Outback Steakhouse

[TF Admin]

Outback Steakhouse has been in Tupelo a long time, tell us about your experiences.

I'll start.....

Last night myself, my wife, my daughter, Grim, and his BetterHalf, went to the Outback. We were told it would be an hour and 20 minute wait, but it was less than 45 minutes, which was excellent.

I had a "No Rules" burger, which means you can put any topping on it you want. I asked for it to be cooked medium and it was. All the toppings I requested were there. It was a BIG burger and I enjoyed every morsel. My wife had the Rockhampton Ribeye which was very tender....not Country Inn tender....but tender. My wife says she likes the flavor a lot better than the Country Inn, but she's from Pontotoc...so that explains that statement ;D

I'll let Grim chime in about their fod, but I would like to comment that the service was less than favorable. Our waitress took FOREVER to refill our glasses, and did not bring some of the condiments we asked for...in fact two different waitresses were asked and neither brough back our requested condiments. They were not terribly busy, but the restaurant was full. I saw a couple of the waitresses talking at length with one another, so either they were slacking or things were running smooth behind the scenes, at any rate our waitress was very slow about service to all the tables she had in her section.

That's my two cents....what's yours?

TFADMIN

[wittzo]

Outback is always hard to get into. Service has always been hit or miss with us.
The last time, we didn't feel like going out, but we wanted some Outback. We figured we would just beat the crowds so i called in some take out.
It was ready by the time I got there, the guy brought it out and I had him call off what we had.
When I got home everything was there except my side order, the box was marked, but it wasn't in it.
I called the restaurant to complain, the manager took my name and address so they could mail me a coupon for a free meal, then he hung up on me. I haven't gotten squat in the mail yet and it's been two weeks. Jerks.

The food was good, though. A lot of times, I get a headache from all the salt and/or the MSG they use in their fries and steaks.

[BSIGrimreaper]

TF said:

Outback Steakhouse has been in Tupelo a long time, tell us about your experiences.

I'll start.....

Last night myself, my wife, my daughter, Grim, and his BetterHalf, went to the Outback. We were told it would be an hour and 20 minute wait, but it was less than 45 minutes, which was excellent.

I had a "No Rules" burger, which means you can put any topping on it you want. I asked for it to be cooked medium and it was. All the toppings I requested were there. It was a BIG burger and I enjoyed every morsel. My wife had the Rockhampton Ribeye which was very tender....not Country Inn tender....but tender. My wife says she likes the flavor a lot better than the Country Inn, but she's from Pontotoc...so that explains that statement ;D

I'll let Grim chime in about their fod, but I would like to comment that the service was less than favorable. Our waitress took FOREVER to refill our glasses, and did not bring some of the condiments we asked for...in fact two different waitresses were asked and neither brough back our requested condiments. They were not terribly busy, but the restaurant was full. I saw a couple of the waitresses talking at length with one another, so either they were slacking or things were running smooth behind the scenes, at any rate our waitress was very slow about service to all the tables she had in her section.

That's my two cents....what's yours?

TFADMIN

As for our food it was good, for both of us. But the main thing was service sucked. Also we noted that the menu's newly printed as of 01/05 had new prices for EVERYTHING. I would say they just added about $1.50-$3.00 to EVERYTHING on the menu. They even up the cost for drinks & desserts. In my opinion,if you up the prices then you should also up the SERVICE. Not the oppisite. Needless to say neither me nor Mr TFAdmin were happy campers. Especially me, the drink a least 4 or 5 cokes a meal guy. I got 3 refills & she never came back after our food was delivered to offer ANY of us refills.
Oh well, maybe Olive Garden would have been worth the 3 hr wait, what you think? Everytime I have been there we have had good service.

[Pontotocmom]

I don't eat Outbacks either. The food is good but my 7 year old could give better service.

[wittzo]

I got a short email from The Outback's in Tupelo Proprietor, no subject line, it had a decent apology and "the gift certificate is in the mail" statement. Hope I get it soon.

[Pontotocmom]

Did you ever get your coupon?

We decided to be brave again and retried Outback. We waited 2 hours nearly to be seated. The food was still good but the service hadn't improved. We got one re-fill on our cokes. We were seated close to a couple who had waited at the bar. The woman fell off her seat a couple of times so we did have free entertainment. Especially when they had to call their children to come and get them and we could hear their daughter over the cell phone not believing her ears that mom and pop couldn't drive because they spent two hours drinking before their meal. Then the lady said she felt sick. I went and found the waitress for our check I sure didn't want beside that lady any longer so we brought the rest of our food home.

[calliope]

Wow...I can't believe you waited two hours to be seated. I'm not a particularly impatient person, but I can't think of any restaurant that I would wait two hours to patronize.

As far as Outback, well, I love several of their entrees, but I haven't there in ages, simply because the service is ALWAYS rotten (in the Tupelo restaurant, I mean). The servers all either have giant chips on their shoulders, or they're too bored to be bothered. Consequently, I don't go there anymore. Ultimately, there's nothing on their menu that I can't live without.

Service is a big deal to me. I haven't found too many restaurants that can get by with having great food only, including Outback.

[Pontotocmom]

Well... it was a first night in a year that we had been away without the kids. That accounted for part of not minding the wait until it got stupid.

[calliope]

LOL!!! I can surely understand that, Pontotocmom! A little freedom can make a parent a little crazy...