“Did the Taste Change?”… Outback Announces Legal Action Against Malicious Rumors

Outback Steak

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Hyewon] ‘Outback Steakhouse’ (hereafter Outback), operated by bhc Group, announced on the 16th that it will take strong legal action against malicious posts recently circulating online.

According to industry sources on the day, a post titled ‘The Current Status of Outback’ was recently posted on an online community, attracting attention. The author claimed, “Since bhc acquired Outback, the quality of the food has declined and prices have increased.” Along with photos of Outback food, the author criticized, saying, “Cheese sticks have replaced the Oji Cheese Fries that appeared on Give Me Five,” and “The shrimp in Toowoomba Pasta has been replaced with cocktail shrimp.”

In response, Outback stated that since being acquired by bhc Group, the menu ingredients and recipes have been maintained as they were.

Regarding the criticism that cheese sticks are being served instead of the Oji Cheese Fries featured on Give Me Five, Outback explained that due to recent global difficulties in securing potatoes, they are making multifaceted efforts to stock supplies, but due to unstable supply, cheese sticks are being temporarily provided.

Additionally, since the cost of cheese sticks is higher than that of the original Oji Cheese Fries, Outback dismissed the online claims of cost-cutting as completely unfounded falsehoods, and stated that the original menu will be restored immediately once supply stabilizes.

Outback also refuted the claim that the shrimp in Toowoomba Pasta has been changed to cocktail shrimp as entirely baseless and malicious. They confirmed that the same shrimp used before the acquisition is still being used, and there have been no changes to the menu or recipes.

The claim that the cooking method for Baby Back Ribs has changed from grilling to microwave is also absurd, and Outback emphasized that there is absolutely no reason to change the chargrill cooking method going forward.

Meanwhile, Outback has been pursuing a premium strategy under the title of a ‘steak specialty restaurant.’ After the private equity fund ‘Skylake’ acquired Outback in 2016, it developed signature menus such as T-bone steak and Toowoomba pasta, expanded delivery services, and recorded sales approaching 400 billion KRW last year.