Outback Steakhouse Introduces New Cocktail and Mocktail in 2025, Along With a Cheese Dip

The appeal of chain restaurants is that they provide familiarity and comfort across its various restaurants, regardless of location. While there indeed can be varying levels of quality with regards to management and cooking protocols, oftentimes, menus will more or less stay the same.

So whenever a chain restaurant announces alterations to its menus, fans of these chain restaurants will take notice. This is certainly the case with Outback Steakhouse and its proposed menu changes.

The "No rules, just right" brand is known for its steaks and Bloomin' Onions, but a few new additions to its menu give diners some other options when they're going out to eat.

Customers can order a new three-cheese spinach dip that contains layers of spinach, mozzarella, parmesan, cream cheese, and alfredo sauce which is in a mini skillet alone with chips.

Furthermore, there's a new cocktail and mocktail folks can enjoy at the casual chain. Platypus Punch, which Newsweek says "contains Deep Eddy Grapefruit Vodka, mango and Country Style Lemonade.

And in what's probably a nod to the drink's moniker, the beverage is "served with a color-changing tea egg," Newsweek reports.

The mocktail, Puggle Splash, is basically the same drink just without the grapefruit vodka outfitted with "mango lemonade and blue tea," according to the outlet.

Vice President of the food and wine agency Colangelo & Partners, Michelle Erland, said in an interview with Newsweek that providing mocktail versions of boozy beverages allows for greater inclusivity at restaurants.

This way, diners can feel like trying a fun new item without feeling the need to get sauced. "Offering both a spirited and booze-free option ensures everyone at the table can enjoy bold flavors and the fun of discovery. It's a smart move that taps into the larger trend of beverages becoming a centerpiece of the dining experience."

The drinks will be a limited-time offer, as is often the case with seasonal items offered at restaurants. It's a strategy that Alex Beene, a University of Tennessee at Martin finance professor, suggests that restaurants could employ in order to help "cash-strapped customers to return" to restaurants.

The instructor went on to state that "inflationary pressures have made many Americans retreat to their kitchens in an attempt to save money."

Seafood Source reported that in Q3 2024, Bonefish Grill and Outback Steakhouse posted "lower revenues" as part of larger US restaurant woes.

Restaurant Business writes that despite these hiccups, Outback Steakhouse was ranked 35 out of 250's America's highest-grossing restaurant brands.

A Bloomin' Brands investors report highlights there has been some upward movement for the establishment between Q2 2024 and Q2 2025, representing a 0.3% uptick in year-over-year quarterly profits.

Finance Buzz published in September of 2025 that the chain has shuttered 41 locations across eight states, like "many chain eateries [such as] Boston Market and Applebee's."

Outback Steakhouses in Pennsylvania, Illinois, Florida, Michigan, Ohio, Iowa, Hawaii, and New Hampshire all saw closures due to "underperforming."

Finance Buzz speculated that "the company may be focused on stability after a lackluster 2024 Q3 earnings report."

Are you a fan of the Outback, and will a Platypus Punch, Puggle Splash, or spinach artichoke dip be enough to get you to consider it on your next night out?