Outback Steakhouse

A party of 20 came here for my birthday. We paid top dollar and tipped waitress, but it was my birthday, and it was horrible. Many of our food was either lukewarm or cold. As the birthday person, I left an entire 12 oz. steak potatoe and hard bread on the table. mit was a horrible birthday dinner. I was soooo pissed off. I am going to contact them to be made whole. They need to send me a certificate for at least my immediate family of 5. To take back and try again. Bad experience for people with large parties.

Just came here the food was amazing. And this one girl who was our waitress I forgot her name but it was this pretty Asian girl with a long ponytail was very nice and super friendly. The host and hostess were very nice as well. I will be coming back.

Love this place. I like all Applebee’s it’s cool because you get the same food in every town… I of course get the blooming onion cause who wouldn’t want a crispy whole fried onion in the shape of a flower. #mePlease #getExtraDippingSauce

Yes I know I am a tough critic but I hate anything subpar. I order my steak medium well and it got here char. I was so done that it was killed twice I don’t see how hard it is to good a steak medium well. After writing this review I read the reviews and this happens often. I live my life by Unilocal reviews and I failed to read the reviews today. I will never make that mistake again.

First of. Food was pretty good. Consistent with the food quality of other outbacks I have been to. I sat at the bar and it was fairly slow night. Drinks were good. Service was fine. I had a filet which was tender and cooked well. Overall good experience

Typical chain steak place, service can be great or negligent depending on who you get (we got someone in-between)…food is good but too pricey for the amount of food you get, still, it’s an ok place to go to if the In n Out line next door is too crazy busy (as usual). Nice atmosphere but not really a destination place.

The host told us we’d have a thirty minute wait, but it turned out to be 10 minutes.
The pumpernickel bread was tasty as was the salad. My favorite part of the meal was the wood fired grilled salmon with mango salsa. My seasoned rice was also delish. The waiter was friendly and helpful.

Its been a long time since I came to Outback and unfortunately their quality has went down. Even the drinks tasted watered down and a bit strange. Had a few things wrong with my order and forgotten which I dont normally make a big deal out of but it didnt help that the quality wasnt as good as it used to. I dont think Im coming back anymore Id rather just get a double double for the fam at in n out.

Not a good place. Our napkins were diety. Plates dirty. Staff blaming each other. Entrees brought before salad or soup

I was in the waiting area for the rest of my party to arrive and was observing the customer service… I’m not sure if they are understaffed but it was a Friday night and no one was there to seat the guests. The phone was ringing off the hook and two separate parties came in and left because they were waiting so long to be acknowledged. Food is good. Service, not so much.

I am breaking with my usual posting rules on Unilocal,and writing a review after only one visit to Outback at the Pinole location. I had a previous experience years ago at the Outback in Pleasant Hill which was not good, but it was long before Unilocal was invented. So I felt I now could, in good conscience, post about Outback as a whole. AND as my rating indicates we have had a better!
This last visit was in late July, when we had some family in from out-​of-​state. Everyone was excited about the visit. We even took the extra time and let our fellow Unilocalers guide us, as PH was closer for us than Pinole, but people posted about the poor service and we wanted things to go well. Plus we had had the previous «bad» visit years ago, so we drove to Pinole as an adventure/​sightseeing for the kids!
But here is why it rates only 2 stars:
1) We called far ahead for a «reservation» for our party of 8 and found out it’s just basically a list which you check in for upon arrival, & despite being on time, one still has to wait! The place was packed full!
2) the server forgot way too many items, for example: completely forgetting a salad, silverware, etc. despite being asked/​reminded twice.
3) the server seemed overly distracted with socializing with another table.
4) there was a table nearby that was allowing a child to literally run around the table calling out loudly, but not one manager/​or server advised them they «might» be bothering others.
5) one of our party order the all-​you-​can-​eat shrimp platter and despite asking politely for additional shrimp, the server seemed reluctant to bring them, hardly coming by to check on us.
6) the server at the table with the annoying child, was immersed with service to them and must’ve come by 10 times, each time with a side of additional shrimp for them (we only noticed because our guest thought maybe the server was bringing it to him, as it was taking too long to get his but she wasn’t. As everyone else was finishing their meal, he’d only gotten one extra!).
7) almost forgot! We ordered their famous Bloomin’ Onion appetizer and it was awful. It was soggy and had a large puddle of grease at the bottom. We’ve eaten versions of this elsewhere and they were crisp fresh and well made, but not this one.
That being said, we found the food to be edible and fair but not outstanding. AND for the price (our bill was over $ 200 with NO alcoholic drinks mind you!) combined with the service problems, it was an empty experience. We ordered surf ‘n’ turf to kids-​fare to pork to appetizers to desserts, so we had a wide sampling of the menu, but not one thing stood out as excellent! We could’ve stayed in our own area and had a better meal. This is a chain, we realize, but expect better & feel that corporate oversight should correct such problems.
We get coupons from them in the newspaper and by mail, but must say, we probably would not be returning to eat here, nor would we recommend this place to anyone we know. It’s really unfortunate as we just wanted a good dining experience for our visitors.

Ok this, review is about takeout which I loved I didn’t have to go in they came to my car 5 minutes of me pulling up and my order was correct at that and the girl was so nice my bill was 32 and some change I handed her 40 and told her to keep the change she seemed shocked… Anyways the coconut shrimp are always on point and the steak too I will be returning for take out again soon…

**THIS REVIEW IS STRICTLY FOR CUSTOMER SERVICE (NOT THE FOOD)**
After a long weekend of moving, we visited the Pinole Outback late in the evening for a good meal. Kasey S. was our server. She was excellent!!! Even though my husband’s meat came out over cooked, she made it right. She not only corrected the error but gave us a free dessert. With mediocre customer service these days as the norm, Kasey was a breath of fresh air! She is the kind of employee we need more of! I have been complaining lately with the lack of service throughout companies these days. Please give Kasey recognition. She greatly deserves it.
Lisa & Rafael

I love outback for the blooming onion! So of course that’s what I got tonight. I love the bread too, they’re just so warm and yummy.
Unfortunately the service is off. Our waiters vibe was very awkward and every single thing we requested for took forever.
Ordered the steak and unlimited shrimp. Besides my steak being kind of tough, the flavor was pretty good and the loaded mash potatoes were soooo good.
THE CATCH TO THE UNLIMITED SHRIMP: they’re extremely salty causing you to drink a lot and they take FOREVER to bring out each round you order (waiting for you to get full).
They’re pretty smooth having a doorman though. Not many places have that, especially in Pinole.

I have eaten here many times and it is generally a hit-​and-​miss experience — sometimes it is pretty good, sometimes just kinda blah. Usually I leave thinking it was an «okay» situation but my wife and I ate here around 6 pm a couple of days ago and I left thinking I might not return.
It is a nice enough place, clean and well-​staffed and we were treated well but the food just wasn’t up to even a mediocre standard. My wife had a steak salad and said it was good. I ordered a «mixed grill» plate with big fried shrimp, baby back ribs, a big chunk of chicken. and fries.
The shrimp were pretty good, hot juicy and tasty. The other stuff was not too good at all. The ribs were too dry — not enough to say they were like jerky but pretty dry fur sure. The chicken was WAY TOO DRY — to the point it wasn’t worth eating. The outer layer of chicken (it is «skinless») was so overcooked it was flaky and tough. Bummer. My wife cooks chicken at home at least once a week and I can tell you there is no valid excuse for chicken to be dry. I don’t think I have had chicken any more dry and tasteless as this was.
The fries were not hot at all — warm and edible but a bit soggy. Ketchup fixed them a bit.
The people working here were great — our server was very polite and interested in our service. I can’t fault any of the dining room employees. As far as the food goes, how can I guess if it was a crummy cook or just crummy food they use? Anyway all restaurants should have servers like the ones here.
Our waiter asked a few times how we were doing and if everything was okay but I don’t like asking for a re-​do on the food. There is always the off-​chance that a cook or kitchen employee may take offense and take it out on your new food.
I have eaten at Outbacks in at least a dozen states and I am usually pretty satisfied but this place pretty much makes me want to say I’ll not return to this particular store.
I don’t like writing these types of reviews but when I leave a place feeling bad about spending money then what good is it?

This place is way too expensive for what it is. The employees look unhappy and have no good customer service. And the last couple times we came here our food didn’t look or taste fresh, also our steaks haven’t been cooked how we asked.
I don’t think we’ll be coming here anymore.

My service was good and the food was quite tasty. Didn’t take forever to come out like my last experience.
I ordered the portobello filet minion with garlic mash and steamed veggies. The plate and portion seems much smaller than usual. The steak was cooked perfectly, medium rare; but no flavor. My portobello and parmesan steak topping was alright. A bit on the sour side and salty. My broccoli came out in 2 big whole chunks. Too lazy to cut it for their patrons? All in all, I think the only thing out of my meal I enjoyed was the garlic mash and that was it.

After our fitting appointment at David’s Bridal, we had worked up an appetite & I could use a drink!
So, we found ourselves at Outback Steakhouse.
Our server, Greyson, was very friendly, attentive and helpful.
We decided to start with an appetizer. The coconut shrimp sounded good and it was yummy! 8 plump pieces nicely prepared, still hot with a delicious dipping sauce.
JK had water and I decided to try their newest drink the «Tiki Bandit.» It was light and refreshing. It was a mix drink with Vodka. Not too strong. Perfect with a late lunch.
Our entrees arrived soon after we devoured our shrimp appetizer. They looked and smelled wonderful. Presentation, however leaved a bit to be desired. JK had the full rack of ribs with mashed potatoes. While they had a penetrating tangy flavor, they just looked kinda lonely on the plate with a scoop of potatoes to accompany it.
I decided on a combo entrée. 6 oz. petite sirloin, cooked medium rare and a 6 oz. lobster tail. Also accompanied by mashed potatoes. The lobster tasted very salty & while the meat was prepared as ordered, seemed a little fatty and stringy.
While we couldn’t finish it all, we decided we still had room for a slice of their cheesecake drizzled with raspberry sauce.
The restaurant was not crowded, it was pretty dimly lit however. Patrons seating next to us opened the blinds up… that’s better!
Overall, a nice experience. Our sever kept coming back to check on us. He refilled our water and brought fresh bread to our table. Thought it cost a bit much for what it is, but overall a good experience!

We had 2 great servers. Evan was adorable! Embarrassed my niece and asked him to take a pic since tomorrow is her senior prom. He was very nice!

I do have to say I have the best luck with service and the worst luck with the food. Lol.
The food tooook forever to come out.
Ordered the blooming onion– it was okayyyyyy (sigh)
The Caesar salad. Just plain old salad.
A bowl of chicken tortilla soup — goopyy.
My bf ordered the woodgrilled two porkchops and baked potato and he said that was really good.
And again my server was super cool.