Outback Steakhouse — Restaurant in Simpsonville

I have to say that Outback Steakhouse is one of my go to places when I travel. It is nice to know what you're getting when you sit down. However, this place is not the average Outback. I travel extensively and this is probably the worse Outback I have visited. I left here and hour or so ago and I feel the need to warn people off this place.

Granted it is a Sunday evening, the place is packed and when I arrived I was told it was going to be a 45 minute wait. But the nice young ladies at the Hostess stand said that the bar was available. So I decided to eat at the bar. I should have left.

First I ordered a Bloomin' Onion which came out, not golden, but more or a dark brown and dripping of grease. Amazingly with all that frying you would have thought it would be warm, but no. I do not know but I guess Simpsonville does not have a standard for maintaining food at a temp to prevent food borne illness.

Interestingly, that was not the only thing amiss in the whole bar experience. The guests sitting next to me left and it was not long before a new person arrived. With him came more visits from the bartender. That was when I notice a unique smell for a restaurant. I originally thought it was the person who was sitting next to me, but I soon realized that it was the bartender who apparently forgot to wipe on their least trip to the bathroom. The smell was unmistakable. It was so noticeable that the person on my other side made comment about it to me and asked me if I smelled it.

Hard to find anything appetizing when you're faced with the smell of human excrement, but when my meal finally arrived, It was even more difficult to find it appetizing. The person next to me had ordered a similar meal and when theirs arrived, they received broccoli that was vibrant and green. The broccoli I received looked as though they had scraped all the old broccoli out of the bottom of the pan onto my plate. It was not the usual serving I am used to, but was instead small bits and pieces of over-cooked and in some cases brown broccoli. When I inquired about the difference between my plate and the others, the server went back and got a new plate of broccoli that appeared more satisfactory but was cold.

I then proceeded to literally saw through an incredible tough piece of what I assume was filet. It too was not warm and exceptionally dry. The baked potato was warmer, but not so that the butter willingly melted. Again, the person next to me commented that their meal was not what they would have expected from Outback either.

Finally, there was the sweet tea. I had to wait from a server from the back to bring tea to me. When I had emptied the glass, I had to asked the bartender for a refill. This required him to enter a refill into the system and again I had to wait for another glass from the back. I also had to endure another encounter with that smell. I ate what I could of the meal and quickly asked for the check and handed to bartender my card so that he would not have to make two trips so I could lessen the smell.

I left the store disgusted. I know this is not normal for Outback, but it did happen. I just must assume that the management of this location allows such shoddy service and excuses it because of the business of the location. I have never had such an experience at any other location. I would/will never go to this location again. It...

First of all. Outback is a chain which I would assume descent corporate structure with standards on trainings, customer care, food quality, and store cleanliness. This location needs an AUDIT BAD!!!

First trip was Friday the 19th of Jan. 2024. Party of 4. We went on app to “get on the list” at 630pm. The app did not confirm. So we called by phone. To get on “the list”the person on phone said ok we will have table ready at that time. Once we arrived at store we were greeted in the space between front 2 doors. That night it was in the low 20’s. We gave our name and went into restaurant to stay warm. Thinking we were going to seat right away. Come to find out (Thanks to Kayla the manager, who was more than eager to tell us she was the manager) stated we were not on the list. Shocked by this, I said how long? 45min. But if we were on the list it would be 30mins. So basically the app doesn’t work, calling ahead doesn’t work. I then try and kindly give Kayla “the manager” suggestion for improvement for anyone calling ahead considering Outback hasn’t been opened that long in Simpsonville. Kayla “the manager” decided to tell me how it was my fault and I was wrong! Instead of arguing with “the manager” I decided to spend my money else where. 1 week later I decided to go back…. After all it’s a store new location new employees and definitely new “manager Kayla”. Called ahead to get on the list. Then within 15 mins came in to ensure we were on “the list”. To my surprise we were. Then we had 30 min wait. Not too bad for Friday night at 630pm!! Once we were show to our both, I noticed 2 big wet spots on my seat. Not sure what it was…. Stood by seat till someone walked by to ask for something to clean seat off. Waitress rolls eyes then gets a somewhat damp rag to wash/dry seat off. Considering I was standing now for 10 minutes I decided to do it myself. I ordered the fillet baked potato and salad and we had the Bloomin onion as an appetizer. Bloomin onion came out very fast enough time for us to eat two or three bites, and then our salads came out. Pretty fast but not too worried. Then our bar drinks came back. The server asked what splash I wanted in my Titos with soda water and lime? I was very confused. I asked what splash I just want Tito‘s soda water, and a lime. She then fixed it. Food came out in a relatively appropriate amount of time. My fillet was cooked perfectly medium rare however, neither my steak nor my loaded. Baked potato were remotely warm. Not cold, but definitely not hot. The flavor was probably good when hot not so much warm.

This was the first restaurant I went to without reading the reviews first. Shame on me.

“Make Outback Great Again”

Arizonas will always be my choice...

First let me say for staff, this location gets 5-stars. Everyone spoke to us and was friendly & helpful. Holly was our server and she was fast and attentive & very knowledgeable about the menu. I had high hopes for this restaurant and was so excited they were coming to Simpsonville. We had the Bloomin' Fried Shrimp. The coating was good and crunchy & the shrimp were piping hot. However, the coating was INCREDIBLY SALTY. If we hadn't been so hungry, we probably would have sent it back & gotten something else. The remoulade that came with it was so/so. It needed some more flavor. I got the Toowoomba Salmon. The salmon was hot & cooked perfectly. The shrimp/shrooms/creole sauce very flavorful, but the outside of the shrimp/shrooms were room temperature and when I bit into the shrimp & the mushrooms, they were cold, which I found strange. So I told our server and, I believe it was the manager that brought out a new side of the shrimp/shrooms/creole sauce. It was tepid, but she did take it back and came back rather quickly with it piping hot (microwave?). However, it did not have the great flavor of the batch that came out with the salmon. The Aussie fries were in the same plate as the salmon and broccoli with cheese. The fries on the top were great & crispy, also WAY TOO SALTY, but the fries on the bottom got soggy from the liquid that came off the broccoli. The broccoli was cooked perfectly and it was delicious! My husband had the Outback Center-cut Sirloin steak. He ordered it medium-well and it came out well done. It was tough to cut. We were getting ready to leave and I thought since he left half of his steak, I would bring it home to my 2 dogs for a treat. I had to taste it to make sure it didn't have any onion or garlic powder on it for them. I love black pepper, but there was so much of it on his steak it burned my mouth (black pepper doesn't usually burn). So, I couldn't even take the leftover steak home to my dogs. All in all, I was really disappointed. I will, however, try again at some point, but it will most likely be awhile before I go back. This trip was definitely not worth the cost. Keep up the great work with the staff, though! They were truly...