We were in Martinsburg visiting my uncle, and a friend of his recommended Logan's Roadhouse. Upon…read morewalking in, the vibe immediately gave me a mashup of Outback Steakhouse and Texas Roadhouse. Unfortunately, the food gave neither.
Our family of five started with strawberry lemonades and ginger ales. The lemonades were overly sweet and had a strange taste, so we weren't off to the best start.
For appetizers, we ordered the onion rings and spinach dip. We expected the onion rings to be thinner, almost like a Bloomin' Onion, but that was our own expectation. Still, getting only about 8-10 thick onion rings felt a little underwhelming. The spinach dip was even more disappointing. It was soupy and extremely bland. We tried doctoring it up with salt and pepper, but there was no saving it.
Then came the entrées...
Beer-Battered Fish: Technically cod, but it was mostly batter with a few flakes of fish inside. The string beans tasted frozen or canned with some seasoning added. They were just okay. The baked apples, however, were good!
6 oz. Steak: This came with broccoli and a baked potato, plus an added order of crab cakes. The steak and sides were good! The crab cakes? Absolutely not. They tasted like imitation crab and were easily one of the worst things on the table.
Rack of Ribs: Finally, a winner! The ribs, fries and salad were all good, which wasn't too surprising since Logan's seems to specialize in ribs and steaks.
Cajun Chicken & Sausage Pasta: Very bland, Cajun where? The chicken was overcooked and the sausage seemed a bit undercooked. The Caesar salad wasn't much better because the dressing didn't taste like Caesar at all. It was oddly sweet, almost like coleslaw dressing. She couldn't eat the meal and eventually switched to the burger sliders with fries, which were much better.
Salmon & Shrimp: I ordered the salmon and shrimp topped with a "spinach cream sauce" over mashed potatoes, with broccoli and string beans on the side. The salmon was a little overcooked, but the shrimp were grilled perfectly! The broccoli was steamed perfectly too, just bland, so I asked for warm butter and added salt and pepper myself.
And that "spinach cream sauce"? Baby, that was the SAME spinach dip from the appetizer. I'm convinced! The mashed potatoes were decent, and the string beans got the same review as the first order.
Service was decent. Our server, John, wasn't particularly warm or attentive, but he did his job. Once our food arrived, though, we didn't see him for quite a while and eventually had to flag him down to have the pasta replaced.
The restaurant itself is huge with a large bar area, elevated booths and traditional tables, so I could definitely see it working well for large groups. Prices were comparable to Outback or Texas Roadhouse, but unfortunately, the quality of most of our food didn't match the price point.
Overall, the steaks and ribs seem to be the safest bets here. Everything else was very hit or miss, with far more misses at our table.
I'll also add that I'm generally not a chain restaurant girl, but after this meal, I genuinely would've preferred the Olive Garden or Chili's right down the road. And if you know me, you know that's saying A LOT because you would never catch me choosing either one while I'm home in the DMV!
Needless to say, when we're back in Martinsburg visiting my uncle, Logan's will not be making the itinerary.