The Philly-Inspired Denny's Breakfast Item That's Not Worth Ordering

From jalapeño popper pizza to butternut squash mac and cheese – sometimes, when worlds collide, food creations rule. Other times, however, imaginative ideas are no more that — nice-sounding concepts ultimately better left unrealized... like Denny's Philly Cheesesteak Omelet. In Tasting Table's roundup of the six worst breakfast items you should avoid ordering at Denny's, the Philly Cheesesteak Omelet made the cut — as in, you should cut it out of your list of potential candidates for breakfast.

Denny's Philly Cheesesteak Omelet stuffs a three-egg omelet with classic cheesesteak toppings: grilled prime rib, fire-roasted bell peppers and onions, sautéed mushrooms, and Swiss cheese. It's savory, for sure — but our taste tester found that those soft omelet eggs lacked the structural integrity to support the cheesesteak chunks tucked inside. "The additions ... would be good, but really, they're just overpowering what should be an egg-focused dish ... it just wasn't very flavorful despite its long list of ingredients," they wrote.  

As for that alleged "cheesesteak" component, one Yelp customer review likens the filling to "cafeteria mystery meat." This cheesesteak-meets-omelet culinary mashup seems playful in theory, but in execution, it doesn't work — at least, not the way Denny's is doing it. 

Our taste tester did not, however, dock any points for the price of this dish. At a restaurant location in Illinois, Denny's Philly Cheesesteak Omelet costs $16.09, served with your choice of potatoes and bread (which could also include buttermilk pancakes). Still, plenty of other options on the Denny's menu are just as affordable — and a whole lot better. YouTube foodie @SJohnsonVoiceOvers and his wife echoed our taste tester's feedback in a video. "The Philly cheesesteak omelet doesn't play well together with, just like, an omelet. The egg, it just didn't work. I could see if it was over potatoes it would have worked, but not with the egg, and also it was bland. There was no seasoning," they said. 

In a not-so-subtle way, Denny's Philly cheesesteak omelet embodies a larger quality criticism many patrons seem to have of the chain itself. Browsing the menu, the YouTube reviewer remarked that Denny's "falls into the trap of trying to do so many things, and they don't end up doing anything perfectly." The point is, the bar was set pretty low going into this menu ranking, and Denny's omelet still failed to meet expectations. By our taste tester's count, epicures should avoid Denny's Philly cheesesteak omelet, and instead order the chain's Cinnamon Roll Pancakes or Country Fried Steak & Eggs — two popular Denny's menu items that have been praised in Tasting Table's other rankings.