It's Outback Steakhouse. I'm not too sure why you'd need to read a review of this place, but I'll take a stab at writing one, just for the record. For those unfamiliar, Outback Steakhouse is a gigantic worldwide chain of (loosely) Australian-themed restaurants. Much like Wal-mart, the Catholic Church, and meth labs, it seems there's at least one in every midsize metropolitan area. By meth lab counts alone, Central Florida is definitely a midsize metropolitan area. Outback is where you can order something like the "Bloomin' Onion" -- an onion sliced up and deep-fried, served with some tangy dipping sauce. Yes, it's basically the same thing as Chili's "Awesome Blossom". Except on Outback's menu, it has the word "mate" at the end of the description, mate. Last month, I visited Outback with my mother, as it's one of her favorite places. She likes the "Wallaby Darned" drink (basically, a peach bellini), although I'm not too sure if she likes the drink or she just likes the name. Either way, she was happy. It was great, just like the hundred Wallaby Darneds she's had across the rest of the country. See, that's what Outback does best. You've been there before. You know the menu, you know the food, you know the experience. It's going to be fine. A few things here and there will be unique to each visit, but you can trust that it's going to be familiar. Comfortable. Reliable. Exactly the kind of place you go with your parents, grandparents, and cranky old Uncle Pete. How was the food? You're missing the point if you're reading Yelp for a review of a major chain restaurant's fare. I had a steak. It was meat. Meat is good. I also had a whiskey. Whiskey is great. Our considerate, friendly server brought me more whiskey. Food was good, drinks were good, service was good. This is what places like Outback aim for. Good. And that's absolutely what you'll get, unless something goes massively wrong, or, more likely -- you're a total asshole. Yes, you are. Probably. So, Outback. It's not a trendy chef-owned restaurant. No, they don't serve locally-farmed and sustainably-raised beef. No, they don't even have a selection of regional beers. Places like that are the antithesis of places like this. But it means you can go to an Outback in New Smyrna Beach and it'll be exactly the same as the one back home in Boston, or Seattle, or Omaha, and there's something oddly special about that.
(5)
Ashley M.
Don't go until they remodel. The place smells of mildew from the old carpet. We ordered a bloomin' onion and beers and told the waitress we would wait to order our entree. She acted like this was odd, but complied. The bloomin onion was the only descent thing we had there. Our food then took forever to get to us once we did order and it was cold. We would have complained if anyone had cared enough to ask.
(2)
MaryKaye S.
Friendly staff, happy hour prices and a great selection of beer. Needed a blooming onion to go with the beer.
(4)
Megan B.
So, the beginning of this adventure really sucked and would have deserved a 1 star, but I really would like to praise management of how they handled our situation. We had a fairly large party (11) and we called 3 days ahead of time to make "call ahead seating" for 7:30pm. When we got there, the hostess let me know that there was a large party dining that they were "boxing them up now" and should be about 15-20 minute wait. No problem. About 45 minutes later and several parties being seated, I went to check in to see what what the hold up was. The hostess told me that the large party had not been seated yet and that was the only section big enough to hold all 11 of us, but we could split up and be seated right away....umm....what..okay. After about 15 minutes I came back to follow up and requested to speak to a manager (the rest of the party was getting ansy, and my grandmother is disabled so she had to find a chair). The manager said that she can't regulate how much time patrons take and she can't rush them out, which is understandable, but how do you only have 'large party' seating for one table? I went back outside to consult with the party on whether to stay or go somewhere else, we decided to stay since we were still waiting for the 11th person. About 20 minutes later the manager brought us out mini-tables and 3 appetizers (shrimp, bloomin' onion, and cheesey fries) and drinks and the manager apologized for the wait. Which was pretty nice of her and very appreciated... about 25 minutes later she came back out that they were cleaning the table and we would be seated within 5 minutes, which we were. The food was great, as usual, the service was very good too. At the end when we were presented with the check, the manager came back and again apologized for the wait, gave us a $45 gift card and 6 coupons for a free appetizer and of course did not charge us for the previous appetizers or drinks. Well played captain, well played. So we were pretty relieved and not hostile at all over the ~90 minute wait. We will def be back, and that's how customer service and customer retention should be!
(4)
Ray E.
Been to one, been to them all. Nothing to see here, move along.
(2)
Matt F.
Never again......... This is a long review but definitely worth taking the time to read. My wife and I went to the New Smyrna Beach Outback tonight for the first and last time. Honestly I've always been a fan of Outback Steakhouse. The only issue I've ever had was inconsistency with food which seems to be an underlying issue at all Outbacks I've been to. When they are good, they are really good but having said that I can go in a week later and I'll get a poor meal. Nonetheless I always return because when they get it right it is very tasty. Also managment is usually on the ball and works to immediately correct the issue. Now lets talk about the New Smyrna Outback..... I have a friend who used to work in the Outback chain tell me to avoid this particular Outback restaurant but I figured, what the heck, I'll give them a shot. I'm in town so maybe they are better than I heard. Nope, my buddy was dead on with this one. First we had to wait, which isn't a big deal, I usually do have to wait at Outback. They gave me my pager and told me thirty minutes. O.K., two minutes later the pager goes off, I go to the desk and the two hostesses smile, shrug and tell me no the pager is wrong my table isn't ready. No big deal I sit down and two minutes later they tell the pager was indeed correct and we now have a table ready. I thought this was a bit odd but hey, we had a table and we only waited a few minutes. This table was in the bar which isn't a bad thing usually. Service is usually good from the bar servers and I don't mind the television and bar patrons. Thing start out great with a good appetizer but everything is downhill from there. Our meals took thirty minutes after our appetizer which wouldn't be bad if they were busy but we were eating late and half the restaurant was empty at this point. My prime rib, which I ordered, medium well was very very very well done. I went ahead and ate it since I'm not overly picky but my wife's meal was a different matter. She ordered a filet mignon medium well. It came out rare to medium rare. Blood dripping from the center. It took a few minutes but we got the servers attention and twenty minutes later my wife had a new steak. The manager asks my wife to cut into steak number two and you guessed it. The steak is again rare to medium rare. Back goes the steak for a third time. I'm done with my meal entirely now and we've been in the restaurant for an hour and a half. The third time they finally managed to get a medium on half the steak but the center portion is still bloody. We give up at this point. The manager comps my wife's meal. I personally thought he should have comped the whole dinner and I did tell him I was entirely finished by the time my wife's meal came back for a third try. To the managers credit he was apologetic but my dinner experience was still horrible. Two other issues, the cook and the server. The cook was obviously having a bad night. We could hear him screaming at the top of his lungs in the kitchen from our table. I personally learned at least half the servers names because he kept screaming their names repeatedly demanding they pick up their dinners because they are getting cold. To his credit he was right, my wife's first steak was not only rare but also ice cold. I actually began to flinch every time he screamed another name to pick up an order. Our server was competent but not particularly tactful. When we asked for the check we mentioned that our dinner tonight was not good and my wife's steak was still rare inside after three tries. She shrugged and told my wife "Your meal was comped, it doesn't really matter." and followed it with "Nobody is leaving happy tonight, not even me". Well she was right about one thing, we definitely aren't leaving happy.
Sorry, Store hours have not been updated. If you are the owner of this restaurants. Please update the store hours.
Specialities
Takes Reservations : Yes Delivery : No Take-out : Yes Accepts Credit Cards : Yes Good for Kids : Yes Good for Groups : Yes Attire : Casual Noise Level : Quiet Alcohol : Full Bar Outdoor Seating : No Has TV : Yes Waiter Service : Yes Caters : No
Brian Douglas H.
It's Outback Steakhouse. I'm not too sure why you'd need to read a review of this place, but I'll take a stab at writing one, just for the record. For those unfamiliar, Outback Steakhouse is a gigantic worldwide chain of (loosely) Australian-themed restaurants. Much like Wal-mart, the Catholic Church, and meth labs, it seems there's at least one in every midsize metropolitan area. By meth lab counts alone, Central Florida is definitely a midsize metropolitan area. Outback is where you can order something like the "Bloomin' Onion" -- an onion sliced up and deep-fried, served with some tangy dipping sauce. Yes, it's basically the same thing as Chili's "Awesome Blossom". Except on Outback's menu, it has the word "mate" at the end of the description, mate. Last month, I visited Outback with my mother, as it's one of her favorite places. She likes the "Wallaby Darned" drink (basically, a peach bellini), although I'm not too sure if she likes the drink or she just likes the name. Either way, she was happy. It was great, just like the hundred Wallaby Darneds she's had across the rest of the country. See, that's what Outback does best. You've been there before. You know the menu, you know the food, you know the experience. It's going to be fine. A few things here and there will be unique to each visit, but you can trust that it's going to be familiar. Comfortable. Reliable. Exactly the kind of place you go with your parents, grandparents, and cranky old Uncle Pete. How was the food? You're missing the point if you're reading Yelp for a review of a major chain restaurant's fare. I had a steak. It was meat. Meat is good. I also had a whiskey. Whiskey is great. Our considerate, friendly server brought me more whiskey. Food was good, drinks were good, service was good. This is what places like Outback aim for. Good. And that's absolutely what you'll get, unless something goes massively wrong, or, more likely -- you're a total asshole. Yes, you are. Probably. So, Outback. It's not a trendy chef-owned restaurant. No, they don't serve locally-farmed and sustainably-raised beef. No, they don't even have a selection of regional beers. Places like that are the antithesis of places like this. But it means you can go to an Outback in New Smyrna Beach and it'll be exactly the same as the one back home in Boston, or Seattle, or Omaha, and there's something oddly special about that.
(5)Ashley M.
Don't go until they remodel. The place smells of mildew from the old carpet. We ordered a bloomin' onion and beers and told the waitress we would wait to order our entree. She acted like this was odd, but complied. The bloomin onion was the only descent thing we had there. Our food then took forever to get to us once we did order and it was cold. We would have complained if anyone had cared enough to ask.
(2)MaryKaye S.
Friendly staff, happy hour prices and a great selection of beer. Needed a blooming onion to go with the beer.
(4)Megan B.
So, the beginning of this adventure really sucked and would have deserved a 1 star, but I really would like to praise management of how they handled our situation. We had a fairly large party (11) and we called 3 days ahead of time to make "call ahead seating" for 7:30pm. When we got there, the hostess let me know that there was a large party dining that they were "boxing them up now" and should be about 15-20 minute wait. No problem. About 45 minutes later and several parties being seated, I went to check in to see what what the hold up was. The hostess told me that the large party had not been seated yet and that was the only section big enough to hold all 11 of us, but we could split up and be seated right away....umm....what..okay. After about 15 minutes I came back to follow up and requested to speak to a manager (the rest of the party was getting ansy, and my grandmother is disabled so she had to find a chair). The manager said that she can't regulate how much time patrons take and she can't rush them out, which is understandable, but how do you only have 'large party' seating for one table? I went back outside to consult with the party on whether to stay or go somewhere else, we decided to stay since we were still waiting for the 11th person. About 20 minutes later the manager brought us out mini-tables and 3 appetizers (shrimp, bloomin' onion, and cheesey fries) and drinks and the manager apologized for the wait. Which was pretty nice of her and very appreciated... about 25 minutes later she came back out that they were cleaning the table and we would be seated within 5 minutes, which we were. The food was great, as usual, the service was very good too. At the end when we were presented with the check, the manager came back and again apologized for the wait, gave us a $45 gift card and 6 coupons for a free appetizer and of course did not charge us for the previous appetizers or drinks. Well played captain, well played. So we were pretty relieved and not hostile at all over the ~90 minute wait. We will def be back, and that's how customer service and customer retention should be!
(4)Ray E.
Been to one, been to them all. Nothing to see here, move along.
(2)Matt F.
Never again......... This is a long review but definitely worth taking the time to read. My wife and I went to the New Smyrna Beach Outback tonight for the first and last time. Honestly I've always been a fan of Outback Steakhouse. The only issue I've ever had was inconsistency with food which seems to be an underlying issue at all Outbacks I've been to. When they are good, they are really good but having said that I can go in a week later and I'll get a poor meal. Nonetheless I always return because when they get it right it is very tasty. Also managment is usually on the ball and works to immediately correct the issue. Now lets talk about the New Smyrna Outback..... I have a friend who used to work in the Outback chain tell me to avoid this particular Outback restaurant but I figured, what the heck, I'll give them a shot. I'm in town so maybe they are better than I heard. Nope, my buddy was dead on with this one. First we had to wait, which isn't a big deal, I usually do have to wait at Outback. They gave me my pager and told me thirty minutes. O.K., two minutes later the pager goes off, I go to the desk and the two hostesses smile, shrug and tell me no the pager is wrong my table isn't ready. No big deal I sit down and two minutes later they tell the pager was indeed correct and we now have a table ready. I thought this was a bit odd but hey, we had a table and we only waited a few minutes. This table was in the bar which isn't a bad thing usually. Service is usually good from the bar servers and I don't mind the television and bar patrons. Thing start out great with a good appetizer but everything is downhill from there. Our meals took thirty minutes after our appetizer which wouldn't be bad if they were busy but we were eating late and half the restaurant was empty at this point. My prime rib, which I ordered, medium well was very very very well done. I went ahead and ate it since I'm not overly picky but my wife's meal was a different matter. She ordered a filet mignon medium well. It came out rare to medium rare. Blood dripping from the center. It took a few minutes but we got the servers attention and twenty minutes later my wife had a new steak. The manager asks my wife to cut into steak number two and you guessed it. The steak is again rare to medium rare. Back goes the steak for a third time. I'm done with my meal entirely now and we've been in the restaurant for an hour and a half. The third time they finally managed to get a medium on half the steak but the center portion is still bloody. We give up at this point. The manager comps my wife's meal. I personally thought he should have comped the whole dinner and I did tell him I was entirely finished by the time my wife's meal came back for a third try. To the managers credit he was apologetic but my dinner experience was still horrible. Two other issues, the cook and the server. The cook was obviously having a bad night. We could hear him screaming at the top of his lungs in the kitchen from our table. I personally learned at least half the servers names because he kept screaming their names repeatedly demanding they pick up their dinners because they are getting cold. To his credit he was right, my wife's first steak was not only rare but also ice cold. I actually began to flinch every time he screamed another name to pick up an order. Our server was competent but not particularly tactful. When we asked for the check we mentioned that our dinner tonight was not good and my wife's steak was still rare inside after three tries. She shrugged and told my wife "Your meal was comped, it doesn't really matter." and followed it with "Nobody is leaving happy tonight, not even me". Well she was right about one thing, we definitely aren't leaving happy.
(1)