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The Dublin Outback Steakhouse features all-day $14.99 3-course meal specials, and new bb.q Chicken a block away has $14.99 Lunch Combos.
Dining out can mean satisfying hunger or enjoying a social occasion. Sometimes eating out calls for a value meal or simply having fun. Outback Steakhouse fits the bill for both good times and a bargain. During a summer Outback dinner with our young family in Colorado Springs, the kids thought pouring red syrup out of a toy shark’s mouth into their Sharkey Temples was cool—they had seen it on TikTok. Given that the restaurant chain was celebrating the 50th anniversary of Jaws the movie, I joined the celebration, ordered an Aussie JAWSsie vodka drink. and bequeathed the shark to the three-year-old.
The name for adults like me who recognize the marketing ploy of presenting entertainment-themed collectibles but smile anyway is “kidult.” I contacted Outback headquarters about how the shark-themed drinks splashed onto the menu. Becky Boyd, the Outback Head of Food and Innovation, replied that they wanted to add an interactive element to the meal with the unusual grenadine pour creating excitement at the table.
Having visited Australia and dined at the Tri-Valley’s Dublin Outback before, I knew that authentic meat pies and Anza biscuits were not on the menu. But the Fried Mozzarella Bloomerangs with marinara sauce were new to me as was the latest cheese pull TikTok craze which the two oldest girls happily demonstrated. The spelling of “bloomerang” and not “boomerang,” the Australian tool, is correct because the breading contains the same seasoning as the well-known Outback Bloomin’ Onion appetizer.
From fast casual chains like the bb.q Chicken, a block away from full-service restaurant Outback, eateries are sparring to serve the best value packages.
The special promotion available at Outback is the “Aussie 3-Course Meal” available all day with soup or salad, choice of entrée, a small loaf of bread, and cheesecake at various price points starting at $14.99.”This is the best deal we have ever had and over half of my customers order it,” said server Kristina S. who has worked at Outback Dublin for 13 years. I ordered a salad, Bloomin’ Burger with lettuce, tomato, pickles, cheese, Bloom sauce, and Bloom petals (pieces), plus a healthy portion of steamed broccoli, and cheesecake for $14.99.
Other choices for the $14.99 special include baked potato soup or Caesar salad and Gold Coast Coconut Shrimp, Crispy Fried Shrimp, or Grilled Shrimp on the Barbie. The higher cost, three-course meals list entrées ranging from a six-ounce sirloin to a half rack of Outback Ribs and Toowoomba Salmon with shrimp in a Creole sauce.
The regular Outback menu features six signature cuts of steak such as seared filet mignon, show roasted prime rib, and charred bone-in ribeye. There are many combo options with steak, chicken and shrimp, plus ahi tuna and entrée salads. Along with sides such as fries, baked or sweet potato, rice or veggies, premium sides include all-steak Tasmanian Chili and bloom petals.
The Bloomin’ Onion merits its own plaque above the reception desk and is called “the original” because other chains menu similar items. Outback’s 16-ounce onions are cut in-house with a tool which creates the blooms that one can “pluck.”
Outback’s cheesecake is dense and rich. The Chocolate Thunder from Down Under delighted Ellianna in Colorado because, she said, “The pecan brownie was warm with lots of cool, creamy things.”
Outback presents an Australian geography lesson. For example, the Gold Coast and Toowoomba are in the northeastern state of Queensland. The founders of Outback, though, were four Americans who launched the Tampa based company in 1988. The founders’ restaurant business blossomed into the Bloomin’ Brands portfolio which also includes Bonefish Grill, Carrabba’s Italian Grill, and Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse.
The Dublin location opened in a prime location at the Interstate 580 / 680 interchange in September 1998. Three months later, a much revered, veteran Alameda County Deputy Sheriff was ambushed and killed during an attempted robbery at the new Outback; the perpetrators were soon apprehended. Driving north on I 680, you will find a one-mile stretch from the I 580 interchange to Acosta Blvd. named Officer John Paul Monego Memorial Highway honoring the first law officer to die in the line of duty in Dublin.
Dublin has changed dramatically in 27 years. An apartment complex sprung up next to Outback and another is under construction nearby. On a recent Saturday evening, guests experienced a short wait for tables, and the bar was full. There is an All-American wine list, many beers including Sydney Aussie Lager, and a wide range of cocktails. The rum-based Koala Punch is topped with a koala-featured rubber duck collectible.
Outback Managing Partner Margarita Senguiz in Dublin noted that interior upgrades are underway. “The bar area is renovated, and we added new wood paneling, Australian themed décor, and flooring with more upgrades on the horizon.”
Located a block from Outback with a $14.99 Lunch Combo, bb.q Chicken is a fast casual, Korean barbecue chain restaurant. Launched in Seoul in 1995, bb.q Chicken made its U.S. debut in 2006 and opened in Dublin in June 2025 near the upcoming H Mart pan-Asian market.
Since I had recently enjoyed the $14.99 three-course lunch at Outback, I ordered a Lunch Combo with soy garlic boneless wings, rice, pickled daikon radish, and a soda. The food took longer than expected to arrive on a quiet afternoon. I learned that the cooked-to-order poultry is hand battered and fried in olive oil at low temperatures which takes time to create the thick, crispy crust. The wall mural depicts the eight different sauces from mild Golden Original to spicy Gangnam to pair with the whole chicken or boneless wings. There are also rice bowl combos and “Western Specials” such as pasta.
Back to Outback, where else can you stand under a painting with Australian flag on a beach cabin wearing shark earrings? Next question: When is the next Outback collectible arriving? Perhaps when another seasonal menu is dropped.
