Outback Steakhouse

I hadn’t been to an Outback in, easy, 8ish years. CRAZY. I know. On our way back to DC after a weekend in Blacksburg I searched for one we could stop and have dinner at, and this was it! It was a Sunday and luckily we got there at the right time because we were sat right away. Literally within 15 minutes there were a ton of people waiting for a table! Good timing for us! We, OF COURSE, started with a bloomin’ onion and some of their delicious bread. Our waitress was very nice, but man oh man, did she disappear! She took our order and then would legit disappear! She’d show back up and say let me get y’all refills and then poof! gone! no refills! so frustrating! When she would come back she’d say, oh, no one brought y’all the refills? What do you mean ‘no one,’ who was supposed to bring them if not you? Her bad service is the reason for this 3 star review. The food was great, as I remember it. The steak I ordered was very good and the loaded baked potato even better. YUM!

The food is what you can expect from any Outback; not bad, not great, slightly overpriced. The service here is really spotty. With one or two exceptions, the majority of bartenders and wait staff are inattentive to the point of frustration. Unless you are one of the locals on a first name basis (who appear to have no life outside this place) you’ll need a flare gun to get someone to stop again after food arrives. Good luck getting the check when you’re ready to go.

I haven’t been to the Clifton Outback in 10 years after two horrible services I received. Well I ventured back because I heard about the steak and unlimited shrimp for 15.99 and I had a coupon for 5 dollars off my meal. First, service was much better, our waitress was very nice, efficient, and knowledgeable. NOW on to the sham. I ordered my 5 oz sirloin with one order of garlic shrimp. The shrimps were… shrimpy. I had intended to put a dent in their profits, however they will not bring more than one serving at a time. I asked and was denied. AND the servings were smaller each time and had to wait 5 to 7 minutes between orders. Not super pleasing. I will probably not venture back again for a while. Texas Roadhouse forever.

Was a little busy so service was slow. Unlimited shrimp was nice, but neither the garlic parm and the fried weren’t all that great. Sirloin, of course was delish.

Mixed feelings about this Outback. I’ll try to be as objective as I can. I came as a group of 4 for the steak and unlimited shrimp special on a Wednesday night.
We were seated immediately upon arrival and found our main server to be very nice and helpful. Three of us got the 5 oz steak with unlimited shrimp, which is $ 15.99. Quick note: you can only choose one shrimp option (either garlic or crispy) and then have to stick with that for the rest meal. I got the garlic shrimp and was extremely happy with my choice, as each plate I got was seasoned well and very juicy. My brother, who got the crispy shrimp with cocktail sauce was also very pleased with his choice as well.
However, when we got the steaks, they all seemed to be of size except my brother’s. We all agreed it seemed rather small compared to the other 5oz steaks and when the manager came by, he assured us it was still 5oz. We didn’t want to have a hassle so we just let it go, but it isn’t a good feeling to be served something noticeably smaller than the other same dishes. Of course we could be wrong, but it is what it is.
Additionally, aside from our main server, other servers came by our table with our shrimp refills and drinks. One of them seems grumpy and angry, sighing every time she was at the table, and the other server gave a bit of an attitude when we cleared the way and table space for him as he was coming with our shrimp refills in his hand and he scoffed «It’d help if you put this one on your plate, and put that empty one back on mine» wait… isn’t that your job? And the plates were pretty hot too so… I don’t get it, sir. Just trying to enjoy our meal here with good conversation.
Food, I’d say was 4 stars, but the experience and kind of the service bumps it down to 3 stars. Maybe they were just having a bad day, but in the restaurant business, I don’t think it’s very acceptable.

Their service is phenomenal! Every time I try a new place I bring my stopwatch to see how long it takes for me to properly served. I waited 4:37 for a table with isn’t bad since she told me it would take 10 minutes for a table to become available. After that I waited 2:06 for my server to get my drink order. After 6:28 my server returned with my drink (sprite no ice) and took my food order (steak-​well done). Normally steaks take 25 – 30 minutes to cook and it took 26:17 for my steak to arrive which was pretty normal. After my steak arrived my server returned in 8:44 to see if I wanted anything else, I said no. 15 minutes pass by and I ask for the check. Overall my server was very kind and tentative. I highly recommend this place if your looking for a nice steak house with good servers!

A pathetic excuse for ribs. I’ve heard of well done before but to disgracefully hide this half rack of burnt disgustingness under a perfectly cooked one is inexcusable. I’m so disappointed in our experience for take away the last two times, we will not be going back. The manager is refunding me after my call but quality control should have never let these leave the door to the consumer. Shame on you Outback in Clifton.

My wife and I were there this week, and everything was great. I’m tempted to quote Yogi Berra’s review of a restaurant («nobody goes there, ’cause its too popular»), because it was very quiet for lunch. For us, that is a big plus, however (keep the kids at McDs, please). The filet mignon was as good as I have had, prepared as requested. Very good salad, and even the burger was top-​notch. Service was also good. We hope to go there again.

Service was mediocre and the filet was suppose to be medium and was undercooked and they took forever to bring me the check… Phssss had better

I’ve relied on Unilocal reviews for years but this is my first post because I feel it’s my civic duty to prevent (or at least prepare) fellow Unilocalers for disappointment.
Last time I came here I didn’t have the greatest experience. I ordered the appetizer seafood trio and it didn’t seem fresh and I felt a little sick after eating it. My most recent time visiting was for my dad’s birthday; he wanted to go and I didn’t have the heart to say no. It will probably be my last time at an Outback. All the food was not fresh and had terrible value.
I had the steak salad. I’m no expert or salad snob but an overflowing plate of generic iceberg lettuce mix does not constitute «mixed greens» in my book. The steak on top was four tiny slivers of overcooked, under-​seasoned steak.
My mom doesn’t have a big appetite so she just wanted crab legs and grilled shrimp, each was an add-​on for the two entrees. $ 8 for three dinky old snow crab legs and $ 6 for four tiny little shrimp.
My dad’s meal was the best part: New York strip steak, mashed potatoes with garlic butter and clam chowder. Problem is, I think they mixed up my dad’s and my steak preferences because his was undercooked for him and mine was too well done.
The staff… everyone seemed like they hated their jobs. I used to waitress and I know how much it sucks, especially when you’re there all day and have other life issues but if you choose to be in the service industry sometimes you just gotta strap on that smile, at least while you’re out on the floor. Our waitress was nice but didn’t smile once and seemed really sad, I hope she’s okay…
The chain as a whole just has an air of laughable cultural appropriation. The menu tries to be upscale but isn’t executed well. It’s not cheaper or higher quality than any restaurant that serves the same type of food. I also have to be a little harsh with the stars because I think the overall average is too high to be accurate. We miss the old Outback.

Came here for my birthday dinner a few weeks back. For the first time, I had the blooming onion. I was hesitant to get it, but it wasn’t bad! I like that the onion taste/​smell wasn’t overbearing, as it can be. Plus, who doesn’t like fried items?
To drink I went with the blackberry sangria. Yummy, with some fresh fruit mixed. It made me want to own a home bar even more because I knew I could probably come up with such a concoction on my own. The part that sucks is the amount of ice that always comes with adult drinks. So you’ve got to chug everything out of the mason jar — yes, it came in a cute little mason jar — before the ice melts. I wanted more, but I didn’t want to spend more for not so much drink. Onto the main entrée! We both had the Outback Special, the Sirloin Portabella. It’s topped with butter, wood-​fire grilled portabella mushrooms and shaved parmesan. I opted for mashed potatoes and a Caesar salad. What a great birthday dinner! The sirloin was moist and soft and the melted butter made the perfect sauce to mesh with the mashed potatoes. I wanted more after my plate was cleared, but it was actually the right amount of food. I was so satisfied that I would definitely go for that same dish. I highly recommend trying out that special. Note that when it comes out, it looks «small» compared to what you may expect or be familiar with at Outback, but it is a perfect portion size. Happy birthday to me!

Im sorry if anyone else thinks otherwise but, hands down best place to go when craving a juicy prime rib! My favorite dish here: 16 oz prime rib (medium cooked) with sides of soup and mac n cheese. I also love their bread with honey butter or with big groups, order a blooming onion. Their dimmed ambiance is awesome and so is their service; failed to have a bad experience yet. Cheers!

Consistent, perfectly cooked, well-​seasoned steaks. This location has been a frequent stop for my friends and I. Good, friendly wait staff. Bring back the blue cheese crumb top on the filet!

Fantastic steak and great service. However, I’m a little disappointed to see the 3 course meal deal go away which included desert.

It was a special weekend and we were debating back and forth about where we wanted to go for dinner. Obviously, we settled on Outback. We made reservations for 6:30 (which was good, because it was PACKED) and we were off.
I ordered a peach-​strawberry sangria (we were going to get a pitcher of it, but they don’t offer them at this location). It was good, but not as good as my favorite sangria at Longhorn (but it’s always hard to beat a favorite).
We started off with a Blumin’ Onion. Definitely better than last time. Much less salty and it just had a lot more actual flavor from the spices.
I got a caesar salad again. If only I had remembered how unimpressed I was with it last time…
And again, I got a cheeseburger. Even this seemed better this time. I had no issues with dry buns and the burger was good (and a decently sized burger). Though, I don’t remember this about last time, but my burger was still a bit undercooked. Not terribly, but enough that I noticed. That was my only gripe this time around.
Everyone seemed pleased with their meals and our server checked on us enough that we didn’t feel neglected or like we were his only table.

«Tastes like generic corporate… I mean Australian cuisine»
Food: ³⁄₅
Service: ²⁄₅
Atmosphere: ³⁄₅
Parking: ⁴⁄₅
Cleanliness: ³⁄₅
Outback steakhouse in this location only offers dinner — not lunch… what? Ok then, let’s get this started:
Service here is highly spotty with lukewarm hostesses seating parties and, on more than one occasion, becoming visibly irritated when guests complained of tables being open but were actually reserved for groups. TIP: after years in the industry, it’s best to put reservation seats toward the back to prevent this. Servers are a tad slow, inconsistent, and don’t have much in the way of a script to follow.
Food here is ok. The bloomin’ onion is excellent and the steaks are ok, though pretty small. A lobster tail can be added to a steak for a small price, though you later find out that the tail is a tiny 4″ X 4″ piece that’s basically covered in salt and corporate pre-​mixed seasonings. The meats are again highly salted and the sides, again, salted liberally. This is an old trick used for centuries to mask the poor quality of ingredients by having salt draw out and intensify flavors. Very much a corporately-​run kitchen that essentially heats pre-​made foods as opposed to cooking from scratch.
Parking is good, though the popularity of this particular strip mall makes it a bit tough at times. Worth a trip if you want something quick and at a fairly low price.

Poor Service
I don’t know what’s going on with this place. A few years ago we had been getting such bad service that we would go to the Outback in Fairfax. Then we decided we’d give this place another chance, and the service was good. The last time we went to this place the service just tanked.
The weirdest thing was the ketchup. When someone orders a cheeseburger and fries, 99.44% of restaurants will bring out a ketchup bottle. Not this place. We had to ask for it. Then they brought out a tiny little tub with ketchup in it. It’s as if the boss said, «Hey you guys. Ketchup is really expensive, ya know, so don’t bring any ketchup unless someone asks, and then only bring it in these tiny little cups.»
I can bring my own ketchup. And extra sauce for the mushrooms I’ll remember to bring that next time to. And I’ll bring a couple of cans of cokes to refill my drink. It’s not that big of a deal.

Ah, another boring chain restaurant review. I’m not going to hate on Outback too bad, chain or not. The food is always decent, tasty, seasoned well. This is one of the few places in this area I can order my steak medium rare, and actually get it medium rare. The blue cheese chopped salad is still one of my most favorite things ever.
We sat in the bar area, service was good; things came out right on time. I would certainly recommend they get new bar stools. I changed my chair out three different times, a few drinks in, and I would have tipped right over.
Decent meal… even if it is a chain.

Our waiter was very good with large group and he kept everyone’s drinks full and he had a great sense of humor.
The food was just OK. The NY Strip was only about ½ an inch thick. They use to be a full inch thick and really good. The thinner steak, for the same price is not worth it all.
I’ll just stay home and cook better food because Outback has just gotten to the point where it’s not worth going.

We visited Outback in Clifton the other night. For some reason, I never cared for Outback in the past, probably because of a bad experience some years ago at a different location. Well, I’m so glad we decided to give Outback another try, because now it’s my new favorite go-​to. This location in Clifton seems especially great.
They have been introducing new appetizers, drinks and menu items — all of which look very delicious and appealing. I had their new avocado and lump crabmeat appetizer, which was totally out of this world. I’m a huge fan of avocado and crabmeat anyway, so it’s a natural hit with me that they put it together. What a marriage of flavors! This along with some tortilla chips and salsa really tickled my taste buds. Bravo, Outback.
I also tried the petite filet with a lettuce wedge topped with bleu cheese. An excellent choice; it was «just enough,» and the filet was wonderfully tender and tasty. Loved it. My biggest surprise of the evening was the cost of everything. Prices are downright reasonable, especially for drinks. They had a number of new ones to try but I went with the Outback Bellini. So delicious, I was figuring it would cost at least $ 10. Nope! A bargain at $ 6.25! Our server was great, too. Polite, knowledgeable, efficient — wow!
Kudos to Clifton Outback for making our dinner such a good experience. We will definitely be back.