm happy with my overall experience just disappointed...