Culver's Employees Always Skip These Menu Items

By all accounts, Culver's is one of the better fast food chains around. The burgers are cooked-to-order, the menu features a wider variety of options, and the custard selection is unmatched, which is more than you can say for a lot of chains. Where Culver's excels at is in its consistency, but, by no means is it perfect. In fact, as delicious as it is, there have definitely been times when it has swung big and totally missed the mark.

The sides it offers are a good example of this. While we appreciate the adventurousness of offering broccoli, it simply feels too out of place among other fast food options, which is why we consider it the worst Culver's side. Every chain has its fair share of duds, no doubt, but Culver's has menu items that are disliked by not only customers, but even by its employees. To help you side-step these rare pitfalls, we put together a list of menu items that constantly land on the "employee skip list."

Culver's mashed potatoes and gravy receives hate from both customers and employees. Now, a little customer hate is one thing, but when employees have bad things to say, the criticism stings more. "Our mashed potatoes ARE pretty bland," said an assistant manager on a Reddit thread about the chain's worst menu item. At least they offered a way to spruce it up, which is to add a few tabs of butter and lots of salt and pepper.

Who really wants to season their own food when dining out, though? Think about it. If you were given a choice between food that's perfectly seasoned and ready to enjoy, versus food that requires a bit of sprucing, wouldn't you choose the former? It seems that, based on what lots of employee say, Culver's mashed potatoes are only good if you season them. 

On a separate thread, a franchise owner suggests using a "Half packet of salt, full packet of pepper, two butter pads and no gravy," while a manager recommends adding sour cream and shredded cheese. Copious amounts of butter, seasoning, and cheese isn't enough to appease every employee, though, because there are some who still consider the mashed potatoes at Popeyes superior. It also doesn't help Culver's case when the gravy is rumored to be canned. 

Fast food salad is always a mixed bag, and that's okay for the most part, because no one expects farm-to-table-quality ingredients. That said, considering Culver's cooked-to-order ethos, we do expect a bit more than we do from most other fast food chains. According to an assistant manager on Reddit, complaints about Culver's salads started popping up around 3 years ago, after the spring mix was replaced with an iceberg romaine mix with carrots and radishes. "I still eat salads, but I don't think the new salad mix complements the cranberry bacon bleu or cashew chicken," they said. They also added that the original spring mix was softer, more airy, and simply looked better.

On the same thread, a crew member called out the soggy appearance of the new mix, saying, "I've witnessed at least 4 people come in and ask for a refund on the salad." Since being revamped, the salads have become one of several complaints customers have about Culver's, which means that the criticism is warranted. 

To be fair, Culver's might've had good reason to switch from the iceberg romaine mix, at least according to another employee, who said that, "... lots of guests complained about it (saw several comments of how dare you don't use iceberg) and the spring mix went slimey quickly." Considering the number of bad reviews on either side, this may be more a case of preference than anything.

As a Wisconsin-bred chain, Culver's should know a thing or two about cheese curds. Unfortunately, the sheer number of negative employee reviews shows otherwise. "They're bland and taste cheap for how much you're being charged," said an ex-manager who thinks other fast food chains do them better. Rumor has it the recipe for the curds and the marinara side sauce were changed, though we couldn't find any official statements to confirm that, just employee conjecture.

On Reddit, for example, one employee said, "The old marinara was Way better but it had sugar so they got rid of it for marinara with high fructose corn syrup." And as far as what happened to the curds, an assistant manager theorized that because the cook time had changed at one point, then the recipe had to have changed as well. Employees aren't the only ones that think that, either, even customers say the taste, breading, and shape are different than a few years prior. 

Sherlokian deductions aside, a factory worker mostly denied the allegations about the curds, saying, "Nothings changed I work at the factory that makes the curds. I have noticed they been huge lately though!" Whether or not the marinara was altered is anyone's guess. One thing for sure, though, is that there are plenty of Wisconsinites that consider the chain's curds some of the worst in the state. Luckily you can make Culver's cheese curds 10-times better by ordering extra menu items.

The pork loin sandwich at Culver's arrives plain on a lightly buttered, toasted kaiser bun, leaving customers to decide the toppings. Usually, having access to a wide selection of free toppings is a good thing, but in this particular case, it's helped make the sandwich an unfortunate target of criticism. After experiencing it for the first time, a customer asked employees on Reddit how to "taste-ify it," to which a manager cheekily responded, "Getting literally anything else instead is a vast improvement." 

Based on the comments, it was obvious that the customer wasn't the only victim of what the manager described as a "Texture nightmare." In fact, most seem to agree that the sandwich is bland and overly-dry when eaten as is. One employee, who recommended popular toppings, also made it clear that they weren't a fan of the pork either. 

To make matters worse, there appears to be confusion over whether it's a fritter or a pork tenderloin. The website says it's a pork loin fritter, but according to customers, it varies from location to location. "The Culver's in my town is decent. It is a solid pie e of pork, not a fritter," said someone on a Facebook review of the sandwich, while another customer claims that they were sold two different cuts of pork a month apart. Ironically, despite the widespread hate, there are some who consider it Culver's most overlooked menu item.

In 2025, Culver's rolled out an all-new line of chicken sandwiches, one of which was a marinated grilled chicken sandwich with lettuce, tomato, mayonnaise, and crunchier pickles on a new, toasted brioche bun. Unfortunately, despite the chain's attempt at reinventing its chicken wheel, employees say that the grilled chicken sandwich doesn't deliver on its promise of being juicier and tastier.

The press release further claims that the sandwiches are made with fresh, flavorful ingredients, but according to an employee on Reddit, the grilled chicken that Culver's uses is pre-cooked. On top of that, a shift leader revealed that it also comes pre-seasoned, saying, "I've had guests complain about it tasting like rotisserie chicken." And then there's the matter of where Culver's sources its chicken, with some claiming that the supplier has changed and others claiming the opposite.

"I don't disagree with you, I did prefer the previous product over this one in terms of taste, but it's from the same supplier," said a franchise owner. Whether or not Culver's switched suppliers, it doesn't change the number of employees who say they dislike the new chicken sandwiches. Fortunately, however, you can give your Culver's chicken sandwich an In-N-Out-inspired upgrade.

The grilled chicken sandwich isn't the only poultry handheld that employees skip. The crispy chicken sandwich gets just as many, if not more, complaints. "The new one is not good, compared to other fast food restaurants, it is by far the worst," said a Culver's manager on Reddit, who has fond memories of the OG version. Elsewhere in the thread, customers and employees alike chime in, expressing their disappointment with the change. Some of the main complaints include the breading being too thick, the quality being cheaper, and it being too peppery.

That said, to be fair, not everyone hates the sandwich. One employee even considers it the best thing on the menu after the custard. Mixed reviews aside, even those who love it have something negative to say. Another manager who admitted to enjoying them more, also made sure to point out inconsistencies in the quality, saying, "... they occasionally come with a small chunk you just can't pierce, a little overcooked ball of breading." To round out their review, they added that Culver's is still tweaking the recipe, and based on the reception, have already reduced the peppery kick.