Outback Steakhouse

Ate here on Monday, January 25. Table of 9, so we expected a little slower service due to the size of the party, was a friend’s birthday, everything on one ticket. Server promptly was at the table as everyone arrived and got drunk orders in the go, also got a couple of appetizer orders at the same time. Everything seemed to be going fine, everyone situated on drinks and chit-​chat. Waitress came back around with bread and appetizers and got the orders taken, and this is when it seemed to completely fall apart. NOT blaming the waitress for any of what came from here out. Took almost 30 minutes for any of the food to come out, and of the 4 first entrees to arrive, 2 had issues (over-​cooked steak, and missing items from a vegetable plate), and then we waited, and waited a little longer as the waitress apologized for the delay. 10 minutes later, the rest of the entrees arrived, 4 more meals, of which 3 of them were supposedly sirloin steaks. Now I won’t say that I’m an expert on steaks, but none of the three cuts of meat resembled each other at all. One looked like a ribeye medallion, one a very thin slice of something and the last resembled what everyone agreed that a sirloin should look like. One of the three was cooked to the state that it was ordered at, medium. The birthday person got the «medallion» cut, sirloin ordered well-​done, when cut into was at best medium-​rare, the thin slice of something was ordered as medium-​well and came out as well-​well-​done. After being sent back to the kitchen twice the person with the medallion cut just gave up, actually didn’t get a steak at all. Disappointed at the kitchen on this night, waitress was great, none was her fault, manager did comp the medallion steak, and a little extra to make up for the issue. Don’t know if they have a new kitchen staff, or were just out of things, but for a steak house to not be able to get the proper cook on a steak is fairly inexcusable.

Last few times service was not good. Forgot to give silverware both times, no refills on drinks, no bread, no to go boxes, we had to eat our steaks cold because we did not have silverware

Passing through, decided to stop for a hot meal that wasn’t fried. Excellent service by my waiter and excellent meal. This was worth the detour.

Update:
I have eaten here numerous times in the past few months. I feel I need to provide an updated and upgraded review.
I’ve now ordered various items from the menu. I have consistently received good food and good service. I typically eat at the bar or in the bar area because I’m normally by myself. I’m always here mid-​week so the crowds aren’t bad. I never wait.
I have not seen any of the negative things other people have written about. If I sit at the bar, Chris, the bartender waits on me. He seems to have a good rapport with his customers and strives to provide good service.
All in all, I’ll keep coming back. The food is good and it’s close to my hotel. That’s a win/​win in my book.
For more about the food, read my previous review. If you found this review useful, funny, or cool, please let me know.

the quality, attentiveness, service and management are all deteriorating.
For example, they used to have the best hot fudge sundae around. They made
the fudge from scratch and you could taste it. Now, just chocolate flavored high fructose
corn syrup. the quality of the steaks has slipped. Crab legs are now off the menu.
In short, it was previously a 3+ to 4 star but is now overpriced and disappointing

this experience happened on jul 13, 2015 at lufkin tx, i will try to post this review again and not fumble the typing so that a shortened version is printed. bottom line was a birthday lunch for my brother was ruined, by negligent staff during a slow period, that allowed the food ordered to be served at darn near room temperature. every thing from the bread to the baked potato was cool. my bad for being too timid to make a ruckus. a staff member asked me how the food was and i complained that the food was cold. he offered to put my medium rare steak back on the grill but, annoyed, and since nearly everything served us was cold, and being afraid of making a scene, i waved him off. that will never happen again! the high spirits of a happy birthday were already ruined but we tried to not admit it. i vow to make them make it right, in the future, from mcdonalds to, where ever and especially outback!
my bro ordered a hamburger steak with a baked potato and a salad. my wife ordered the coconut shrimp lunch special with french fries. i ordered flat iron steak with shrimp on the barbie and a baked potato, and a salad i shared with my wife. the salads were very good and served in chilled salad bowls. the food quality nose dived from that point. my brother’s hamburger steak was the most unappetizing $ 12.00 entrée i have ever seen. dry, it perched upon two slices of white mushroom and 5 pieces of grilled onion. no sauce. no gravy; not a hint of moisture anywhere on the plate. his baked potato (and mine too!) barely melted the butter. my wife’s food was also near room temperature but the shrimp would taste good at any temp and she was delighted with the dipping sauce. the limp fries disappointed. my steak was cooked just the way i like it at medium rare with a «warm» center. i had problems with it. first it was cold. no sizzle no juice. second it was served on the same plate as the shrimp and the sauce from the shrimp did not complement the steak flavors. at $ 18 bucks is is a decent deal but be sure to request separate plates if you order it .
how does this happen in a restaurant that wants to be semi-​upscale? there were at most 6 tables of diners, yet the ball was dropped between the kitchen and the servers. maybe a smoke break? maybe a chat fest? it was my brother’s birthday; and if i had made the scene i should have, he would have been terribly embarrassed. clearly the lufkin store of outback needs better managing. what we experienced should never happen!!!

Friday afternoon. Mediocre bartender. Slow and inattentive. I suspect management is on a downhill slide…

Outback’s OK. Like with any big chain restaurant, you have to cater to the strengths of the franchise if you want to have a decent dining experience. In the case of Outback that means steak (and maybe chicken). I had the T-​Bone most recently, and it was a decent cut of meat.
Service is good. We usually sit in the bar area, and there’s never any time where I desperately needed a server and couldn’t find one. The food did take a while getting to us, but that’s more a function of the kitchen than the server.

Just had a tired experience on a Monday night. From the server rushing us through what we hoped was a peaceful meal, to the weekend leftovers that were served. Got a Trio Appetizer with stale cabbage underlying the dried out Ahi tuna accompanied by not fresh avocado in the avo/​crab stack. Server recognized the sauces weren’t with it and brought them out quickly. Steamed veggies with the Mahi entrée definitely old and scant toppings on the fish finished an underwhelming experience. Expected better

Had the ribs, dry with sauce on the side and a sweet potato. Food was ok. Service was ok. There was a pretty rank smell of rotten beer at the bar which tells me cleanliness is not a priority. I will probably try another place the next time I’m in town.

Outback is our go to place when we want a decent and relaxing steak dinner. Our travel plans put us in Lufkin around dinner time, so we elected to stop at this one for dinner.
While one of the hallmarks of going with a national chain is being able to have a consistent experience, this one was even better than the usual good service we’ve come to expect. The staff at all points of contact was was great and our server was particularly good.
If you find yourself in Lufkin, you can expect to get good food with good service at this Outback.

Great meal and service. In town on business and ate at the bar. Food was as good as outback gets.

Consistent food and impressive service, I ate there two night in a row.
Will be back.