Nation’s Restaurant News, the popular restaurant trade publication, commissioned a study to rate the country’s top 40 dining establishments and the results are being served. Nation’s Restaurants News, in conjunction with research company WD Partners, surveyed more than 37,000 people to score the brands on factors such as service, food quality and atmosphere. The participants’ responses were used to create an overall score to produce the final ranking.
The following rankings cover the 40 casual-dining chains in the 2016 Consumer Picks survey. Survey respondents rated the chains on 10 attributes, including Food Quality, Cleanliness, Service and Atmosphere. Those ratings created an Overall Score, which is weighted by the importance customers place on each attribute. Brands are ranked below by Overall Score.
Click through each chain to see all attribute scores. Scores for the 10 attributes represent the percentage of respondents who said a chain was “excellent” or “good” in that area, or who “definitely” or “probably” would revisit or recommend the brand.
See the full Consumer Picks report >>
Get the methodology behind the survey >>
**Denotes a brand that received 120 to 149 survey responses. All other brands had 150 or more responses.
| RANK | CHAIN | SEGMENT | OVERALL SCORE |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Cheesecake Factory | Varied Menu | 74.2 |
| 2 | The Melting Pot | Varied Menu | 73 |
| 3 | Bonefish Grill | Seafood | 71.7 |
| 4 | Red Lobster | Seafood | 71.1 |
| 5 | Romano’s Macaroni Grill | Italian/Pizza | 70.5 |
| 6 | Carrabba’s Italian Grill | Italian/Pizza | 70.4 |
| 7 | Olive Garden | Italian/Pizza | 70 |
| 8 | Ninety Nine Restaurant & Pub** | Varied Menu | 69.9 |
| 9 | Mellow Mushroom Pizza Bakers | Italian/Pizza | 69 |
| 10 | Chevys Fresh Mex | Varied Menu | 68.9 |
| 11 | P.F. Chang’s China Bistro | Varied Menu | 68.3 |
| 12 | BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse | Varied Menu | 68 |
| 13 | Texas Roadhouse | Steak | 67.5 |
| 14 | Mimi’s Cafe | Varied Menu | 66.9 |
| 15 | Buca di Beppo | Italian/Pizza | 66.8 |
| 16 | Johnny Carino’s/Carino’s Italian | Italian/Pizza | 66.4 |
| 17 | Genghis Grill** | Varied Menu | 66.2 |
| 18 | Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen | Varied Menu | 66 |
| 19 | Hard Rock Cafe | Varied Menu | 65.9 |
| 20 | Old Chicago Pizza & Taproom | Varied Menu | 65.6 |
| 21 | Lone Star Steakhouse | Steak | 65.4 |
| 22 | LongHorn Steakhouse | Steak | 65.2 |
| 23 | Outback Steakhouse | Steak | 65.1 |
| 24 | Joe’s Crab Shack | Seafood | 64.9 |
| 25 | California Pizza Kitchen | Varied Menu | 63.1 |
| 26 | O’Charley’s | Varied Menu | 62.7 |
| 27 | Red Robin Gourmet Burgers & Brews | Varied Menu | 62.3 |
| 28 | Famous Dave’s | Varied Menu | 61.8 |
| 29 | TGI Fridays | Varied Menu | 61.6 |
| 30 | Beef ‘O’ Brady’s** | Varied Menu | 60.4 |
| 31 | Applebee’s Neighborhood Grill & Bar | Varied Menu | 58.8 |
| 32 | Sonny’s Real Pit Bar-B-Q** | Varied Menu | 58.3 |
| 33 | Hooters | Varied Menu | 58 |
| 34 | Dave & Buster’s | Varied Menu | 57.3 |
| 35 | Chili’s Grill & Bar | Varied Menu | 56.8 |
| 36 | Uno Chicago Grill/Uno Pizzeria & Grill | Varied Menu | 56.7 |
| 37 | On the Border Mexican Grill & Cantina | Varied Menu | 56.3 |
| 38 | Ruby Tuesday | Varied Menu | 55.7 |
| 39 | Logan’s Roadhouse | Steak | 54.9 |
| 40 | Buffalo Wild Wings Grill & Bar | Varied Menu | 54.3 |
