5 Items You Should Order At Bubba's 33 And 4 You Should Avoid, According To Reviews

Texas Roadhouse is a popular national chain known for its variety of mouthwatering steak options and highly ranked appetizers. They aim to please, allowing you to pick your cut, level of "doneness," and side dish to craft your perfect steak meal. But for those who aren't in the mood for a ribeye, Texas Roadhouse also owns another chain called Bubba's 33 that brings the Texas Roadhouse strategy to the sports bar scene. The restaurant is named after owner Kent Taylor's nickname, as well as the year 1933, when prohibition ended. Come prepared for made-from-scratch food, signature drinks, and a fun, lively atmosphere that emulates a "garage bar" vibe.

The American-cuisine chain is rapidly growing, with more than 50 locations opened since the first one in Fayetteville, North Carolina, in 2013. Best known for its pizzas and burgers, the chain has earned a fanbase. However, according to reviews online, there are some menu items that you absolutely cannot miss, and some that you're perfectly safe skipping. Here's a breakdown so you're ready for your next visit.

When it comes to chain restaurants, the appetizers really are the name of the game — the appetizers at Bubba's 33 do not disappoint. Perhaps its most popular app is the shotgun shrimp. This shareable dish comes with 16 lightly hand-breaded shrimp fried until golden and crispy. They are cooked in shotgun sauce, which is a spicy cream-based sauce made in-house. They're topped with green onion and served with a lemon wedge for some extra tangy flavor.

What completes the meal and makes it one of the favorite menu items is the bed of fresh potato straws that the shrimp are served on. Additionally, the shotgun shrimp can be turned into a meal by ordering the shrimp po' boy instead. This is the same mouthwatering shrimp served on a hoagie roll with lettuce and tomatoes. A commenter on Facebook claimed, "My wife liked the shrimp Po boy and she is from Louisiana." Since this is where the po' boy originated, it's safe to say this menu item has the southern stamp of approval.

As one of the menu items the chain is most well-known for it comes as no surprise that Bubba's pizza is highly praised online. One of the standout pizzas it offers is the Dickie V, which comes with Italian sausage, cherry peppers, fresh basil, and parmesan. What customers enjoy the most about these pizzas is the garlic-buttered crust, and according to a Reddit thread online, "The best pizza starts with the best crust." One commenter even described Bubba's 33 pizza crust as a "work of art."

When it comes to pizza, the texture is as important as the taste. Bubba's 33 customers also appreciate that the slices aren't too floppy or greasy. One fan explained, "It's perfect; sturdy but foldable. The chew it has is just so that oil and ingredients won't wilt it but it doesn't crack and flake like a pizza hut thin crust." With flavors ranging from buffalo chicken to Hawaiian — and even a make-your-own option — ordering the pizza at Bubba's 33 does not disappoint.

Fried appetizers take the cake as the most popular starter at American chains. One of the highly popular appetizers that keeps customers coming back to Bubba's 33 is the garlic knots. One Facebook commenter even claims they are "to die for." The knots are made from scratch-made pizza dough, baked with the same garlic butter that makes the pizzas and their crusts so delicious, and covered in a heavy helping of grated parmesan. What's not to like? One customer shared a video on TikTok showing the buttery pull-apart dough and noted, "There is nothing yummier than Bubba's garlic knots."

In addition to being served with a side of marinara, the knots also come with a beer cheese sauce that customers believe really takes this starter to the next level. So, if you're looking for a fun environment to watch the game and enjoy some cheese-dipped garlicky doughy goodness, Bubba's 33 is the place.

Where Texas Roadhouse is known for its steaks, Bubba's 33 is known for its burgers. With some rather unique offerings, there really is something for everyone. Some of the burgers that receive ample praise from reviewers online are the sunshine burger, the blackened blue burger, and the habañero burger. The sunshine burger is two patties topped with a fried egg, American cheese, bacon, lettuce, tomato, and onion. One happy customer on Reddit hopes Bubba's will inspire a resurgence of the "eggs on burger" trend, claiming, "Bubbas is the only place I've seen one on the menu in a modern establishment."

The blackened blue burger also receives praise online for its unique creamy blue cheese sauce. Meanwhile, the habañero burger is popular among spice-lovers for its fried jalapeño cream cheese. More recently, Bubba's hopped on the thin burger trend by adding a smash burger to the menu as well. Hot tip: Customers recommend dipping your burger (or almost any menu item) in the Bubba's sauce, a barbecue sauce mixed with various spices that enhances every part of the meal.

While this casual-style American bar food chain is not necessarily known for its healthy offerings, the chain does have some options for those looking to dine on the healthier side. One of the most popular dishes for this purpose is the California chicken dinner, which features a grilled chicken breast served over garden rice with a honey-lime sauce that's made right in-house. It's has sliced avocado, Jack cheese, and pico de gallo, although the dish is customizable and the toppings can be left off or put on the side per customer request.

Customers appreciate this flavorful dish as a healthy alternative to the burgers and pizzas that the chain is more well-known for. Customers find the garden rice to be particularly delicious. One even claims it is the best rice they've ever had. Luckily, fans of the garden rice can also order it as a side to their dish if they prefer an alternative to the chicken breast.

According to customer reviews on Yelp, the chicken wings are a menu item you might consider skipping on your next trip to Bubba's. The chain offers both traditional and boneless wings, with a choice of ranch or blue cheese dipping sauce and dry or wet rub. While its sauce list is expansive, including flavors like shotgun, raspberry chipotle, cajun spice, and habañero heat, the chicken wings leave much to be desired.

A customer on Yelp described the wings as "absolutely horrible." She went on to explain, "There was barely any meat and you could visibly see the bones. They were also highly lacking sauce and were way over done. My son didn't even eat them as a result." Another customer found their wings were raw, sharing an image of the pink interior of the chicken. The overall consensus is that the wings simply lack flavor and seasoning, and don't compare to some of the other more vibrant menu options.

Bubba's 33 is not known for its sandwich offerings, outside of the shrimp po' boy, which is popular for the flavorful shotgun shrimp. Its other sandwich offerings seem to be rather inconsistent, receiving lots of mixed reviews from customers. One customer claimed she left the restaurant hungry because she had to send her buffalo chicken sandwich back for being far too salty. She described it as "... salt and more salt, oh and a splash of heat."

Other customers lament the amount of grease on the sandwiches. A patron who visited a Bubba's in Mesquite, Texas, claimed there was enough oil and grease left behind from the sandwich he ordered to swim in it. However, another customer said that the pork tenderloin sandwich was about what you'd expect from a chain restaurant, so reviews vary. That being said, what people expect from a chain is consistency, so for this reason, the sandwich might not be the best option. If it's a sandwich you're craving, you might want to consider going to this popular sandwich chain for high-quality meat instead.

As a chain known for its casual American-style bar food, we can't say we're surprised to find that a salad is not the most popular item on the menu at Bubba's. Customer reviews take particular issue with the wedge salad. One dissatisfied guest had to ask for extra of almost every topping since the salad was served to her with no more than "a pinch of bacon bits and barely a teaspoon of dressing." Another complained the bacon that they did receive was too fatty and that the mushrooms were mushy.

The overall consensus is that the salad is simply not as fresh as the site claims. However, some fans do appreciate the house salad as an alternative, which comes with egg, tomato, cheddar and jack cheeses, red onion, and the potato straws that come so highly recommended with the shotgun shrimp appetizer. If you're looking for some fresh greens, this salad might be a better option.

Perfecting fish and chips is no simple task, as the talented cooks behind America's best fish and chips know. It starts with the right kind and cut of fish and then requires a practiced frying technique, or else they can easily become soggy or mushy. Bubba's 33 uses Atlantic Cod fried in Samuel Adams Boston Lager batter and served with traditional tartar sauce and a choice of sides. However, customers seem to be collectively unimpressed by this dish, claiming it is far too greasy.

Customers have found the fish filets or "oversized hush puppies," as one commenter described them, so greasy that they soaked the fries and paper in the basket they were served in. Another unsatisfied customer recommended using a different batter or better training on how to properly cook battered fish because their order was soggy with "hardly any batter on the fish."