Outback Steakhouse

Be careful what you order! Ordered a 8 oz prime rib dinner and what arrived was a very thinly cut of beef that could not have weighed 3 oz max including a large section of pure fat. Management quickly replaced it with a credible slice of beef with little fat to my delight. All was well after that but watch out that you receive what you ordered and pay for. Apparently they have few, if any, real chefs and many line cooks in the kitchen.

The waitress Briana B. made the experience! If you have ate at one Outback, you have ate at them all BUT she made the experience! Even when the kitchen messed up our order she handled it like a champ and the mistake didn’t even matter! Thanks Briana for making our married date night special!

It’s simple. We stopped going to this location 2 years ago due to terrible management and poor service and food quality. I worked in management for Outback Corp for several years and this location was all wrong. 2 weeks ago we gave them another shot and our 2 visits have been fantastic. Service is great, food quality is great! My only issue is that not 1 manager has stopped by our table to check on us. When I worked for the company it was mandatory for a manager to visit every table.

What used to be regularly a fantastic meal has become pedestrian at best and completely crappy at worst.

Steak cooked to perfection great wine prices and great service. Atmosphere is always pleasant and relaxed. Went on a Friday the wait wasn’t very long we usually have a drink at the bar until our table is available. Salad was awesome the blooming onion always a winner my friend had the ribs.. Way bigger and better than chilis.

Mediocre franchise food at best. I found the food absolutely tasteless.
I went on a slow weekday for lunch, where my party of two were literally the only customers dining. In a perfect world, the waitress would focus more on serving our table. She did not. The bread did not come out until our food came out 15 minutes later, and we had to specifically ask or better yet remind her for it.
I asked for no cole slaw on my steak tacos; the slaw was not taken out.
The fries were relatively cold in temperature. I had to ask for new batch.
Our «premium» side mac&cheese wasn’t warm either, and had to ask for that to be warmed up more as well. Guessing that it sat in a microwave to be «warmed up,» the macaroni was dry and stale.
I am completely unimpressed. It is one issue to have a bad server who lacks genuineness, but it’s even a bigger issue when the food is bad. I will not return.

In a list of descending qualities:
Jeff, the server, outstanding.
The salad, with honey mustard, great.
The baked potato, with butter and sour cream, pretty good.
The 6oz Outback steak, could a been a better. Good flavor but a little on the tough side.

Back in the mid’s 2000’s our eldest son worked at OUTBACK in Athens and there was not a hotter restaurant in town. The weekend waits were long, but a combination of high quality, decent sized portions, and mid level prices, made it an Athens favorite. Also, let’s admit it. the pickings in Athens were slim and there was a demand for better casual dining. Fast forward nearly 10 years and OUTBACK is still doing their thing. Last night we had a couple of Birthdays to celebrate and it seemed like a good option. I must say, it’s a couple of years since I’ve been there, but was looking forward to it. We did the call ahead seating and waited a few minutes, but I was surprised on Saturday night, the crowds were not near what they used to be.
The server came over and was friendly and was knowledgable. Looking over the menu, the regular menu items were all there was some expanded offerings. With beef prices on the upswing, so were the prices, but that wasn’t unexpected. We ordered a blooming onion and it came out hot and perfectly cooked and they thought to bring extra sauce. We had a party of 7 people so the orders for entrees were across the board. I ordered the salmon, my wife, the filet, one son ribs and another a ribeye.
The food was slow coming and it felt like something was missing. Took us til the end of the meal to realize we never received the signature bread. So, sorry that didn’t ever arrive. When the food finally it looked good, but clearly, the portion size had taken a hit. The filet was smalish and although my wife ordered it medium, it was clearly overcooked. Same for the ribeye. It was McDonalds burger thin, and overdone. My salmon arrived with the garlic mashed potatoes subbed for the vegetable medley (encouraging a cheap side on the menu, I’m sure) small against the large plate. The flavor was decent for farm raised salmon, but it was pale and overcooked. My son’s ribs were fall off the bone good, but the rack of ribs was about 10″ long. So, apparently a half would be four or five ribs, at best.
So, back in the day, OUTBACK minted money. Somewhere in the last few years they had to make a decision, do we keep the quality and portion standards or do we maintain our profits? I would say they did the latter. Less expensive cuts and smaller portions rule with prices that are above average. If you get cornered into going to OUTBACK, I think you can be safe with the burger and sandwich menu, but would save your money for a better Steakhouse experience. Both the Porterhouse and Chops and Hops are maybe a few dollars more. but you will come away pleased with the experience and feel you got your money’s worth. At the end the waiter asked if we needed boxes for any food. Sadly, there were few morsels left and only a lingering memory of mediocrity.

This Outback is very good. Most of all the service is amazing. Very polite and happy wait staff. We were in Athens for 5 days on a seminar. Outback was the last night dinner. We all thought it was the best restaurant of our trip. Including the Porterhouse Grill and the Last Resort. I really don’t know how anyone can have a bad experience here. Reading some other reviews surprised us.

Very surprised to find rude waiters and waitresses. When someone says «thank you» … Say, «It is my pleasure!»
The lettuce in the salad was brown.
And for: one child’s meal, one hamburger, one ribeye and one steak sandwich — the total of bill was nearly $ 70.00. (Sodas were purchased — no alcohol and no desserts.)
Food was marginal — service was just really subpar.

Save your money and go have fast food. It will be superior to the meal I just had. Outback has lost their touch.

Excellent. Best Outback around. Superior customer service. Very clean and they are dedicated to total customer satisfaction.

This particular Outback Steakhouse was a big disappointment to my wife and me. We ordered steak, and got the wrong cuts. When we tried to correct, we weren’t treated courteously or sympathetically by the staff. Perhaps there are other servers better than the one we had, but the experience was lack-​luster and the food was over-​cooked and incorrectly prepared.

This is our 2^nd and it is our last trip to Outback Steakhouse in Athens, Ga
Last night we ordered the Medium well done Sirloin Steak with a side order of FF the steak was very dry and the FF was tasteless. The House Salad was also tasteless. The server was very good but the left over food we took home was given to our dogs

This Outback is terrible. You would expect a certain level of consistency with franchise locations but sadly this is not the case. Steaks were seriously overlooked, service was bad, manager was clueless to what was happening.
It is sad that Athens does not have another Outback. Corporate should pull the plug on this location… poor example of the Outback chain.

An Outback is always a safe bet for some good food and drink an the management team in Athens keeps their venue in top shape. Beat the crowd!!!