The 8 Worst Steakhouse Chains In America, According To Reviews

When people go out to a steakhouse, they're expecting to spend a good bit of their hard-earned money in exchange for a delicious treat aimed to satisfy their inner carnivore. What they're not expecting are dirty environments, long wait times, and, most dreaded of all, lackluster food. Even when a diner avoids making the usual mistakes that might ruin their steakhouse experience, the biggest mistake of all might have been walking through the doors of the wrong establishment. It's not simply a case of people taking chances on cheaper, less acclaimed restaurants, as even a steakhouse with a fancy dress code and high prices can consistently fall short. 

This list contains a few chains that one may think of when it comes to bad steakhouses, but there are a few entries that are likely to surprise people, including the most profitable steakhouse chain in America. In the end, no matter how ostensibly popular a chain may be, it can't hide from a consensus of bad reviews, and the worst offenders have plenty of them. It's not personal — it's just steak. 

Outback Steakhouse is proof of just how far one signature item can carry you — but unfortunately, its menu contains more than just the Bloomin' Onion. Why is Outback one of the worst steakhouse chains? Well, for starters, its strategy of raising prices on food that people don't even really like is a bold move. It's a wrong move, of course, but also bold. Despite being one of the most prolific steakhouses in America in terms of locations, people seem to think that its steaks are some of the worst among steakhouses. This is a pretty big problem with, you know, steak being in its name and all.

In a general sense, it doesn't take much time online to find Outback among numerous lists lamenting the worst steakhouses in the country. Upon further inspection, individual reviews also don't paint a pretty picture. One-star reviews abound on sites like Yelp and TripAdvisor when looking at different locations, with many experiences echoing the review of one particular Yelper who wrote, "If I could give it zero stars, I would."

Part of the sad, untold truth of Outback is that, as a result of all these negative experiences, public perception of the once beloved chain has fallen not just through the floor, but has plummeted beneath the darn basement, too. One post on Reddit asked others to change their low opinion of the restaurant, only to be met with the response, "Do you actually want this view changed?"

Another example of how the mighty have fallen. Sizzler filed for bankruptcy in 2020, and since then, things haven't gone much better for one of the country's first casual restaurant chains. At its peak, it had over 700 locations at its disposal — as of 2025, that number is down to 74. This obviously leads to the question of what happened to Sizzler? The answer seems to be the result of bad service, dirty locations, and unappetizing food — not exactly a winning combination.

A rude staff member could be an outlier. Same with an unclean restaurant run by an incompetent manager. But the way Sizzler's food gets called out in reviews, regardless of location, is indicative of company-wide failure. As one particular Yelper claimed, "Sizzler has become a 'steakhouse' that doesn't know how to cook steaks." Even the buffet, a way that Sizzler has been able to differentiate itself through the years, isn't even up to customers' lowered standards. Like many other reviews, another Yelper was lured in by the powerful feeling of nostalgia, only to have fond memories turn into a present-day nightmare. They summed up their experience by writing, "The food all looked gross. Nothing was fresh at the salad bar."

Sizzler falling into financial ruin can be explained by a collective experience summed up with one simple Facebook review, reading, "The worst steaks we've ever had in our lives. We vowed to never go back. And we didn't."

While it isn't entirely excusable, a chain with hundreds of locations is bound to have a few that simply aren't up to the standard of the others. But with only eight locations as of 2025, what is Sirloin Stockade's excuse for all of its locations being so bad? It's downright shocking how often such a small chain gets mentioned as a steakhouse that needs to save its declining business. But after looking over various reviews, it becomes much easier to see why.

One-star reviews dominate the Yelp pages for numerous locations, with both the food from the kitchen and at the buffet bar unable to escape criticism. Even an occasion where the waitstaff was praised was marred by the inedible options, with one Yelper writing, "Our server was soo sweet! But lord, that food..." Things aren't any better on TripAdvisor either, and had one reviewer pining for better times, writing, "Food was so bad you had to use the terribly [awful] bitter drinks to wash it down. Sirloin Stockade is a shadow of its former self."

The slogan for Sirloin Stockade is "The Choice is Yours." Obviously, it's referring to their lackluster buffet and steak options, but after sifting through all the bad reviews and cleanliness horror stories, it sounds more like an ominous warning. Maybe the chain is in need of a more accurate slogan, such as, "The Choice is Yours — So Are You SURE You Want To Eat Here?"

In 2024, Logan's Roadhouse got a bit of good news when it landed on a Tasting Table ranking that covered 13 prominent steakhouse chains in the U.S. The bad news is that it was ranked dead last. Now, no one should be coming into Logan's or any Roadhouse for that matter, expecting to find the clientele sipping expensive wine in suits and ties. As Logan's itself claims, it's a place where one can "enjoy steakhouse quality meat in the comfort of jeans and a t-shirt." However, just because the atmosphere is more relaxed doesn't excuse a lowered standard of service by the restaurant staff. It's likely that many of Logan's employees are excellent workers, but it's definitely eyebrow-raising to see how many reviews claimed that subpar service ruined their experience. The problems of food taking too long to arrive, incorrect orders, and rude behavior from the staff aren't limited to any one location, and they make up a large portion of the many one-star reviews the chain has accumulated.

The food hasn't fared much better. One Yelper claimed that their group of four each received an incorrectly cooked steak, and described it as, "Like eating shoe leather." Other dishes didn't fare much better, with a TripAdvisor user describing an unappetizing meal of fatty ribs, a freezer-burnt burger, and another tough-to-eat steak. However, there is one thing Logan's can hang its cooking apron on; both reviews said that the rolls were at least decent.

Get on your good pair of blue jeans, because it's time for a trip to another Roadhouse. Having a meal at Texas Roadhouse is all about setting your expectations. Some people seem willing to die on the hill that it's a great place to eat, including certain things on the menu that aren't steak. However, for the vast majority, it simply doesn't hold up as well against other steakhouses.

For anyone who may drift off to sleep at night with fond memories of their past Texas Roadhouse experiences, it may not have always been that way. Not only have articles been written about the noticeable dip in quality, but it has also caused one Redditor to pose the philosophical question, "Has anyone noticed that Texas Roadhouse kinda sucks now?" As if the question wasn't bad enough, the top commenter went in for the kill by writing, "Was it ever up? It's the Denny's of steaks."

Over on TrustPilot, one-star reviews rule the Texas Roadhouse landscape, calling out everything from the food to the customer service to even the cleanliness of some locations. One reviewer was so aghast that they seemed to take matters into their own hands. They claimed that they reported the location to the health department, writing, "The place is so filthy, you can taste it." While there are things you shouldn't do when dining at Texas Roadhouse, it could be argued that the biggest no-no is going to eat there in the first place.

For anyone who doesn't frequent the West Coast, you'd be forgiven for not being familiar with Claim Jumper. With seven locations occupying California, Nevada, and Oregon, it's another example of a smaller brand making a big name for itself — in a way that it would likely prefer not to.

Despite its small size, Claim Jumper frequently comes into the conversation when the worst steakhouses in America are brought up. The usual complaints of bad food and slow service abound, but what frequently jumps off the page in reviews is just how dang expensive the place is. That shouldn't be a huge surprise when someone dines out at a luxury steakhouse, but the overriding opinion is that what people are paying isn't equivalent to what they're getting.

Even those who are fans of the food claim that they'll never pay to eat there again because of the astronomical prices. But unfortunately, some have experienced the dreaded double-whammy of bad food to go along with the high prices. Various reviews also lament what used to be, claiming that the Claim Jumper they remember from when they were younger was much better. With the restaurant twice filing for bankruptcy since 2010, it's clear that the former West Coast staple has fallen on hard times — and there seems to be no indication of a rebound on the horizon.

Good news, everyone — according to a Yelp review, the Hoss's Family Steak & Sea location in Bedford, Pennsylvania, has a '90s-style claw machine in the lobby! But according to the reviewer, that was the only good thing about their experience, as they wrote, "I am only giving this a one-star rating because I simply am not able to give it zero stars."

Other than one spot in West Virginia, the Hoss's experience is confined to its home state of Pennsylvania, seemingly limiting the damage it inflicts to a small area of the country. According to reviews, dessert and salad bar fans can luck out and have a pleasant experience — though that isn't always the case. Those daring to order the titular steak may be in for a rougher time. One Yelper decided to get creative when describing a tough-to-cut T-bone steak, writing, "I would not be surprised if it was from a dried-out Civil War horse carcass."

Multiple reviews refer to Ponderosa as a point of comparison for Hoss's, but with Ponderosa struggling to keep its own restaurants from closing, it isn't exactly a restaurant one wants to be associated with. Hoss's still has the opportunity to turn things around, but when even their 5-star reviews come with a company diss, it doesn't inspire confidence. As one Yelper wrote, "Every Hoss's I've ever eaten at has ranged from terrible to mediocre at best. This one is surprisingly good."

"Do you want to wait two hours on a slow day to eat mediocre food and get food poisoning? If so.... this is the place for you." While that statement may not be in the running for the new Saltgrass Steakhouse slogan, it was the experience for one dissatisfied Yelper who frequented their local Saltgrass. While the chain can pride itself on the fact that it's probably among the least offensive entries on this list, it's a far cry from being considered a high-quality steakhouse. Saltgrass' classification was excellently summed up by a Redditor who wrote, "It's the best of a bunch of bad chain options." It's slightly better than a slogan that suggests you'll get food poisoning, but still not the kind of reputation you'd like to have.

Saltgrass proudly claims to serve certified Angus beef steaks, but numerous complaints go right to the source and criticize the quality of its cuts of meat. What the restaurant may want to do, however, is switch customers' attention over to the bread, with a one-star Yelp review claiming, "Okay, so the bread was really good. As far as everything else, we were severely disappointed." In the end, it's part of the untold truth of Saltgrass Steakhouse — set your expectations correctly, and you're likely in for a passable meal. Those looking for something more, however, are likely barking up the wrong steakhouse tree.

After multiple internet searches looking for various lists and articles about bad steakhouse chains, we dove deeper into repeat offenders that came up on multiple lists. Further research included finding official news articles that confirmed the restaurant's performance, as well as multiple searches of different locations for the chains in question on sites like Yelp and TripAdvisor. We expanded our search even further, covering restaurants that had consistently low reviews (many times they had more bad reviews than good ones) and also utilized sites like Reddit and other forums where average customers discussed their dissatisfaction in more specific detail.

The original focus was on chains with many locations, but some restaurants, like Claim Jumper and Sirloin Stockade, were so notoriously criticized that they were included despite being smaller. In the end, all of the work that took place culminated in the steakhouses that, unfortunately, earned their spot on this list.