10 Ways Rival Steakhouse Chains Are Better Than Texas Roadhouse
Do you like Texas Roadhouse? Of course you do. The vast majority of people who like a good steak are fans of this chain, which is consistently praised by its customers for the experience it offers and the quality of its food. It's the restaurant's ability to keep people happy that has led to endless discussion about it, and whether you're talking about the rules you should know to eat there or trading tips on your favorite dishes, it takes up a lot of room in the steakhouse world. However, it's far from the only option out there, and it's definitely not the best option for everything you might want.
Texas Roadhouse may be absolutely enormous, but that doesn't mean that it's not beaten by its smaller, pluckier competitors in areas like opening hours, dessert options, and wine selection. For such a big chain, it also struggles to impress when it comes to its loyalty program, and the ambience of its dining rooms can leave a lot to be desired. If you've ever left a Texas Roadhouse feeling like things are somewhat lacking, then you might want to check out where to head instead.
1. Other steakhouse chains have longer opening hours
If you're craving a steak for your lunch, then Texas Roadhouse isn't the place for you. The restaurant chain refers to itself as a dinner-only concept, and while this isn't entirely true (mainly because it opens for lunch on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays), during most of the week, it only opens its doors at mid-afternoon. You may be able to grab a very late lunch if you arrive right when it opens, but if you want something a little closer to midday, you'll be sorely disappointed.
It's quite surprising that Texas Roadhouse limits its opening times like this, when so many of its competitors don't do the same. Restaurants like Logan's Roadhouse, LongHorn Steakhouse, and Outback Steakhouse all open at 11 a.m. during the week and offer lunch and dinner. Perhaps Texas Roadhouse is doing well enough that it doesn't need to open for lunch hours from Monday to Thursday, or perhaps it just doesn't make that much money doing so. However, it does leave customers slightly adrift, and heading to alternative steakhouses for more hospitable opening times.
2. You can get better-quality steak elsewhere
Texas Roadhouse may be the most prominent steakhouse chain out there, but it may not have gotten there through the quality of its food. Most of the time, Texas Roadhouse steak is pretty reliable, but now and again, it really drops the ball. This is probably to be expected for such a big chain, but it's left customers very disappointed with their experiences, with a few too many reports for our liking of gristly steaks studded with hard pieces of fat and poorly cooked pieces of meat.
@kimmyk561 @Texas Roadhouse For the record we absolutely love Texas roadhouse, I've never had one of their steaks. I always get chicken and salad, I'm just needing clarification because this is not normal.
In some cases, the steak that Texas Roadhouse has served to its customers has been mind-bogglingly bad. One video that went viral on TikTok showed a diner literally mashing their steak with a spoon, with the meat turning to mush. It appeared to have been marinated too long, but disgusted commenters underneath said that it could have even been an abscess. Yikes. You may well be happier with the steak served at LongHorn Steakhouse, which has been praised for its well-cooked pieces of meat, or at slightly more upmarket joints like The Capital Grille.
3. At other places, the classic cocktail and wine selection is more impressive
When you're dining at Texas Roadhouse, you're not going to be short of drink options. The chain has a good selection of soft drinks and sodas, an impressive range of beers, and a generous variety of margaritas made with distinctive ingredients, including one made with sangria. Where it's somewhat lacking in comparison to other steakhouse chains, though, is in its classic cocktails and wine options. Texas Roadhouse does offer an old fashioned and a Long Island iced tea on its cocktail menu, but other than that, it focuses on its own bespoke creations, many of which are long drinks and based around sodas. With four types of red wine and five types of white to choose from, its range of vintages isn't exactly massive.
However, if you head to a slightly more upmarket steakhouse chain like Ruth's Chris Steak House or The Capital Grille, you'll find that you have many more to choose from. The Capital Grille stocks 12 varieties of red and nine different white wines, and has a broad range of classic cocktails, including a dirty martini, a cosmopolitan, a paloma, and a Manhattan. Ruth's Chris, meanwhile, also has a mature cocktail selection and a hefty number of reds, whites, and sparkling wines. If you're a beverage connoisseur, it could be worth spending slightly extra to get a mixologist-worthy drink with your meal.
4. If you eat at Texas Roadhouse, your dessert options will be more limited
A sweet treat after a big old hunk of steak? Don't mind if we do, folks. If you're eating at Texas Roadhouse, though, you may find yourself a little disappointed with the dessert selection. The chain currently has just three desserts on its menu, and customers can choose between a slice of apple pie topped with vanilla ice cream, a piece of strawberry cheesecake, or a brownie. All of these might be classics, but it's fair to say that they're also not exactly inspired choices.
Look elsewhere, though, and you'll find that other steakhouse chains have not only more selection, but also more interesting options. Logan's Roadhouse and LongHorn Steakhouse both have four desserts, with the former's Key Lime Cheesecake and the latter's Chocolate Stampede (which has six different types of chocolate) giving you a little more dynamism at the end of the meal. Outback Steakhouse has five desserts on offer, and its Salted Caramel Cookie Skillet gives the fairly traditional options at Texas Roadhouse a run for their money. For even more range, head to The Capital Grille, where you can dine on a coconut cream pie or a flourless chocolate espresso cake, just two of the six options on offer. In comparison to all of these, Texas Roadhouse's choices feel a bit, well, boring.
5. Places like Outback Steakhouse and Logan's Roadhouse have better loyalty programmes
Loyalty programmes are pretty standard for restaurants these days. So it's surprising that a massive chain like Texas Roadhouse doesn't have a scheme that feels more well-developed and that offers more value to its customers. The chain's flagship loyalty offer is its VIP Club, which is essentially a mailing list that periodically emails out offers. You do get a special welcome gift when you sign up, and you'll also receive a free birthday gift if you dine at Texas Roadhouse on the special day, but it doesn't give you any opportunity to build up points that you can exchange for rewards.
A points-based system can make customers feel as though they're working towards something, and also that they're eventually getting something in exchange for the money they've spent. Both Outback Steakhouse and Logan's Roadhouse seem to be aware of this, and both chains give diners the opportunity to accrue points with their loyalty programmes. Plus, like Texas Roadhouse, they both offer perks and surprises, with Logan's Roadhouse also giving customers free birthday desserts and other free items. Maybe Texas Roadhouse just doesn't want to be too generous?
6. You may feel like you get more value for money at other steakhouse chains
There's no denying that Texas Roadhouse feels like pretty good value for money. When it comes to its food, people generally find that the price they pay doesn't raise eyebrows, and while its dishes aren't considered extraordinary in the steakhouse world, it's good for a reasonable dinner. However, it's slightly beaten to the punch by the value that other steakhouse chains offer. Places like Outback Steakhouse and Logan's Roadhouse are posing a direct challenge to Texas Roadhouse with their impressive price points. The offers that the chains present to customers, like Logan's Roadhouse's Real-Deal Meal (which gives folks several courses and a beverage from just $11.99) and Outback Steakhouse's Aussie 3-Course Meal (which starts at $14.99), feel like serious value.
What's more, the offerings from both of these chains are actually pretty good. The quality of Outback Steakhouse's food is genuinely impressive considering how much its dishes cost, and the sheer amount of grub you get with Logan's Roadhouse's Real-Deal Meal is wild. Just because Texas Roadhouse is the biggest chain out there, doesn't mean that it'll give you as much for your money as other places.
7. If you like a quiet, more elegant meal, go to a different steakhouse
When you're dining in a restaurant, have you ever found yourself struggling to hear what the person opposite you is saying? Did you hate it? Well, then you really won't like eating at Texas Roadhouse. There's no getting around it: This restaurant is way louder than most. Research published in 2023 by Soundprint found that it's one of the noisiest chain restaurants out there, with its dining rooms having a medium volume of 79 decibels. In case you're wondering, that's roughly the same volume as an alarm clock.
The noise levels at Texas Roadhouse have been corroborated by customer experiences, which have repeatedly said that its venues are loud and that they also have a chaotic, rowdy feel to them. In contrast, steakhouses like Outback and The Capital Grille are decidedly more chilled-out affairs. Outback Steakhouse ranked as a lot less noisy in Soundprint's analysis (its average volume is 73 decibels, quieter than a lot of other venues), and The Capital Grille has a generally more muted and upmarket feel. It's not just the quality of the food you have to consider when choosing a restaurant — it's also the quality of the experience.
8. Family meals at other steakhouses can have more selection
The beauty of eating at a place like Texas Roadhouse is that you can feed your whole family in one go, and you don't even have to deal with the back-and-forth of everyone choosing from the menu. Texas Roadhouse offers its Family Packs to its diners, which allows them to pick from five different platter options. Customers can opt for chicken critters, pulled pork, sirloins, ribs, or BBQ chicken, all of which are piled high and served with a selection of sides. Sounds good, right? Well, other steakhouse chains do the same concept slightly better and offer more selection in the process.
Logan's Roadhouse's Family Meals allow folks to pick from options like its Cajun Chicken and Sausage Alfredo or a Salmon & Shrimp Combo, and opt for sides like mac and cheese or cinnamon apples. That's all a little more interesting than Texas Roadhouse's selection, huh? Similarly, at Saltgrass Steak House, you can opt for cheeseburgers, chicken sandwiches, chopped steak, or family-sized salads, in addition to options similar to what Texas Roadhouse offers. Remember to shop around when you're eating with your family, particularly if you know that you're all going to struggle to agree on something.
9. Texas Roadhouse may no longer have the edge on customer satisfaction
Texas Roadhouse is famously popular with customers, with the iconic steakhouse replacing Olive Garden as America's top chain during the first half of 2025. As the year went on, however, it seemed as though it was losing its edge, and one steakhouse has edged ahead of Texas Roadhouse on the customer satisfaction front. In August 2025, the Customer Loyalty Index (by Market Force Information) found that Logan's Roadhouse ranked highest out of 45 brands when assessing overall customer satisfaction (via Restaurant Business). The cleanliness, service, food quality, and atmosphere of the chain were all praised by customers, who appear to have found a new favorite.
It should be noted that Texas Roadhouse was also pretty high in the customer satisfaction stakes, ranking third out of all the restaurants examined. However, it had close competition from LongHorn Steakhouse, which received almost the same score. This index is proof that Texas Roadhouse may not be the best option out there in a lot of customers' eyes, and that it faces stiff competition from other standouts.
10. At other chains, your steak will be aged for longer
Steakhouses live and die by the quality of one thing: Their steaks. As a result, they do everything in their power to make sure that their meat has the best flavor possible. A lot of joints showcase and serve aged steaks, which tend to be more tender and have an intense flavor. At chains like The Capital Grille and STK, aging is a key part of their offering, with the former restaurant dry-aging its steaks for 18 to 24 days, and the latter aging its meat for a minimum of 30 days. Both restaurants are quick to shout about this on their websites, and we can understand why — it shows how much care they put into their beef.
By contrast, it's difficult to find any information at all on whether or not Texas Roadhouse ages its steaks, and if so, how it goes about it. Its menu doesn't currently reveal any information about its aging process, and although it says that it uses USDA Choice steak that it cuts by hand, it's not forthcoming about how it creates flavor. With this in mind, it's fair to assume that aging is something it doesn't wish to stake its reputation on this (excuse the pun!). You may want to look elsewhere if you're determined to have a more developed piece of meat.