Longhorn Steakhouse - the best steaks in Orlando?

Out with some friends one evening and involved in the usual debate of ‘Where shall we eat’ ‘ Too much choice’ and all wanting something different for a meal, we came across the LongHorn Steakhouse on Highway 192, close to the junction of SR535. OK, it’s billed as a steakhouse but the menu would hopefully satisfy anyone’s food choices.

The first thing we noticed about the restaurant was that the car park was full – surely a sign that there was good food on offer. The inside of the restaurant was a trip to the Wild West! Done out like a huge log cabin, Stetsons, lassoes, horse reins, and other ‘cowboy style’ items adorned the walls along with huge cow horns and, a little unsettling, the head of a steer. After a short wait for a table but managing to pass the time quite amicably at the bar, we were soon sat in a booth studying the very comprehensive menu.

The restaurant as its name suggests serves ‘legendary steaks’ but that’s only half of it. Before we had even thought about what we wanted to eat for our meals, a loaf of warm bread was brought to the table – just a little something to get the gastric juices flowing! A quick scan of the menu and the prices looked reasonable with plenty of choice for all budgets. Starters include chicken, shrimps, chilli and a ‘Texas Tonion’- a huge fried onion definitely made for sharing! On to mains and as well as the steaks, there is seafood, chops, ribs, burgers, salads, combo dishes and, above all, servings are large! Included in the price is soup or choice of a side item such as mashed or baked potato, fries, vegetables or, a first for us, – brandied cinnamon apples. It took us some time to make up our minds what to have. Everything looked good, the trays of food being carried past us to other tables looked even better!

There is a separate children’s menu which includes chicken, hot dogs and even a sirloin steak.

Two of us passed on ordering a starter having seen the overflowing plates at tables close by and were more than happy we had made the right choice when our meals were put in front of us – humungous! We were all struggling to even consider eating anything else when the waitress brought along the dessert menu. Phew! Absolutely no room left but very tempted by all things sweet, sugary and not too good for our calorie intake – check out Chocolate Stampede or Mountain Top Cheesecake - we ask her to come back to us in a little while. Fifteen minutes pass and there is not a chance of us being able to do a dessert justice – but a plan is hatched - get them to take back to the villa! Choices made and clutching our purchases – large portions naturally - we take our leave knowing full well we’ll be back before the end of our holiday for some more Western hospitality.