Texas Roadhouse — Restaurant in Tuscaloosa

NASTY, Horrible, and Lazy!!!

1. We did not see a manager making rounds today, as like all the other times we have patronized Texas Roadhouse. So I’m not sure if that had anything to do with our experience, but there should have been some sort of fill in if the manager was not there.
2. I attempted to find a phone number for Corporate but that’s a joke. All the numbers available first ask why you’re calling, then ask for your phone number, and then your email address. Oh, it says they have a chat service with professionals, 😂. I don’t want to type out my frustration to a 19-22 year old college kid, who could care less, rolling their eyes because I take too long to text, and probably no different from the ones that just 1/4 served us our meal.
3. Let’s move on to Nasty… my flatware “looked” dirty with spots on the knife and what looked like dried food on one fork. I took my napkin and rubbed the spots off of the knife and used the other fork. I never complained because of the stories that I’ve heard about if you complain about your food or service (at any establishment) then you get your food spit in or worse things can/have happened. But…. as we sat waiting on our food, the table across from us became empty. The busboy sat down at the empty table and began to clear the dishes, and then he did the strangest thing, or my first time ever seeing this anywhere, he took the extra rolls that the last customers had left, and placed them and the butter into a go box!!!!!He then placed the box into the same container as the dirty dishes. When he was through clearing the table he got up, but he left all the dirty napkins, etc that had fallen to the floor on the floor. Well, the next customers came in and sat down with all the garbage around their feet. This probably didn’t bother this group of youngsters, as one of them kept clapping loudly, and close enough friends with two waitresses to have them sit down at their table and use the phone. As we were leaving, I noticed that the floors were filthy, paper, napkins, and food everywhere. Absolutely disgusting and I had to wonder what the kitchen must look like!!
4. Then horrible. First the bread had no butter, but ok, I’ll ask for some, but the bread was all eaten before the waitress or her trainee returned. We had to ask for a refill on coke and bread when our food arrived, no offers by the waitress so of course the trainee wasn’t learning how to be a good waitress, employee, and how to keep customers satisfied and returning. The trainee did bring the salad, but fifty minutes after placing our order, the waitress drops by the table to say she “had checked on our order and it would be out soon”. When the food arrived it was barely warm and the pork chops were dry and horrible!!! They were not worth eating but my husband did not want to complain. He said it wouldn’t do any good and he just would not come back. This had been his favorite place to eat, but the past few visits have shown a decrease in quality of the food and service.
5. Last but definitely not least, is Lazy. They were NOT short staffed!!! At any given time there were 3-5 waitresses gathered at the small portal behind our table, talking to a male employee. I’m not sure of his position but 90% of his time was spent in that one small area, talking and cutting up with the waitresses, while he played with his braids. His hands constantly touching his hair made me think about cleanliness. So yes, Lazy, we had to ask for coke refill and bread, our meal arrived 55 minutes after placing our order, barely warm. and not worth eating. While the waitresses kept the male employee entertained and sat down at a table and got on their phones. They didn’t care if we were hungry, if our food was cold, or what we saw them doing. This is a result of poor management and exactly what can cause a...

Edit: 06-28-25 We got on the waitlist while ~30min away and it said 0-10min wait. When we arrived, we checked in and walked inside (we never received a confirmation text after checking in) At that point, we had to wait another 10-15 min to be seated. Not terrible, but not great at this point. We sat and got situated and the server came relatively quickly to get our drink orders. We ordered and then waited... waited... and waited some more. Some other patrons were pretty upset, but we just sat there hoping for the best. When our food finally came, the steaks were cooked perfectly and tasted delicious. The only problem was they were barely warm. They had definitely sat for way too long and cooled down way too much to be served. The only excuse we heard was that the "kitchen had a lot of tickets in". It wasn't nearly as busy as we've seen it before, and we come at least once or twice every week. It was kind of a disappointment on this visit.

Edit: 07-21-20 OK, once again, I must give a much deserved kudos to the crew at Texas Roadhouse. A good friend of mine, Aaron, suggested I try a "Pittsburgh" steak. I asked our waitress to ask the chef if A) they could cook it this way and B) what cut they recommend if cooked this way. She said the chef told her that they could cook any cut this way, but my previous research suggested a leaner steak for this particular cooking method. I chose the 16oz sirloin for this round. When I say this steak was insanely delicious..... Man oh man... This steak was one the best I've ever had. Absolutely phenomenal! I've never eaten a steak this rare before, but I've found my new favorite method of cooking one. I could have easily eaten another one right after this one. Guess I'll have to wait... Not a drop of sauce was needed at all. I again ordered side salads as both my sides and they didn't disappoint. Still the best side salad I've found so far in town. We forgot to ask for our favorite waitress, Anna, but Morgan was very attentive and our service was great this time as well. We did see Anna while we were there and she was as friendly as ever. We will definitely be returning very soon. Great food and great service!

Original post: 07-06-20 I've got to take the time to show some much deserved appreciation. We ate at Texas Roadhouse tonight and the entire experience was absolutely amazing. Our server, Anna, was probably the best we've ever had, and not necessarily just at Texas Roadhouse. We actually had her last week when we visited and luckily got her again tonight. We will be asking for her by name for each future visit. She alone could have made this visit worthwhile. But the steak I ordered...... Was ABSOLUTE perfection 😋 (16oz Ribeye, cooked medium rare). I eat steak fairly often, and this was the best to pass my lips in quite a while. I opted for their side salad for both of my sides. They have one of the best side salads in Tuscaloosa in my opinion. (lettuce, cheese, tomatoes, eggs, and croutons) I'm going somewhat low carb currently and I did miss their delicious fresh baked rolls, but I was more than satisfied with my meal. Brittany and the kids enjoyed their meals as well. Our server even brought Emory (our 20mth old daughter) a small bowl full of diced tomatoes and Emory started dancing with excitement. Anna even remembered our preferences from our previous visit. Disclaimer: Anna said she worked at Chick-fil-A previous to working here. Texas Roadhouse, know this, you have an outstanding employee in Anna. Her attitude and customer service is what will bring us back to your...

I hate leaving 1 stare reviews but when it's deserved it must be done. Of course, this dose does not reflect the entire restaurant but is about the on-duty manager and persons grilling the steaks. The story is my family and I stopped for the night in Tuscaloosa on our way to Virginia. My son wanted a steak so I went to the nearby Texas Roadhouse and ordered three steaks Medium Well (Slight pink in the middle of the steak). I picked up the steaks and returned to my hotel which was 5 min away. When I arrived, we cut into the steak to find Rare steaks (browned on the outside and bright Red through the middle). ). The container had dark red juices pooled in the bottom. So, I packed them up and drove back to the restaurant. When I showed that the receipt said Medium Well but all three were Rare I was asked, “Did you try to microwave the steak at the hotel.” I replied, “No, I did not go to the desk to ask them to open the kitchen so I can microwave my steaks.” For me, this is not acceptable especially since I paid $80 for this food. The To-Go person left to speak with someone else and after 5 minutes returned to ask me if I wanted the undercooked steaks to be thrown back on the grill and cooked more. My reply was, “No, I would like new steaks cooked correctly, it has been 45minutes now. All the red blood juices have drained out and re-heating them would dry them out to leather. She then walked away and 5 to 8 minutes later the on-shift manager appeared. Now, this is when it gets really strange and disappointing! The On-Duty Manager came to me and asked what the issue is and I replied that the steaks were undercooked to how I had ordered them. His reply was, “But they have pink in the middle, that’s how you ordered it, it says that on the ticket, Medium Well”. I said “Yes, I ordered them Medium Well but the steaks or rare.” He replied, “If you don’t want them pink then you should order them Well or Well done.” This is when my jaw hit the ground. This told me everything, one, he had not looked at the returned steaks, two, he is not listening, and three, he does not know the difference in terms and colors of cooked steaks. I stopped him and explained once again that the steaks are rare, not medium well and he once again said I should have ordered them Well if I do not want pink in my steak. I was lost for words and asked “Did you look at the steaks?” and he did not reply. I explained the terminology and colors of the steak that identify the level of cooking and he stood his ground that I should order Well next time. At this point, I should have said, refund my money and walked away but I had a hungry exhausted family at the hotel, so I said please cook me new steaks, forget the cold sides and saggy fried. 40min later I had Well Done steaks and went back to the hotel. It was a sad representation of Texas Roadhouse and I hope others do not have the same problem there. I suggest Texas Roadhouse management ensure the staff fully understands the difference between the colors Red and Pink and how they are associated with the levels of...