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6 Worst Ribs at Restaurant Chains According to Diners

Customers share their most disappointing rib orders at popular chains.

Ribs are not one of those menu items that are good even when they’re bad (like, say, pizza). There is nothing worse than dry, tough ribs, prepared without any love, made with low-quality meat and sub-par ingredients. While many eateries have perfected the art of the most delicious ribs, others fall short and leave fans hungry. What makes it worse is meat is so expensive these days, ribs aren’t cheap—so you’re both hungry and out of pocket. Here are seven of the worst ribs at restaurant chains, according to disappointed customers.

Tony Roma’s

tony romas short ribs
Tony Roma's / Facebook

One customer was not impressed with the ribs at Tony Roma’s. “Listen, I don’t know if it was the day or the cook but I had a horrible experience ordering Ribs,” they said. “Ordered the Full Rack. What came after about 30 min was a dry, hard and tasteless rack of ribs. I mean, even the ones I bought at the supermarket were tastier.”

City Barbeque

City Barbeque/Instagram

Customers complain about the inconsistency of the City Barbeque ribs. “We were craving BBQ and ordered ribs and smoked chicken, but the experience was disappointing. The ribs were tough, chewy, dry, and even gristly,” one disappointed guest said.

TGI Fridays

tgi fridays family bundle
TGI Fridays/ Facebook

TGI Fridays’ ribs are mediocre, guests say. “Was riding past on my lunch break and saw a sign for $19.99 full rack of ribs, so decided to swing in and give it a try. I haven’t been to Fridays in years, and for good reason, but figured hey why not try again. Well I admit the ribs were very disappointing, not at all tender, had to struggle to get meat off the bone,” one customer said.

7 Restaurant Chains With the Best Ribs

Rib Crib

RibCrib/Instagram

Rib Crib is another chain with inconsistent quality, customers say. “The ribs were terrible. First off they were served at room temp if not cold. I had to use a knife to literally cut the ribs to separate them. I tried two and covered up the rest. I couldn’t eat them. They were close to rubber,” one guest said.

Logan’s Roadhouse

logan's roadhouse ribs
Courtesy of Logan's Roadhouse

The ribs at Logan’s Roadhouse vary wildly in consistency, with one reviewer saying they either hit the mark 100 percent or are just not worth it. “I had ribs both times and the first time they were wonderful; fall-off-the-bone tender. The second time, not so good; dried out and stringy,’ the customer shared.

Applebee’s

Applebee's Baby Back Ribs
Applebee’s

Applebee’s ribs are not up to scratch, guests say. “So I got home late tonight and there was a promo for Applebee’s and it ended up being $20 for 3 meals. So figured why not, let’s add the ribs and see how they are…dont know what I was expecting. These things were brutal,” one customer said.

Ferozan Mast
Ferozan Mast is a writer for Eat This, Not That! Read more about Ferozan