A steakhouse dinner should be a sure thing — a big, juicy cut, buttery sides, maybe even a loaded baked potato to round it out. But according to many Yelp reviews, Reddit threads, and just about every steakhouse ranking out there, some steakhouse chains get it so wrong that you leave wishing you had just ordered a burger instead.
Here are five steakhouse chains in America that aren’t worth the sizzle.
First, let’s get this straight: Outback Steakhouse has nothing to do with Australia, regardless of the boomerangs on the walls and the crocodile-themed decor. It was founded in Tampa, Florida, and while it is the largest steakhouse chain in the U.S. with nearly 700 locations, there are exactly zero in the land Down Under.
More importantly, diners say it has nothing to do with a good steak, either. In fact, a 2021 Mashed poll found that 23% of voters called Outback’s steak the worst in America. That might have something to do with the fact that the chain uses USDA Choice beef instead of Prime, meaning less marbling, less flavor, and a much higher chance of ending up with a tough, dry cut.
But somehow, people keep coming back — most definitely for the Bloomin’ Onion.
Nostalgia is a funny thing. As a kid, a night at Sizzler felt like fine dining at a fancy restaurant — now, it’s more of a last resort. At its peak, the family steakhouse chain had over 600 locations. Today, it’s down to about 70, mostly in California, and better known for its salad bar and cheese toast than anything that actually comes off the grill.
For a place with "steakhouse" in the name, the menu doesn’t exactly go all out, with only three cuts available — ribeye, New York strip, and tri-tip sirloin.
The Kentucky-born roadhouse wants to be as beloved as Texas Roadhouse but diners say it’s more like Outback, and when it comes to the steak, that’s not a compliment.
Logan’s uses USDA Choice, which is a step down in marbling and flavor. This explains why the chain’s steaks have been dragged for being bland, rubbery, and inconsistent across review sites.
The ribs and yeast rolls still have fans, and the Margarita Cheesecake gets some love, but for a place selling itself on steak, it doesn’t exactly impress.
Being a West Coast thing, Claim Jumper isn’t widely known, but those familiar with it have plenty to say. And one thing keeps coming up — it jumps your wallet.
The SoCal-born chain, inspired by the California Gold Rush, offers Old West vibes and ginormous portions. The problem is, according to many, that those portions are often meh in flavor and wildly overpriced.
“My God, what the h*** happened to Claim Jumper? Horrible food! Sent back the "Sirloin Steak", which was a thin, grissly flank steak at best. Cold, flavorless,” a Yelp reviewer says.
Unless you’re Southern-born and raised, there’s a slim chance you’ve heard of Sirloin Stockade. And according to many patrons, that’s probably for the best.
Once a chain with around 80 locations, it has shrunk to a handful of struggling outposts across the South and Midwest. The concept is muddled — a steakhouse that leans harder into a lowbrow all-you-can-eat buffet than the beef itself.
Diners usually compare it to a way, way worse version of Golden Corral, more like Meh Corral. And those are the nice comments. “I would have had a better quality meal from the gas station,” one sharp-tongued Yelp reviewer wrote. Another added,“The buffet food was worse than high school cafeteria food. You get a steak with the buffet, but the steak was so thin and not worth it.”
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