The Seafood Appetizer You Should Avoid Ordering At Texas Roadhouse

You don't roll up to a Texas Roadhouse unprepared to eat. The steakhouse chain — famous for its free, fresh, delicious house-made rolls — serves up big portions of hand-cut steaks and hearty sides made from scratch. Of course, you often want to start with appetizers, but deciding isn't all that easy among options such as fried pickles and Texas red chili. Fortunately, Chowhound ranked all of Texas Roadhouse's appetizers and found that, despite tasting pretty good, the one you don't need to spend your money on is the grilled shrimp.

We ordered all of the standard appetizers and ranked and rated each one. Factors such as flavor, texture, and quality were the primary criteria — as they should be — but price and "wow factor" came into play as well. Though the grilled shrimp, presented on an open-face split roll, was one of the most affordable menu items, it just did not wow our reviewer.

There's a reason Texas Roadhouse ranked as the fastest growing restaurant brand in 2023, and manages to convert even die-hard skeptics. From dedicated service to a welcoming atmosphere, the experience transports diners far from the typical chain restaurant. But not every dish can be the best. In the case of grilled shrimp, it just seems to come up short compared with other options. It's not that the grilled shrimp is bad or poorly cooked. They arrive plump and nicely seasoned, sitting atop a toasted and split roll. Considering that much of the rest of the appetizer menu is deep-fried (including the Rattlesnake Bites, our top pick) or coated in cheese, the grilled shrimp make for somewhat lighter fare with which to start a full meal.

Unfortunately, the shrimp just doesn't bring much else to the table. There's the small portion of five shrimp and one toasted roll: Not only is that a fairly small helping, it's an awkward number when sharing (and a little weird looking, unevenly distributed on the roll halves). And, since you've already received a basket of rolls just for sitting down, why is there yet another piece of bread, no matter how delicious? It's as if the chefs couldn't decide how to plate five lonely shrimp in the same homey manner as other dishes. If you love grilled shrimp, consider ordering the entrée instead, or learn how to grill shrimp perfectly at home.