Outback Steakhouse - Largo FL - Reviewed

I had gone online and tweeted that we had phoned ahead for "call ahead seating" for 6pm at Outback Steakhouse. The restaurant is located in Largo - ten minutes from where we live in Clearwater FL.

Four of us were going there to celebrate my wife receiving the great news that her biopsy was negative. My son had had suggested Outback and we were joined by his girlfriend. 

So let's get down to business. This Outback location, as I believe all of their restaurants around the country are, is busy as hell. The parking lot was full - mostly with "snow-birds" or tourists from "up North", many of which are Canadians. Great for business, not so much for us "locals".

We got there precisely at 6pm and was told it would be a minimum 20 minute wait. Another couple sitting and waiting said that sometimes, even with "call ahead seating", the wait could be as long as an hour.

So my first (negative) comment is that forget "call ahead" anything. What's the point? Just go there early and wait along with everyone else. We took the (actual) 30 minute wait in stride and chatted with the other cranky "guests" waiting outside. Thank goodness the Florida weather was still fairly mild for April.

We were seated in a large booth and immediately overwhelmed with colorful cardboard menus & inserts (even more stuff on a spiral bound little stand) with lot's of pictures. We would have preferred a better organized presentation involving one or two pages to hold and look over. I always favor, as with many other aspects of life, a "KISS" approach (to menus) - keep it simple. We told the "server" (waitress) to please give us a minute or so - twice. 

My wife and I ordered some type of "speciality" drink - not part of the Happy Hour offerings - of course. I honestly don't recall what they were - it had a medium sized lime wedge in it and contained a minimum quantity of alcohol. It wasn't bad and I guess if I were on a cruise ship, I would have had three.

You really cannot eat at Outback without ordering their "Bloomin' Onion". It came with the bread and butter. The "ring" of onions is the same as it always has been since Outback first opened - greasy but crunchy and tasty. The bread? Well I remember it as being less "commercial" tasting - more "earthy" - more "maple-y". I would have also preferred it a bit warmer. Everyone besides me liked it, but then they were quite hungry. 

MIA (missing & lost) was the coconut shrimp appetizer. We reminded our server three times and it finally arrived just before our dessert came. I don't get how or why that happened, but we shouldn't have been charged for it.

Although I was alone regarding the quality of the bread, we agreed the "new" sweet and "standard"

baked potato has shrunk considerably over the years. Didn't Outback used to season a really large potato then wrap it in aluminum foil? Or was that Cracker Barrel or Golden Corral? Anyway the potatoes were "weak" lacking any yummy or wow factor. The sour cream and chives - if that's what they were - were tasteless.

Three of us ordered sirloin. I still don't understand the difference between wood fired and original. My wife's steak was DOA - overcooked and dry. My steak, though, was amazing. I would have been happy with just that and my drink. Small annoyance, but my fork was all bent out of shape and I had to get a replacement. My son thought his meat was OK. His girlfriend who had trouble finding what she wanted on the menu (menu's) said she enjoyed her shrimp and chicken. 

As I said earlier, after we finished the meal, and after the third prompt, the coconut shrimp finally arrived. The Gulf of Mexico is about 8 miles away - maybe

the chef was down there trying to catch more. Seconds later my wife and I shared carrot cake - my son and girlfriend the Outback ice cream brownie "special" dessert. The cake's icing was sugary and creamy enough, but the actual cake was somewhat dry, almost like it was left over from the day before. I asked for a new spoon because the one I received was not clean. It was the second utensil replacement of the evening.

My son was kind enough to treat us so I did not see how much the bill was. And for the record, all of us eat at Outback frequently, but not inside the restaurant. We typically order take-out. 

Here's the bottom-line: I give the service a C+ because of the shrimp appetizer issue which was just dumb. Outback needs to "audit" their forks, knives and spoons and update their inventory.

The food I give a B because of the boring potatoes and the unfortunate incineration of my wife's steak. The experience overall rates a C+ and one can only hope if we return everything "flows" better. We also don't need 5 sheets of cardboard menu overload to decide what to eat. It's overkill, we get the deal and more time should be spent making the food properly and seeing that it gets to the guest when it should be.

Finally, from the "podium" up front where the

hosts/hostesses stand, a "thank you for coming" would have been a nice gesture. Ignoring guests as they leave just isn't nice customer service. 

6pm
April 5th 2014
Outback Steakhouse
East Bay Road
Largo FL

Note: the pictures and photographs do NOT represent the actual meal or people at the establishment and were used in this review for humor and reference purposes only.