14 Chain Restaurants That Miss The Mark + 4 You Seriously Should Skip

Chain restaurants are the trusty go-tos for busy nights and group hangouts, but not every spot lives up to the hype.

Some try hard but end up serving dishes that leave you wondering what went wrong, while others miss the mark so badly you’ll want to hit the exit before you even see the menu.

We’ve sifted through the good, the bad, and the downright disappointing to show you which chains are worth your time — and which ones you might want to avoid altogether.

1. Applebee’s: Neighborhood Bar That Lost Its Way

Applebee's: Neighborhood Bar That Lost Its Way
© Reddit

Remember when Applebee’s actually felt like a neighborhood spot? Nowadays, their microwaved meals and sticky tables tell a different story.

The once-popular 2-for-$20 deal has morphed into a sad parade of frozen-then-fried appetizers and lukewarm entrées.

Their kitchen seems perpetually understaffed, with wait times that’ll have you considering a fast-food drive-thru instead.

2. TGI Fridays: Where Every Day Feels Like Monday

TGI Fridays: Where Every Day Feels Like Monday
© Food Republic

Gone are the glory days when TGI Fridays stood for celebration and fun. Now it’s just another tired chain slinging overpriced potato skins and watery cocktails.

The red-and-white striped motif can’t hide the mediocrity of their menu items.

Staff members, once known for their flair and enthusiasm, now shuffle between tables with the energy of people counting minutes until their shift ends.

3. Ruby Tuesday: The Gem That Lost Its Shine

Ruby Tuesday: The Gem That Lost Its Shine
© Delish

Ruby Tuesday’s salad bar used to be the crown jewel of casual dining. Today, it’s a wilted shadow of its former self, with sad lettuce and suspiciously old toppings.

Their burger patties have shrunk while prices have ballooned.

The restaurant’s attempt at upscale-casual feels more like upscale-confused, with décor that hasn’t been updated since the early 2000s and a menu that can’t decide what it wants to be.

4. Chili’s: Where Spice Goes to Die

Chili's: Where Spice Goes to Die
© Sitejabber

Sizzling fajitas that don’t sizzle and southwestern cuisine that wouldn’t pass muster in any actual southwestern state. Chili’s has perfected the art of bland food with fancy names.

Their famous baby back ribs jingle might be catchy, but the actual ribs are often dry and slathered in a sauce that’s 90% corn syrup.

The margaritas come in fancy glasses but taste like they were mixed by someone who’s never actually tasted tequila.

5. Denny’s: Late-Night Regrets Served 24/7

Denny's: Late-Night Regrets Served 24/7
© The Herald

Walking into a Denny’s at 3 AM might seem like a good idea when you’re starving after a night out. Spoiler alert: it’s not.

The sticky menus and inexplicably damp seats are just appetizers to the main course of disappointment.

Pancakes somehow manage to be both undercooked and burnt, while their eggs have the consistency of rubber and the flavor of cardboard.

6. IHOP: International House of Processed Food

IHOP: International House of Processed Food
© Business Insider

IHOP’s pancakes might be their claim to fame, but they’re basically sugar discs soaked in corn syrup pretending to be maple.

The non-breakfast menu items seem like they were added as a practical joke. Their burgers could double as hockey pucks, and the chicken strips have more breading than actual chicken.

Service often moves at the pace of their artificially flavored syrup – thick and slow.

7. Perkins: Bakery-Fresh Disappointment

Perkins: Bakery-Fresh Disappointment
© Yelp

Perkins lures you in with promises of fresh-baked goods, then serves up muffins that could double as paperweights.

Their pies, displayed so proudly in rotating cases, often taste like they’ve been rotating since last season.

Breakfast platters arrive swimming in grease, with hash browns that are somehow both burnt and undercooked.

The coffee tastes like it was brewed from the tears of disappointed customers who came before you.

8. Red Lobster: Where Seafood Goes to Retire

Red Lobster: Where Seafood Goes to Retire
© Gastronomy Blog

Forget fresh-caught – most of Red Lobster’s seafood has spent more time frozen than Captain America. Their famous Cheddar Bay Biscuits remain the lone bright spot in an otherwise murky dining experience.

Shrimp dishes contain crustaceans so tiny you’ll need a magnifying glass to find them.

The lobster, supposedly the restaurant’s namesake specialty, arrives overcooked and drowning in butter – likely to mask its lack of flavor and questionable freshness.

9. Boston Market: Yesterday’s Rotisserie, Today’s Regret

Boston Market: Yesterday's Rotisserie, Today's Regret
© Tripadvisor

Boston Market’s rotisserie chickens spin around like they’re auditioning for a disappointing food carousel.

What once was a reliable spot for quick home-style meals has devolved into dried-out poultry and sides that taste like they were prepared last week.

Their mac and cheese has the consistency of industrial adhesive. The mashed potatoes could pass for spackling paste.

Even their cornbread – once moist and delicious – now crumbles into a sad pile of yellow dust.

10. Friendly’s: Not So Friendly to Your Taste Buds

Friendly's: Not So Friendly to Your Taste Buds
© Yelp

Friendly’s ice cream might still hit the spot, but everything else on their menu seems designed by someone who hates food.

Their burgers arrive lukewarm with unmelted cheese – a culinary crime if there ever was one. The Fribble, once a thick, creamy delight, now resembles a watery milkshake.

Service moves at a glacial pace, which is ironic for a place famous for ice cream. Kids’ meals look so sad even the children leave disappointed.

11. Old Country Buffet: A Buffet of Broken Dreams

Old Country Buffet: A Buffet of Broken Dreams
© Buffet Men – WordPress.com

Walking into Old Country Buffet feels like stepping into a time machine set to 1992 – and not in a good way.

The food sits under heat lamps until it develops the consistency of rubber, while the salad bar wilts under the fluorescent lighting.

Sneeze guards do little to protect food that hardly seems worth protecting.

The dessert section offers an array of gelatinous mysteries and pie slices that have formed a protective crust from extended air exposure.

12. Olive Garden: When You’re Here, You’re Family… Who Can’t Cook Italian

Olive Garden: When You're Here, You're Family... Who Can't Cook Italian
© Mashed

Unlimited breadsticks can’t make up for pasta that would make an Italian grandmother weep. Olive Garden’s sauce comes from jars, not simmer pots lovingly tended by chefs who care.

Their Tour of Italy dish should be renamed “Tourist Trap of Italy.” The chicken parmesan has more breading than chicken, while the fettuccine alfredo sauce has the consistency of elementary school paste.

Even their salad dressing tastes like it was formulated in a lab rather than a kitchen.

13. Sizzler: The Sizzle Fizzled Long Ago

Sizzler: The Sizzle Fizzled Long Ago
© Yelp

Sizzler built its reputation on steaks that actually sizzled. Today, you’re more likely to get a gray slab of meat that wouldn’t pass muster at a high school cafeteria.

Their once-famous salad bar now features browning lettuce and dressings in suspicious shades not found in nature.

The cheese toast remains the only reason to visit – but driving across town for glorified garlic bread hardly seems worth the gas money.

14. Marie Callender’s: Frozen Dinner Vibes at Restaurant Prices

Marie Callender's: Frozen Dinner Vibes at Restaurant Prices
© Reddit

The irony of Marie Callender’s is that their frozen grocery store meals often taste better than what’s served in their actual restaurants.

Their pot pies, supposedly a specialty, arrive with soggy bottoms and fillings that could double as soup.

Cornbread comes out dry enough to use as a sponge. Waitstaff often seem surprised when customers arrive, as though the concept of people dining in is foreign.

Even their namesake pies have fallen victim to cost-cutting and corner-cutting.

15. Golden Corral: Where Food Goes to Be Forgotten

Golden Corral: Where Food Goes to Be Forgotten
© Business Insider

SERIOUSLY SKIP THIS ONE! Golden Corral’s chocolate fountain might be the most terrifying food safety hazard in American dining.

Watch closely and you’ll spot kids double-dipping, touching the flowing chocolate, and other horrors that would make a health inspector faint.

The meat station features dried-out roasts sliced paper-thin to hide their toughness.

Their vegetables have been steamed into submission, losing all color, flavor, and will to live. Even the rolls, which should be foolproof, manage to disappoint.

16. Joe’s Crab Shack: Seafood Sadness on a Platter

Joe's Crab Shack: Seafood Sadness on a Platter
© Yelp

SERIOUSLY SKIP THIS ONE! Joe’s Crab Shack tries to distract you from mediocre seafood with forced fun – servers dancing, loud music, and tacky décor.

No amount of beach-themed kitsch can hide crab legs that require Olympic-level strength to crack open for minimal meat. Their seafood boils contain more potatoes and corn than actual seafood.

The fried platters arrive glistening with enough oil to solve an energy crisis. Even the cocktails taste watered down, despite their hefty price tags.

17. Steak ‘n Shake: Fast Food Masquerading as Dining

Steak 'n Shake: Fast Food Masquerading as Dining
© Yelp

SERIOUSLY SKIP THIS ONE! Steak ‘n Shake’s “steakburgers” contain meat so thin you could read a newspaper through it.

Their shoestring fries arrive either undercooked and limp or overcooked and resembling twigs.

Service moves at a pace that makes glaciers seem speedy. The milkshakes, their supposed specialty, often arrive partially melted after your 45-minute wait for food.

The restaurants themselves have a peculiar smell – a mix of grease and desperation that clings to your clothes.

18. Hometown Buffet: Where Food Goes to Die

Hometown Buffet: Where Food Goes to Die
© Yelp

SERIOUSLY SKIP THIS ONE! Hometown Buffet seems to specialize in food that’s been sitting out so long it’s developed its own ecosystem.

The steam tables do little more than incubate bacteria while turning everything the same shade of beige. The carving station features mystery meats that could be anything from ham to shoe leather.

Desserts taste like they were made with sugar substitute and broken dreams. The only thing fresh might be the lettuce – but even that’s questionable.