What You Should Know Before Ordering A Caesar Salad At The Costco Food Court

For many customers, the best part about shopping at Costco isn't just getting a good deal on your groceries. It's also grabbing a bite to eat at the food court. You can't go wrong with a hot dog and a drink for only $1.50 or a slice of pizza for $1.99. Some shoppers also enjoy Costco's Caesar salad, however, it isn't always as reliable an option compared to the food court's mainstays according to feedback online.

To ensure the pizza turns out the same every time, a machine is used to both flatten the dough and spread the sauce. And when it comes to the hot dogs, Costco leaves it up to the customers to put on their own toppings. With the Caesar salad on the other hand, there's more room for error, customers have noticed. "The chicken was slimy, limp wet lettuce, barely any cheese and they didn't have croutons," one shared on Reddit. "Plus, there were tomato skins and seeds on some of the chicken pieces." Comments under a TikTok review of the salad bring up similar complaints, though there are also some customers that claim to have never encountered any issues. Ultimately the quality of the Caesar salad seems to heavily depend on the employee who made it.

On the food court menu, the Caesar salad is advertised as being made with rotisserie chicken, however Costco customers aren't entirely convinced this is the case. Many who have tried it swear that it's actually made with canned chicken, while others claim that it's the hand-pulled chicken in the vacuum-sealed bags from the deli section. A self-identified employee alleges that the latter is true in a Reddit comment.

While most customers are fans of the famous $4.99 Costco rotisserie chicken, the chicken in the Caesar salad doesn't get nearly as much praise. The biggest complaint is that the chicken is always cut into irregular-sized pieces that are far too big for a salad, and that employees don't even bother removing the cartilage. Apart from that, the chicken is also reportedly saltier than the normal rotisserie chicken, has a mushier texture, and isn't always cooked properly.

At $6.99, Costco's Caesar salad is significantly pricier than everyone's favorite pizza and hot dog options, however it wasn't always that way. Prepandemic, before the salad was temporarily pulled from the menu, it was only $3.99. When it was eventually added back after three years, the higher price was justified by the fact that the grilled chicken strips were "upgraded" to rotisserie chicken.

You'd think that the salad would at least have been made bigger considering the price was raised, but it appears Costco either kept it the same size or decreased it slightly. Unlike the initial version, the new Caesar salad also no longer has cherry tomatoes. With one less ingredient, potentially lower quality chicken (at least according to the standards of most customers), and a higher price, it seems the Caesar salad may not exactly be a steal compared to Costco's other food court offerings.