On Saturday, May 2, 2026, my children and I visited Outback Steakhouse around 8:50 PM. We were seated quickly, received our drinks by 9:00 PM, and our appetizers came out within about 10–15 minutes. Once the appetizers arrived, we placed our dinner orders.
After that, things went downhill. By 9:30 PM, we still had not received our food. Throughout the wait, our waiter repeatedly told us, “Your food will be coming out shortly.” Eventually, a manager came to our table and apologized for a “mix-up.” He offered dessert and a discount, which I appreciated, but we declined dessert and continued waiting patiently. Around 10:00 PM, the manager returned and apologized again, telling us our food would be out shortly once more. Meanwhile, several customers who were seated after us received their meals within 10–20 minutes. Our food did not arrive until after 10:00 PM. To make matters worse, the food itself was disappointing. Two of my daughters ordered shrimp dishes — one had the Queensland Chicken & Shrimp Pasta, and the other had Shrimp on the Barbie with mac and cheese and fries. One of my daughters immediately pointed out that her shrimp looked clear and undercooked. The overall temperature of the food was also lukewarm, as if it had been sitting out for some time before being served. At that point, we were starving and most other restaurants were already closed, so we ate anyway. We arrived home between 10:45 PM and 11:00 PM. The next morning, Sunday, May 3rd, around 6:30 AM, my youngest daughter woke up crying and screaming from stomach pain, nausea, and diarrhea. My oldest daughter later experienced similar symptoms on Tuesday, May 5th. Unfortunately, this was not my first bad experience at this location. During a previous visit, I politely informed a waiter that my mac and cheese was extremely cold — literally as if it had been taken out of a refrigerator and placed into a skillet without being heated properly. The waiter responded with a rude and nasty attitude, despite me being respectful the entire time. I always try to give restaurants grace because I understand places can be short-staffed and people have difficult days. I’m always polite, patient, and understanding. However, after multiple bad experiences at this location, I can confidently say I will not return. What’s frustrating is that other Outback Steakhouse locations I’ve visited have been perfectly fine. There is just something consistently off about this particular location, from the service to the food quality and overall management. I also have no issue paying good money for a good dining experience, but the prices simply did not match the quality of food or service we received. After waiting over an hour, this experience was unacceptable.