Customers Recommend Skipping The Ribeye At This Popular Steakhouse Chain

People can be extremely opinionated about steak, and one look at the online reviews for popular steakhouse chains will show just how strongly we can feel about our beef. When Mashed did a ranking of 11 different steakhouse chains based on online reviews of their ribeyes, one major brand found itself at the very bottom: Outback Steakhouse. Despite gifting the world with the must-try Bloomin' Onion, it seems the restaurant falls short on its namesake product — at least, when it comes to its ribeyes.

One of the more common complaints about Outback Steakhouse's ribeye is its ridiculous fat content. A reviewer on Yelp said that their steak was about 50% fat and found it disgusting. One user on Reddit said the same thing about their ribeye, while another's was even worse, being roughly ⅔ fat. On TripAdvisor, one reviewer simply called their bone-in ribeye a "pile of fat," which was particularly disappointing considering it came with a $28.99 price tag.

The most infuriating thing about the ribeye steaks at Outback, however, has to be their inconsistency. In Mashed's 2023 rankings of Outback Steakhouse's signature steaks, the ribeye actually came out on top because of how well-marbled it was. The steak has also earned a few five-star reviews on Yelp, with users saying they were tender, delightful, and perfectly cooked. The fact that there are multiple glowing reviews for a menu item that clearly earns quite the opposite at other times just sets you up for disappointment, which is why you may be better off avoiding the ribeye altogether.

On the flipside, The Capital Grille came out on top of the rankings of steakhouse chain ribeyes. Reviews highlighted in the rankings mentioned the chain's ribeye steak sets the standard that every other establishment needed to match, and while pricier than some of the other options, you always get the quality you pay for.

The secret lies in the process that makes Capital Grille's steaks so delicious: the chain dry-ages its beef for 18 to 24 days. Dry aging allows the natural enzymes in the beef to slowly tenderize the meat, and gradual moisture loss concentrates its flavor. Beneficial molds also start to grow on the outer portion of the meat and alter its flavor, developing a robust funkiness in a similar manner to cheese. These effects become more pronounced the longer the beef ages, with the flavor improvements becoming significantly noticeable at around the range that Capital Grille ages its ribeyes.

Unlike Outback Steakhouse, The Capital Grille has multiple reviews praising its consistency, with one reviewer saying the food has been excellent in the 30-plus times they've been there. Reviews on TripAdvisor echo the sentiment, with one user saying the steaks have always been exceptional and another sharing that the food was on point at all 10 locations they've tried. There's no question as to why the best steakhouse chain ribeye belongs to The Capital Grille when you want to be sure that you'll be getting your money's worth every time.