Every Costco Food Court Item, Ranked Worst To Best

There are few food halls as beloved as Costco's. It's an indelible icon of our time: the unchanging Kirkland Signature branding, the irresistibly convenient location just beyond the checkout lane, and of course, the $1.50 hot dog that hasn't changed in price on the food court menu since 1985. With its uber-quick American comfort foods at (mostly) rock-bottom prices, it's a hard bargain to pass up on any trip out to the wholesale warehouse chain.

Much has changed for the retail giant's food offerings in more recent years. In 2020, Costco cut back a large portion of its menu amid the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, offering only hot dogs and pizza to go. In late 2021, Costco discontinued the cult-followed combination pizza from its food court menu. The days were dismal for a while there, but it seems like Costco is back to business, adding new items and featuring some mainstays. But what, you may ask, is worth your wallet and your stomach at Costco's food court these days?

We tried every item on the present menu and ranked them in order from worst to best, so you don't have to. (Please note that some limited or regional items may be missing.) We did our best to judge each item by taste, value, and replay value. Some of our beloveds were just as good as we remember, other items caught us off guard for better or for worse, and, unfortunately, a few were incredibly disappointing. 

To our dismay, the slice of cheese pizza was by far the worst item we tasted on Costco's food court menu. We don't know if it was an off day or if nostalgia had rose-tinted our food memories, but this pizza was capital-B bad. We're also unsure how it is possible to get cheese, bread, and tomato sauce so utterly wrong, but we live to tell the tale.

The melted mozzarella cheese looks well-caramelized and rather appetizing until we examine the pie from an angle and notice the layer of sepia-colored grease that slicks the surface. Compared to the pepperoni, there is much more oil on the cheese pizza. Gross. Next, we check the sauce coverage on the dough by lifting up the layer of melted cheese near where it meets the crust. We find that there is only sauce on the uppermost third of the slice, leaving the rest of it dry under the cheese.

Upon tasting, our suspicions were confirmed, if not proven worse than expected. The pie is somehow simultaneously greasy, dry, stale, and devoid of flavor. It just tastes like old, melted cheese that coats the teeth, lips, and hands in a sheen of oil. The crust is hard and dry, as though it had been left out for hours. We expected more from one of the largest pizza chains' food court, but unfortunately, it doesn't get worse than this. Though only $1.99, we argue that no amount of money is worth this slice of pizza.

Costco's food court fruit smoothie made a comeback in the fall of 2023 after the mango smoothie (very briefly) replaced it on food court menus that summer. It's easy to see what others might see in this smoothie: It's refreshingly cold, not overly sweet, and not as overbearing as some of the other rather caloric options on the menu are. But while Costco's fruit smoothie isn't quite awful, it makes it here on the list because it isn't good, either.

Nothing can make a smoothie better than fresh, ripe fruit — especially a medley of berries. Unfortunately, this beverage doesn't quite transport us to foraging in the summer berry bramble, but more importantly, it doesn't really taste like fresh fruit all that much. The strawberry flavor is definitely prevalent, but it tastes more like frozen fruit puree. The artificial flavor is compounded by the fact that the smoothie isn't as well-blended as we would have liked it either. It's a bit slushy, with the liquid falling out of suspension from the frozen parts, rather than being nice and smooth. Perhaps whatever smoothie mix Costco is using at its food court doesn't have as much pectin in it to keep it thick.

Despite our criticisms, the fruit smoothie isn't disgusting. If you're really craving something refreshing and on the healthier side, this will scratch the itch just enough to be satisfactory. For only $2.99, this smoothie is budget-friendly, and that's exactly what you're going to get: a budget smoothie. We can live with that.

One of the newest items on the menu, Costco's food court turkey and swiss sandwich replaced the more expensive roast beef sandwich. At $6.99, the new sandwich takes on the same format as its predecessor, but with cheaper (and cheaper tasting) ingredients. So how does the turkey sandwich stack up? Is it a worthwhile menu item at the warehouse's popular food court?

No. Costco's turkey and swiss sandwich seems like it's trying to strike a middle ground between a hot turkey sandwich and a cold deli one. The sandwich about half the size the roast beef used to be, but it's served whole: cold slices of deli turkey are served on a large ciabatta roll and dressed with a sun dried tomato spread, a mayo and mustard blend, lettuce, and thick-cut swiss cheese. 

Overall, it's a pretty mediocre sandwich. This version of the deli sandwich vibe that Costco is going for is obviously a cheapened and dumbed down version of the previous roast beef version. The turkey is grayish and un-appetizingly wet — the sandwich was dripping out of the bottom of our hands. The lettuce had seen better days and was bruised and rather sad. The swiss cheese was, well, swiss cheese. The only good thing about this sandwich is the sun dried tomato spread, but it sadly can't save it. You can probably skip this one as it's more than likely that whichever town you're in has better sandwich options than this.

At the top of the bottom of our list is Costco's cold brew mocha freeze, a food court item which admittedly hasn't gotten much positive feedback since it took over the cheaper mocha freeze. We happen to agree with much of the criticism about this drink but can contend that it's not the worst frozen coffee beverage on the market.

To our surprise, this blended mocha is thicker and more consistent than the fruit smoothie. The thickness is the same throughout, akin to that of an Icee or Slushee dispensed fresh from the machine. The cold brew, made from Kirkland Signature beans, is strong and robust in flavor at the back of the palate, but it comes after a sickly saccharine wave at the front. Whether this comes from the gobs of chocolate syrup that spiral the walls of the cup, or from the cold brew mixture itself, is up for debate. But whatever it may be, the sweetness is just a bit too overbearing, making it nearly impossible to get through an entire cup by oneself.

This drink may be better shared as a coffee-flavored dessert rather than a boost of caffeine on the go. The sugar content in the drink alone is likely to slow you down. But, at $2.99, it's not a bad option if you are a fan of coffee desserts and are looking for something to split with a friend. We could see ourselves ordering it once in a blue moon.

This next item segues us into our middle-tier category. If you're one of the many fans of Costco's very cheap rotisserie chicken, the rotisserie chicken Caesar salad might beckon to you when searching for a quick and healthy lunch option. We were excited to try this because, despite staunch criticism by some, Costco has some of the most popular rotisserie chicken on the market. We weren't wowed by this salad, but we weren't disappointed either.

We gleaned, upon first glance, that the salad is rather barebones. There's not much else besides shredded pieces of rotisserie chicken breast and thigh meat atop a bed of sliced romaine lettuce, alongside some shredded parmesan and a packet of Caesar dressing. The croutons pictured in the food court photo are suspiciously nowhere to be found. As a basic deli-style chicken Caesar salad, this salad ticks the boxes. The rotisserie chicken is the star of the show, which is to be expected. It's as tender and juicy as always. The lettuce is fresh, crisp, and blemish free.

But the chicken salad lands itself in the "mid" category not because of its staples, but because of its lack of attention to detail. The Caesar dressing and cheese are pre-packaged, which is fine, but this definitely detracts from the few ingredients the salad has. The missing croutons is a bit of a faux pas as well, especially as it's worth noting that, at $6.99, the salad isn't the cheapest thing on the menu.

You can order ice cream at Costco in two forms: alone in a cup or in a sundae, the latter of which costs $2.49. First, we decided to order the whole sundae in order to try both the ice cream and the toppings. In the case of the vanilla sundae, the ice cream is supreme, while the accouterments weren't quite what we were looking for.

First thing first: The retail giant is due its roses for its soft serve. Whereas many soft serve vendors use a packaged mix in their machines, Costco's food court uses Kirkland Signature Super Premium Vanilla Ice Cream. This ice cream has a high fat content and has little overrun, meaning there is a higher cream-to-air ratio than standard ice cream. When spun through the soft serve machine, the Kirkland Signature ice cream becomes impossibly thick yet fluffy, creating a texture that is as light as it is thick.

Unfortunately, we find that the ice cream is more or less ruined by the chocolate syrup in the sundae. Just like the cold brew mocha freeze, the sundae is made much too sweet by the addition of chocolate syrup. It's not that it isn't tasty — it is — but the saccharinity is nearly unbearable, lowering the edibility factor of this dessert. The sickly sweetness makes it impossible to finish. Thus, you're better off saving your money and paying less for the cup of naked ice cream, sans chocolate syrup.

We mentioned the delectable vanilla ice cream at Costco's food court, and the same goes for the chocolate, which replaced the strawberry ice cream, making it the only available soft serve flavor besides vanilla. There are a few reasons we ranked this ice cream higher on our list than its vanilla counterpart, the first of which being that the chocolate ice cream is slightly more delicious than the vanilla — being a bit fudgier and richer. But this is an age old debate that none of us are new to — you're either a chocolate person or you're a vanilla person, so this ranking is hardly objective, we realize.

We ordered the chocolate ice cream cup plain, by itself. Thankfully, the chocolate ice cream is much better than Kirkland's chocolate syrup. We even like it a bit better than the aforementioned and now defunct strawberry ice cream.

You get a lot of bang for your buck with this menu item — it's a lot of ice cream for only $1.99. If you're a chocolate lover, this one's for you. One of us could eat the whole thing by itself on a good (or bad?) day. Otherwise, it's a lot to finish on your own, which may steer us to share or get the vanilla swirl mixed in next time. That said, there is replay value with this one — if not alone, then definitely with a pal.

Now that we've made it to the best of the list, please give it up one time for the Costco hot dog: It's an admirable nod to tradition that this quintessential American staple has lasted at the same value on the same menu for as long as it has. The unwavering buck-fifty combo's sticker price has remained uninflated since 1985, surviving as is on Costco's food court menu even through a change of CEO and reportedly some (hopefully good-natured) death threats. 

It's true, the Costco hot dog is the ultimate all-American deal. For only $1.50, you get a rather large all-beef frankfurter and a fountain drink of your choice. The sausage itself is surprisingly more flavorful than we'd expect out of a run-of-the-mill hot dog. It's super smoky and moist (albeit a bit greasy). Optional free toppings include chopped onions, sweet pickle relish, mustard, and ketchup to load on at your discretion. Plus, you can refill your 20 oz. soda for free.

Hands down, the hot dog and drink combo at Costco is the ultimate bargain, virtually unheard of these days in this market, even in the cheapest eateries across the States. Despite being just a sausage in a bun with a free drink, its value is what brings us back to the hot dog so often, and what earns it number four on our list.

While we struck out with the cheese pizza, we had higher hopes that the pepperoni pizza wouldn't lead us astray. If you look around at other diners at the food court tables, you'll notice that the pepperoni is ordered a lot, and for good reason. The first thing we notice about the pizza is the sheer amount of pepperoni slices on one single slice. This is not a smattering nor a speckling of pepperoni, as one might expect of any old pizza slice — oh no. This is a housing shortage in the pepperoni neighborhood. Our slice comes out with (count 'em) 11 slices of meat, and we are ever so grateful to the Costco food court pizza robots and employees alike for it.

We are also grateful that we have none of the same issues with this slice of pepperoni that we did with our dismal slice of cheese. There is a fine coating of sauce spread out beneath the surface of cheese and meat, reaching from crust to tip. The amount of grease feels proportional to the amount of spicy and savory pepperoni that adorns the slice and can be easily dabbed away by a napkin if desired. The crust is hot, fresh, and crispy on the outside, and chewy on the inside.

Costco's pepperoni pizza is an icon for a reason: If it's ever missed, we've never seen it. At only $1.99, the same price as the cheese slice, the pepperoni slice is truly a no brainer.

Well, well, if it isn't the new kid on the block. Costco recently — and coincidentally, while we were working on this list — swapped out its churro for a huge double chocolate chunk cookie on its food court menu. But to say this cookie is huge is an understatement: It is pizookie-sized — yet it still costs only $2.49. As with any new item on any menu, we went into this taste test with grace. It's very possible, we thought, that this cookie might need some time to be perfected. It might not be the best, but we're trying it for the sake of the reader, so it must be done.

In short, we are blown away. Despite some high-altitude Costco locations reportedly experiencing quality control issues with the new food court menu item, our cookie is baked to perfection. About as wide and as thick as our hands, the cookie is fresh and warm and slightly crisp on the outside, with a gooey and melty interior. Clearly made with plenty of butter, the chewy dough melts on the tongue as soon as contact is made. It's a textural wonderland, and the flavors are exactly what a chocolate chip cookie should strive for: well-sweetened dough, bittersweet chocolate chips, and just a slight hint of salt.

We can't believe we're putting this brand-new menu item almost at the top of our list — especially above the tried-and-true pepperoni pizza, but here we are. If you don't believe us, you'll have to try it for yourself.

As we reach the top, we want to note that this number one spot was a tearing decision to make. Really, it is possible that any of the other top three items could have snagged this spot, depending on the day. But it's also possible that the chicken bake, with its secret weapon inside, is the single best item on the menu at Costco's food court.

We like to think of the name "chicken bake" as an undersell. What the chicken bake really is, is more or less a chicken Caesar calzone. Inside a massive baguette-sized (why is everything at Costco so big?) roll of pizza dough smattered with cheese are pieces of rotisserie chicken breast, more cheese, bacon, and Caesar dressing. You'd be hard pressed to find something like it many other places, and for as cheap as $3.99.

The chicken bake tops the list for its overall success in all categories. First, it is delicious. The well-established tender rotisserie chicken melds in a saucy and cheesy medley with creamy Caesar dressing inside a neat little dough package. Like most items, it's best when hot and fresh. It's like a gourmet hot pocket, but much larger. Despite the size, it travels well and can be easily eaten one-handed on the go. Finally, what truly rings the bell for this calzone is the massive bang for your buck, as the chicken bake can easily be made into two meals for the price of half one (or less).

To rank each item on Costco's food court menu, we used a straightforward approach based on a few main factors: food quality, value for money, and convenience and commercial appeal. For food quality, we looked at flavors, textures, and freshness. We tasted everything, checking if the flavors were balanced and tasty. For example, the chicken bake, with its tender rotisserie chicken and creamy Caesar dressing, scored high, while the greasy cheese pizza ranked low due to its stale taste. Freshness was key, too — anything stale or over-processed got lower marks.

When it came to value for money, we looked at portion size, ingredient quality, and overall cost. Bigger portions that gave more food for their price did well, like the $1.50 hot dog and drink combo, offering great value. The chicken bake also scored high for being tasty and big enough to split into two meals.

Finally, we considered convenience and commercial appeal. We rated items higher if they were easy to eat on the go without the need for utensils. The hot dog and chicken bake, both easy to handle, did well here. We also considered packaging and presentation — practical and appealing items scored better. Popularity and availability played a role, too, so favorites like the pepperoni pizza got bonus points.