From Texas Roadhouse To IHOP, The 9 Best Chain Restaurant Chicken Fried Steaks

Do you like your steak to have just that bit more going for it? Then, chicken fried steak is the meal for you. This twist on steak has been a comfort food classic for well over 100 years, so it's no wonder that it's made its way onto the menus of some of the biggest chain restaurants out there. Consisting of a piece of steak dredged in seasoned flour and then deep-fried, it's a dish that's both special and accessible at the same time, and when it's good, it satisfies picky eaters and steak aficionados alike.

You want to make sure you're ordering the best, though, right? We get you, and so that's why we put together a list of the best chain restaurant chicken fried steaks you can get your hands on. Importantly, several of these restaurants refer to their dishes as "country fried" instead of "chicken fried." The two are frequently confused, but the difference lies in the gravy. Traditionally, country fried steak uses a dark gravy, while chicken fried steak opts for a creamy white version. As chain restaurants all use the latter on their steaks, it's safe to assume that they're working in the chicken fried tradition with a country fried name — and so we're comparing like with like here, and bringing you the best of the best.

Now, we wouldn't blame you if you didn't think Twin Peaks would churn out a solid chicken fried steak. It's a sports bar, after all, and it's slightly more concerned with serving up cold beers and putting on the game than serving up gourmet food. That's why it's all the more satisfying that its chicken fried steak hits the spot. The Twin Peaks chicken fried steak has been named as a winner by customers, with one person on Reddit calling it "shockingly delicious." Honestly, the restaurant should put that quote on its social media — it's a winner.

The chicken fried steak at Twin Peaks is a massive affair, with the steak taking up most of the plate and covered in a thick, crispy coating. Customers have highlighted the consistency of the dish and its reliability, and it's also served with some pretty classy sides. A serving of chicken fried steak at Twin Peaks comes with garlic mashed potatoes and sautéed green beans, and the cream gravy is spiked with jalapeños, giving it a little extra piquancy. Oh, and if steak's not your thing, you can also get a chicken version, served with the same accompaniments.

Cotton Patch Cafe's whole thing is comfort food, and it wears its ability to serve up homespun, familiar meals with pride. As a result, it wouldn't be unreasonable to expect that its chicken fried steak was pretty good — and it is, folks, it really is. The Texas-based chain's chicken fried steak is a winner, with customers quick to sing its praises about the taste. The steak's got a flavor of its own instead of being just a bland accompaniment to the gravy, and the scratch-made gravy also justifies its place on the plate.

It helps that this chicken fried steak is big, too. One serving of this thing will fill you up for days, and the plate it comes on is absolutely enormous (well, it needs to be, to make space for all of that steak). It's not just customers that are talking about how good it is, either; chefs are also fans of Cotton Patch Cafe's authentic dish. Perhaps the best part is that every Monday, Cotton Patch Cafe offers its chicken fried steak as one of its Texas Value Meals, which are priced at just $9.99. For that amount, you get a huge steak covered in cream gravy, a heap of garlic mashed potatoes, and a side of bacon green beans.

It's fair to say that Texas Roadhouse doesn't get all of its dishes right (hey, we guess that comes with the territory when you're a massive chain), but one thing it excels at is producing a good chicken fried steak. Texas Roadhouse's offering, which the restaurant calls a country fried sirloin, is a home run with diners, who highlight how consistent the dish is. It's even somehow won praise from people who aren't fans of any of the elements of it. "I do not like sirloin and I do not like chicken fried steak, but that country fried sirloin is excellent!" said a happy customer on Facebook.

As with the other best fried steaks out there, Texas Roadhouse's country fried sirloin is a whopping piece of food. The steak takes up a lot of real estate on the plate it comes on, leaving little room for any sides (you can always enjoy them from a bowl next to it). Texas Roadhouse does well on the seasoning front here, too, and manages to imbue a slight smokiness into the crust that allows it to stand out from other options.

IHOP isn't a place you'd normally go if you want an exemplary meal; it's more of a destination for affordable, easygoing food that you don't expect a whole lot of quality from. So, imagine how pleased we were when we found out that its chicken fried steak (which is called a country fried steak on its menu) was as good as they come. IHOP's country fried steak is a generously proportioned dish, and comes slathered with a big ol' ladle of creamy gravy. It could probably get away with not being incredible, but IHOP's paid a lot of attention to the quality of its dish and its individual components. The steak has a lovely tenderness to it, while the balance of meat and crust is just right.

What's also telling is that IHOP's country fried steak gets lauded in reviews that simultaneously point out the downsides of other dishes. In one review from BHS News, the country fried steak is called both big and tasty, while the pancakes and hash browns that the reviewer ordered were dubbed dry and flavorless. With that level of honesty, we can trust that the country fried steak's doing its thing correctly.

You may not be lucky enough to find LongHorn Steakhouse's chicken fried steak at every location, but if you're at one of the restaurants that serve it, you should snap it up instantly. LongHorn Steakhouse's entry into the chicken fried steak world has been a real hit, with diners loving that it gives them a good meal time and time again. If you need a reliable option without too much fuss, then this is the restaurant to get it.

Don't just take our word for it, though. "I had chicken fried steak last evening and it was exceptional," stated a customer on Yelp, who also noted that they normally order something else. When your chicken fried steak is tempting people away from their go-tos, you know it's pretty good. Others use the menu item as a marker to judge other chicken fried steaks by, which speaks to its quality. When paired with some of LongHorn Steakhouse's best sides, it's a dish that'll leave you satisfied.

It's fair to say that Perkins Restaurant & Bakery probably isn't best-known for its chicken fried steak, but that doesn't mean you should be sleeping on it. Nestled in its entrées menu is its Country Fried Steak meal, which serves up a chicken fried steak-style dish with your choice of two sides. If you've got a hankering for it first thing in the morning, you can also grab it with eggs and hash browns.

No matter when you decide to eat it, though, ordering it will reward you with a delicious, crunchy steak that people have come back to time and time again. The restaurant's country fried steak isn't as flat or wide as some of the other steaks available at other chain joints, but it has a nice thickness to it that sets it apart. If you opt for the standard order, it comes smothered in a thick white gravy — but if you want, some have been able to request brown gravy instead, which places it fully in "country fried" as opposed to "chicken fried" camp. Whichever version you opt for, though, it's a tasty choice that won't steer you wrong.

The name Bob Evans is practically synonymous with homestyle cooking, and so it's probably not a huge shock that this chain restaurant has a chicken fried steak (which it calls a country fried steak) on its menu. We wouldn't blame you if you didn't think it'd be that great, though. In recent years, Bob Evans has been plagued by commentary of its quality going downhill from customers, and so you could well assume that its breaded steak would have suffered the same fate.

Apparently not. Customers still love the Bob Evans country-fried steak and are quick to commend its flavor. They also love how affordable it is, which, in a world of skyrocketing prices at chain restaurants, is no small thing. What's more, the Bob Evans country-fried steak is also a treat for the eyes, as well as the wallet and the taste buds. Customers have discussed how good it looks on the plate, which is no small feat for a dish that comes in various shades of beige. The plumpness of the steak is definitely nice to look at before you dig in.

Black Bear Diner isn't particularly subtle. To be honest, it's kinda what we love about this chain: It's not trying to reinvent the wheel with its menu and serve fussy tasting plates to a crowd that doesn't want them. Instead, it's dishing up good old classics like burgers, meatloaf, pot roast, and chicken fried steak — and the latter dish is one that customers love. "Their chicken fried steak is amazing," said one reviewer on Yelp, who also gave a thumbs-up to the eggs and hash browns that it's served with. Elsewhere, customers have highlighted how flavorful the chicken fried steak is, and while the gravy could use a little bit of extra seasoning for some tastes, it's got a nice savoriness to it.

Black Bear Diner's also the place you'll want to go if you like your chicken fried steak to be big. With the size of this dish, we'd be surprised if you could finish it all in one go, considering the portions of the sides it comes with. It's not pounded too flat, either: People love how thick the steak is. Just make sure you go with an appetite, or bring a friend with you.

When a steakhouse has a chicken fried steak on its menu, it has to do it right. There's nowhere for it to hide, after all: When it's placed side-by-side with premium cuts of meat, if it's bad, it really shows. So, imagine how pleased we were when we found out that Saltgrass Steakhouse not only does a great chicken fried steak (which it calls a country fried steak), but that it might actually be better than its star attractions. "Might be better than the Texas T-bone, for me," said one Yelp review for Saltgrass' country fried steak, while others have praised it in isolation.

The country fried steak from Saltgrass Steakhouse is a mammoth thing, with the meat taking up the majority of the plate and leaving little room for the sides. The chefs still manage to cram them on, though, and the overall effect is one of abundance. We also love how thick the cream gravy on this steak is, and how liberal the cooks at Saltgrass are with their freshly ground black pepper. It promises flavor, and it really delivers.