Chili's Adds Pizza To Its Menu

As more and more "bar & grill"-style restaurants are trying to attract larger and larger crowds, it now appears as if no new idea or trend is off limits. Want to start serving Korean tacos at T.G.I Friday's? Sure, go for it. Want to infuse alcohol into a bunch of your dishes at Applebee's? Why not. And while this announcement is not quite as far-out as some more groundbreaking new menu items, Chili's has become the first major "bar & grill"-style chain to add a very bar-friendly food to the menu: pizza.

We first told you back in January that the new addition was in the works, but now every one of the 823 company-owned Chili's restaurants has finished rolling out this new item. Brand Eating was able to dig a little deeper into exactly what they're offering.

Four new 9-inch personal pizzas are on the menu: five cheese, pepperoni, Southwestern chicken, and taco. During lunch, the five cheese and pepperoni options are available as 6-inch pizzas, which are also on the kids' menu.

The five cheese contains Cheddar, mozzarella, Monterey Jack, Pepper Jack, Parmesan, diced tomatoes, and green onions, and contains 77 grams of fat and 1,490 calories. The pepperoni pizza contains 75 grams of fat and 1,410 calories. The Southwestern chicken comes topped with chile-rubbed chicken, chipotle, pesto, Cheddar, mozzarella, Monterey Jack, Pepper Jack, green and red bell peppers, red onions, and pico de gallo, and contains 79 grams of fat and 1,550 calories. The taco pizza has seasoned ground beef, salsa, Cheddar, mozzarella, Monterey Jack, Pepper Jack, red onions, cilantro, cumin-lime sour cream, and pico de gallo, and contains 75 grams of fat and 1,470 calories. Mushrooms, jalapeños, or seasoned ground beef can be added to any pizza.

While it might not be the first menu item that comes to mind when we think of Chili's, these pizzas will most likely sell well among those who are just looking for something simple to wash down their beer with, and will likely be popular with children as well. According to the restaurant, the pizzas are "freshly made on a house-baked crust," and plans are in the works to launch flatbreads next month.