10 Cheesecake Factory Burgers, Ranked Worst To Best

I could talk about The Cheesecake Factory cheesecake all day long. After all, it is the chain's namesake, and there's plenty to talk about with 35 flavors to choose from. I could go into surprising conversational depth about the Caramel Pecan Turtle Cheesecake or a slice of the Ultimate Red Velvet — two of my longtime dessert heart throbs.

However, I need to rein in my sweet tooth because today I'm turning the page to a different section of the Factory's dictionary of a menu. I'm slipping into something more savory and setting my focus on the chain's hamburgers. Excuse me, they're actually referred to as Glamburgers. Not because they're served with a red carpet entrance, but because founder David Overton claimed the toppings were too glamorous to just call them plain hamburgers. Like everything else at the Factory, these burgers come out of the chain's scratch kitchen and are made with premium Certified Angus Beef. From there, things get more interesting, with a wide range of toppings, sauces, and other accoutrements piled onto those hefty patties.

I recently tried 10 of the chain's specialty Glamburgers and found that some lived up to the glamorous name a lot more than others. Taking into account the quality of the burgers, their ingredients, and the overall experience, here are my rankings from least favorite to most favorite.

Some recommendations are based on firsthand impressions of promotional materials and products provided by the manufacturer.

The recurring theme across all The Cheesecake Factory Glamburgers is that they're big. These are thick, juicy patties like you've never seen before. I'd say just one patty at the Factory offers nearly as much meat as a set of double patties at most other restaurants (certainly at most fast-food chains). Then, pile on a host of toppings, and suddenly you have a sandwich that any jaw would struggle to tackle comfortably.

Even the chain's Old Fashioned Burger, which is the simplest of them all, makes a statement with its size. The charbroiled patty is joined by lettuce, tomato, red onion, pickles, and mayonnaise, all squished between a sesame seed-studded brioche bun. It's exactly what you would expect from an old-fashioned burger. It hits all those nostalgic notes, with savory beef and a crispy bun paired with pickle zest, tomato freshness, and plenty of onion pungency — man, those raw onion rings were applied thick.

There's no denying it's a quality burger, and you certainly won't leave the table hungry. But next to all these turn-of-the-century burgers, it feels more dated than vintage. I hate to say it, but with humdrum mayonnaise as the only real condiment and just basic veggies, the flavor is a bit monotonous. It's not dry by any means, but a tad bland. I'd label it as more of a gateway burger than the ultimate destination: great for picky eaters, but a snooze for a more adventurous palate.

Okay, I lied. This might actually be the simplest Cheesecake Factory burger — at least, in terms of toppings. It has those smash-style patties to give it some razzle dazzle and make it stand out from the crowd. And it really wants those patties to shine, so it doesn't overcomplicate the other add-ons. Two slices of American cheese are thrown on, with a small pile of caramelized onions tucked at the bottom. From there, all that's left is a bit of special sauce and pickle slices. Both come on the side in a DIY fashion. This is how the Factory serves many of its accompaniments, and I'm a big fan. That way you can add as much as you want, thus choosing your own burger adventure.

I like how this cheeseburger turns out, but I think it could do more. The smash patties didn't turn out as crispy or as greasy as I was hoping for. I was waiting for those extra rich, savory notes from the Maillard reaction, and they never quite got there. For that reason, I actually think I prefer the chain's standard pumped-up patties.

That said, the caramelized onions and special sauce (a creamy, pickle-y burger sauce) make this one more interesting than the Old Fashioned Burger. Just make sure to use every last drop of that sauce to really amp it up.

Oh là là. The traditional American burger gets a little French makeover. I actually thought this sandwich was the French Dip at first, given its long baguette-like bun. But mais non. I quickly realized there was nothing to dip it in (a vital part of a French dip), and it was the Bistro Burger instead.

On paper, it sounds like a winning recipe. A burger patty (shaped a bit differently here) is dressed up with caramelized onions, bacon, and arugula for a little pop of color. Plus, the toasted roll is slathered with garlic aioli on one side and housemade steak sauce on the other. There's a lot happening here, and honestly, plenty of it is pretty good. The garlic aioli is creamy, the caramelized onions add some sweetness, and I actually really liked the bread. It's soft but sturdy enough to hold everything together.

However, somewhere along the way, this sandwich lost a little of its je ne sais quoi. It feels like it's building itself up to be a steak sandwich. Then, the ground beef and hard bacon crumbles throw it off. The steak sauce also leaned more barbecue than tangy and Worcestershire-based to me, giving it more of a Western identity than a Western European one. Fancy cheese would have helped. Something like melty Brie or Gruyère to make the French bistro concept click.

Did The Cheesecake Factory really need to create both an Old Fashioned Burger and a Classic Burger? No, but I'm glad it did. While the two burgers sound and even look similar, there are important differences that make the classic even better than its old school counterpart.

Let's start with the patty itself. Just when I thought burger patties couldn't get any bigger, this one shows up. It's easily the thickest, juiciest, and, dare I say, the most flavorful of the bunch. The chain actually labels it a Chop House Hamburger, which suggests the use of more premium beef and more upscale toppings. I think that both could likely be true. On the toppings side of things, the slice of grilled onion gives it a more elevated feel. Actually, I think the idea here may have been borrowed from the hibachi onion volcano. Multiple layers of onion rings are thrown together on the grill before getting plopped right on top of the burger. You get a more complex, sweeter onion flavor than you'd get from raw onions, which works especially well with the cheddar cheese and classic fresh combo of lettuce, tomato, and pickles.

A garlic aioli also waits in the wings to be spread on the bun at your discretion. It's creamy, savory, and alliaceous and trumps a basic mayonnaise any day, helping the burger taste both understated and well-done at the same time.

Toss a little bacon into the mix, and things start to look dicey for more traditional burgers like the Classic. But throw in a hearty supply of two completely different kinds of bacon, and it's game over for simpler burgers. Yes, you heard me right. "Bacon-Bacon" isn't just a clever moniker. It actually alludes to the fact that there are double the slices under this bun. You have two long strips of standard crispy bacon, which are tasty in their own right. Then you also have two short slices of thick-cut slow-roasted smoked bacon — aka the show-stopping slices. If bacon could be candied in a savory way, it would taste like this. It's deliciously fatty, and it brings home the bacon for this burger.

The rest of the toppings are plentiful, though fairly average. There's a respectable layer of both shredded cheddar and American cheese on top of the patty, and a pile of lettuce, tomato, onions, and pickles sits on the plate waiting to be added on. As for condiments, some aioli is smeared on one bun, and Cheesecake Factory's Secret Sauce sits on the other, though it just tasted like ketchup to me.

As far as chain restaurant bacon cheeseburgers go, this is about as good as you're going to get. But I found other Factory burgers that were even more creative and appealing. This one is simply all about the bacon.

Ah, there's the au jus that I was looking for earlier. And it comes in the most adorable little teacup — the kind that makes you want to tuck it in your purse and take it home (don't worry, I didn't, but it sure was tempting).

Aside from the mini cup for dipping, I appreciated that this sandwich was by far the easiest to eat without making a huge mess of yourself in public. I also liked how it combined a cheeseburger and French dip sandwich rather seamlessly. The ingredients themselves are pretty straightforward. Ground beef cooked to a nice medium, plenty of gooey cheese, and caramelized onions make up the bulk of it. The chain slathered on a little garlic aioli (apparently it can't resist adding that to nearly every burger), and I could have eaten the toasted, buttery brioche bun by itself. You get a great mix of umami and rich flavors just from the sandwich, and those tastes are only amplified by the au jus. It's salty with a beef gravy-like flavor — much better than the flavorless stock some restaurants offer.

The only thing that threw me off was the sriracha mayo. It gives the sandwich an Asian flair I don't think it needed, along with a spicy kick that felt a little out of place. It's better left as a straight-up comfort food sandwich. It was one step too far, but overall, this is still a good pick.

What would a burger lineup be without a barbecue option? It's a tradition at nearly every American-style chain restaurant, and you can almost always count on it to be one of the biggest, messiest sandwiches on the menu.

That's absolutely the case with the Factory's Smokehouse B.B.Q. Burger. It's a take-notice cheeseburger, stacked high with cheddar cheese, smoked bacon, lettuce, BBQ ranch sauce, and crispy onion strings. The chain is the opposite of skimpy with all of the above. The amount of onion strings could make up an entire side order, and the best part is that they offer plenty of crunch and flavor. The light seasoning shaken over the breading offers a salty smokiness on top of the sweet onion taste. The patty is as good as ever, and in a single bite with those bacon strips and onion strings, you get an overload of crispy textures and greasiness. The BBQ ranch didn't make much of an impression on me, but luckily, you also get a cup of BBQ sauce on the side. Its flavor profile is mostly sweet with a vinegary tang, which is a good match for such a heavy sandwich.

It's good and on-theme, but it's a little much as you keep eating. Other Cheesecake Factory burgers balance their indulgence a bit better.

Okay, I will admit, the Americana Cheeseburger bears some resemblance to the Classic and Old Fashioned Burgers. It's like burger déjà vu with these three. But there's something about the Americana's specific assemblage of ingredients that makes it the quintessential cheeseburger — just with a saucy twist.

You certainly won't be wanting for more cheese with this one, seeing as a slice of American and a slice of cheddar form a gooey blob on top of the bulky beef patty. Then, we can rattle off the obligatory grouping of lettuce, tomato, and pickles. But the sauces, caramelized onions, and potato strips make the burger unique. Yes, they're potato strips, not onion strips as I originally thought. They have that crunch and spuddy flavor that makes it feel like you're combining the iconic meal of a burger and fries into one mouthful — probably my favorite part of the Americana. And even if you were hoping for onion strips, the buttery richness of caramelized onions helps to soften that blow.

On the sauce side, the description only discloses a "secret sauce," but I think two separate ones were applied here. The top bun tastes like a tangy, pickle-forward sauce, while the bottom bun gets something more akin to a basic burger sauce. Whatever they are, they're working, and this easily became one of the best burgers I tried. If you want classic but anything but ordinary, go with the Americana.

Stick with me on this one. I know all the meat lovers like me will want to breeze right by the Veggie Burger. But I'm telling you right now, it's worthy of your attention. The chef actually came out to chat with me during my visit and specifically told me about this burger. He said that this is actually the third iteration, as the chain has worked to get it just right. Now, I never tried attempts one or two, but the third time seems to have been the charm.

The patty isn't necessarily supposed to mimic meat. Instead, it's made up of brown rice, farro, black beans, and mushrooms and formed into a circular shape. From afar, it looks just like a normal beef patty, but as you taste it, you're hit with a great blend of spices along with the natural flavors of the grains and veggies. I'd actually say it's more flavorful than meat would have been, especially with a layer of caramelized onions hiding underneath. Everything tastes super fresh, and I love the choice of melty white cheese and avocado slices on top, which add nice creaminess.

Lettuce, tomato, onion, and pickles come on the side, but the finishing touch is a dab of special burger sauce — the extra dash of flavor helps make this burger one of my top picks.

I've learned the hard way that there is such a thing as too much cheese on a cheeseburger. Applebee's O-M-Cheese-adilla Burger taught me that lesson. I've also learned that just because ingredients taste good on their own doesn't mean they belong on a beef patty. For these reasons, I was skeptical of the Macaroni and Cheese Burger. But somehow, it all works. It's one of those burgers that sounds ridiculous on paper, yet turns out to be surprisingly delicious in practice.

The macaroni and cheese part of the equation is satisfied by a fried macaroni and cheese ball that sits right on top of the beef patty. And most of the burger's success is tied to the fact that this component holds its own. It's like a mac and cheese patty that explodes with gooey cheese and soft noodles as you take a bite. The breading also stays surprisingly crunchy, even when sandwiched between the juicy patty and an extra helping of cheddar cheese sauce ladled on top. It doesn't need any condiments, and  I was even tempted to skip the lettuce, tomato, pickles, and onion to let the beef and cheese speak for themselves.

The Macaroni and Cheese Cheeseburger is cheesy, savory, and salty, with that crunchy breading adding a satisfying textural element. It's just indulgent enough without going overboard. 10 out of 10, would eat again.

I was treated to a smorgasbord of 10 Glamburgers at my local Cheesecake Factory here in Columbus, Ohio — everything on the current menu except the Turkey Burger. One or two were brought out at a time from the chain's scratch kitchen, giving me plenty of time to try each one individually and take notes along the way.

Every single Cheesecake Factory burger is massive, and you can always count on a thick, quality beef patty. That was consistent across every single burger (except the Veggie Burger, of course). So, ranking really came down to other factors like the specific toppings, overall cohesiveness, and my own personal preferences. 

Even simpler burgers like the Classic or Old Fashioned are still good burgers by most standards. But picks like the Americana or Smokehouse B.B.Q. were even better because they introduced more elevated garnishes and leaned into their themes without going overboard. They offered great flavors all around that complemented both the patty and bun, and the best burgers threw in some textural elements as well to make things even more interesting, like crisp potato strips or buttery avocado on the Veggie Burger. You'd be hard-pressed to find a bad burger at the Factory, but I know my picks for the most glamorous of Glamburgers.