Outback Steakhouse Vs Logan's Roadhouse: Which Is Better?

American steakhouse chains often feature rustic decor and robust menus that include not only steak but also seafood, ribs, and chicken. Both Outback Steakhouse and Logan's Roadhouse are no exception. Founded in 1988 in Tampa, Florida, Outback Steakhouse has grown into a true powerhouse with more than 670 locations across the U.S. Meanwhile, Logan's Roadhouse, which was founded in 1991 in Lexington, Kentucky, has a somewhat lower, but still substantial, presence with around 135 restaurants in the country. Despite their different scales of operation, both steakhouses are firm favorites among diners.

Despite their numerous similarities, from range of dishes to price points, we looked hard to find exactly what sets Outback Steakhouse and Logan's Roadhouse apart. And while choosing between the two steakhouses ultimately comes down to personal preference, we spent hours of research to provide you with a detailed comparison of the two establishments. Just some of the factors we considered on our mission included ambiance, menu options, and value for money. If you would like to know more about our research process, take a quick look at the methodology section at the end of this article.

Read more: The Best Steakhouse In Every State

Outback Steakhouse Has An Australian Theme While Logan's Roadhouse Has A Rustic American Feel

Just like its name suggests, Logan's Roadhouse is themed around the ideas of a classic American roadhouse and Texas-inspired aesthetic. The casual restaurant where "all persons are allowed to be themselves and may not be anyone else" sets the scene with elements such as wood paneling, neon signs, license-plate artwork, and subdued lighting. Logan's Roadhouse is also famous for its free buckets of peanuts and floors littered with peanut shells. As advised by the Roadhouse rules, "piles of peanut shells may be pushed onto the floor."

The Outback Steakhouse is a bit of an odd duck. While the chain's website states that visiting the restaurant is "like you're right there in the Australian Outback," many dare to disagree. Despite its name and branding, the Australian-themed restaurant has been criticized for not being a bit kitschy -- and this includes the decor. The chain's interpretation of Australian style includes boomerang motifs, maps of Australia, Foster's beer signs, and Aboriginal-style art. To bring the theme to life, servers sometimes even take orders in an Australian accent. Perhaps mindful of the criticism, some Outback Steakhouse outlets have updated their ambiance with more modern touches such as paintings of the Sydney Opera House.

Outback Steakhouse Is Well-Known For Its Bloomin' Onion Appetizer While The Signature App At Logan's Roadhouse Is The Potato Skins

While it may not be the healthiest item on the menu, few would disagree that the most famous dish at the Outback Steakhouse is the Bloomin' Onion. In fact, it's one in every four starters sold at the restaurant, with around 8 million Bloomin' Onions sold each year. The uniquely presented dish is made with an onion that's cut to resemble a flower with 200 petals, breaded, and deep-fried. The starter is served with the chain's signature spicy dipping sauce. Invented way back in 1988 by the chain's founder Tim Gannon, the iconic app has a diameter of around 4.25 inches and weighs around a pound when cooked.

Logan's signature appetizer is the Made-from-Scratch Loaded Potato Skins. Listed on the menu alongside other apps, such as Beer-Battered Onion Rings and Queso & Chips, the dish is made with fresh --- never frozen -- Idaho potatoes topped with melted cheddar cheese, bacon bits, and green onions. The star starter is served with sour cream. While Logan's Roadhouse stands behind its starchy appetizer, patron reviews of the dish have been mixed. On the positive side, one diner says that they love the chain's potato skins, describing them as well-done and crispy. On the other hand, another reviewer calls the dish dry and bland.

Both Chains Serve Grilled USDA Choice Beef

When it comes to USDA-rated beef, there are three choices: USDA Prime, USDA Choice, and USDA Select. USDA Prime is the highest quality of beef that comes from young cattle and features abundant marbling. Only the top 2% of the beef graded by the USDA is classified as prime. Somewhat lower in quality, USDA Choice has less marbling than USDA Prime. Finally, USDA Select is the leanest option, which is generally least tender of the three.

Being casual steakhouses, both Outback Steakhouse and Logan's Roadhouse serve USDA Choice beef. This makes the restaurants affordable without sacrificing too much beef quality. Logan's Roadhouse uses Midwestern beef and grills its cuts over mesquite wood. Meanwhile, Outback Steakhouse ages its steaks, seasons the cuts with a secret blend of spices, and either sears or chargrills them.

Both Outback Steakhouse and Logan's Roadhouse offer a range of cuts. The steak specialty at Logan's Roadhouse is the 12 or 16-ounce Signature Ribeye. However, the chain's repertoire also includes sirloin, filet mignon, porterhouse, and New York strip. While Outback Steakhouse doesn't have a steak specialty, it offers plenty of beefy options, including bone-in ribeye, ribeye, porterhouse, bone-in New York strip, filet mignon, and sirloin.

Logan's Roadhouse Has More Burger And Sandwich Options

While most upscale steakhouses don't offer burgers and sandwiches, both Logan's Roadhouse and Outback Steakhouse don't fall into this category. While this may not be their focus, the casual dining establishments serve a range of handhelds. This not only makes both restaurants appeal to a broader range of diners, but also makes them more budget-friendly since burgers and sandwiches tend to be cheaper than steaks and seafood.

Logan's Roadhouse features an extensive menu of burgers and sandwiches. The chain's signature handheld is the Ribeye Sandwich with a six-ounce ribeye, lettuce, tomato, onion, and pickles nestled in a hoagie roll, and served with Parmesan peppercorn sauce. The chain's other bready offerings include the Roadhouse Deluxe burger, the All-American Cheeseburger, and the Peppercorn Bacon Chicken Sandwich. All of the restaurant's burgers can be served with two patties at an extra charge.

Outback Steakhouse features a more limited selection of burgers and sandwiches. The aptly named Outback Burger comes with a beef patty, lettuce, tomato, and onion. The Bloomin' Burger comes with the same ingredients, but is garnished with bloomin onion' petals and the restaurant's spicy bloom sauce. Outback Steakhouse also serves grilled or crispy bloomin' chicken sandwiches and prime rib sandwiches with grilled onions, mushrooms, and provolone cheese.

Outback Steakhouse Has More Soup And Salad Options

Outback Steakhouse serves three entree salads, and despite their names, none are particularly Australian. The Aussie Cobb Salad comes with a choice of grilled chicken, crispy chicken, or salmon, as well bacon, mixed greens, tomatoes, Monterey Jack and cheddar cheeses, boiled egg, and croutons. There's also the Brisbane Caesar Salad with a selection of chicken, shrimp, or salmon, and the Steakhouse Salad with seared center-cut sirloin. Outback Steakhouse also offers a range of side salads such as the Blue Cheese Pecan Chopped Side Salad and the Classic Blue Cheese Wedge Side Salad. There's also a selection of three soups: French Onion Soup, Tasmanian Chili, and Baked Potato Soup.

The soup and salad selection at Logan's Roadhouse is more humble. The chain only serves a soup of the day, leaving diners with little to choose from. Luckily, the chain is more generous with its selection of salads. The signature here is Logan's Kickin' Chickin' Salad served with blackened chicken, romaine lettuce, tomatoes, and roasted corn, and garnished with Roadhouse Ranch dressing. Several other Logan's salad options include the Roadhouse Steak Cobb Salad, the Mesquite-Grilled Chicken Salad, and the Mesquite-Grilled Salmon Caesar salad.

Both Chains Feature A Kids Menu

Being casual steakhouses, both Outback Steakhouse and Logan's Roadhouse cater to families. Aside from their relaxed dining atmosphere, both steakhouses also offer budget-friendly prices -- a factor that makes them a hit with families looking for affordable dining options.

To accommodate young patrons, both Outback Steakhouse and Logan's Roadhouse offer special children's menus, which include classic favorites that appeal to younger diners. In addition, the dishes are smaller and cheaper than the chain's standard offerings. Designed for children under 10, the kids menu at Logan's Roadhouse includes entrees such as chicken tenders, steak tips, popcorn shrimp, and mac and cheese. Each main at the restaurant is accompanied by a drink and one side dish like green beans, mashed potatoes, or french fries.

Outback Steakhouse isn't as transparent about when children graduate from the kids to the adults menu. We can only assume that this decision is left to the discretion of its employees. Unlike Logan's Roadhouse, the restaurant doesn't offer a set menu for children. Instead, they offer an array of a la carte dishes. These include options such as chicken fingers, cheeseburger, sirloin with french fries, and an ice-cream sundae.

Outback Steakhouse Is Slightly More Expensive

Being casual dining restaurants with an emphasis on steakhouse-style meals, both Outback Steakhouse and Logan's Roadhouse cater to a similar market segment. This includes families with children, groups looking for an informal dining experience, and steak enthusiasts in search of quality meals at reasonable prices. As such, both restaurants offer similar pricing, with Outback Steakhouse perceived as slightly more expensive than Logan's Roadhouse.

Outback's steaks range between $30.99 and $44.99 while Logan's steaks sell at between $19.99 and $40.99. When comparing similar beef cuts and sizes, however, the prices at both restaurants are similar. For instance, Outback's 22-ounce Melbourne Porterhouse will set you back $44.99, while Logan's 22-ounce USDA Choice porterhouse costs $40.99. Meanwhile, Outback's 16-ounce Bone-in New York Strip comes with a price tag of $34.99, while Logan's 12-ounce New York strip costs $25.99.

Aside from the steaks, other dishes at the two chains also show relatively small price differences. In the appetizer department, Outback's Kookaburra Wings cost $16.99, while Logan's Mesquite Smokin Wings are $14.99. Outback's Spicy Jammin' Meatloaf comes in at $22.99, while Logan's Grilled Meatloaf is priced at $18.99. Outback's Perfectly Grilled Salmon sells for $26.99, while Logan's Mesquite-Wood Grilled Salmon goes for $22.99. And last but not least, Outback's Prime Rib Sandwich is priced at $19.99, while Logan's Piled High Prime Rib Dip sandwich sells for $18.99.

The Restaurants Serve Different Types Of Bread

Outback Steakhouse and Logan's Roadhouse both feature signature breads that have garnered a firm fan base. First created in 1991 by one of the chain's employees, Logan's yeast rolls are made from scratch each day to ensure maximum freshness. While the rolls are served with a side of whipped butter at the start of each meal, roll enthusiasts can also buy a dozen or half a dozen of the bread treats to take home. Logan's also offers cinnamon rolls in six and 12-piece batches. Some of the restaurant's satisfied patrons have described the rolls as "to die for," "melt in your mouth," and "soft, delicious, and huge."

Outback Steakhouse serves dark bread that's said to be made with molasses, honey, and cocoa. Served with a dollop of whipped butter, the bread is both soft and mildly sweet. While some may find this disappointing, the bread bears little association with Australia, as pointed out by some Quora members. "We don't eat black bread. Damper is our authentic Aussie bread," one user wrote, referring to traditional Australian bread normally cooked in coals of a campfire. Nevertheless, at least one diner doesn't seem to mind: "I love bread and I just went to Outback for the first time in my life and it was great. I'm craving the bread."

Outback Steakhouse Serves More Imaginative Desserts

When it comes to desserts, Outback Steakhouse outshines Logan's Roadhouse. Firstly, the chain offers six dessert choices as opposed to Logan's four final course offerings. Secondly, while Logan's offers more traditional dessert options, Outback Steakhouse has clearly put more thought into creating a unique dessert menu.

So what's on Outback's dessert menu? The eye-catching and imaginatively-named Chocolate Thunder from Down Under features a decadent pecan brownie garnished with vanilla ice cream, warm chocolate sauce, chocolate shavings, and whipped cream. Another standout menu offering is the Tim Tam Brownie Cake. Made with three layers -- chocolate, peanut butter, and chocolate mousse -- the brownie comes topped with caramel sauce and an all-time Aussie favorite: Tim Tam cookies.

While definitely sweet-sounding, Logan's lineup of desserts doesn't quite match the flamboyance of Outback's menu. The chain's signature sweet treat is the Mississippi Brownie with marshmallows, vanilla ice cream, chocolate, and caramel sauce. Meanwhile, the chain's Nana's Banana Pudding comes with Nilla wafers, bananas, and caramel. Logan's also offers Blueberry Apple Cobbler and Big Ole Cheesecake served with strawberries and whipped cream.

Outback Steakhouse Offers Australian-Themed Cocktails

Aside from the obligatory Foster's lager, Outback Steakhouse offers a dozen or so Australia-inspired cocktails. While the cocktail lineup at different Outback outlets can vary, some of the chain's boozy concoctions come with very eye-catching names. There's the Sauza Gold Coast 'Rita, a margarita made with Sauza Gold Tequila, as well as the Castaway Cocktail with Cruzan Passion Fruit Rum, Absolut Mandrin Vodka, and Malibu Coconut Rum. One of the newest additions to Outback's cocktail menu is the Croc-Tail with SVEDKA Vodka, Midori, mango, kiwi, citrus juices, and a plastic toy crocodile to keep as a memento. Outback also serves most of its cocktails to go in mason jars.

While Outback's cocktails do sound appealing -- and alcoholic -- this isn't the word from the chain's patrons. Gillian G. Gaar, who reviewed the Aussie-themed cocktails for Wine & Whiskey Globe, lamented the fact that they contained very little liquor, adding that this goes against Australia's "love of a good tipple." Another reviewer agreed, saying, "Always enjoy the food here, however I suggest you go elsewhere first for a cocktail, unless you want alcohol free cocktails! One would think providing a good drink would encourage more patronage and therefore generate more income."

Logan's Roadhouse Offers A Wide Range Of Flavored Teas

Logan's Roadhouse is well known for its Original Roadhouse Tea. However, unlike the teas you might expect to indulge in at other dining establishments, Logan's take on the beverage is more akin to a traditional Long Island iced tea. While we can't be sure what's in the boozy concoction, one Reddit user swears that it's loaded with rum, gin, triple sec, and pure grain alcohol. Since grain alcohol is around 100 to 200 proof, there may be a good reason why so many diners find Logan's Original Roadhouse Tea so invigorating.

Logan's Roadhouse treats its teas with the same creativity other establishments treat their cocktails with. On the simpler end of the spectrum, Logan's offers teas in multiple flavors such as apple, mango, melon, watermelon, and peach. For those who like their teas more fanciful, the restaurant can prepare more elaborate concoctions like the Tropical with a blend of cranberry juice, pineapple juice, and sprite. Meanwhile, those looking for a boozy alternative to a traditional cocktail can try Logan's Top Shelf Tea with Bacardi Silver, Ketel One, Tanqueray, triple sec, lime juice, and coke.

Logan's Roadhouse Is Better Overall

Specializing in casual dining, both Outback Steakhouse and Logan's Roadhouse have a lot in common. While they have different themes, both chains offer a laid-back dining atmosphere where adults and children can feel equally as comfortable. They also both offer a range of USDA Choice beef cuts prepared to each diner's exact specifications. In addition, both chains serve a selection of American-style dishes, including ribs, burgers, salads, and chicken.

With so many similarities, deciding which chain reigns supreme was not an easy task. Nevertheless, we tackled the challenge head on and came up with some pretty interesting conclusions. In addition to being slightly cheaper than Outback Steakhouse, Logan's is also superior in a number of areas. While both Outback and Logan's feature very distinct themes, we believe that the latter chain is more authentic in terms of what it's trying to represent in terms of both food and decor. In addition, Logan's range of boozy flavored teas and delicious bread rolls are nothing to sneeze at either.

Methodology

To determine whether Outback Steakhouse or Logan's Roadhouse is better overall, we took into consideration several key factors. Firstly, we looked at each restaurant's dining atmosphere including the decor and general ambiance. Next, we took into account each restaurant's menu options, from appetizers to desserts and beverages. Finally, we compared the prices of similar dishes at each chain.

Read the original article on Mashed.