This place exceeded my expectations. I'd be happy to return, given some serious scheduling guardrails.
I've only been to a Texas Roadhouse once before, when the franchise first opened in this city (probably 25 years ago). It was fine, blah with meh food and peanut shells being thrown on the floor.
A relative wanted to return for a birthday, with a group of 8. At prime dining time. Ordinarily not something I'd buy into, but I went and it was just fine because of Texas Roadhouse's organization and systems. We called in advance (group larger than 6) and were told to just let the people up front know when the entire group arrived. My wife and I got there crackling early (as we are wont to do), well before anyone else. After inquiring and finding the friendly and sympathetic Texas Roadhouse folks absolutely would not seat us until the whole crowd had arrived, we initially sat/stood by the front doors - the slamming drove me away, first standing outside and then later to the perfectly comfortable and accommodating bar area.
A beer sure made it easier to wait until everyone arrived. Man, and that bar staff was friendly and efficient. Pricing was as expected and - hey - I was sitting down with a beer and not on a bench with a door slamming next to me every ten seconds.
Incidentally, Texas Roadhouse's atmosphere presents a little more on the "regular folks" side, and it shows in the (enormous) crowd who show up. Pricing seemed a bit better than the Longhorn Steakhouse chain, but - not that Longhorn is in any way snooty or even upscale - the TR ambiance was definitely a touch more downmarket.
But who cares? These people were pros. When our crew arrived, they had us all seated within five minutes - wow. (Because it was a MADHOUSE of customers out front by that time.) And - boom - there's our server (cheers, Dana - thanks for taking such great care of us) and boom, there are our drinks and apps and bread and, just a tiny bit after that, our mains.
The tables could have been bussed a bit more effectively before we sat (there were cloth napkins under our bench table from previous diners) and they were littered with table tents and cocktail menus and electronic game/payment points that I just moved to the wall between booths to give us space. Our servers and bussers cleared away dishes, glasses and tableware in a flash when they had served their purpose, bringing more drinks and plates and bread in another flash. All with a big, genuine friendliness. Wow. Great experience, on the service end - especially when you noted how many other tables were receiving the same great service.
It was LOUD with the music and the crowd, but perfectly engineered to allow conversation within our booth even with all the noise and chaos going on around us.
Now let's talk about the food: I tend to only get steak in nonchain places, but this time I went ahead and got a cut-that-morning 16-oz Texas Roadhouse ribeye - and it was just fine. Larger than advertised, for sure. Cooked perhaps a little lighter than the medium-rare I'd requested (but better under than over, eh?) but tender (preliminary sous vide prior to sear? - that would be my bet) and tasty, served with two perfectly fine sides (with quite a variety of sides from which to choose). I'm a big eater, and I was contentedly full. And it was (in this day and age) remarkably inexpensive.
In fact, the entire table's drinks and beverages (we grabbed the check) totaled a whole lot less than expected. Payment was easy with the electronic tabletop paypoint that I retrieved from the wall at the top of the booth after eating, and we were happy to tip heavier than asked for the great service we'd experienced. Boxes were brought quickly and smilingly for those who didn't finish the reasonably impressive portions they'd been served.
Now (for grumpy, crowd-hating retirees like myself who have wives who take home half their meal in a box: I benefited in being able to try the steak kebabs over rice, which were tender and tasty), be aware there's an Early Bird menu. I'd totally get the one-pound ribeye again.
Okay: the food was tastier and lower priced than expected. (I'm not saying it's a great steak, but it was a solidly _good_ one; I didn't regret one bite of anything I ate at Texas Roadhouse.) Bev pricing was as expected, maybe a little on the low side. The room is loud chaos due to the popularity of the place. It was pretty clean, but a crowd makes a mess (same holds for the restroom), so they were fighting as best as they could. Service was fantastic, uniformly - to an extent that is remarkable for a chain place.
Honestly - I'm surprised to say this - I'd be happy to return, but I'd darn sure want to do it at an off-peak time. read more