The Best And Worst Items On Culver's Menu, According To Reviews

Culver's got its start in 1984 in Sauk City, Wisconsin, when Craig and Lea Culver teamed up with Craig's parents to launch a restaurant that specialized in frozen custard and ButterBurgers — seared beef patties served in a lightly toasted buttered bun. While this combination of menu items may have been unorthodox, the concept gradually took off, with the first Culver's franchise opening its doors in 1990. Standing testament to its commitment to quality and consistency, today Culver's boasts more than 1,000 locations across the U.S., with the greatest presence in Wisconsin, Illinois, and Florida.

While Culver's initially started out with a focus on ButterBurgers and frozen custard, over the years, the chain has expanded its menu to cater to a broader demographic and changing tastes. Today, the fast food restaurant offers a range of sandwiches, chicken options, salads, and seafood dishes. That said, the quality across the menu can be hit or miss, with some dishes gaining praise from diners and others drawing criticism.

Curious to find out which menu items at Culver's live up to the hype? Take a look at our rundown of dishes that shine and the ones that fall flat before making your next order!

Many fast food chains have added salads to their menus to cater to more health-conscious consumers, vegetarians, and those with dietary restrictions. Culver's has taken a similar approach, offering a lineup of a handful of salad options. One of these is the Cranberry Bacon Bleu Salad. Served on a bed of greens, cucumber, and grape tomatoes, the menu item comes with pieces of grilled chicken breast and bacon, as well as dried cranberries and blue cheese. The salad can be customized with a choice of dressing, such as vinaigrette, buttermilk ranch, and honey mustard.

The Cranberry Bacon Bleu Salad at Culver's has received the green light from diners. One patron called the salad "yummy" in a TripAdvisor review, elaborating, "It makes eating salad a lot more enjoyable. [...] My salad came with a nice grilled chicken breast laid over crumbled bacon and some of the juiciest big cranberries and blue cheese crumbles." Similarly, another TripAdvisor reviewer said that their salad was of high quality, adding, "Real blue cheese, plump dried cranberries, moist chicken, and tasty raspberry vinaigrette dressing."

From the hearty George's Chili Supreme to the refreshing Garden Side Salad, Culver's offers more than 10 different side dishes. One of the starchy options on the chain's accompaniment menu is the Mashed Potatoes and Gravy. Made with Russet potatoes, milk, and seasoning, the menu item is advertised on the website as "perfectly light and fluffy" and "dripping with savory home-style gravy." While this blurb may sound appealing, it isn't how reviewers have described this seemingly straightforward side dish.

Online reviewers haven't exactly been taken by the Mashed Potatoes and Gravy at Culver's — quite the contrary. One Redditor was particularly blunt, saying,"Honestly amazing how these are the worst mashed potatoes I've ever tasted, the s**t at school was far better than these." Another reviewer complained that the gravy that accompanies the mash is somehow simultaneously too bland and too salty. Even the chain's staff members are critical of the side dish, with one employee stating: "The mashed potatoes are a joke too; they are made in a corporate food processing center; we microwave them. So if you order a chopped steak dinner with broccoli and mashed potatoes, you're wasting money" (via Franchise Chatter).

While Culver's is best known for its signature ButterBurgers, the fast food restaurant also offers sourdough "burger" options. While we can't be sure when sourdough bread made its debut on Culver's menu, the chain has been serving it for more than a decade. Just as its name suggests, the chain's Sourdough Melt is made with lightly toasted sourdough bread, a seared patty made from fresh, never frozen beef, aged cheddar cheese, and grilled onions.

While many still visit Culver's for its famous ButterBurgers, some of the more adventurous diners have been mixing things up by ordering the Sourdough Melt. And the feedback from these customers has been overwhelmingly positive. A case in point is one Yelp reviewer who said: "I love the sourdough melt. It's my go-to sandwich." One Redditor also praised the menu item, explaining, "Culver's sourdough melt is banging with cheese sauce as a dip." Interestingly, customers can also swap Culver's standard burger buns for sourdough, opening up a whole new world of customization and possibilities.

The cheese curds at Culver's are small, moist pieces of curdled milk, breaded in herbs and spices, then deep-fried until crispy. As their name suggests, the chain's Wisconsin Cheese Curds are supplied by La Grander Hillside Dairy in Stanley, Wisconsin. The dairy uses fresh milk to produce the unaged yellow and white Wisconsin cheddar that forms the basis of the dish. Culver's has even created an unofficial National Cheese Curd Day on October 15 to celebrate the bite-sized morsels.

While Culver's' cheese curds may have been a beloved menu item once upon a time, it seems that the fast food chain changed its recipe for the side dish some years ago, as pointed out by one Reddit reviewer. "Culver's is getting worse by the year [...] The cheese curds changed and now they're terrible," they say. A Redditor claiming to be a Culver's employee confirmed the change, explaining, "They are softer and the cheese spills out 99% of the time no matter when we pull them. Also the cheese sauce has been changed, it's like they thinned it out with water, it tastes worse."

In addition to its ButterBurgers, Culver's is also famous for its fresh frozen custard. The chain's answer to dessert, the custard has a lower air content than ice cream, giving it a thicker and richer texture. Plus, it's made in small batches throughout the day to ensure that it stays fresh. The chain's Concrete Mixer blends vanilla or chocolate custard with at least two mix-ins, such as bananas, blueberries, brownie pieces, cashews, or hot caramel.

The Chocolate Mixer has been a hit with online reviewers, many of whom shared their go-to mix-ins. For example, one TripAdvisor user said that the Chocolate Mixer is their favorite chain dessert, adding, "I have fallen in love with the Concrete Mixer. I ordered a large Concrete Mixer with Chocolate Syrup and Strawberries. My wife ordered a Mini Chocolate Concrete Mixer with Blackberries and Blueberries. I actually seek out a Culver's when I am traveling." A Reddit member, who said they were partial to marshmallow and brownie mixed into chocolate custard, advised, "Honestly, everything tastes good, but remember to only get one liquid topping. I've scooped concretes with stuff like hot fudge and butterscotch — which sounds like a great combo, until you end up with a sh***y, soupy concrete that is impossible to eat without making a mess."

Culver's offers three starch-based side dishes — Mashed Potatoes & Gravy, Chili Cheddar Fries, and Crinkle Cut Fries — with the chili cheddar option combining standard fries with toppings. The fast food chain proudly advertises its fries as "hot and crispy and served golden brown only after you order." However, this hasn't matched the experience of many online reviewers, with several diners citing inconsistency in the temperature and texture of the menu item.

Many diners have taken issue with Culver's fries being served lukewarm or even cold. One example comes from a Yelp reviewer who said, "All in all, I think Culver's is always super salty and the fries are never fresh (looking inside I saw tons of already cooked and bagged fries sitting under a heating lamp)." Another Yelper agreed, saying, "Fries warm at best. Got there around 7 pm [and] at least 15 orders of fries under warmer. No one in line." In addition, numerous customers described the crinkle cut fries at Culver's as "average at best," "frozen crinkle," and "rock hard and cold."

To many, a float is synonymous with root beer. This isn't surprising, given that a sweet scoop of vanilla ice cream goes very well with the mildly spicy, licorice flavor of root beer. While Culver's serves three different types of floats, including the Coca Cola Float and the Fanta Orange Float, it's the fast food chain's Root Beer Float that has won over the hearts of diners. However, at Culver's, the fizzy and crisp beverage comes with frozen custard instead of ice cream.

Culver's root beer stands out from the pack. Born out of the co-founder's love for root beer, the menu item is based on a house recipe that has been refined over decades. That being the case, it's no wonder that the menu item has received rave reviews from diners. For example, one TripAdvisor reviewer said that the root beer at Culver's was the best around, adding, "If you love root beer, Culver's is where you want to buy it. Reminds me of my childhood drinking A&W." Another TripAdvisor user and self-proclaimed root beer aficionado was also partial to the beverage, saying, "Culver's is great. I wish it was available in bottles."

Many fast food burger joints have embraced the shift to plant-based and flexitarian diets by expanding their menus to include veggie burgers. Just like some of its competitors, Culver's has also jumped on the plant-based bandwagon with its Harvest Veggie Burger. Listed on its menu under "sandwiches" — that's a mystery to us too — the burger features a patty made with fire-roasted chickpeas, corn, peppers, and Wisconsin cheese. To complete the handheld, Culver's also offers a choice of toppings, including lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, onions, and jalapeños.

According to online feedback, Culver's changed the recipe for its veggie burger patty some time ago — and not for the better. A case in point is one Facebook member who pleaded with the fast food chain to bring back the original version of the plant-based burger, adding, "The new one is soggy, too thick, and doesn't taste good!" A YouTube reviewer also wasn't impressed with the new offering, saying, "It is as if you took Thanksgiving stuffing and you mixed a little bit of your corn in there and maybe some other vegetables [...] The texture is just not for me. [...] If this had a little more crispiness and a little more substance, I think I would be on board a little bit more."

True to its name, Culver's Bacon Deluxe features two strips of smoky thick-cut bacon. Unveiled in 2024, the fast food chain has described the bacon as a "game changer" that's prepared using the restaurant's proprietary method. Crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside, the bacon features in several of the restaurant's dishes and can be ordered as an add-on to items that don't include it. Aside from the bacon, Culver's Bacon Deluxe also comes with two beef patties, Wisconsin cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, sweet red onion, and pickles.

The Bacon Deluxe Burger has received consistently positive reviews from fast food enthusiasts. Take one Yelp reviewer, for example, who said: "The burger is tasty. Real meat patties. Definitely ranks high in comparison to other fast food chains quality wise. I'd compare the burger to Steak and Shake or Wendy's but slightly better." A TripAdvisor user seconded this, saying, "Consistently good [...] My bacon deluxe burger was hot and juicy with a nice crispy roll."

In addition to its famous ButterBurgers, Culver's also serves a range of sandwiches. From the classic Grilled Reuben Melt with lean corned beef to the Beef Pot Roast made with slow-braised chuck roast, the fast food chain has definitely branched out beyond its burger offerings. One sandwich that hasn't received much praise from customers is the pork loin. In fact, the handheld, which features a center-cut pork loin breaded with seasoned cracker crumbs, is considered as one of the weaker items on the chain's menu — as attested to by customer feedback.

As far as handhelds go, the Pork Loin Sandwich leaves a lot to be desired, as noted by one Facebook user. "Last time I gave them a chance with the tenderloin, it tasted like; well it didn't taste at all. I don't know if it's the oil they cooked it in or [the] lack of some kind of spice," they wrote. Even the chain's employees were critical of the menu item, with one staff member posting on Reddit: "I will grant you that our pork sandwich sucks but that is [the] corporation's fault for making it a sandwich. Put it on a plate, smother [it] with beef gravy and grilled onions and it is delicious."

While Culver's is primarily a destination for carnivores, the fast food chain does offer two types of seafood — butterfly jumbo shrimp and cod. Served as a sandwich or as a full dinner plate alongside two side dishes and a warm dinner roll, the chain's North Atlantic cod is hand-cut, hand-battered, and fried until golden and crispy. When served as a full meal, the fish comes with a selection of dipping sauces, including classic tartar, cocktail, malt vinegar, and hot sauce.

The North Atlantic Cod Dinner at Culver's has received the thumbs up from customers across various platforms. For instance, one Facebook reviewer said that the chain had the best cod dinner, elaborating, "I have had it several times and it has been consistently big flaky crispy pieces of fish. [...] It surprises me how good this meal is coming from a fast food restaurant." A TripAdvisor reviewer also praised the dish, saying, "Excellent! [...] The cod pieces were very big, flaky, and yummy." Similarly, other reviewers described the restaurant's cod dinner as "a must try" and "the best thing they have at Culver's."

Listed alongside the fruit-forward Cranberry Bacon Bleu Salad and the more basic Garden Fresco Salad, the Chicken Cashew Salad at Culver's has failed to impress diners. Despite its seemingly premium ingredients — including grilled chicken and whole roasted cashews — it seems that the menu item falls short of the sum of its parts. For those interested in details, the Chicken Cashew Salad also features mixed greens, sliced cucumber, grape tomatoes, and Wisconsin cheddar.

The main issue with the Chicken Cashew Salad at Culver's seems to revolve around the chicken. One Yelper said that the menu item wasn't worth the hype or the money, adding, "Fried chicken is good but grilled in the salad was hard and bland. I won't go back." A TripAdvisor reviewer was also disappointed with the salad, saying, "I didn't even finish and tossed the entire chicken salad, it was undercooked and [the] lettuce was all hot and wilted, there was a lot of water at [the] bottom of the bowl."

The more varied the menu, the harder it is for a fast food chain to ensure that every dish is a hit with diners. This is especially true when new additions diverge from the restaurant's original focus. For Culver's, expanding beyond burgers and frozen custard has been a mixed bag, bringing both successes and failures.

To pinpoint which Culver's menu items truly deliver and which ones miss the mark, we looked to customer feedback. More specifically, we read hundreds of diner reviews on reputable platforms such as Reddit, Yelp, and TripAdvisor. Some of the elements we focused on when compiling our roundup of the chain's best and worst dishes included each menu item's flavor, texture, ingredient quality, and presentation.