r/mildlyinfuriating • u/Savage_Mindset • Aug 22 '26

Do u dont wanna A restaurant tried to pull a switch-a-roo on the type of meat I was served.

So a group of us went to a local popular American chain steakhouse restaurant and all ordered different dishes. I ordered a filet, when my food arrived, I thought the steak looked more like a sirloin than a filet.

Upon taking my first bite it was chewy and not buttery like a filet. It was supposed to be an 8oz filet, it was more like 12oz sirloin, 2nd bite confirmed it was definitely not a filet.

I must’ve been visibly upset because the manager walked over and asked if everything was ok, to which I questioned the cut. She said it was a filet (but I think she went based on the toppings that are only offered on the filet). I said hmm ok, I guess.

She offered to switch it if I was not happy, I said it was fine, however, she insisted, so I accepted.. The second steak was a filet, appearance, taste and texture.. only the cook made it EXTRA peppery for me.. jokes on them I appreciated the extra pepper :)

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1.5k

u/Ok-Addition1264 Aug 22 '26

Outback Steakhouse?

They pulled that shit on my 90-year-old father: a chef for like 70+ years.

We took my daughter, her college roomate, pops, and I.. my daughter and I ordered a filet, her roomate and father something chicken. My daughter received a SIRLOIN same proportions you mentioned and I received the filet.

Was a piss-off as they weren't going to make it right at first.

678

u/Savage_Mindset Aug 22 '26

It was outback, sigh.. guess it’s common

308

u/piecuriosity Aug 22 '26

Outback has always been terrible. It’s just Applebees with an Australian accent.

72

u/CrotalusHorridus Aug 23 '26

Not always. They were good in the 90s and early 00s

Then private equity got involved with their parent company. And a lot of franchises are also owned by PE

16

u/NightsThyroid Aug 23 '26

Private equity ruins everything once again.

26

u/KvellOnWheels Aug 23 '26

I am so disappointed in them. I worked at Outbacks within three hours of home office in college in the early aughts.

Everything was made in house down to the dressing and the croutons.

They SUCK now.

7

u/PerriwinklePortal Aug 23 '26

I know private equity is deservedly run through the mud lately, but I will say that the 2008 recession is where a lot of restaurants were on the brink of shutting down operations.

They were then bought out by larger food concerns, continued to stay open, but yes, they were a shadow of themselves. Food quality, portions, service all pretty much halved almost overnight.

Maybe it would have been better to let them all close to see what rose up out of the ashes. Instead we have plastic bread bowls at Olive Garden, inedible burgers at Chili’s, and friggin’ sirloin in place of filet mignon.

3

u/newyne Aug 23 '26

It depends on the location, too; it's a franchise, and I like the one I work at fine.

8

u/GrimCreeper913 Aug 23 '26

Was my first real job at 15, maybe 2005 or so. I can confirm, it used to be quality. In my area they were all owned by Darden, who owned most all of the Outbacks, Red Lobsters, and Olive Gardens. Olive Garden was definitely always meh, but the others were great.

3

u/KvellOnWheels Aug 23 '26

I’m not trying to be a pedant and it’s possible that they’ve switched ownership and been bought out. Darden did own Olive Garden and Red Lobster. But OSI owned Outback, Carrabbas, Bonefish…I think Margarita Grill, too?

2

u/According_Gazelle472 Aug 23 '26

P e got involved in Chickfila and gutted the whole place ,took out the play place and added a skeleton staff.We were the only ones eating there one Friday and the place was empty .It used to be so packed all the time .

2

u/KOExpress Aug 23 '26

Must just be yours, my local ones still have playgrounds and are packed (and locally owned). I didn’t think Chick-fil-A allowed PE to own locations tbh

1

u/According_Gazelle472 Aug 24 '26

They were bought out in 2023 and remodeled the whole place .

-4

u/Snakend Aug 23 '26

They were never good, they were just slightly above fast food. The USA just didn't know what fine dining was in the 90s and 00s.

7

u/Savage_Mindset Aug 23 '26

Story time, the last time my wife and I went to apple bees we enjoyed the appetizer, we enjoyed our main course and even went for dessert which was unusual for us.. it was all so delicious..

We get our bill and while we’re waiting at the table for our server to take the check, the girl who was going to clean walked by our table in the bucket dark black dirty water, she proceeded to clean the doors with the rag, then the floors in front of the doors..

We were grossed out at how dark the water was when she walked by us, but here is where it gets worse..

As we pay and are about to leave she proceeds to a table that had just gotten up shortly before and using the same rag wiped down the table… That was the last time we went there.

3

u/JurassicPrick Aug 24 '26

That explains why every Applebee's smells like a dirty mop.

1

u/According_Gazelle472 Aug 24 '26

They padlocked the Applebee's in my town and didn’t tell the workers or customers .It was even on the local news too!

1

u/Savage_Mindset Aug 24 '26

Too many places do, it’s honestly disappointing.

4

u/JWils411 Aug 23 '26

Wow, I've had many pretty much perfect experiences at Outback over the years. Always terrible? Yeah, no, I'll have to disagree with you there.

44

u/Altruistic-Sir5229 Aug 22 '26

Not even Australian. American chain.

96

u/piecuriosity Aug 22 '26

That’s why I said “with an accent” and not “Australian Applebees”.

11

u/Hot-Frosting-5286 Aug 23 '26

Yes, and the accent is a badly done mockery because the menu has nothing to do with Australian food

9

u/FlattopJr Aug 23 '26

You're telling me the Bloomin' Onion is not standard bush tucker!?

https://giphy.com/gifs/9rjM0arqntl1n2Un3M

3

u/Hot-Frosting-5286 Aug 23 '26

I will say, I do enjoy me some bloomin onion lol

4

u/knewleefe Aug 23 '26

Not even roo, just "switch-a-roo".

1

u/Vitese Aug 23 '26

What you are telling me? Blooming onions aren't a flowering fruit grown over there and hand picked then fried like that straight from Australia?

0

u/HereWeFuckingGooo Aug 23 '26

Australian accent by Randy Quaid.

5

u/OnionDart Aug 23 '26

Yeah well, I’m in Australia, America… Australia, Ameri…. OWWW

1

u/yellow251 Aug 23 '26

jesus christ. whooooosh

0

u/anrwlias Aug 23 '26 edited Aug 25 '26

The really wild thing is that they have Outback restaurants in literal Australia.

Edit: Its true. Look it up.

0

u/Sufficient-Page-875 Aug 23 '26

Florida if I remember right.

1

u/Searcach Aug 23 '26

Outback used to be a real pleasure for me. But the last few times I’ve gone, the prices have been so much higher and the quality of the food so much lower that I’ve stopped going. If I want steak now, I’ll go to Texas Roadhouse although their sides and salads are not what I really love (they’re great, I just miss the old Outback salads,especially). And I used to love Applebee’s — after my last experience (they barely remembered to take the Alfredo out of the plastic bag to microwave it, I swear)…never again.

0

u/Chrisf1020 Aug 23 '26

You go to Outback when you’re craving a bloomin onion, not a steak. What the hell

124

u/MommotDe Aug 22 '26

My mom, Nebraska state 4H meat judging champion, was served a “filet” at Outback that was filet size and shape, but was not a filet. Our family never set foot in Outback again.

24

u/llcolinj Aug 23 '26

I'm sorry she was the meat judging champion? Like she won the award for judging meat the best?

7

u/Away-Squirrel2881 Aug 23 '26

"This tastes like the cow got into an onion patch"

"Correct"

3

u/PisceanTreasures Aug 23 '26

Gimme some of your tots . . . 🤣

3

u/Responsible-Summer81 Aug 23 '26

I’m not the person who commented, but yes. 4H teaches kids how to judge meat and animals/grade them for quality or whatever, and then the kids compete in “judging competitions” and get awards for judging the best. 

5

u/ImOnlyHereForTheCoC Aug 23 '26

The original run of King of the Hill ended with Bobby kicking ass at a junior meat judging contest!

8

u/Ding-Dong-Dutch Aug 23 '26

They call it dick rating on of streams

12

u/Rare-Adhesiveness522 Aug 23 '26

I mean, are you going to Outback for a culinary experience? lol

11

u/CrotalusHorridus Aug 23 '26

I mean, it’s the Olive Garden of steakhouses.

As far as chains go, Texas Roadhouse is honestly one of the better ones

2

u/According_Gazelle472 Aug 23 '26

But they don't open until 3 each day and people wait in the parking lot to rush into the restaurant to eat dinner that early. I still have 2 gift cards for that place I got on Mother's day .

29

u/EarlyBirdWithAWorm Aug 22 '26

Even if it's the right cut outback rarely gets the temp correct. I just stopped giving them my business

35

u/Bichqween Aug 22 '26

THIS. My husband ordered his steak medium and it came out BLUE. Not rare, straight up raw and still cold! When we asked if it could be cooked a little more the waitress rudely told us "lots of people LIKE it that way!" I explained that while that might be true, we ORDERED it medium, how WE like it. Offered to take the appetizer off our bill instead of making the steak right. Never going back.

19

u/Equivalent-Sink4612 Aug 22 '26

Wait, so...they didn't fix it??? And you paid your bill and just accepted it? Sorry if it sounds like im blaming you, just wondering the outcome. Im never going back to Outback, either (ordered ribeyes, supposed to be the most flavorful, juicy steak, and they charge accordingly- only they didn't render ANY- and I mean ANY- of the fat- so it was a little bit of meat with giant globs of fat, so gross).

1

u/Bichqween Aug 23 '26

Didn't fix it! He's Canadian so he's too nice by default LOL. I just asked to box it up so we could actually cook it at home. Terrible.

11

u/Rare-Adhesiveness522 Aug 23 '26

Thats actually wild that they didn't fix the meat. Thats the whole reason people go??? Also the waitress isn't the one having to cook it?? wtaf

Adjusting the doneness isn't even that rare in restaurants....people make mistakes, they don't know what they ordered etc...it's not that big of a deal.

If it was a totally different cut I'd probably just deal with it or ask for a discount but if it's undercooked....like I dont care how shitty the restaurant is I don't want e coli lol

5

u/siazdghw Aug 23 '26

Last time I went, I ordered a philly cheesesteak. They couldn't even cook that properly, parts were still raw and that's a million times easier to cook as there is no center to the meat, its nearly impossible to serve it under done unless you're blind. Like I seriously don't know how they could've cooked it so badly.

4

u/Short_Sky_9145 Aug 23 '26

Not outback but Texas Roadhouse. They have these table tablets for you to pay at the table. Well our bill was like 14$ for 30 ounce prime, a steak and rice dish with two apps and a few drinks. Obviously it was wrong and being in the industry my wife and I had to say something.

The server said it was probably the bill from the table before us. Well they comped half our meal anyways. We left a generous tip and they offered us a job lol.

It was good dinner.

5

u/wallflowerwolf Aug 23 '26

The only time I’ve ever had to send food back was a steak at Outback lol

3

u/RainMakerJMR Aug 23 '26

The steaks when you’re cooking them do look similar enough that I wouldn’t be suprised if a less experienced 1-2 year grill cook simply mixed them up. Someone probably ordered a sirloin and got a filet as well. It was probably an honest mistake tbf

2

u/mcad0o Aug 22 '26

I’m curious why you didn’t say so at the outset?

1

u/montrasaur009 Aug 23 '26

Every time i've been there, they do this to me. I don't ever order steak when I go out because of this bullshit, when I can cook a better steak at home nine times out of ten. There has been one restaurant I have been to that could make a better steak than I can. That was divine. Otherwise it's just not worth it.

1

u/tacomaloki Aug 23 '26

For the future, which may not work if the manager is eyeing you like a hawk here, over salt your meal if you plan on sending it back. If it comes back insanely salty, they didn't remake it.

1

u/spyd3rm0nki3 Aug 24 '26

Question: While I'm glad you revealed the name of the chain in the comments, why not include the restaurants name in the original post details?

2

u/Savage_Mindset Aug 24 '26

I didn’t want to name drop them, that wasn’t the intent behind the post. I only confirmed it because of how many people it’s happened to at this chain.

53

u/Ehimherenow Aug 22 '26

It is seriously alarming how many people independently knew where this was

-1

u/StreetofChimes Aug 23 '26

Why do people eat at chain restaurants and then act surprised when they are shit? 

41

u/CryoClone Aug 23 '26

You mentioning your chef father made me think of my dad who was a butcher in his youth.

Similar situation where the waiter was serving us steaks. We were in a booth so my food had to be handed to me. The waiter passed it to my mother but it passed my father's eyes and he went "Nope. Not what he ordered."

I was like...ten. I would have never known the difference. I asked how he could tell.the difference and he just said, "Not sure. I could just tell it wasn't right."

5

u/CitizenCue Aug 22 '26

That’s just lazy. Don’t give the same table two different things so they can compare.

1

u/Rare-Adhesiveness522 Aug 23 '26

If there is a cost difference I'd rather just get the check deducted than make a big fuss, but hey as a paying customer you have the right to get what you ordered, I get it.

1

u/g-macc Aug 23 '26

In high school I once ordered a chopped steak at outback. It came out seared on the outside and completely raw in the center. I called over the waiter and he told me that’s what I asked for…. I have never eaten a blue steak in my life at that point and he said look if you want I’ll have them refire. I felt like I had no choice but didn’t want to send it back

1

u/WarC0mmander Aug 23 '26

The same thing happened to me back in the early 2000s at an Outback.  Family birthday dinner for my father.  My dad loved filets, and knew immediately.  Once he pointed it out, i realized they had done the same to mine.  They remade his and comped mine.

1

u/mx023 Aug 23 '26

Geeez that must be miserable. EVERY family outing I bet he has something to say lol

0

u/badbuddaboy Aug 23 '26

Wtf! Why people going to chain steakhouses anyway? Find a real independent quality steakhouse. Since i live in Chicago guess thats much easier than small towns or suburbs. I wouldnt order a filet at an Outback, wouldnt bother to go to an Outback if alternative existed, certainly wouldnt order a fillet almost anywhere anyway.