Longhorn Steakhouse- A Review

Somehow I have never been very enthusiastic about visiting Steakhouses anywhere as I don’t eat steaks per se. Just over a fortnight back, my dear friend and his wife suggested that we visit Longhorn Steakhouse, they had good things to say about it. While they are Europeans (Dutch & British) and enjoy steaks, I was skeptical but my zeal for trying out a new restaurant was overwhelming and I agreed.

When we had visited Orlando in Florida some years back I had driven past Longhorn and  a few months back came across this one in Riyadh when we had gone for dinner to Red Lobster another American Chain which is right next to it.

 

Longhorn Steakhouse was a pleasant surprise and loved it so much that I visited yet again with a separate set of friends the following weekend. They loved it too! I did not eat any steaks on both visits as I don’t eat beef but everything else that we ordered was a dream.

 

Well, you must begin your meal with their House Chips & Dips. They are freshly made and served  hot, with a lovely dip. The chips are sprinkled with some dried herbs which give it a distinct taste and aroma. This coupled with their signature barbeque dip just disappear in the rumbling tummy before you bat your eyelids.  They serve hot, crisp country bread with some butter which is complimentary. The problem with us hungry souls is that we are unable to resist anything served hot especially when we are famished.

 

House chips & yum dip served hot!

To quench our thirst in my first visit I did order the iced lemon tea and in my 2^nd visit we ordered 2 kinds of margaritas. The Strawberry margarita won hands down.  Mammoth glass, fresh  strawberries used and great to taste.

 



Strawberry Margarita- refreshing !



 

 

Other margarita ! Did not meet my desire...

Literally mouth-watering isn't it?

 

For the mains, we ordered trout fish which is served with your choice of a salad (we chose the Caesars) and sides- we ordered some jacket steamed potato served with cream. You could also choose the regular veg salad instead of Caesars and for sides there is a choice of french fries, grilled vegetables etc.



Trout with jacket potato

 

They serve 2 fillets of trout both of good size in one portion and can be shared by people. Trout is a fresh water fish and usually found in cool (10–16 °C), clear streams and lakes.  The fish does not smell and I love it. I had my share of it when we were visiting Cyprus a few years back. The herbs that are used are subtle and leave a delicate lingering taste on your taste buds, do squeeze some lime generously.

We also ordered some chicken with portabella mushrooms, the portion again was generous, the fillets perhaps tad thicker than desired but the accompanying sauce was superb. We had ordered some mashed herbed potatoes as sides with this dish.



Portabello Mushroom with Chicken and mashed potato

Two of my friends ordered a steak -well done. Their verdict was also similar. Good portion and high on taste.

 

 

Foodies like us cannot stay away from sugar and desserts isn't it? So we ordered the dessert sampler, which the four of us could not polish off although it was delicious. The apple was pie served with icecream, strawberry cheese cake, molten lave cake with cream. Paradiso ! Ambrosia..

Dessert sampler

Now, finally to the price. For the ambience, portions and quality, I would rate it a great value for money restaurant. We were not disappointed.

 

Yes, we will go again...

 
(Photo Credits : Kappiarath Muralidharan)