The Hands-Down Best Burger At Applebee's Ditches The Classic Bun

When you order a cheeseburger at a sit-down restaurant, you expect a juicy burger patty, perfectly melted cheese, fresh veggies, and an elevated burger sauce. And of course, the classic pillowy sesame seed bun, preferably toasted. Yet when our taster tried every burger at Applebee's and ranked them, they were surprised to discover that the best one doesn't even include a typical burger bun.

Out of all the burgers sampled, the one our taster loved the most was the chain's Grilled Cheese Cheeseburger. This sandwich swaps a traditional bun for slices of grilled potato bread. Inside is an all-beef patty, four slices of American cheese, and bacon sauce. Our taster found it to be the perfect burger-grilled-cheese hybrid, complete with buttery bread oozing with melted cheese, juicy meat, and tangy sauce. The sauce, which is similar to a bacon jam, had smoky, vinegary notes that cut through the rich creaminess of the cheese and complemented the thick beef patty with its umami flavor.

What made this burger even better was its side dishes. It comes with a small cup of tomato basil soup and an order of hot, crispy fries seasoned with salt and pepper. The warm, creamy soup made the ideal dipping sauce for the burger, and elevated it to comfort-meal status. The one disadvantage is the sandwich's price. Though Applebee's has one of the cheapest burgers of any sit-down restaurant chain, this entrée costs between $16 and $20, depending on your location.

Customers are absolutely loving this relatively recent addition to the Applebee's entrée menu (which our taster also tried and ranked). In a review of the Grilled Cheese Cheeseburger on Reddit, a customer rated it a nine out of 10 and said, "I was blown away by this." In a review on Facebook, a food blogger said, "It was amazing — similar to a patty melt, but with its own twist. The cheese was perfectly melted, the burger cooked just right, and the tomato soup was seasoned beautifully."
In a YouTube review, a diner declared "the Applebee's Grilled Cheese Cheeseburger is a hit! It's beefy, tender, buttery, and cheesy, with a sweet chipotle sauce."

One of the biggest selling points seems to be the fact that it comes with the tomato basil soup, which customers say is perfect for dipping both the sandwich and the fries. You do have the option to select a different side dish like waffle fries, onion rings, coleslaw, or mac and cheese. Any of these sides could be added to the sandwich to further elevate the flavor — topping it with some onion rings, for instance, would give it a nice crunchy texture, and the flavor would pair well with the bacon sauce and cheese. You can also order it with a different soup, like chicken tortilla or French onion, the latter of which is one of the best chain restaurant soups. However, the tomato basil is really the optimal dipping sauce for this meaty grilled cheese sandwich.