I Tried Every Signature Steak at Texas Roadhouse & This Is the Best One
Texas Roadhouse continues to impress me. Admittedly, I can be a bit of a snob with chain restaurants. Some can be low quality and overpriced. While on the other end of that, others do a great job of remaining consistent and affordable, like Texas Roadhouse, leading to a loyal fan base.
“I’ve never had a bad steak there,” a Reddit user says, while others chimed in to say, “literally my favorite chain, NEVER disappoints. I get the exact same order every single time. 16 oz prime rib/ medium rare/ double ceasar for sides and an order of boneless buffalo wings to throw in the salad.” Another said “it was wonderful,” about her experience. “Total was $115 and [there was] a lot of very nice food. We all had leftovers and they gave us more bread to take home. All 3 steaks were cooked just as ordered.”
To give you an idea of the value, the first time I went to try the signature steaks for this article (I had to go back for the prime rib because they didn’t have it when I was there), I purchased 7 steaks, each with two sides (significant ones, too, like salads, chili, mashed potatoes, corn, and rice). That included a 12 oz ribeye, 23 oz porterhouse, and a 20 oz bone in ribeye. The entire bill came to $188.92. I’m still not over that, absolutely wild! They also make a killer steak sauce. Normally I joke that steak sauce is for well done, overcooked mistakes as an attempt to salvage it, but this was like a beautiful blend of Worcestershire sauce, barbecue sauce, and steak sauce all in one. It had this intense flavor with a very mild smokiness that complimented the steaks well! If you’re visiting Texas Roadhouse for the first time, and you’re unsure where to start, here’s my ranking of the steaks, ending with the one that I thought tasted the best!
Hand-Cut Sirloin
Calories: 250 for the 6oz
The Look:
The Hand-Cut Sirloin is definitely the best value if you are craving red meat, but don’t really care too much about the cut. It was juicy and cooked perfectly, but the outside didn’t get a good sear.
The Taste:
It’s not bad, but it’s slightly chewy. It’s a bit tougher than the other steaks and certainly not my favorite cut, but a good value. It doesn’t have the marbling of other cuts and has a little less flavor than the other steaks on the menu, but it’s only $15.99. Again, a great value if you’re just looking to feed that red meat craving.
Road Kill
Calories: 760
The Look:
The Road Kill is Texas Roadhouse’s version of a chopped steak, coated with jack cheese and plenty of sautéed onions and mushrooms. I wasn’t sure if I should include this because it’s not technically a whole steak on its own, more of like a hot steak tartare in a way, but our waitress said this is a popular option among diners at just $15.49, so I wanted to give it a try.
The Taste:
I wasn’t a big fan of the sirloin, but from here on out, everything was a really close call. All of these cuts were absolutely delicious, including the road kill chopped steak. The mushrooms and onions, in addition to the melted cheese, add so much flavor to the already incredibly tender, buttery, chopped red meat that almost seemed to melt in my mouth. It’s a delicious, inexpensive option on the menu.
Dallas Filet
Calories: 270 for a 6oz
The Look:
The Dallas Filet is another popular cut among diners. A 6 oz tender fillet, perfectly cooked for $25.49. It’s a decent size and has nice grill marks, cooked the way I like it, nice and rare.
The Taste:
They seasoned the fillet really well with a good amount of salt, and it came out nice and rare, the way I ordered it. You can’t really go wrong with a filet. I generally prefer a little bit of marbling like a ribeye or a strip steak, but for a leaner option under 300 calories, this is a delicious meal, tender and cooked beautifully.
New York Strip
Calories: 420 for 8oz
The Look:
Getting into the fattier cuts a bit, we have the New York Strip for just $20.99 for 8 ounces. With noticeable grill marks and a nice sear, this had a good fat cap, adding in some essential flavor to the steak.
The Taste:
It’s very good, as expected. It’s not my favorite overall, but the fat’s rendered and gives the steak a richer flavor throughout the cut. A solid option for around $20 for 8 ounces of steak and two sides.
Porterhouse
Calories: 1040 for 23 oz
The Look:
Getting into some of the larger cuts, I’m shocked by these prices in the best way. The Porterhouse is a filet and strip all in one 23 oz steak with 2 sides for just $36.99. The filet side is definitely cooked more than I would like, closer to medium/medium well, while the strip is rare.
The Taste:
The filet, as expected, is a bit dry while the strip is rare. To be fair, it’s difficult to cook these evenly, and the filet meat near the bone was still tender and cooked properly. Very juicy and full of flavor, but it still doesn’t beat the ribeye or prime rib in my opinion.
Prime Rib
Calories: 920 for a 12 oz
The Look:
We ordered a piece on the rarer side, and it came out perfect. Pockets of rendered fat were swirled into the most tender slab of prime rib. It had a decent crust around the outside and came with a serving of au jus (horseradish and creamy horseradish were also available).
The Taste:
The prime rib was seasoned and cooked just right. It had an unfair advantage with the au jus adding an intense, savory flavor to the steak and surrounding sides. At $27.99 for a 12 oz piece, $30.49 for a 14 oz piece, and $32.99 for a 16 oz piece, the prices are more than fair for what you get!
Ft. Worth Ribeye
Calories: 960 for a 12oz
The Look:
Now we’re getting into it, I love a good ribeye. The marbling is too notch and there’s always a nice crisp sear on the outside from the fat being rendered, caramelizing the edges. This is a generous portion of about 12 oz for $26.99. Although it looks a bit pieced apart, not a perfect looking steak, I’m sure the flavor will be there.
The Taste:
We asked for rare steaks, and this came out very rare, but it’s still very good. It’s buttery, rich, impactful flavor with the fat melted down and redistributed throughout the steak. It’s an incredible value for under $30 for such a large portion. We had plenty of leftovers!
Bone-In Ribeye
Calories: 1480 for a 20oz
The Look:
The Bone-In Ribeye takes everything to the next level. This 20oz. cut of juicy ribeye steak somehow only costs $34.99. Visually, it’s the best looking one and has a nice crust, deep grill marks, and small pockets of juice pooled on top.
The Taste:
The thick cut bone in ribeye is cooked perfectly delivering all the flavor from the bone and the marbling. It came as no surprise to me that this was the best one visually, taste wise, and for value. Unbelievably delicious!