Outback Steakhouse

We enjoy Outback Steakhouse and were looking forward to trying this new location in our neighborhood.  We mostly had traditional favorites--blooming onion, sirloin steak, ribs, a prime rib sandwich, their new brussels sprouts, and finished it with their new signature dessert, the Thunder and Lightning Down Under.

The restaurant has a simple interior and seems smaller than most Outbacks.  This location was originally set up for Hopdoddy Burger Bar so they didn't have complete control over the space.  The restaurant was just filling up when we arrived, but we got a seat right away in the bar.  

The Blooming Onion was delicious as always.  Our sirloins were done perfectly as well, and nicely seasoned. Love the salty baked potatoes.  Bread was good too.  I like Outback ribs, they have a great sauce and are very tender, and our ribs on this occasion were great.

The brussels sprouts were very interesting and tasty.  They were prepared with bacon and a sauce that added sweetness, which made for a really different flavor profile than most places that do them.  The sprouts were mostly cooked well.  I would definitely get them again.

There were a couple of issues that took away from the enjoyment.  We ordered the prime rib sandwich without mushrooms, but they put them on anyway.  They comped it and offered to take it back, and the manager came out and apologized, but at that point we just wanted to eat.  The sandwich wouldn't have been great without the mushrooms, it was chopped meat like a cheese steak so the tenderness of the prime rib didn't matter.  I don't recommend it.  

The dessert was a disappointment.  The Chocolate Thunder part (ice cream, brownie, and chocolate sauce) was good as always, but the Lightning part is a butter cake and it was awful.  Dense and hard, you couldn't even get a fork into it.  We weren't up to giving them more feedback so just didn't eat that part.

The waitstaff was trying hard.  Our server made an error putting in the blooming onion and told us it would be late.  She comped it in anticipation, but they actually had it ready before the food and if she hadn't told us we'd never have known.  The back of the house let them down with the sandwich and the dessert.

The bathrooms were not as clean and ready as one would hope.  The women's restroom was out of towels.  

Overall we had a nice evening, but it's an expensive night out (over $40 per person even with the comps) so you'd hope for better.  We had some similar disappointments the last time we went to Outback at another location.  I'd say we would come back here because they mostly execute the way you would expect but our visits might be less frequent.

My Yelp Review