Starbucks Fans Are Up In Arms About The Chain's New Sandwich: 'I Work There... It's Scary To Me'

As a company, Starbucks is no stranger to controversy. From the brand's unpopular four-minute customer service rule to draconian and contradictory guidance about staff writing on cups, there are plenty of reasons for customers to be mad at the coffee giant. So many, in fact, that the latest furore over the new Braised Rib Grilled Cheese should look pretty tame in comparison. But there's no accounting for online fandoms, and Starbucks fans are flaming mad!

The jazzed-up toasted sandwich was released as part of 2026's holiday menu. It builds on the brand's classic grilled cheese, adding caramelized onion jam, Dijon, and of course, braised short rib. At least, that's how Starbucks describes it. Influencers and Redditors, on the other hand, have been complaining about skimpy fillings, poorly constructed sandwiches, and a product that falls far short of what advertising images promise. 

The barely-there, barely identifiable short rib seems to be a point of particular disappointment in the sandwich, which costs around $9 after tax in many states. X user ErikWithTheLand may have summed up the public's feelings best when they tweeted at Starbucks asking, " ... Is this a braised short rib sandwich or a grilled cheese with meat seasoning?" Even workers are on customers' side, with a TikTok user writing, "I work there... it's scary to me."

Anger over the new sandwich has been so intense that comments are verging on the avant-garde. One TikToker declared, "This is fricken cat food dude," but was quickly one-upped by another braised rib hater who said, "Yall eating bumblebee scalp." The absurdity spilled over to Reddit, too. One of the many threads on the sandwich's flaws included a Redditor excusing the skimpy portion of braised rib, saying, "Labubu meat is really hard to harvest since they are so small."

Of course, the internet is the internet, so Redditors were soon victim-blaming and intellectualizing. "What part of Starbucks and Short Ribs made you think this would go well?" asked one Reddit user. Another got political and pointed out, "In a functioning society that 'sandwich' would be a scam and not something a company worth hundreds of millions of dollars could sell." Sure, this is a lot of passion about a disappointing sandwich, but perhaps it reflects anger at rising fast food prices and the cost of living crisis more broadly? Hopefully the rest of the seasonal menu won't cause quite as much of a stir, especially after disappointment about a missing fan favorite on the fall menu.