7 Chain Restaurant Appetizers That Are Better Than The Main Course

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When you go out to eat, you may feel pressured to stick to the standard menu and only order an entrée. However, we say it's time to simply order what you want. And if that's an appetizer, then so be it. 

Plenty of chain restaurants have stellar appetizer selections, but not every app is the highlight of the menu. We wanted to get intel on which chain-restaurant apps are worth visiting restaurants for, and which ones go so far as to overshadow the mains. Though opinions are subjective, these are all backed by customer and Tasting Table reviews. That means you can trust that many people truly adore each dish for its incredible flavor, myriad of textures, and even its superior presentation. Next time you go out to eat, consider making one of these appetizers your main course. You won't regret it; in fact, it may change your life for the better.

You may initially head to Outback Steakhouse for its meat — it calls itself a steakhouse, after all — but there's a menu item that outshines all the steaks and burgers: the Bloomin' Onion. This appetizer is beloved by many, but it became clear just how many people think it's one of the top things on the menu. "I love Outback Bloomin' Onionhouse. Steak is the appetizer," someone said on a Reddit thread about this appetizer.

If you haven't had it before, the Bloomin' Onion is an enormous, hand-carved onion that's dipped in batter and fried until golden brown and crispy. Perhaps you're thinking it can't be that great; it's just an onion. Wrong. "They make life worth living," said one Redditor in the same thread. The flavorful batter, onion's complexity, and spicy bloom sauce make it a memorable app.

While it's at its peak flavor and has its crunchiest texture straight from the kitchen, you don't have to eat it that way for it to be good. "Will devour by myself even if it's cold, next question," another person on Reddit said. The dish is so well-known that other chain restaurant onion dishes are mistakenly called the Bloomin' Onion — more on that later.

Some customers go to Chili's because they appreciate a good deal, so it shouldn't be a shock that the Triple Dipper is a favorite. This creation lets the customer create their own appetizer by choosing not one but three appetizers. It's not like there's a handful of options either; you can select from a number of bone-in or boneless flavored wings, fried mozzarella, Southwestern Eggrolls, and other picks. "Chili's Triple Dipper is gonna [hit] every time," one person wrote on Facebook. 

Others say that they're relatively new to the Chili's menu item but are thoroughly infatuated. "I had a [Triple Dipper] today. Everything is right in my world now," someone said on a Facebook post all about the appetizer. If it can lift someone's mood so much, it has to be top-tier. 

Others noted they veered off course and ordered a main dish (pasta), regretted it, and wished they'd gotten the Triple Dipper instead. Now the hard part is figuring out which trio of apps to get, though the Southwestern Eggrolls seem to get a lot of shoutouts, and the Honey-Chipotle Chicken Crispers came in first place in a ranking of Triple Dipper apps. The app gets so much love, even from food reviewers, that you have to make a trip to Chili's just to place your own order and experience it firsthand.

Olive Garden is well-known for its soup, salad, and breadsticks deal, which is a good way to stretch a dollar. But if you want something else that stands out as a top menu item to beat out the main courses, look out for the Stuffed Ziti Fritta appetizer. This dish ranked very high when our writer tried a bunch of Olive Garden apps, noting that it was wonderfully fried with enough crunch to make it interesting. But then the five-cheese filling adds a creamy, complex touch that enhances the richness. It's certainly an unexpected delight, but it comes highly recommended by food reviewers. 

Others say it's one of their favorite dishes or the absolute best thing on Olive Garden's menu. Olive Garden posted a photo of the dish on Facebook, which garnered hundreds of comments from people saying it "tasted like heaven" and that "These stuffed ziti fritta noodles are by far the best you've ever had." Order them with freshly grated cheese on top for extra richness. It is served with Alfredo and marinara sauce for dipping. The former is great when you want to amp up the creaminess, but the marinara offers some acidity and umami to cut through the heaviness.

It's shocking just how popular TGI Fridays Loaded Potato Skins are. They're so revered the chain even created a frozen version of the dish, which also comes with plenty of critical acclaim. However, we're here to highlight the OG version you can buy in-restaurant. A 2021 Mashed survey polled 604 U.S. residents about their favorite appetizer at the chain, and the potato skins took the lead with 34.93% of the votes. It's hard to resist, given that it comes with halved baked potatoes topped with gooey cheese and smoky bacon. The app is served with ranch sour cream with a smidge of green onion.

People love the texture of the potato skins, how all the ingredients mesh together, and even the portion size of six potato halves. They even order two of them at a time for their table — that way nobody has to fight over their piece. It is frequently recommended by customers and chefs alike, so it should be the first thing you purchase if you go to the chain. In an X post claiming the chain invented the dish in 1974 (although that is still up for debate), someone responded, "You guys invented life." It is easily one of the best potato skins from a chain restaurant and something that easily beats out other main courses on TGI Fridays' menu.

Texas Roadhouse has many great items, but the Cactus Blossom consistently receives enormous praise from customers — though many people mistakenly call it Bloomin' Onion (Outback Steakhouse's iteration of the similar dish). Even so, people say Texas Roadhouse's is the superior onion app out of the two chains. The onion-based dish received many positive recommendations in a Facebook group dedicated to the chain, meaning they really know their stuff. A Facebook post from Texas Roadhouse received hundreds of comments from people chiming in about their favorite appetizer, and the Cactus Blossom came up very frequently. 

"The onion is the main reason we go there," one person said on Facebook, while another said, "That's the appetizer of my dreams." Other fans say they could just eat the dish as their entire meal or that it's just as good as the steaks – high praise considering that's the basis of what the chain sells. We ranked it the top appetizer from the chain because it balances the delicate sweetness of onion with the crisp, battered exterior. The Cajun sauce adds a bit of creamy heat to the mix, making every bite more enjoyable. Ramp up the flavor even more by making it a Fire Blossom, with jalapeños, cheese sauce, and a magical Cajun dust. Not sold? Even those who admit they don't usually like onions say they love the dish.

Honestly, it can be hard to narrow down what to get at Yard House because its menu is so large — pizza, burgers, chicken, steak, seafood, sandwiches, and everything in between. There's some stiff competition, but still, the Poke Nachos stand out from the sea of options. It ranked as the top appetizer at Yard House, where Tasting Table's writer said it was delightfully fresh and even reported that it was the general manager's favorite dish from the chain. "It's refreshing, but also filling, has a big diversity of flavors and textures, and is really easy to eat," our writer said.

This appetizer is fully loaded with marinated raw ahi and crispy wontons as the foundation. But then you get a rainbow of toppings like avocado, cilantro, green onions, nori, and a touch of nutty sesame seeds. This app has flavor coming from every angle, from the spicy kick of serranos to the umami hit of white truffle sauce. Other fans say they like to get the fish dish as their main course, effectively blowing everything else out of the water. It's highly recommended and is considered the highlight of the meal, so much so that people report they could eat it daily. "24hrs later and I can't stop thinking about the poke nachos I had last night," said one Yelp reviewer.

While you're enjoying the dimly lit vibe at P.F. Chang's, there's one dish that may brighten the mood. The Chang's Lettuce Wraps are a total knockout and are well worth ordering as your main dish. In fact, the chain restaurant's website lists the dish as the most popular menu item, meaning it's more coveted than other main courses. People admit they get it as their entrée anyway. It is beautifully presented with fanned-out lettuce leaves and your choice of chicken or vegetarian-based protein. There are mushrooms, water chestnuts, and savory sauce, alongside crispy rice sticks.

It ranked very highly in our P.F. Chang's menu review, in which the writer called it "one of the most standout dishes [they'd] enjoyed at any chain establishment." Others agree that it's their favorite, so you can't go wrong when ordering them. Even people who weren't really fans of their P.F. Chang's restaurant experience say they had to give the chain credit for the scrumptious lettuce wraps. Make sure to order this crowd pleaser on your next visit; whether you want to share them is up to you.

To identify the best appetizers that outshine the main courses, we first had to find which ones received high praise. We searched for some of the most common compliments people had about these apps. Some clearly articulated why these appetizers were the best things on the menu, while other descriptions were more esoteric, such as that they "made life worth living."

In addition to general customer compliments about the meals, we looked for appetizers that wowed people and were clearly considered favorites on the menu. These are better than main courses, according to patrons, because of their flavor, presentation, memorability, and other factors.