Think Twice Before Ordering Steak At These 10 Restaurant Chains

There's no shortage of places to get a good steak. Whether you're going to a steakhouse chain that's known for dishing up quality meat or an independent restaurant that's mastered the art of the sear, finding a great piece of steak isn't too hard these days, even if you have to pay a slightly higher price than if you were ordering a different dish. However, we all know that it's tricky to get steak right — and sometimes, you can end up with a piece of beef on your plate that looks and tastes far from appetizing. Sadly, when it comes to certain restaurant chains, they just can't seem to get their steaks right, and countless customers have criticized what's arrived at their table.

With some chain restaurants, the fact that they might not do a good steak isn't that surprising, but sad nonetheless. Places like Denny's, Chili's, and IHOP aren't exactly known for busting out amazing sirloins, but you should still hope for better than what some customers end up with. In other places, though, the fact that they don't do steak well is a full-on tragedy. The likes of Logan's Roadhouse and Hoss's Steak and Sea House have made their name on serving big hunks of beef — so why are their steaks so routinely bad? We're about to find out.

If you're going to a steakhouse, you're probably expecting a decent steak. It feels like the least these places can do, right? Well, unfortunately, diners at Logan's Roadhouse have found that its flagship offering leaves a lot to be desired. No matter which type of steak you're ordering, the beef at Logan's Roadhouse is frequently deemed subpar, with customers regularly highlighting the poor quality of the meat, as well as how it's cooked. "I once ate at a Logan's Roadhouse that sent me out a steak where the bottom side of it never saw heat, as in, it was totally, completely raw," said a customer on Reddit. Others also pointed out that the chefs here can't seem to get their orders right. The steaks often come out over- or undercooked, leaving people pretty unhappy.

There's also a bit of a size issue with Logan's Roadhouse steaks. The restaurant may be famously affordable, but you kind of get what you pay for, with its cuts of beef sometimes being incredibly thin and lacking any of the heft that you expect from a steak dinner. That said, if you're after a budget meal and don't expect much, you can do a lot worse than some of the other menu items from this Texas Roadhouse rival chain — just don't expect its steak to be that good.

Sadly, a steak at Applebee's might just be money wasted. The restaurant with a formerly whimsical name has made a name for itself serving a wide range of dishes, and steak falls well within its remit, but its chefs just can't seem to get them right. Customers who dine at Applebee's frequently complain about both the quality and the cook of its steaks, with people ordering them medium-rare only to end up with something completely raw, and receiving pieces of meat that feel as though they've just come out of the refrigerator. Folks have also taken issue with the amount you're expected to pay for a steak at Applebee's, relative to what you actually get (which, to be honest, isn't that much at all).

Plus, horror stories that have emerged from (admittedly alleged) former Applebee's workers have really put us off ordering steak from there. "Don't order a steak when they're really busy," said a former employee on Reddit. "[A] common phrase in the kitchen was 'mark it and mic it,' as in, put grill marks on both sides, then nuke it in the microwave to keep those 12-minute ticket times rolling." So, essentially, if you order a steak from Applebee's, you're not paying for skill; you're paying for someone to press a button. Call us old-fashioned, but we like our steaks to have a bit more care put into them.

If you've ever ordered a steak from Ruby Tuesday, you'll likely not be that inclined to do the same thing again. That's because the chain restaurant really struggles to deliver a consistent experience to its customers. Ruby Tuesday steaks can often be different from what customers expect, and indeed what they order: Medium steaks come out overcooked, and the meat can be dry and seriously tough, to the point where it's basically impossible to eat. Perhaps more disappointingly, the meat can often arrive at the table cold, indicating that it's been resting for too long and potentially not cooked to a high enough temperature in the first place.

More worryingly, some customers have suspected that Ruby Tuesday may be microwaving its steak, due to the lack of sear on the meat. We're not too sure about this microwave grilling hack, since the results really don't compare to a properly seared piece of meat, do they? Since we'd rather make sure we're spending our money on steaks that we can guarantee are cooked in a skillet or on a grill, we might not be ordering one of these from Ruby Tuesday any time soon.

Okay, so let's just say this right up top: We know that Denny's hasn't made its name on the quality of its steaks. The diner-style breakfast chain, which recently sold for $620 million, is better known for its all-night service than premium beef, after all. That said, you might still hold out hope that the Denny's you're sitting in can deliver a decently cooked piece of meat — and if you are, you may well be disappointed.

The main problem with Denny's steaks is that they're frequently overcooked, with customers ending up with orders that dip way over the medium-rare temperature that they asked for. The presentation of its steaks can also be pretty bad, with the meat mingling with other components on the plate in a way that completely ruins the enjoyment of both the steak and the other parts of your meal. This is the kind of place where you'll want to be reaching for the A1 steak sauce, which isn't a compliment by any stretch of the imagination. Yes, choosing Denny's over a steakhouse might save you a bit of cash, but honestly, it might not be worth it.

It's probably not a huge surprise that the steaks at TGI Fridays aren't the best. The chain has been struggling for a while now, after all, and that struggle seems to show itself in the quality of its beef — and as TGI Fridays changes some things in 2026, it might want to think about how it can improve its customers' experiences of this much-loved item. The chain's steaks are frequently named as poor, with customers complaining about how dry they are, or else failing to highlight anything particularly good about them. They can often be overcooked, the meat can be sinewy and rubbery, and they can lack any proper flavor. It doesn't exactly fill you with excitement, does it?

What's more, customers have also pointed out that its steaks can be overpriced, and the cuts tend to be on the smaller side. You don't exactly pay the earth at TGI Fridays, so if people still feel like they're not getting their money's worth, then that's a real problem for the chain. We recommend going for other menu items if you're dining there.

When it comes to its steak, Chili's has a quality problem. Its beef is frequently said, by customers and former employees alike, to be far from the best. People who order its steaks have noticed that the quality has gone seriously downhill, with customers ending up with gristly, dry meat that has next to no flavor — and others say that it's been that way for a while. "I cooked at Chili's for almost a decade, steak is one thing on the menu that I would never order," stated an ex-employee on Reddit. "The meat quality is 'mid' at best. Stick to the burgers, chicken, and sides." Yikes. That's damning.

People who have persisted with its steaks can also face a bit of a tussle to get them cooked properly, to the point where they've just stopped trying at all. "I ordered my steak medium, but unfortunately it wasn't cooked to the correct temperature. I sent it back, and the second one still came out wrong," said a customer on Yelp. "At that point, I just decided not to continue trying to fix it." The customer went on to describe how the restaurant handled the situation as "questionable," and to us, it sounds as though it wasn't especially invested in getting it right in the first place.

Most people ordering a steak at IHOP probably aren't expecting something Michelin star-worthy — and to be honest, the breakfast chain's steaks aren't the worst out there. That doesn't necessarily mean that they're good, though, and it still has a lot of work to do before it matches up to its competitors. IHOP's chicken fried steak is particularly questionable and lacks any real identity or sense of excitement. One person in a Google Review described it as "nothing but a frozen, deep-fried cutlet," which doesn't exactly make us excited to order it. Others have pointed out that it has no flavor, and sometimes comes out of the kitchen cold, and who wants that?

IHOP's other steaks hardly make up for the lackluster chicken fried steak. Some have said that they can have an odd flavor, while others have pointed out that they're just a little bit disappointing in general. Sure, you shouldn't expect greatness from an IHOP, and its steaks really aren't that expensive – but we can't help but feel that you should get more than you do for the cost.

As one of the most popular chain restaurants that makes its food from scratch (hence its name), you can expect a certain level of quality from Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen. However, that quality doesn't reveal itself in its steaks. Customers generally agree that ordering a steak at Cheddar's is a rookie mistake, as the restaurant just can't seem to get them right. The presiding issue with the steaks at Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen is that the meat frequently comes out of the kitchen with a wildly different doneness than what was requested by the customer. Medium steaks end up well-done, medium-rare steaks end up raw, and people end up very unhappy.

Even when they are cooked correctly, Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen's steaks can be pretty disappointing on a taste level. Some people have reported that their steaks arrive at the table with a burnt flavor, which the chefs have tried to cover up with seasoning, but which nonetheless shines through. Couple all these things with a general feeling of middling quality, and you should be avoiding ordering them.

Oh, dear. This one is very disappointing. Hoss's Steak and Sea House is far from the most upmarket steakhouse around, but it literally has "steak" in its name; it's not unreasonable to expect that it should be able to serve a good hunk of meat. Sadly, that really isn't the case. While Hoss's Steak and Sea House's steaks have their fair share of good reviews, those are almost equally matched with bad ones, pointing towards a serious issue with consistency that makes us wary about ordering one. When they go wrong, they go really wrong.

So, what does a bad steak at Hoss's look like? Well, where do we start? For starters, the steaks from this restaurant can often be unbelievably tough, even when you go for pricier options. "I ordered a filet mignon and whatever they brought me to pass for a steak was so bad I couldn't even chew it," said one especially scathing review on Yelp. The review went on to say that said steak wasn't even worth a couple of bucks. Other people have suspected that steaks from Hoss's have been microwaved, particularly after they've been sent back because they weren't cooked right the first time. Plus, its steaks can feel way smaller than advertised, which can lead to a general sense that you've spent more money than they're worth. It might be wise to get your steaks elsewhere.

Perkins Restaurant and Bakery may nail the old-school diner vibe, but one thing that it doesn't nail is steaks. The steaks that Perkins serves up are generally considered to be some of the worst things you can order at the eatery, with customers repeatedly highlighting that they're not up to scratch. Steaks can arrive at the table tough, chewy, and overcooked, when they're meant to be rare or medium-rare. In general, customers report a sense of fairly low-quality. Plus, Perkins' steaks can have an odd flavor and be totally overseasoned, to the point where all you taste is salt and a few unexpected herbal notes when you really should be tasting the beef.

As well as this, some customers have noticed that the quality of the steaks at Perkins seems to have gone downhill. Recipes have been changed, dishes have felt less flavorful, and overall, people have walked away from the restaurant feeling disappointed on more than one occasion. Certain orders might hit the spot at this place, but the steaks aren't among them.