8 Most Underrated Chain Restaurants

While chain restaurants often have the best deals regarding meal sizes and variety, it can be difficult to know which ones are worth visiting. After all, chain restaurants aren’t always touted for their quality and engaging experiences.

But chain restaurants are cropping up everywhere that are doing things right. Their menu items are made with fresh ingredients, their staff is phenomenally trained and kind, and the variety of options makes it fun to try something new every time you are there.

Next time you want to stretch your dining budget, consider dining in one of these eight underrated chain restaurants.

Did you know there are more than 520 First Watch restaurants across 29 states? The brunch restaurant specializes in a farm-to-table feel, with fresh ingredients sourced as locally as possible. 

The menu has breakfast sandwiches, omelets, French toast, and more, and it specializes in lighter items like yogurt parfaits and avocado toast.

Try their coveted homemade granola or creamy lemon ricotta pancakes for some citrus zest to your morning. Their juice bar has incredible, healthy options like the fresh Kale Tonic and Morning Meditation juices.

Qdoba fanatics argue it is better than Chipotle, and its offer of free queso and guacamole on entrees might make us believe them. The loaded tortilla soup, served in a taco shell like a salad, is one of the most flavorful soups at a chain.

Great meals on the go are the three street-style chicken tacos on flour tortillas and the chicken queso bowl, which features Qdoba’s famous three-cheese queso and punchy cilantro lime rice.

The Wisconsin-based restaurant and fast food chain always seems packed in the drive-thru and dining room. While other fast food restaurants are ghost towns inside, you'll always find people enjoying a Midwest butter burger and a side of frozen custard.

A Culver’s burger comes with fresh, crunchy tomato, lettuce, and a slice of real American cheese. Customers are big fans of the restaurant’s onion rings.

Red Robin tends to get overlooked as an incredible burger chain with an expansive menu. Fans really love their onion rings, BLTA croissants, Bonzai Burger, and Royal Red Robin.

Red Robin is also the place to go for affordable alcoholic beverages. Its options are unmatched, and it sells giant glasses of signature margaritas, spiked freckled lemonades, tropical mai tais, Long Island iced teas, and more among its extensive beer options.

Not only does the internet think California Pizza Kitchen has some incredible take-home pizzas, but the restaurant is a fun place to go for various meals.

Started in Beverly Hills, this chain is controversial in other areas of the country that claim its pizza is the supreme choice. 

But its BBQ Chicken Pizza is one of the best we have ever had, and its Thai Crunch salad, with its roasted peanuts and crunchy wonton strips, is a sight to behold.

BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse is more of a West Coast spot but has fantastic lunch deals. 

For just $13, you can choose from a chicken bacon ranch piadina, Italian chicken parmigiana pasta, classic cheeseburger with fries, mini deep dish pizza and house salad, southern fried chicken, enlightened Mediterranean chicken bowl, soup and salad combo, or strawberry fields salad with chicken paired with a personal pizookie.

The most iconic dessert on their menu is the pizookie, a giant, freshly baked cookie straight out of the oven topped with creamy, delicious ice cream. The ice cream offsets the cookie's lava-like heat, giving it a fun, crunchy texture where it is slightly underbaked.

Jason’s Deli is an incredibly underrated casual dine-in — or take–out — option. Their expansive menu features soups, salads, sandwiches, and desserts that are all incredible in their own right. Dine in to enjoy their salad bar.

If you haven’t tried it yet, Jason’s Deli has an interesting take on chicken salad and serves a sandwich called Shelly’s Crack. Instead of grapes, the chicken is mixed with pineapple. This protein is sweet and decadent atop a perfectly toasted, flaky croissant.

While this restaurant is often too busy to move through the aisles comfortably, its bustling crowds indicate the quality and value of its food. 

They serve free shelled peanuts and hot bread with honey cinnamon butter that melts in your mouth, so you could dine all day on the appetizers.

While chicken strips may seem like more of a child’s meal, the breading at Texas Roadhouse is pretty incredible. Grabbing anything fried with a side of fries, like the country-fried sirloin and chicken tender meals, will be your best choice.

In 2023, there were 137,513 chain restaurants in the United States alone. With that many options, you have to make sure you are avoiding wasting money and enjoying the good, high-quality ones. 

You can save money by reading honest reviews online and asking around for opinions.