Outback Steak House

Vicaris Fernando

2.0

I don’t recall having ever eaten at Outback Steakhouse before, even though it has been around for more than a decade. My Dad who has pretty conventional taste usually shrugs off my suggestions to try it out, but he eventually relented in the form of availing an internet coupon for some Toowoomba Topped Fillet.We went to the Libis branch on the recent long weekend’s Tuesday night, where there were about 3 or 4 other tables occupied. It was a quiet dinner, and we noticed that some of the other customers were also having the Toowoomba.The bread came in a chopping board with some whipped butter. It looked like rye bread and was a little sweet. The same goes for the butter, which tastes like buttercream frosting. I prefer my bread and butter salty, so I usually administer a pinch or two from the salt shaker if the server gives me sweet or unsalted butter.For starters, we went with the Combination Appetizer plate (P599). It’s a sampler of Kookaburra Wings, Aussie Cheese Fries, and their Crispy Calamari with their respective sauces (bleu cheese, marinara, and I think it was some sort of ranch dip?). The bleu cheese was pleasantly creamy, but not too intense and there was a single chunk of cheese at the bottom. I once had a bleu cheese dip from a different restaurant that had so many thick globs of the cheese that it overpowered anything you could pair it with.The calamari, though sliced thinly, was a bit on the rubbery side. It’s not strictly squid rings. You get some tentacles too. The fries and wings were okay.We called for some Soup of the Day (P129 for a Cup for 1; and P179 for a Bowl you can share), which happened to be Potato Soup at the time. It was tasty enough, but thick as hell. There were chunks of potato scattered around, and I ate my share of the soup with a fork. I’m not joking.Soup of the DayThen, the much-awaited Toowoomba Topped Fillet arrived. The steak was tender, and the sauce I liked. It’s tomato cream with shrimp, so it’ll work well with pasta noodles too. (Yes, I like to mix my red and white sauces. The cream really cuts the acids of the tomatoes.) There was a scoop of rustic mashed potato (potato bits and all), which I would have preferred with some gravy or sauce. I even got the remaining bleu cheese dip from the appetizer plate to eat with my potatoes. –That’s me, Saucy McSauce.Veggies were also on the plate, thought they were raw and sliced thickly that I had a tough time chewing. Ang kunat!The serving sizes are satisfyingly big, but perhaps some tweaking is needed to make certain components of each dish better (calamari, raw veg, and the thickness of the soup). Negative points for each dish means that we didn’t get a single perfect plate of food that night, which reminds me of Goldilocks trying to find the right bowl of porridge. I’m just saying…

Jessica Sthefany

5.0

If I can only eat nonstop, I would have! My son had the outback special (at medium well) since it's free for the graduates. He got his coupon from school so what choice do us parents have right? ( Smart marketing!) anyway it was spot on! Perfectly seared outside and pink inside, seasoned well, he enjoyed it! Me and my husband shared a plate of sirloin and ribs. Our steak was cooked perfectly at medium. It's YUM! I have tried a lot of steakhouses and only a few made me say whoop whoop! (We make great steaks at home so...yeah!) Outback I gotta say is one of the great ones, so Whoop whoop! For appetizers, we had the kookaburra wings, they were perfect as well, still juicy and soft inside. We also had the seared ahi which made me dance a little bit on my chair! What made the 5 point rate is their love for kids! They have a play area and I'm not sure if they do it all the time but my kids got free ice creams! So that's a quadruple Whoop Whoop there! All in all, this is one happy place that's worth your bucks!

Maelapastora

3.0

The place is very cozy. It's nice that they created a small space for the kids to play and watch a movie. Good food, big servings. Ideal for family day.