Texas Roadhouse Vs LongHorn Steakhouse: Which Chain Restaurant Should Steak Lovers Choose?

When you're in the mood for a good steak, there are several chains you could choose from — among those are the industry-leading Texas Roadhouse and Longhorn Steakhouse. While both restaurants offer steak, that's about where their similarities end. Each offers its own unique aesthetic, and with differing menus. Texas Roadhouse is known for hand-cut steaks and a down-home feel, whereas LongHorn Steakhouse is best known for heavily seasoned masterpieces and an upscale environment. That said, you may wonder which chain restaurant you should choose if you're in the mood for steak.

We at Daily Meal decided to take a deep dive into both chains to see which offered the best overall experience for steak lovers. We looked at menus, price points, bonus offerings, and more to determine the answer to that question — this is a methodology that we break down into sections below. Ready to discover whether Texas Roadhouse or LongHorn Steakhouse is your best bet for your next steak dinner? Let's get into it.

If you're looking for steak night on a budget, Texas Roadhouse is a slightly better option — and we do mean slightly, as the price points at either restaurant are just barely distinguishable. The average steak prices at Texas Roadhouse vary from $15 to $35, while LongHorn Steakhouse options range between $17 and $37.

Sides ordered on their own cost a standard $3.49 at Texas Roadhouse, while they range between $2.99 and $5.49 at LongHorn Steakhouse. Chicken-based meals are cheaper at Texas Roadhouse by an average of $1 to $2, and refillable soft drinks are $2 cheaper. Appetizers are also cheaper at this chain by upwards of $1 to $2.

Between the steaks and soft drinks alone, you could save at least $4 per person by choosing Texas Roadhouse — that's around $16 a meal for an average family of four. If you dine out on steak once a month, those savings can really add up over the course of the year.

Like the name implies, Texas Roadhouse has a very Texas, down-home feeling that's comfortable and inviting. You'll see gorgeous murals on the walls of every location, and see families loudly celebrating birthdays in every corner. There's memorabilia on every wall that includes things like road signs and animal heads — which is great if you enjoy that atmosphere, and many people do.

However, if you're looking for a more upscale feel, you won't find it at Texas Roadhouse. Instead, this is an area where LongHorn Steakhouse shines. While there's still some country-esque memorabilia on the walls when you walk in, it's much more subtle and sparse. The ceilings feature thick wooden beams reminiscent of an upscale hunting lodge, and well-placed chandeliers light up your meal.

What may be most important about the upscale feel of LongHorn Steakhouse is the noise. While Texas Roadhouse provides a fun cacophony of noise, LongHorn Steakhouse is a much quieter, reserved place to have your meal.

If you enjoy variety in your steakhouse, you'll be pleased to know that Texas Roadhouse has a slightly wider range of steak offerings — they have 10, while LongHorn Steakhouse has seven. Most of the offerings overlap, but not all. So, if there's a specific steak or steak dish you're looking for, you might want to check which chain offers it before heading to your nearest location.

Both steakhouses have sirloins, New York strip steaks, filets, boneless ribeyes, bone-in ribeyes, and porterhouses. However, LongHorn Steakhouse steaks include a fire-grilled T-bone, which isn't offered at the other chain. Texas Roadhouse gets a little more creative with their selections, which include prime rib, steak kabobs, filet medallions, and "road kill." Don't worry, this isn't actual roadkill, but rather a chopped steak smothered in sautéed onions, mushrooms, and Jack cheese.

Both steakhouses also have combo meals if you're feeling a little extra hungry, although not every combo meal revolves around steak. At LongHorn Steakhouse, you can choose a 6-ounce Renegade Sirloin with eight grilled shrimp or a 6-ounce Flo's Filet with a 4-ounce lobster tail. Once again, Texas Roadhouse has more steak-centered options. Choose to pair various cuts of steak with grilled BBQ chicken, ribs, Chicken Critters, or shrimp.

At Daily Meal, we love a great rewards program, and we're pretty sure you do, too — which is why you'll be pleased to know that both steak chains offer rewards programs. But, like everything else, the two options vary significantly in their offerings and applications.

Signing up for LongHorn Steakhouse's eClub is the simpler option. All you have to do is enter your email address and zip code and hit the big red button that says "Sign Up!" Once you do, you'll get a free appetizer and receive ongoing offers and insider news.

To sign up for Texas Roadhouse's VIP Club, you'll have to enter some identifying details and contact information, including your phone number and email address. Although it's a bit more involved than the other steak chain, it isn't an overwhelming amount of information. Once you sign up, you'll receive a free appetizer as a welcome gift, a special birthday gift, and ongoing offers, updates, and more. Although it's the more challenging one to sign up for, this writer personally believes you get more from the VIP club than the eClub, but this is only based on one person's experience with both.

Texas Roadhouse is completely transparent about its steak quality. On the website, the restaurant clearly states that they serve USDA Choice steaks. What this means is that they serve a high quality steak but not the highest. The highest quality steak is USDA Prime, which will be your most marbled, tenderest, and juiciest steak. But, USDA Choice is still moderately marbled, juicy, tender, and richly flavored. The lowest type of beef, in case you were wondering, is called USDA Select.

On the other hand, LongHorn Steakhouse doesn't specifically state what kind of meat they use for their steaks. Instead, they simply say they provide "quality cuts." While not knowing the steak cut doesn't affect the quality, many consumers prefer to know exactly what they're eating.

If you're dining out with the youngest members of your family, you'll be happy to know that both chains offer kid's menus. However, Texas Roadhouse has a significantly more expansive kid's menu, so it may be more likely to have something your pickiest eaters will enjoy. Both chains include drinks and sides with their kid's meals.

At LongHorn Steakhouse, children can choose from five fairly standard options, including macaroni and cheese, a small sirloin, chicken tenders, grilled chicken tenders, and a cheeseburger. Texas Roadhouse has six standard kid's meals, including mini cheeseburgers, chicken tenders, grilled chicken, a hot dog, macaroni and cheese, and steak bites.

Our favorite thing about the Texas Roadhouse kid's menu is their Ranger Meals. These are slightly larger meals that are perfect for children who have outgrown basic options but aren't quite ready to eat full-sized adult meals. Ranger Meal options include a Chicken Critters basket, Andy's Steak, or the Ranger Rib Basket.

Texas Roadhouse offers a neat experience where you get to choose your own cut of beef from a large display case. Before you're seated at a table, the waiter will walk you up to the case and ask if you'd like to choose your own cut of beef. But, that isn't the only option if you want to ensure you get a truly fresh and juicy steak.

If you'd like the freshest cut possible, ask for a unique size to your steak. Look at the menu and see what standard options are available in the cut you'd prefer. Then, ask for a size that's a little smaller or larger than that. Once your order is placed, the butcher will have to cut a fresh piece of steak just for you. No matter how you choose to order, all Texas Roadhouse steaks are hand-cut to ensure the highest possible quality.

Longhorn SteakHouse doesn't offer anything similar to this experience. So, if you want a fresh cut or to choose your own steak, Texas Roadhouse is your best bet.

One area where LongHorn Steakhouse shines is their seasoning. The chain uses three types of signature seasoning to add flavor to their steaks. These include the char seasoning, grill seasoning, and prairie dust seasoning. Although LongHorn Steakhouse doesn't list the ingredients to these, there are many guesses online as to what may be included in them. The char seasoning, however, remains a mystery. And people online guess that the prairie dust seasoning consists of black pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, ground cayenne pepper, turmeric, and ground coriander. The grill seasoning is actually sold in select grocery stores and lists some of the ingredients on the bottle, including salt, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, and the mysterious "spices."

Texas Roadhouse offers very basic steak seasonings, but does offer complementary peanuts with your meal. Both steakhouses offer complementary bread to go with your seasoned steaks.

Reddit users are conflicted on whether Texas Roadhouse or LongHorn Steakhouse are the better restaurant — in fact, it looks like it's a pretty even split. One user had this to say: "Texas Roadhouse rolls are addicting. That and those early bird lunch specials are why I go." One person couldn't make a definitive decision, saying "TRH prices but Longhorn quiet." Still another user claimed that, "Longhorn has better quality steaks and better sides."

Texas Roadhouse and LongHorn Steakhouse each have different areas they excel in, so a lot of which chain you choose will come down to your personal preferences. Do you prefer a more affordable dining experience or a higher quality meal? Are you more concerned with having options or with having an upscale dining experience? If you're just looking for the best overall steak chain, Texas Roadhouse came out on top in more of our own categories and is therefore your best bet.

To determine whether Texas Roadhouse or LongHorn Steakhouse was the better chain restaurant, we compared several specific categories that we believe are crucial to the overall dining experience. Among these were restaurant aesthetics, menus, pricing, rewards programs, and more.

After performing extensive research in each category, we determined which restaurant came out on top, or (in a few select categories) whether the two chains were equal. The chosen winner was the one who came out on top in the most categories.