LongHorn Steakhouse — Restaurant in Virginia Beach

We were in last night around 5pm. We beat the dinner rush. We were the only ones in the lobby area except one person that worked here. This was our first time at this location. Managers must have their hands full finding good help. Let’s start at the beginning. Walked in excited to celebrate our 14 year anniversary. Man at the host stand dressed in all black was on the phone. He looked at us and then turned away from us and began his private convo. Okay, maybe he is taking a to go order? Is he the manager? Busser? Host? I’ll never know. His clothes were too sloppy to be a manager. A girl that was definitely a busser came up for a towel and seemed annoyed. She saw us but then quickly walked away. She had work to do. I noticed she was the only busser and was hardworking throughout our dinner experience. A girl with a bit of blue in her hair walked out from the kitchen, made eye contact with us while putting a to go order together, not even a hello or a smile, and looked us off. We waited. And waited. Finally a woman came up and asked if we had been helped and after learning that no we hadn’t, she sat us in her section (bar area). Finally!!! We had our younger two boys with us and the old football games that were on actually helped make the atmosphere better. When she finally came back to ask our drinks, we gave her our entire order. After she brought our drinks, she didn’t stop by our table until halfway through after dinner arrived. She must’ve been extremely busy? Had multiple tables? I’m assuming that she was at the end of her shift when other servers began showing up bc her personality was not friendly. Maybe I have high expectations bc I’ve been a server before many times and have been trained high-end. I will say, she did bring my husband a refill without us having to ask. The food needs seasoning though. I ordered the 9pm Flo and the only seasoning came from the parm crust. The sweet potato had no butter and a pile of sugar and cinnamon. The cinnamon and sugar are suppose to melt into the sweet potato by way of the butter. I had to use the butter from the bread board to melt it all. My husband had no complaint on his loaded potato. His steak was thin though. I did see a manager at one point in a nice vest. The girl server with a red ribboned ponytail brought our appetizer (mushrooms) and was so nice and friendly. I did wish she was our server but then again, I was thankful for our server even noticing us at the front. I still tipped over 20% bc anything less and it’s just a let down feeling and I didn’t want her to feel that. She had a table of 6 older ladies my husband said were acting a bit pretentious. Maybe our server was also frustrated with the other staff bc she had to pick up their slack. That’s what I choose to believe and I completely understand. I’m not sure what servers get paid at Longhorn but tip your servers… taxes take a big chunk of their wages and earnings. They usually have to tip our bartenders and bussers as well. Last note, the thousand island dressing had a hint of sweet and was delicious! However the portion for kid mac and cheese is the same as one of those small bowl containers that go in the microwave. So stupid. I don’t think we will be back anytime soon tbh. I make better...

Checked in on line and still had to wait. No big deal seams to be par everywhere. They weren't busy but they weren't not busy. Waitress was ready to take our food order with our drink order. the first person asked for Ribs. Waitress advised they were out. we then said we would need additional time. This seemed to bother the Waitress. This later became a problem. Drinks came out with no problem but bread was brought up several times. It took her awhile to come back to get our food order and it appeared that she had too many tables as she was telling everyone, "wait just one minute." Two of the three of us ordered salads and got them with still no bread, which we wanted for the third party. I had to ask, somewhat aggressively, for and finally got bread. I ordered the Ground Steak with no mushrooms, since I'm allergic and all. The Waitress was writing everything down but was distracted, at one point by another employee who made a loud clapping noise or even smacked her butt behind her. I had to repeat my order, especially the no mushrooms, several times. The waitress returned because the restaurant was out of the larger steaks my guest wanted and had to order the smaller versions. ( I forgot it was a holiday weekend, possibly explaining the shortage) I told my party my steak was going to come out with mushrooms. It did and if I didn't know any better I would say it came out with extra mushrooms. I advised the food runner and he immediately took back my plate. I get that food runners speed up the service but in this case my waitress MIGHT have caught this mistake that could have bigger consequences. My guest finished their meals before mine came back out. If I didn't know better I would say the new piece of meat came out on the same plate. The Baked Potato appeared to be the same as the original as it was warm at best. One of my parties steak was overcooked leaving it dry and tough but the rest of the food was good, though not great. I expected this mushroom thing would initiate a visit from a manager. I studied the room and nobody stood out as a manager. I initially thought, maybe the manager is helping in the back of the house and can't be in the front of the house. I was also thinking if they were in the back of the house then they should have caught the mushroom mistake. My party ordered dessert. The waitress returned and advised they too were out of that particular Dessert. My party ordered a different dessert. It was sufficient and we asked for our bills. My guests bill had both Desserts on them. We notified the Waitress. She snatched it out his hands with an attitude. I noticed her got to the bar. She returned with my bill completed stating his bill was awaiting a manager to void it. This tells me the Manager is probably Bartending, possibly due to a shortage, and would explain the lack of leadership and guidance. She advised my guests that she couldn't find a manager so she gave them a discount that equaled the extra dessert. I wanted a manager, not because I wanted something free, but I wanted to know who's fault it was, possibly...

A Birthday Dinner DISASTER — LongHorn Steakhouse, Do Better.

I wish this review could be filled with glowing compliments and fond memories from what was supposed to be a special birthday celebration for me and my granddaughter — my beloved Grand-Princess. But unfortunately, our dinner experience at LongHorn Steakhouse was anything but celebratory. It was a complete disappointment from beginning to end.

We had a family party of 8 to celebrate our shared birthday, and from the very beginning, our server, Shayla, set the tone for a chaotic and unprofessional experience. She took orders randomly, leaving the table in segments and never fully taking our appetizer or beverage orders in one sweep. As a result, our appetizers came out staggered and randomly, robbing us of the chance to enjoy the meal together. That should have been the first red flag.

The wait for our main entrees was nearly an hour long, and when the food finally started trickling out, it was brought by a completely different server who — unbelievably — tried to serve our food to a different table. I had to physically flag her down and correct the mistake. At that point, after such a long wait, we expected hot, fresh meals — but instead, we received cold fries, a tough steak, and salmon that was far from “bourbon marinated.” It tasted as though it had been soaked in vegetable oil with no seasoning whatsoever. A total culinary letdown.

Adding insult to injury, we had to clear our own table of appetizer plates and empty glasses just to make room for the entrees. Where is the basic hospitality in that?

I finally asked to speak to a manager, and a man whose name I only remember ended with “velle” (Travelle? Javelle?) came over. I calmly explained everything that had happened — the inconsistent service, cold food, the order mix-up, and the tasteless salmon. While he did offer an apology, there was zero genuine concern or effort to make it right. His response? “I’ll go talk with the server and figure it out from there.”

Well, he never came back!

Instead, Shayla returned and had the audacity to ask my sister and me to put our salmon on a separate plate so they could “take it back” — something I’ve never experienced at a restaurant, especially when the food was clearly untouched and inedible. Even more unbelievable? The salmon was not removed from our final bill.

The only reason I didn’t cause a full scene was because I was with my grandchildren, and I didn’t want our evening — or our bond — to be further tainted. But let it be known: this was my first and LAST time visiting this LongHorn Steakhouse.

Sometimes, you give grace, and unfortunately, it’s not always returned. But let me be clear — this establishment failed us on every level.

Happy Birthday to Me and my Grand-Princess — despite LongHorn, we still found joy in each other. But the restaurant?...