The 10 Most Overhyped Fast Food Items Of All Time

We may receive a commission on purchases made from links.

We get that it's a tough market out there, and no matter how big or small the business, the doors only stay open as long as people are spending money. At a time when we're spoiled for choice, marketing and hype play a huge part in getting the word out and enticing customers to spend their hard-earned dollars. But sometimes, things just go a little too far. 

Some over-the-top hype — whether it comes from marketing and advertising or bandwagon word of mouth — can turn a perfectly acceptable, ordinary sandwich or drink into a massive disappointment when it falls short of expectations, and that's a bummer. We'd even say that not only are some of fast food's strangest menu items not worthy of the hype, they're not even worthy of being on the menu.

Let's talk about the seasonal darlings that we're sick of hearing about, and the aggressively American sandwiches that we're pretty sure started as a practical joke. Let's also discuss the secret menu items that are not, in fact, as brilliant as everyone thinks, and the sandwiches that keep getting retired, only to magically return like a mythical beast emerging from the ether. That's right, McDonald's — we're coming for you. (But not for the Shamrock Shake, those are downright delightful.)

The McRib is a weird, unnatural abomination no one ever asked for. And that texture? If you've wondered what cut of pork McDonald's uses for the McRib, you're not alone. In a discussion among some of us here at Tasting Table, we likened the McRib to the worst sandwich to ever meet a tray in an elementary school cafeteria combined with a braised gym mat.

It's soft. It's spongy. And there's always a sense that the next bite may or may not have a weird lump that both crunches and jiggles. McDonald's condemned the world to this unnecessary sandwich back in the early 1980s, and if we had a time machine, we would love to go back to the conversation that gave birth to the McRib.

We'd also like to point out that this sandwich started with a military experiment, and no, that's not a joke. Back in the 1960s, the U.S. military's experiments with meat processing led to the development of tech that allowed leftover bits of meat to be smashed back together and turned into something that's at least trying to impersonate food. That's where your McRib patty comes from, which goes a long way to explaining that weird texture. What it doesn't explain is why McDonald's keeps bringing this thing back from the dead, because really, it's about time this thing rode off into the sunset.

First, a disclaimer. We've said things like, "Man, I'd kill for a bucket of wings and a few frosty beers." But the thing is — and this is key — we don't actually mean that literally. When Popeyes released its chicken sandwich back in 2019, the headlines were wild, the videos posted to social media were even wilder, and the carnage was very literal, indeed.

These are the kind of incidents that make you think, "What a world we live in," and immediately on the heels of that: "Please stop, I'd like to get off now." Let's just take a few. NBC News ran a story about a group of people who got into a fistfight in the drive-thru of a Popeyes in Los Angeles, and while that fight was broken up, another turned deadly in Maryland. That's where a 28-year-old man was stabbed and killed, and... let that sink in for a minute. Is it a tasty sandwich? Probably, but it's just a chicken sandwich.

Down in Houston, ABC ran a news story with the headline "Armed mob demands Popeyes chicken sandwich," and that's the kind of thing you might expect to see on an episode of "Reno 911," not in real, actual life. Seemingly endless lines, fights involving customers and employees, verbal and physical assaults, drawn firearms... and this is where we have to say again that it's just a chicken sandwich, people. 

We're not saying that In-N-Out's animal-style fries aren't good; they're a perfectly fine and acceptable fast food option. We will say, however, that they're overhyped, because honestly? The first person to add cheese, spread, and onions to their fries did not, in fact, reinvent the wheel. (They were, however, apparently awful. In owner Lynsi Snyder's book, "The Ins-N-Outs of In-N-Out Burger," she revealed that the name came about because of loud, rude, and obnoxious customers, so there's that.) 

There are plenty of ways to add more flavor to even homemade fries, and ever since the human race discovered potatoes are pretty tasty when they're sliced and deep-fried, we've been adding everything from cheese and mayo to ketchup and onions. Listen to devout fans of anything and everything animal-style, and it's practically a superfood. Good? Sure. Ground-breaking and revolutionary? Nah.

There's another thing that we need to point out here, too, and that's the fact that In-N-Out's plain fries have numerous detractors who say they're simply not great. Entire Reddit threads are dedicated to the problem of how to order fries here to achieve the texture that a deliciously crispy fry should have, and isn't that something that should just... happen?

Ah, autumn. How we love you! Gone are the hot summer days where the only thing you have the energy for is sweating, replaced by cool breezes, longer nights, and cozy hoodies. Unfortunately, it also means the arrival of Starbucks' famous pumpkin spice latte. There are many ways to give your coffee a fall twist, but Starbucks was apparently inspired by the one urge that we all share, and that's the desire to lick a scented candle.

Plenty of people eagerly await announcements that the PSL is back, and that's fine. But here's the thing: In 2025, that day was August 26. August 26! That's almost a full month before the actual start of fall with the September 22 equinox, and it gives the same vibes as when the Christmas decorations start showing up in Walmart before it's even Halloween.

Interestingly, there's been research into why the PSL became such a big deal. The marketing hype around the PSL has always been connected with those comfy, cozy fall feelings. It's warm sweaters and scarves, brisk afternoons, and the PSL. Psychologists say that the hype has been going on for so long that our brains are essentially hardwired to give off good-time autumn vibes when we taste or even see a mention of the PSL. In other words, the PSL has been overhyped so much that we've been collectively Pavlov'd into thinking it's a good thing.

Some things are enough to make us realize we've had enough internet for the day, and it's time to go outside, look at some clouds, feed some ducks... that sort of thing. That was the case when we learned that back in 2017, the frenzy over McDonald's Szechuan sauce reached such a high (or low, depending on your point of view) that people were buying framed photos of Szechuan packets off eBay. Are we making this up? No. Are we annoyed we missed this business opportunity? A little.

The story of McDonald's limited edition sauce is a weird one, and there's a good chance that if it hadn't been mentioned in an episode of "Rick and Morty," it would have stayed in 1998. That's when it had a brief release to little fanfare, and here's the thing. Years later, "Rick and Morty" used it in a complicated storyline, and the moral was basically this: Existence is empty and futile, nothing we do matters, so we might as well do something completely asinine like lust after a long-discontinued sauce.

Which is exactly what everyone immediately did. Anyone who has ever met a crowd of people knows how this played out: Limited quantities sold out, employees were targeted with anger and vitriol, and no one was happy. The sauce has shown up a few times since, and the hype was real: in 2017 that one person traded a single packet for a real-life, full-sized, functioning car.

Five Guys stood out from the rest of the fast food pack by hyping up fresh food, hand-cut toppings, and fries that were still potatoes not too long before they're served. It's commendable, perhaps, but it's also incredibly overhyped for a few reasons.

For starters, the fries aren't that great. And before you're ready with the hate mail, we headed off to Reddit and found we're not the only ones who take issue with the fries here. They're often described as either too salty or not salty enough, half-peeled, and relentlessly soggy. Five Guys is famous for dumping an extra handful of fries into the bag, but if you're going elsewhere for lunch, that just means you're ending up with lukewarm, floppy fries that have made a greasy mess of the bag. 

If you've ever wondered why Five Guys does that thing with the extra fries in the first place, the company's Chad Murrell explained to our sister site, Food Republic. Murrell said they wanted customers to feel like they're getting their money's worth, but this is where we point out that Five Guys regularly gets dragged for being one of the most overpriced fast food chains around. So, we ask you: Is a handful of extra, inconveniently greasy fries really getting your money's worth? Or is it just a super-affordable way for them to make you think that you are?

Sometimes, it's fun to imagine how great ideas came into existence. The citrusy Mai Tai. That Canadian classic, poutine. The simple Margherita pizza. Brilliant! It's also fun to imagine how not-so-great ideas came into being, and in the case of KFC's Double Down, we'd bet money that it was drawn on a bar napkin at a seedy dive joint after a few beers.

The Double Down was definitely controversial. While some people started wondering what other types of meats could be used in place of the simple, boring old bready bun, there were plenty of others who believed that just because you can do something, it doesn't mean that you should. Some coverage went so far as to decry KFC's rapid hype of this meaty monstrosity as mocking the consumer, reminiscent of the school bully who goads their target into eating mystery meat off the ground at recess.

KFC has taken a page from the McRib's playbook and repeatedly brought this thing back, heralding the news like Santa Claus is not only real, but he'll be showing up in July now, too. It's greasy, salty, difficult to eat, and a study in over-the-top fast food. What will they think of next? 

The holidays are always a great opportunity for companies to show off a little creativity. Back in 2015, Burger King hyped a new Halloween-themed Whopper with a striking black bun. What could go wrong? As it turned out, quite a bit.

Anyone who has ever looked at a fast food advertisement and then bought the item in question knows that there's rarely much of a resemblance, and that was the case with these Whoppers. Images of customers' actual burgers posted to social media were not appetizing, and that could be forgiven if the taste was anything special. It was not, with many reporting that it was basically just a Whopper with the slightest hint of A1. There was another problem, too.

How do we say this politely? The bun is black going in, but there was a ton of panic when people realized that it was bright green when it came out. Somehow, BK dropped $400 million into the Halloween Whopper and another $150 million in marketing, and completely failed to either realize or warn people that when the food dyes in the bun hit your gastrointestinal system, they mixed with yellow-green bile to produce an unfortunate side effect that terrified those who weren't ready for it. Whoops.

Starbucks marketed its olive oil coffees with images of peaceful Mediterranean mornings, lots of luxurious product shots, and descriptions of alchemical magic. However, when Tasting Table reviewed Starbucks' Oleato coffees, we found they were more of a gimmick than anything life-changing, and that's unfortunate. If it had lived up to the hype, well, we would have hopped right on the train to Mediterranean mornings in the sun.

It turns out that olive oil lingering on your palate is exactly the sort of sensation you don't want with your morning cup of joe. Reddit users suggested that Starbucks did this because they were contractually obligated to do so after signing a deal with olive oil suppliers. Others wondered if Starbucks was trolling employees as payback for union talk, while some pointed out the disconnect between touting the health benefits of olive oil and then serving drinks with enough sugar that the company could single-handedly support the entire industry if it needed to. 

Starbucks may have described the experience of drinking olive oil coffee as a beautiful, European-inspired bit of "romance" and "artistry" (and yes, those two words are used in an official press release), but customer feedback suggests they overdid it just a tad. Complaints of stomach aches, gastrointestinal pain, and a laxative effect were widespread. The idea was dropped from the menu after about a year and a half.

White Castle is sometimes described as having a cult following. White Castle itself leans heavily into its fan base: The Champions of Crave Cravers Hall of Fame is basically a way of immortalizing people who just... really like White Castle. 

A stroke of marketing genius? Maybe, but the fact remains we're not alone in thinking the hype goes way beyond what's actually delivered. Homemade sliders can be delicious, but get a sack from White Castle, and you have... well, it's certainly something.

If you're going to do it, you'd better plan on committing. Why? That White Castle smell is not going away until there's soap, water, and a change of clothes involved, and they're also the type of burgers that Reddit users generally agree are best enjoyed when customers are in what we'll call an altered state of mind. Somehow, White Castle manages to break all the rules of what goes into a good burger. The buns are a strange texture, and everything just kind of tastes like onion. Many think, "Hey, I should try White Castle," only to be disappointed. Five years later: rinse, repeat, and remember why it's been so long.