Outback Steakhouse — Restaurant in Temple Terrace

The nearby LongHorn's not bad, but the Temple Terrace Outback is much better (and about the same prices). Whatever's in the seasoning, steaks here just have that distinct Outback flavor you can't beat in my opinion, their baked potatoes are perfection, and only Outback has that Outback bread! I come here every Friday night (and sometimes mid-week also); it's a great way to get my weekend started right. I see a few reviews on here saying they've gone downhill, but I've lived here for 20 years and say it's better than ever. They've made very nice improvements to the decor, I love the newer black plates they've started using in recent years, and while I've always been impressed with the customer service here, I would say they've definitely stepped it up. I've also used their curb-side take-away many times, which is fantastic; they're typically bringing my food out just about as fast as I can get my vehicle parked and my window down, and super friendly.

Danny is the best server anywhere! I typically come in late, often just an hour or two before closing time (close at 11:00 Fridays). By that point, I assume all the servers have been on their feet for hours, probably had some difficult tables, just coming down from their busiest times, and ready to go home. I really don't expect top notch customer service at 10:00pm, and I'm not a fussy diner who requires much attention; I just enjoy a good steak dinner at the end of a long week. But even then, Danny has always been exceptionally friendly, personable, attentive, and gets everything just right. She also has an amazing memory that's just fascinating and beyond comprehension to me. The first time she waited on me, it was around 9:00 or 9:30 on a Friday night, and they were so busy, there were no vacant tables, things were a bit chaotic, and all my food came out cold. But Danny was still doing a great job managing things, very friendly, I could see that it was a crazy night there, I was very hungry, and I didn't say anything about it. I also found out weeks later that she was actually new there. The next week, I got seated at one of Danny's tables again, and despite how crazy things were the week before, and us not having much interaction the previous week, she still remembered me. And when I'd made a comment about how busy it was the week before, and my food being cold, she very seriously said I should have let her know, told me it was her job to ensure that I have a great dining experience there, and to let her know when something's not meeting my expectations. She was so pleasant, the next/3rd week, I asked for her when I came in. When she walked by my table, delivering food to another table, she took a half-second look at me and apologetically said "We're out of Foster's". :-) Not only did she remember my drink from the previous week (and the very busy Friday before that), but she also remembered practically every other little detail of my previous food order, even remembered that I like sour cream with my chili, A1 with my steak, and insisted that I let her know if anything's not right with my order this time. I have no expectation for my server to remember what I usually order, especially after only two previous orders, but it amazes me, and it does contribute to the feeling that she's genuinely dedicated to ensuring that everything goes smoothly with my meal and meets my expectations. Now I always ask for Danny when I come in. I missed her the past two weeks, and got Megan instead. Although I'll continue to ask for Danny when she's available, Megan was also really awesome, five stars for both of them! :-) Also 5 stars for Ariana, who often brings things like water, bread, and my chili, and another exceptional waitress named Olivia.

I typically get the New York strip, baked potato, and their...

This was my first time at an Outback Steakhouse. I'm unsure if I would return. It was okay. For a restaurant with "steakhouse" in the name, I would assume that they'd know how to make a decent steak. I wasn't expecting anything amazing, but I was expecting at least decent. The $7 drink specials saved this meal.

When I first arrived I was immediately greeted by the friendly host and was immediately seated. I arrived during a not so busy time, so it was pretty empty which is what I prefer. I believe I arrived around 4:30pm on a Friday. When it got to 5/6 pm it started to get VERY BUSY.

I started my meal with The Wallaby Darned and that was delicious. A frozen peach cocktail Prosecco, vodka, and peach schnapps. I also ordered the blooming onion that comes free if you download the app. I also ordered the Aussie chook ribs which are a special cut of chicken thighs tossed in a bbq sauce and drizzled with aioli. The app was surprisingly large and it could be a meal for 1 person. It was DELICIOUS. I HIGHLY recommend this app. If I were to return I would just order this as my meal and I would pair with a salad.

I then ordered my main, which was the medium rare cooked ribeye, mashed potatoes, and Caesar salad. I paired this with the blueberry lavender cocktail. The cocktail was very refreshing. The lavender was not too overpowering for this drink. And after finishing this vodka cocktail I was definitely feeling a buzz. The salad was good, and the mashed potatoes were very creamy and well seasoned. The ribeye was a disappointment. This was probably the worst ribeye I've ever had. It was not a good quality meat. I'm not expecting legit steakhouse quality meat, but at least decent, especially due to the price. It was well seasoned so credit for that. But the texture of the steak and the meat quality was not good. Lots of inedible pieces on my plate. The steak was not juicy and the fat on the steak was not satisfying to eat. It was a huge chore trying to finish this steak. The saving grace for this part of the meal were my sides and my delicious drink.

I then ended my meal with the dessert, the new Tim Tam brownie cake and I paired this with the blackberry martini. The cake was very rich, moist, and was a decent size. The layers of brownie, peanut butter and chocolate mouse and the drizzle of caramel made this an amazing dessert. The cookies added a nice touch, a very light cookie. My blackberry martini was not too sweet, which made this the perfect pairing for my dessert. I would definitely order this dessert again.

My waitress was very attentive, made great recommendations, and was very kind.

Overall, my experience was okay. Customer service was top notch. The drinks were delicious and a good price. Each drink was $7 pre tax. The restaurant was clean and comfortable. The food was okay, hit or miss. I would not recommend ordering steak, but I would definitely return for a non steak item like the chook ribs. So I would return for the drinks, appetizer, and dessert. I will not be ordering...

I have never had this poor of an experience from an Outback before. We walk in, and are treated well, and placed into a location to dine. The shift manager came out, and stated she would be placing our order into the kitchen on the behalf of our waiter. We let her know the drinks and appetizer we wanted. She brought both within a few minutes and then that was it. We sat there for just over 30 minutes, waiting for for a waiter, so that we could place our dinner order. We hadn’t seen anyone else the entire time. As the shift manager stood up at the managers computer or whatever it was, I was going to go ask if we could place our dinner request, when I saw a younger man walking up to her, placing on his uniform, as if he was either late, or had gotten called in due to someone else not being on shift. The manager points in the direction of our section in which he tends to two 6+ party tables, as well as us. The shift manager, was of no help to the server as he seemed to be overwhelmed with all of the tables. He finally gets to us, and brings plates, in which 3 out of the 3 plates were dirty with black and brown specks of whatever on them. I told my child and spouse not to eat off of them. We finally get our dinner order, almost an hour into being at the location from an order runner. And it wasn’t even done correctly. After taking so long, we didn’t even bother asking for it to be corrected. So we just dealt with it the way it was. And while just dealing with it, the lady at the table 2 down from us, also was outspoken about how her entire meal was messed up, and had to be remade. Mind you, they remade hers, and got it at the same time that her party was finished eating, so she just took it to go… Now, We didn’t see the server at all again until it was time to get the check, in which we had to ask for it, so we could finally leave. During this time, we witnessed the shift manager just standing up at her podium the entire time, not at all help the server or any of the other people with the section, leave half way through this ideal. Needless to say, I’ve been to Outbacks all over the country, and this was BY FAR the worst location I’ve ever been to. For the price I paid, I...