I really want to emphasize that everyone was very friendly, but there is definitely a lot of room for improvement.
We were seated as soon as we walked in, and the restaurant didn’t seem very busy. However, it took a very long time for our blooming onion to arrive, and when it finally did, it was very overcooked. We asked for extra sauce, but it never came. My husband also never received his drink refill.
When our main meal arrived, the waitress had taken our order correctly, but the bacon mac and cheese was incorrect. It looked like the regular version and had no bacon at all. My daughter ordered a rare steak, but it came out medium. The kitchen later explained that they had gotten the order wrong and had entered two kids’ pasta meals instead, which further delayed our food.
On top of everything else, there were a lot of flies around us, which made the dining experience even less enjoyable. Because of this, we eventually decided to ask for our food to go rather than continue eating there.
Even getting the check and to-go bags took an extremely long time—about 10 minutes.
A manager came by twice to apologize, and I also had to make sure we were charged correctly for the mac and cheese. We were told that adding bacon would only take two minutes, but given how slowly everything else was moving, I wasn’t willing to risk waiting even longer.
Our drinks also took a long time because, apparently, the bartender had broken a glass, and a piece of glass had gotten into her eye. We never heard any glass break, and I didn’t see any medical assistance being provided. While I understand that unexpected situations can happen, it felt like we kept receiving excuses for the delays and mistakes throughout the meal.
Overall, the staff was friendly, and I appreciate the manager making an effort to apologize. However, the numerous mistakes, long wait times, incorrect orders, and the number of flies made the experience disappointing. Having to take our food to go only added to the frustration. I’m honestly not sure if I would want to return.
CJ
Chelsea Jacobs
Oct 4, 2026
My partner and I made a reservation for 7:15 Thursday evening. The gentleman that seated us was phenomenal, honestly the best part of our visit. The server started off attentive. My water was put in a glass that was too hot so by the time it was placed on the table cracks were spreading throughout the glass. Once I pointed this out our service went downhill. My partner ordered the chimichurri filet and I ordered the 3 course with the bloomin burger. I ordered my burger medium, it came out well done. Very disappointing because I love a burger from outback. We also ordered some of the $5 drink specials. When we received the check all the drinks were listed at normal price, the cheesecake that should have been included with the 3 course was listed as $9.99, and the filet was rang up incorrectly. We pointed it out to the server. She said she would get a manager and then disappeared. 20 minutes later she reappeared, without a manager, stating the check had been corrected. The drink specials had been added to the check and the original ones were still on the check. We had to wait another 5 minutes to see the server again to point this out and to ask for our cheesecake to go. No manager stopped by our table during this visit. We finally left the restaurant at 8:55. Unsure if we will return.
Joined waitlist, only had to wait 20 minutes which was great. Our server was a sweet young man. We got bread and bloomin onion. Bloomin onion was greasy. Husband ordered salad asked to have extra ranch and cheese added. No extra ranch no cheese. Manager or partner of another location came by asked how it was. We told him, he did offer free Blooming onion We declined, ultimately took off bill. Husband ordered steak with baked potato and broccoli. Steak had 0 seasoning. Broccoli not cooked all the way. Me and 2 others had the Alfredo. My chicken and shrimp was perfectly seasoned and cooked. My pasta however was dry and had minimal sauce. Manager came by again and asked how it was , my husband expressed his disappointment Manager offered new steak to be cooked but the rest of us had almost finished already. My husband votes he will not return. I am optimistic with criticism and the owner hopefully taking that and learning from it that they will be successful.
NR
Naomi Rickman
Sep 26, 2026
Great atmosphere sad service, especially for a newly opened location.
Our name got lost on the call ahead registry.
Our waitress did not share any of the specials with the menu. She never brought us bread.
It took over 45 minutes to receive our food
We were not told that they were out of broccoli, they just substitute a green beans.
I could not eat the green beans because they were too hard and my teeth were so sore from braces. The head manager was checking on other tables, never checked on our table. We saw another head hostess that was handing out comp cards to other tables. We never received a comp card. The table behind us was seated before us, and they received their food after us. Our waitress was in the kitchen most of the night, she only had two tables. Our table was filling up with used glasses. They did offer complementary samples to people waiting in line outside. If we had stayed out there long enough, we might’ve just gone home because I would’ve gotten a whole meal faster than what they served it in the restaurant.
Bathrooms were clean and overall cleanliness was great, but service was really poor. They really need to get more organized. Entrance and exit is difficult with a busy restaurant not enough room to get people in and out. Parking is nearly impossible. There’s too many popular restaurants that all share that parking lot. I’ve already placed my comments as well on outback.com but there’s not enough character space so here I am again.
We decided to wait a few days after the Tuesday grand opening before visiting the new Outback Steakhouse in Wake Forest, and I’m glad we did. We stopped in during the lunch rush, and as expected for a brand-new restaurant, the booths were completely full. We didn’t mind at all and grabbed a couple of seats at the bar.
Karen was behind the bar and took care of us throughout our visit, and she was absolutely fantastic. Even while juggling her responsibilities behind the bar and taking care of other guests, she remained friendly, attentive, and genuinely engaging. She took the time to have short conversations with us between her other duties, regularly checked to make sure we had everything we needed, and made us feel welcome from the moment we sat down. Great service can make or break a dining experience, especially at a newly opened and very busy restaurant, and Karen definitely made ours a great one.
For starters, we ordered the Gold Coast Coconut Shrimp, French Onion Soup, and Kookaburra Wings. Everything was enjoyable, but for our entrée, we decided to share the 20 oz. Bone-In Ribeye.
The ribeye was the highlight of the meal. We especially loved the smoky char and grilled flavor on the outside of the steak. It gave the ribeye that unmistakable backyard-BBQ flavor—the kind of char and smokiness that makes a grilled steak so satisfying. Combined with the richness of the ribeye, it made for a really enjoyable steak.
For a restaurant that had only been open a few days and was already handling a busy lunch crowd, we came away impressed. The food was very good, but Karen’s service is what really stood out. She was personable, attentive, professional, and managed to make us feel like valued guests despite everything she was handling behind the bar.
Thank you, Karen, for taking such great care of us and making our first visit to the new Wake Forest Outback Steakhouse such an enjoyable one. We’ll definitely be back! Mel and Robert