Things Other Steakhouses Do Better Than Texas Roadhouse

Dinner out in a nice restaurant is a wonderful thing, and steakhouses are one of the most popular options. A tasty and filling piece of quality beef, tasty sides, and a nice drink — what could be better? A steakhouse is a great place for a dinner entertaining business clients, a night out with family or friends, or a date night. The appeal of the steakhouse is evidenced by the number of chains that exist, both high-end and more affordable — and when it comes to the latter variety, Texas Roadhouse ranks high with many steak lovers. As a casual dining option, it certainly isn't one of the most overpriced steakhouse chains in the nation.

The Lone Star State-themed restaurant has 697 locations and a presence in all 50 states. It's the biggest casual-dining restaurant chain in the nation, with over $5 billion in sales in 2024. Thanks to the perks, it's worth becoming a Texas Roadhouse VIP even if you don't eat there often. Clearly, the chain is doing something right — but nobody is the best at everything. There are some aspects of the steakhouse game that other chains do better. 

Some of these chains are casual, like Texas Roadhouse, others are more upscale, but all have an edge in some aspect of the steakhouse business. We searched and discovered the things in which other steakhouses come out on top of Texas Roadhouse.

When it comes to any restaurant, the quality of the food is the most important element in attracting customers and being profitable. For a steakhouse to succeed, that means it must have high-quality beef. In terms of what grade of beef Texas Roadhouse serves, it's USDA Choice, which is better than Select, but not as good as Prime. An impressive feature of the chain is that you can hand-pick your own steak at Texas Roadhouse, cut by an on-staff butcher. This is unusual for a casual dining chain and certainly to the restaurant's credit. However, as good as a Texas Roadhouse steak is, there are other steakhouses that offer better quality meat. 

When food writers or reviewers rank steaks from various chains, Texas Roadhouse often does not come out top, with some saying that there are other steakhouses they would rather dine at. Additionally, one Redditor complained that their "steak had no seasoning on it and was very low quality," while another Reddit user commented, "It's always bad. I've tried it 4 different times, and it's always bland food ... I prefer Outback over Texas Roadhouse any day." This is a small sample, and Texas Roadhouse has plenty of fans. However, it is solid evidence that there are several chains that some customers feel have better quality steaks.

High-quality, great-tasting beef is usually aged before cooking and serving. There are two ways of aging steak: Dry and wet. Wet-aging is when the beef is sealed in a bag for several weeks and ages in its own juices; leaner cuts are best for wet-aging. Texas Roadhouse ages its Choice steaks for between two weeks and 25 days, depending on the cut, and likely uses wet-aging because it doesn't state that the meat is dry-aged. The steaks become juicy and don't lose moisture or need trimming when wet-aged, and less meat is lost during the process. This is why it is often preferred by casual chains, as it's more economical.

Dry-aged steaks, on the other hand, are hung up for up to 28 days, or sometimes even longer. The meat shrinks up, and the flavor becomes more intense. As the beef loses water, microbes break down the muscle fibers to improve the flavor and make it more tender. The steak develops an outer crust that must be cut off before cooking. After aging, the meat tastes better but is significantly smaller. For these reasons, it's a more expensive method. 

It's beyond the budget of some casual steakhouse chains, but dry-aged steaks generally taste much better than those that are wet-aged, and tend to be of higher quality with more marbling. This is why they're served by high-end steakhouse chains like The Palm or Capital Grille. There's a good chance that some of the restaurants out there that use dry-aging are doing it better than Texas Roadhouse.

Most people go to a steakhouse for the beef, but a meal is only as good as its sides. Steak and potatoes are a natural combination, and various vegetables enhance the meal. Naturally, patrons want their sides to be cooked as well as, and taste as good as, the steaks. Texas Roadhouse does have the typical steakhouse sides on its menu: Baked potatoes, steak fries, mashed potatoes, and sweet potatoes are all available. You can also get several vegetables as well as mac and cheese, and the chain is well-known for its rolls.

It's a nice offering of tasty side dishes, but when comparing Longhorn Steakhouse and Texas Roadhouse, the latter chain comes up short. Longhorn's sides are elevated, with four kinds of cheese, smoked bacon, and Parmesan bread crumb toppings on its mac and cheese. Longhorn grills its corn over fire and adds seasoned Parmesan and crema. These added ingredients enhance the flavor of the sides and improve the dining experience.

When food fans compare the best steakhouses side dishes, Texas Roadhouse often does not make the cut, with the sides sometimes seen as nothing special. Several reviewers on Reddit and Yelp have expressed disappointment with Texas Roadhouse's offering. When it comes to sides, there are other chains that do them better.

Ambience is yet another key element of the dining experience. People's tastes differ, but certainly nobody wants to be disturbed by the atmosphere of a restaurant. Texas Roadhouse is themed based on the traditional lively eateries of its namesake state. There is loud country music playing and, in some locations, servers will break out in a two-step or other line dances — things every first-timer should know before going to Texas Roadhouse. Not to mention, the restaurants are generally very crowded. Plenty of customers enjoy this, but it does make these steakhouses very loud.

In fact, Soundprint found Texas Roadhouse to be the third-noisiest restaurant chain in the U.S., with a level of 79 dBa. That is easily loud enough to annoy a huge swath of potential customers. Most people like to talk while dining with family and friends, and if they have trouble hearing each other, they won't be happy. It's not the best atmosphere for either a romantic date night or wining and dining a business client. A Redditor stated this simply by commenting, "Too loud for me, I prefer Outback Steakhouse," showing that ambiance is something else that some other steakhouses do better.

Celebrating a birthday is a lot of fun, and one of the best ways to do it is to go out to dinner with family and friends. A steakhouse can be a great choice of eatery. Many restaurants will go the extra mile for birthday customers, often gifting them with a free dish or dessert. At some, servers will serenade you with a hearty chorus of "Happy Birthday." But Texas Roadhouse's unique birthday tradition takes things one step further.

If you dine at one of the chain's locations on your birthday, you do get a free dessert, but it doesn't end there. You will be placed on a saddle while the servers "Yee haw" and sing the appropriate song. No doubt some diners like this, especially children. However, given the number of people who are embarrassed by such shenanigans in a public place, we can't say this is a slam dunk.

Other steakhouse chains dial it back, but are still generous. For example, if you join Landry's Select Club at Morton's, a birthday meal comes with a free dessert and a $25 gift card — a nice gift that comes without the hoopla. In all fairness, we should mention that Texas Roadhouse VIP members get a choice of one of three meals on the house, anytime during their birth month. That's a really nice perk, assuming you can handle a ride in the saddle.

The better the restaurant, the more people will be clamoring to dine there. This can lead to long wait times, which is why most places take reservations. It's convenient to have the eatery hold your table. You show up at the correct time and get seated. But there are restaurants that don't take reservations, and Texas Roadhouse is one of them. Although they don't take reservations, there is a trick to lower your wait time at Texas Roadhouse – they use a wait list. But that wait is often very long, especially with how crowded these steakhouses usually are, and you are still likely to wait longer than you prefer. Certainly, much longer than if you were able to make a reservation.

This is a problem that people complain about. One Reno customer on Reddit said, "Sucks! Waited 1.5 hours to be seated, and another 1.5 for food. Plus, no reservations ahead of time ..." Another Redditor complained, "I have tried to use the waitlist on the website at least 3 times now, and each time I used it I felt like me and my partner were forgotten about ... The gals at the front told us we'd be seated around 7:15 since we were on the list – but we ended up being seated closer to 8:15 p.m. after I had asked about our waitlist reservation to a worker."

High-end steakhouse chains such as The Palm, Ruth's Chris, The Capital Grille, and others all take reservations, which is much more convenient. Granted, they are more expensive, but even Outback has its Click Thru Seating system that reduces wait times.

We can look at steakhouse chains from a different point of view than customer experience, and proper treatment of employees is essential to the success of any business. Happy workers perform their tasks better and are more willing to go the extra mile. Not to say that Texas Roadhouse does not treat its employees well; it's just that there are other steakhouse chains that appear to be exceptionally good in that regard.

For example, analysis by William Blair on employee satisfaction in chain restaurants in 2025 ranked Longhorn Steakhouse at number nine within its top 10. Since Texas Roadhouse didn't make the list, we can logically conclude that perhaps Longhorn treats its employees better.

Additionally, the chain has a 3.7-star rating (out of five) on Glassdoor. Hardly sterling. One reviewer on the site said of the job's cons, "The big one is pressure to upsell — it's not a high income area ..." Another stated, "Favoritism. Employee meal is a salad/bread only." A third complained, "Work long hours for minimal pay. Required to work major holidays." Worst of all was the comment of a female server, who said, "Discrimination of women over 40/hostile working environment." These are not happy campers, and it's apparent that Texas Roadhouse has plenty of room to improve in employee relations.

Texas Roadhouse restaurants serve an average of 5,000 diners per week. The chain is doing something right, but does that include the cook on its steaks? Probably not, since there are other steakhouse chains that customers feel cook their beef better. One blogger said she would rather eat at Longhorn Steakhouse, stating: "What really sets LongHorn apart is how they nail the temperature request. When I say medium-rare, I get genuine medium-rare, not the questionable guesswork some places serve up." Outback ranked second, and the blogger also complimented that chain's cook: "The kitchen staff seems to have some kind of meat telepathy, they consistently nail the perfect doneness."

In contrast, over on Reddit, a commenter complained of Texas Roadhouse, "Do I expect the best steak of my life from Texas Roadhouse? No. But I DO expect the order to be cooked how asked," adding that "one that was supposed to be medium rare turns out to be VERY blue." Another unhappy diner posted on Reddit, "this steak was the nastiest looking steak I have ever seen," explaining "one side was as I ordered it (medium), and the other side was bright red. I sent it back ..."

The majority of people who dine at steakhouses are likely craving, well, steak. That makes sense. But in a party of several people, there may be some who desire a different protein. Steakhouses often serve lamb, chicken, pork, ribs, and various seafood dishes, and Texas Roadhouse does have some non-beef proteins on its menu. Diners can choose from six different chicken dishes, a half or full slab of ribs, and either grilled salmon or fried catfish. This is a fair number of options for those who aren't in the mood for steak.

An issue with the seafood at Texas Roadhouse was described by a Redditor who ordered a fish and chips promotional meal: "Just ordered the fish n chips from my location and they brought out catfish, but the picture is clearly traditional fish n chips with halibut or cod. I objected, and my server said fish, catfish, same thing." Catfish fits the Texas theme but is sometimes considered a lower-quality fish than halibut or cod.

Alternatively, on the Outback menu, you'll find five chicken dishes — including wings and a chicken and shrimp pasta — plus ribs, two salmon dishes, ahi, grilled shrimp, and lobster tails. That's pretty impressive.

It's always nice to conclude a good meal with a tasty sweet dish. Most people enjoy a nice dessert, and Texas Roadhouse does serve them. The menu shows just three desserts – American classics in keeping with the theme. Apple pie a la mode, strawberry cheesecake, and a brownie and ice cream are the options. They are certainly popular and tasty desserts. However, they are pretty basic, and the selection is limited.

Mashed came up with a ranking of the best steakhouse chain desserts, and Texas Roadhouse did not make the list. Morton's made the cut with its Legendary Hot Chocolate Cake, as did Fleming's Chocolate Lava Cake. Chocolate desserts seem to dominate, but Ruth's Chris popped up with crème brulée, and Saltgrass has a tasty carrot cake. Joining them is Del Frisco's Butter Cake. These are high-end chains, but Longhorn and Outback are also listed with their Chocolate Stampede and Chocolate Thunder from Down Under, respectively.

Texas Roadhouse is a casual dining chain and, as such, has much lower prices than you would see at a high-end steakhouse. But the price of a meal is not the only factor in judging an eatery. The quality of the food, portion sizes, and the overall experience go along with prices to determine value for the money. Although its meals are less expensive than some other casual chains, Texas Roadhouse has raised its prices several times since 2020. This adds up to a 46% overall increase in the last five years, according to a FinanceBuzz study — quite a jump.

An article in the Louisville Courier-Journal states that a further increase is imminent: Due to higher costs, Texas Roadhouse plans to increase prices by an additional 1.7% in the fourth quarter of 2025. When one writer compared Texas Roadhouse, Longhorn, and Outback in terms of the lowest-priced steak on the menu, the clear winner was Outback for the taste of the steak, the sides, and the price of the meal. 

High-end steakhouses are much more expensive, but some diners feel they are worth the extra cost. As one Redditor commented, "Go to Ruth's Chris — get the porterhouse for two. It's $80 and you'll be blown away."