9 Items To Avoid Ordering From LongHorn Steakhouse

When it comes to getting a steak dinner, LongHorn Steakhouse is a go-to spot for many people. The popular restaurant chain is known to offer a variety of dinner options, which also means there are plenty of things that can go wrong when ordering certain items from the menu. LongHorn offers steak enthusiasts the opportunity to get a quality cut of meat at lower prices compared to upscale steakhouses.

Although LongHorn dishes can't compare to steakhouses that use truffles in their mac and cheese or serve Wagyu, you can expect to have a decent selection of steaks. With cuts including porterhouse, T-bone, filets, and ribeyes, it's easy to find a satisfying dinner. However, the restaurant offers more than steaks, and that's where things can get challenging. Whether it's texture, taste, or both, there are some dishes on the LongHorn Steakhouse menu that you should simply avoid ordering if you want an enjoyable experience.

Although LongHorn should be applauded for serving steaks that are fresh and never frozen, the texture of the Renegade Sirloin ruins what could be a satisfying dish. While the steak tends to have decent flavor, it is ultimately a tiring meal due to its chewiness. Even though you can add a Parmesan crust for an additional cost to give the steak a cheesy twist, it won't disguise the lack of tenderness underneath it all.

Those who prefer leaner cuts may tolerate the Renegade Sirloin for its flavor. If you're lucky, the steak will be seasoned with a good amount of the signature Prairie Dust, which may motivate you to push through the meal. However, some customers complained the seasoning leaves an unpleasant aftertaste that is hard to get rid of. If you're unlucky when it comes to the seasoning, like some who have reported a bland taste, you may find that your jaw tiring is enough to make you give up on finishing the sirloin. Despite its faults, some customers had a pleasant experience with the sirloin and described it as so tender that it was similar to cutting into butter. While you have to appreciate how affordable the steak is, starting at $15.99 for a 6 oz (depending on the location), you are getting what you paid for with the lack of quality meat.

While we don't expect gourmet mac and cheese from LongHorn Steakhouse, this side dish is quite underwhelming. There are multiple ways that this dish could disappoint, and we have experienced it happen to us on several occasions. The dish, which appears to have a Cavatappi noodle base, promises bacon and four cheeses topped with Parmesan bread crumbs. However, customers have reported that those Parmesan bread crumbs in the menu description may or may not show up on your plate. Once you get past the topping, you'll find that the pieces of bacon are soft and chewy rather crispy, which could have added a pleasant crunch to the otherwise soft dish. There is a chance the bacon may be slightly harder if the dish is left under the heating lamp for longer than necessary. Unfortunately, that results in the cheese sauce drying up and leaves the diner with semi-hard bacon bits and dried noodles.

It's also worth noting that the smokiness of the bacon can be a bit overpowering and interfere with your ability to taste the four cheeses in the dish. In the event that your mac and cheese isn't loaded with bacon, you may find the item too cheesy, which may seem far-fetched considering the name of the side dish. It also lacks the tanginess and sharpness one would expect from a bowl of mac and cheese. At its worst, the Steakhouse Mac & Cheese is a saucy gummy mess, and at its best, it's tolerable.

The Loaded Potato Soup is popular among LongHorn Steakhouse diners, but the high-fat content may make a person want to reconsider ordering the dish. While some may consider soup, a side dish or an appetizer, the Loaded Potato Soup could be a meal on its own. Soup is often considered a lighter menu option, but the Loaded Potato Soup is rich and leaves a heavy feeling in the stomach thanks to the big chunks of potatoes.

The soup is a bit on the salty side, with 970 milligrams of sodium in a single bowl. The texture is also a hard sell for us. For starters, when eating potato soup, we prefer softer potato chunks, but in our experience, the ones found in the Loaded Potato Soup tend to be on the firmer side. Between the potato chunks and bacon bits, there seems to be a lot of chewing for something that is typically a smooth liquid dish. After making the trek to LongHorn Steakhouse, it would be a shame if you were too full to enjoy said steak due to filling up on the soup.

The lack of authenticity in the name of the dish may be enough to make a diner want to avoid this dish. While the soup claims to be loaded with shrimp and lobster, you'll mostly find corn, potatoes, and red bell peppers. The shrimp bits that you do manage to find in the soup are rubbery and leave you with a chewy experience rather than a succulent and tasty memory.

This chowder is more essence of lobster as you'll most likely find no pieces of lobster in the broth itself. When ordering this dish, you can expect to basically eat a bell pepper-infused corn chowder with pieces of shrimp. Some may consider the chowder a lighter option compared to the Loaded Potato Soup, but skipping the soups altogether may be the better option.

LongHorn Steakhouse may want to reconsider using its signature Prairie Dust to season the Texas Tonion because the appetizer falls flat in the flavor department. While the seasoning comes through on steak, it just disappears on the appetizer. Some customers have noted that the fried batter is too thick and overpowers the onion. The zesty dip served with the dish was bland and contributed nothing to the appetizer.

In our experience, sometimes the onion petals are overcooked along the edges, which may or may not result in it scraping your gum after you bite into it. Although some diners have described the Texas Tonion as extremely salty, others consider it perfectly seasoned. In our experience, it was quite flavorless and tasted as if we were chewing an overly oily fried onion. Depending on the chef in the kitchen and the time of day, the experience may have been better, but there are plenty of other promising appetizers on the menu that won't be a gamble of luck when it comes to flavor.

Not much to see here other than a basic bacon cheeseburger with underwhelming toppings like onion, lettuce, pickles, tomato, and a burger sauce. While the menu description claims to serve a juicy half-pound burger, some customers claim the patty was dry and probably less than half a pound. Instead, it was loaded with onions and some felt the patty tasted as if it was buried in salt. Other diners complained that the patty was a little too sculpted, leading them to believe the burger was pre-made and possibly frozen.

At least the Big Sky burger, which is no longer available, had much more to offer in the flavor department, with toppings like shaved prime rib, cheese, arugula, fried onion straws, and a steakhouse sauce. Even though the LH Burger is limited in toppings and flavor, some customers like that the burger and fries are cheaper than the fast food version of the meal.

The meal is essentially ground beef molded into the shape of a steak. Some compare the Chop Steak to a salisbury steak, while others liken it to an expensive hamburger. Either way, it shouldn't be on your list of things to order at a steakhouse. If you like the idea of a crumbly steak that is actually ground beef with muted flavors, then this is the steak for you.

Although the menu description claims the Chop Steak is loaded with mushrooms and onions, some customers have reported that there were more mushrooms than sautéed onions on the steak, which could have added to the texture of the dish. However, diners did note that the only thing that seemed to save the meal is the mushrooms, which are very tender. The gravy is a bit too salty for some customers, while others felt it lacked seasoning, despite the meal promising a garlic herb sauce. Similar to the LH Burger, some customers suspected the chop steak may have been frozen.

Those looking for a lighter or healthier option while visiting the eatery may see the LongHorn Salmon as a go-to menu option. Although the meal might cut calories, it lacks taste. The dish claims to feature a bourbon marinade, which sounds delicious, but the salmon lacks flavor and was served dry in our experience. Rather than easily eating the salmon layer by flaky layer, we found ourselves jabbing a fork into a tough and tasteless piece of fish.

The LongHorn Salmon is a hit among those who were lucky enough to be served the meal without complications. However, between taste and texture, others find the dish laughable. Seeing as LongHorn Steakhouse is under the Darden brand, you would think they would at least show some talent in making a decent salmon dish. Eddie V's Prime Seafood, which is also under the Darden brand, never fails to serve delicious and tender salmon. Considering the fact that LongHorn is a steakhouse and doesn't specialize in fish, salmon is a menu option that should be avoided. If a customer decides to order the salmon dish, we advise that you hope for the best and prepare for the mediocre.

Although the side dish is described as seasoned in its name, LongHorn's rice pilaf will have you either reaching for the salt and pepper due to its lack of taste or pushing the dish away because of way too much salt. While the rice is described as being made with spices, herbs, and citrus, all of those flavors appear to be absent from the dish. If you make the mistake of ordering this dish and it comes out bland, you may be able to salvage it if whatever protein you ordered has some sort of juice or gravy that you can mix the rice into. If not, you'll be chewing on flavorless rice for the majority of your meal.

One factor that seems to be an ongoing theme with the rice is that some have not been able to experience the side dish hot. Whether it was too salty or bland, customers have claimed the rice pilaf arrived at the table cold. The cold rice often becomes hard and turns chewing it into a task. Those hoping to have a satisfying side with their meal have options. LongHorn offers plenty of side dishes like broccoli, sweet potato, mashed potatoes, salads, and more that are better choices than the Seasoned Rice Pilaf.

To determine which menu items should be avoided when ordering from LongHorn Steakhouse, the selections were made based on personal experience, online reviews, texture, and taste. Whether you plan on indulging during your visit to LongHorn Steakhouse or opting for a lighter option, the meal should be satisfying in flavor and ease. It shouldn't be work to consume a meal.

We reflected on our experiences with dishes that we were continuously disappointed by. We also considered common complaints among online reviewers from sites such as Yelp and Tripadvisor. Online reviews were helpful in narrowing down the list, especially when it came to choosing the top item that should be avoided.