We Tried Cheesecake Factory's 2025 Menu Update And We Have Some Thoughts

Ah, The Cheesecake Factory: cornerstone of the malls that people still actually go to. Would you believe that I've never been to one, despite growing up in the most suburban of suburbias? With an eye on correcting that, I sojourned to Jersey City, New Jersey, to sample almost the entire new menu.

Yes, you read me right. The Cheesecake Factory has refreshed its menu, adding nearly two dozen new items to the hundreds of options already available. Yours truly chomped down on 19 of them, except for the cocktails, which I sipped like a gentleman. (I tried a few of the chain's longstanding staples, too.) The tasting was hosted by Jay Hinson, The Cheesecake Factory's newly minted senior vice president of restaurant operations, who guided us dining through each platter in front of us.

Here are my thoughts on the dishes as I tried them, and whether they're worth your time. Halfway through this meal, I was twice whatever twice-stuffed is, but I finished the whole slate, so when I tell you to go for a recommendation below, you know not to skip it even if your ability to finish it is on the line. Let's eat!

Some recommendations are based on firsthand impressions of promotional materials and products provided by the manufacturer.

Take everything great about eggrolls but make them vegetarian, Southwestern, and life-changing. The Avocado Eggrolls aren't new, but they are great, with a tamarind-cashew dip stepping in for duck sauce. Boy, did I want to stuff more of these in my gaping maw, but they were also the first bite I'd eaten, and it seemed prudent to leave room for ... good heavens, 22 more items. I was doing The Cheesecake Factory in the most indulgently Cheesecake Factory way possible. 

Anyway, it's easy to see why these eggrolls are a must-try even at a presentation dinner for new menu items, and if you're not already ordering them, I don't know what else to put in this paragraph besides a request for my editor to add them to our list of Cheesecake Factory orders that will give you the most bang for your buck.

Crisp and delicious, the Chicken & Jalapeno Fritters only lost points with me when the sauce softened their shells enough to run a soggy risk of collapsing from the bottom. As that didn't actually happen to my lap, we can call it a probationary assessment rather than a demerit, leaving you with a very bubbly fritter reminiscent of Korean fried chicken, albeit soggy. 

I do recommend you try these, but eat them with a knife and work, supporting each bite from the bottom. Do that, and you'll have A+ flavor with very nice, long-burn tingling from the jalapeño.

If you like your margs sweet, welcome home. While it was one of the sweetest margaritas I've ever slurped, I will credit this cocktail with proving surprisingly vegetal, thanks to the pineapple and, I suspect, lime zest. The sweet and sour garnish rimming the glass really pulls the Margarita Verde from Slushie sweetness into something much more complex. One of these is enough, unless you're trying to marry a dentist, but it's pretty good for splitting, and I'd try it again with its sourness amplified.

Here's a welcome surprise. The taste bounces around in your mouth from sweet to salty to spicy to acidic without ever coming to a rest, all thanks to the sesame, soy, garlic, and red chiles. While those are common notes for this dish, it's really got a vibrancy to it that's much more active than the all-in-one flavor I'd expected. It's possible pickling brine is playing off against the soy, but whatever it is, it looks so simple yet accounts for a full map of the taste buds. 

The Asian Cucumber Salad is a fun journey that swerves the wheel more than you'd expect if you'd had this salad before elsewhere. If you're looking to slow your roll and savor that flavor in bites held on the tongue, consider trying it. There will be time enough for huge, hearty bites later when you order the entire sandwich menu.

While I think the asparagus itself never quite found the level of roasted Maillard joy it would thrive with, the principles at play were really good, as these stalks were soft without being slimy, giving the right amount of crunch for the lemon ricotta to act as a dip and allowing the toasted almonds to provide crunch and that toasted feeling the asparagus only flirts with. 

The Cheesecake Factory states that all its food is handmade, no microwaved dishes here, and I think this is one of the realest examples of it. Grilled asparagus really only works freshly made and assembled at the moment, and it's a good option for someone looking to enjoy rich flavors that still star the vegetable.

I love a good sugar snap pea! Sadly, these didn't quite come together for me, and I think it's the cooking method, which rendered one end of the pea pod a little mushy too quickly, leaving the stem sides still fibrous. In between, both lost the crisp strength that really makes these so good to eat. The mint is a nice touch atop the chili lime vinaigrette, but the texture dragged me down. I'd rather not have either extreme but pick one. 

It's not egregious, but the vitality is less than a quick blanche without the real taste benefits of roasting. Skip the Charred Sugar Snap Peas and just flash-cook a few at home before tossing in your own vinaigrette. Your budget will thank you.

The Honey Roasted Carrots' texture is right on: softened past crisp but still with a snappy body. But as much as I love roasted carrots, and honey-glazed at that, the maple-browned butter really leaves this dish richer than the carrots can handle. That brown butter is domineering! However, points reinstated for this being one of the few dishes that doesn't come across very sweet, even after compiling the honey's and the carrots' own sugars with the maple. In fact, the normally loud maple tastes are understated to a point where you'd have trouble detecting it even knowing it's there. 

Good job for subtlety on the saccharine front, but I think this is another dish you could make in five minutes at home to more satisfying results, even if you're a first-time cook. You might not do the balance of fat and sugars as well as the pros in the kitchen, but you could find yourself happier in a less-is-more situation.

This not-quite pad see ew is al dente to an edge that will delight some and perhaps frustrate others, but I love it. It is very sweet (yes, I know, get used to hearing me say that) even by pad see ew standards, but it also provides a compelling amount of fiery spice for the crowd who can't handle the Scoville scale on Thai cuisine's typical terms.

Don't order the Thai Stir Fried Noodles for authenticity, but the components of the source material are served on an arc that satisfies both conservative palates and true-believing tongues. Suffice it to say, this was on the short list of dishes for which I took a second serving, despite knowing I was about to eat half of Noah's Ark. Now that's a commendable pasta dish.

Alright, I understand: If I come to The Cheesecake Factory, I am committing to my sugar intake, particularly when I order a cocktail. Even so, I don't think the Yuzu Crush mocktail is for me. It's very sweet but spritzy (the menu only specifies yuzu and fresh lemon), and I can back that, but its citrus never gets to shine amid the syrupiness. 

I like what goes into this crush, but I can't roll with what it squeezes out. If only there were some other take on it for guys like me: some more nuanced edition, even if I had to sacrifice the sparkliness. Some ... oh, it's the Yuzu Drop. Gang, order the Yuzu Drop.

The better version of the Yuzu Crush gets jiggy (shut up, the '90s are back) with elderflower liqueur and Gray Goose vodka, using kaffir lime in an unspecified means — probably juice, but hey, maybe zest or even the leaves somehow. Alright, the Yuzu Drop actually only has one ingredient in common with the Crush, but it employs it to better effect, with more complexity and less of a sense of having swallowed a sugar cube. I mean, everybody likes yuzu, right? Get this yuzu.

When The Cheesecake Factory can let go of the sugar, it's got me out in the streets spreading the gospel. I don't think I had a bite of fish in this sitting that I wouldn't tell someone to go out and try even if they don't like cheesecake. The Seared Tuna Tataki Salad is fresh and simple while simultaneously managing to be zesty and lightly rich. Man, I wish I'd eaten more of this. I'd go back and pay money for it. Maybe pair it with the Asian Cucumber Salad and the Spicy Tuna. Yeah, that's a plan.

Seafood and sandwiches — if we include burgers — might be where this restaurant chain shines, even well beyond the cheesecake. Case in point, the Ahi Tuna & Shrimp Ceviche showcases its quality in a satisfyingly fatty way, and it's also one of the few dishes that leans hard into savory over sugary. There's something for everyone at The Cheesecake Factory, and for me, it's apparently raw fish.

Deliciously unorthodox, the Spicy Tuna's soft tensions played beautifully with the crispy rice, ginger, and green onion around it. By this point, the Spicy Tuna and Avocado Eggrolls were the best dishes I'd eaten. While I was starting to get a sense that The Cheesecake Factory's menu tilts sweeter than my tastes in savory foods, here it worked perfectly. 

While the Spicy Tuna in no way resembles sushi from your local spot, that's its charm. As mentioned, we're not at The Cheesecake Factory to eat 250-some dishes in traditional perfection. We're here to eat them in the kind of riff you get at a shopping-center restaurant that serves more than 250 dishes. This is another menu item that isn't new but that the chain wanted newbies like me to see why it's so beloved. Agreed.

Jay Hinson said this was his favorite item on the menu, and you were free to disagree if you wanted to be wrong. Looking at the list in front of me, I shrugged and thought, "To each his own," because shawarma is great, but how is it going to knock out steak tips?

Wow, am I happy to be wrong. This is the best thing I ate all night. A fluffy and possibly thicker pita than you're used to might challenge purists, but it's impossible to argue with the effect. Is a pita pocket a sandwich? At this thickness, it definitely is. (And also all other forms — feel free to disagree if you want to be wrong.) I love a good street pocket, but the case for crafting them a little more artfully is here, at a mall in New Jersey. The Cheesecake Factory's Chicken Shawarma is much more reserved with its vinegar and garlic, using them without outrageous effect. This was just the first of a sandwich menu that couldn't miss the bullseye with its eyes closed.

I get snobby about sandwiches the closer they get to resembling the one true grinder, but I will humbly confess that the Mortadella Panino is one of the most perfectly balanced bread-based compound handheld dishes you can order — not just at The Cheesecake Factory but anywhere. 

The mortadella really will illustrate what bologna lacks, and the light and crispy ciabatta, while usually a good choice, feels particularly finely suited here, where its airiness aids the lemon ricotta in cutting through mortadella and fontina cheese with two kinds of acidity. Hoo boy, sandwiches are shining in this menu. I wouldn't complain if The Cheesecake Factory opened up a spin-off called The Sandwich Workshop.

I want you to understand — from peak-format burgers to the entire McDonald's menu, I accept all burgers into my life. I get hyped about plant burgers or let spicy beef hurt me so good. All of this is to say it's impossible for me not to enjoy the Double Smash Cheeseburger immensely. The patty's 80/20 grind gives a perfectly springy texture, and the toasted brioche resists sogginess despite gluttonously good greasiness. High marks for not being too tall to bite into, and not falling apart as you eat. So it's weird that I wouldn't order this burger, but stick with me.

A mystery herb flavor here has me on the fence. Maybe it's a mild dose of oregano, but I can feel it pulling me from the core of what works here: a really rich and juicy burger. Jay Hinton wouldn't reveal what I'm trying to identify, only that it comes from the secret sauce. He did say there's no butter in the smashburgers, only delicious beef fat. He also said the restaurant's really proud of its American cheese, which, I have to admit, kicks above Kraft in quality.

So why wouldn't I get this? Well, it's a bit the off-mark plant flavor, but it's also because the Factory Turkey Burger is a flawless success. Sorry, Double Smash Cheeseburger, you're great, but the choice is clear...

While the Factory Turkey Burger was on already the menu, it's not quite the same dish it's always been. The beloved brown bread served with meals is now used as the base for this hamburger sammich — in fact, you can substitute brown bread into any sandwich at The Cheesecake Factory. Perhaps the bigger move was switching the patty itself from the flat grill to the charbroiler, but I haven't tried the earlier version. All I know is that this is the burger to order. I've never had a juicier turkey burger. I'd order this over the Double Smash Cheeseburger, and I am a great man for an indulgent burger. I've had very good burgers.

Man, I did not want the Factory Turkey Burger to be this good. When it came, I was so full and ready to just take a bite and move on. Reader, I devoured it and pocketed more to take home.

Finally, something I can say wasn't my vibe. This ribeye with red wine sauce should have been a walk, but despite its tenderness, it didn't come together for me. The filet was a mite thin, and at the end of my chew, I got the sense it wasn't the greatest cut of beef. The red wine didn't do it any favors, either, burying the steak's innate strengths. The Steak Frites give a brief, quick dash of flavor, then they're out at second. If you want steak, go to a steakhouse. There are so many other dishes you can get at The Cheesecake Factory to hazard no regrets.

Now this was pretty good steak, but also a bit stymieing. The Spicy Ginger Beef Tenderloin was velvety tender and had a better balance of steak and sauce flavors than the Steak Frites, really top work. But also ... it's not that far from what you could probably get at Trader Joe's? 

I don't want to ding something well-made for not being 10 times better than a comparable option, but I do think if this is what you want, save a few bucks and get it at the grocery store or a decent takeout Chinese spot. There are just more "Wow, only at The Cheesecake Factory!" options to order here, unless you're fixed on a craving but don't want to pull your friends away from those sandwiches.

Again, this chain knows fish. The Grilled Branzino, like its name suggests, gives you buttery, beautiful scalloped flakes of branzino just barely holding together as a filet, over mashed potatoes and green beans. A classic, perfectly prepared. Simple. Flawless.

The Skinnylicious Grilled Branzino is more traditional preparation than the grilled version, sturdier and still well cooked. It's quite good, but if you're in the mood for branzino, it's an easy pick to go with grilled, unless you're counting calories/macros.

You'd think this one is too sweet, right? No! The Cheesecake Factory's espresso martini, which isn't a new item, is really well balanced, and it's undermining my theory of all good coffee cocktails including Mr Black. Espresso martinis are having a moment, but if you can't get to Dante for the next-stage evolution in the Honey Bee, at least ensure that you enjoy the martini you're going to order.

Now this is a well-done whiskey sour, edging out the espresso martini for my favorite cocktail of the night. It also uses yuzu for the new bar menu's theme, but in this case, the low profile is a credit to letting the classic shape of this drink bedazzle with the beauty of Toki Japanese whisky.

I am dead, and The Cheesecake Factory has killed me. I was so full by the end that I couldn't even try the titular cheesecake, opting instead to take it home for later enjoyment. However, if this tasting menu has given me any idea of what to expect, I think more trips to Jersey City are in my future. If I were you and wanted to have a dinner that made me grunt from the gut with joy, I'd order the Avocado Eggrolls and Asian Cucumber Salad, the Spicy Tuna, almost any sandwich (but for your own sake, get a Chicken Shawarma for everybody at the table to split if nothing else), and the Factory Turkey Burger.