This Italian Chain Has Nearly 200 Locations Across The US, But Here's Why We Ranked It The Worst

There's no denying that Italian cuisine is one of the world's favorites. In the US, Italian American restaurants can be found in every town and city. Italian chain restaurants are a fusion not just of Italian and American food but of the mom and pop Italian restaurants of old with the American business model. We set out to try as many Italian restaurant chains to see which ones are worth putting on your rotation of comforting dinners. We ranked each Italian chain on the quality of its food, and while we were impressed with many of the chains, the Italian chain we ranked the worst is Fazoli's.

Fazoli's stands out from the competition with a fast food, counter service format. The menu has all the familiar favorites, like pizza, salad, and pasta dishes, not to mention family meal packages that come with multiple dishes, similar to what you'd find at Popeye's or KFC. While cheap prices and fast service are appealing, the quality of the food had us wondering how Fazoli's has nearly 200 locations across the U.S. The pizza was inedible and the only pasta dishes we could stomach were the ones covered in a mound of melted cheese to mask the taste of the sauce and texture of overcooked, boxed pasta. The chicken that topped many of the dishes was crumbly, overly salted, and scarce. The only menu item we actually liked was the unlimited breadsticks. But, you can't make a meal out of those.

We wouldn't ever go back to Fazoli's, but you don't just have to take our word for it. Scathing reviews abound, like this Reddit post in which a dissatisfied customer characterized his experience with eating Fazoli's chicken tortellini Alfredo as "like eating baby food. Mushy and tasteless. The pasta looked like it was thrown in the microwave. The Alfredo was watery and kinda repulsive." Another Youtube review called Fazoli's food heavy, garlicky, and overcooked, sampling one dish after another and finding no redeeming qualities whatsoever. A review on Trustpilot stated, "I don't know what the meatballs are made of but it stunk! The [A]lfredo was all stuck together in one big clump and lasagna noodles were hard as a rock."

While Fazoli's prices are less than our favorite Italian chains like Maggiano's and Johnny Carino's, you're better off making your own pasta at home. It's easy enough to boil store-bought pasta and top it with your favorite brand of pasta sauce. And we guarantee you it'll taste better. Craving breadsticks? You can make them yourself from store-bought pizza dough. If you're looking for a budget friendly Italian chain, Olive Garden is a better option. It has a long list of non-pasta entrees and might even outdo Fazoli's in the pasta department. Whereas a Reddit user was disgusted by Fazoli's chicken tortellini Alfredo, we ranked Olive Garden's version of the same dish as its best pasta offering.