9 Menu Items You Should Always Avoid Ordering At Culver's Based On Reviews

When the first Culver's restaurant opened in Sauk City, Wisconsin, in 1984, the company debuted two iconic menu items: the ButterBurger and frozen custard — a dessert very similar to soft-serve ice cream. Both handcrafted with Wisconsin-sourced ingredients, the duo was an instant hit. In 1990, the brand opened its second location, and today, Culver's has nearly 1,000 locations across the country. Most are in the upper Midwest, but there are stores all the way down to Texas and Florida and spanning from Idaho to North Carolina.

The ButterBurger and frozen custard are still what Culver's is known for, but as the chain has expanded, so has the menu. The brand offers other sandwiches, chicken, salads, multiple side options, and things like shakes, sundaes, and concrete mixers (Culver's version of a Dairy Queen Blizzard) made from its frozen custard. And while most of the menu options have been a hit with customers, a few have turned out to be a little lackluster. We've combed through the internet and done our research; here are nine Culver's menu items you're better off skipping on your next trip.

There are a lot of Culver's menu items that reviewers are mixed on, but the mashed potatoes and gravy side is not one of them. This side is pretty universally despised, despite it being a pretty simple staple menu option. The brand claims its mashed potatoes are hand-made from Russet potatoes, milk, and seasonings and mashed until light and fluffy, but customers aren't sold.

Reviewers list several different reasons they don't like this dish, all of them boiling down to, "it's just bad." Our sister site, Mashed, rated Culver's mashed potatoes dead last in its ranking of fast food mashed potatoes, calling the potatoes flavorless, with a strange, gummy texture. Someone claiming to be a Culver's employee on Reddit agrees, stating that the potatoes are pretty bland, but butter, salt, and pepper make them more palatable. The problem with that, of course, is that you shouldn't have to take extra steps to make your restaurant meal taste halfway decent. If you're in the throes of a mashed potato craving, check out our list of where to get the best fast food mashed potatoes instead.

Culver's is known for its ButterBurger, but folks also love its chicken sandwiches and other meaty options like the grilled reuben melt and the beef pot roast. But if you're a vegetarian, like about 4% of Americans, you're going to want other options. Enter the Harvest Veggie Burger, a patty made with fire-roasted chickpeas, peppers, corn, and Wisconsin cheese. The patty is served on a toasted bun, and toppings like onions, lettuce, and tomato can be added on top.

The problem is, the Harvest Veggie Burger doesn't seem to hold up to the actual burgers at Culver's. A 2022 survey by Mashed found that 38% of Culver's fans declare the Harvest Veggie Burger its worst sandwich. Reviewers pretty universally agree that the texture is wrong, calling it soggy, thick, and mushy. Comments on the chain's Facebook announcement of the burger are solidly negative, with many saying they prefer the old veggie burger option. Most people can't seem to get past the texture, but a few posters on Reddit say that the flavor itself is good. If you're not one to be bothered by an odd texture, you may enjoy this veggie option, but for most users, the mushiness is too off-putting.

Culver's buffalo chicken tenders are an inconsistent menu item; they come and go, although they are on the menu fairly frequently. Customers used to love them, saying they were absolutely amazing. However, sometime in the last few years, quality seems to have started to slip. In 2020, users on Reddit noticed that they were smaller and had a rubbery texture, but it wasn't consistent — one user mentioned that in their order, about half were normal and half were off. A few users suggested that perhaps the supply chain issues from the pandemic were to blame.

Toward the end of 2024, complaints started again. Customers noticed the chicken isn't as crispy or crunchy as usual, with a few employees mentioning that some locations have changed suppliers, which could contribute to the difference in quality. It seems like the buffalo chicken tenders are hit or miss, based on the location and round of release. As a result, it might be wise to stay away unless you can get confirmation that your local chain has the good buffalo chicken tenders.

Restaurant salads always seem to taste better than homemade ones, but fast food and fast-casual restaurants are an exception. Generally speaking, people don't go to these places to eat healthy; they go for a quick, unhealthy-but-delicious option. Nothing showcased this better than McDonald's attempt at salads, which ultimately failed because there just wasn't enough demand.

Culver's, however, features some healthier menu options, including a few salads. Unfortunately, the salad quality seems to have worsened over the years. In 2023, customers noticed a change in the quality of the chain's salads. Users on reddit claiming to be employees blamed the company changing its salad mix to iceberg lettuce, saying they had received a lot of customer backlash. Other customers said that the change made it bland, boring, and not nearly worth its price. This new mix seems to have affected all of Culver's salads, including the entree options like the seasonal Strawberry Fields Salad, which has mixed reception, and the brand's side salad. Overall, if you go to a burger place, order a burger, or at least, don't expect much from the salads.

A grilled chicken sandwich offers customers a somewhat healthier option while still acknowledging that they're in a fast food restaurant. At Culver's the grilled chicken sandwich is made with a chicken breast seasoned with salt and pepper, then served on a toasted hoagie roll with lettuce, tomato, and pickles.

Customers have mixed thoughts on this sandwich. Those who are more health-conscious appreciate the high protein and low "points" qualities of it. Most consumers, however, find it to just be...fine. But while no one says it's terrible, "not bad" isn't exactly a stellar review. Reviewers say it's sort of bland and overall just lackluster. Many say the bun is excellent, at least, even if the chicken is disappointing. For the most part, if you're feeling chicken, customers recommend going with the crispy chicken sandwich, or better yet, the spicy crispy chicken sandwich, both of which pack far more flavor.

Another sandwich item reviewers label as somewhat "meh" is the pork loin sandwich. This sandwich is made with a center-cut pork loin that's hand-breaded with cracker crumbs and fried. It's served on a toasted bun, and while it doesn't automatically come with toppings, customers can request them.

People claiming to be employees on Reddit say that the pork loin is one of the least popular menu items, with a few mentioning that they really only see elderly customers choosing it. Most reviewers wouldn't go so far as to call the sandwich terrible, but say they would be unlikely to order this option again. The general consensus is that while it's not the best pork sandwich around, it's not atrociously awful either. Several reviewers offer suggestions for improving the sandwich, including adding grilled onion, mashed potatoes, and some type of sauce like barbeque, mayo, or even a cheese sauce. However, others say no amount of extra toppings would fix the sandwich's cardboard-like texture.

Vegetables are known for being healthy, and one of the healthiest options out there is broccoli. These little plants are nutritional powerhouses, filled with vitamins C, K, and A, as well as potassium, calcium, iron, and several different antioxidants. The problem is that, while there are ways to cook broccoli for maximum flavor, it's also pretty easy to accidentally cook it into mush. When that happens, the vegetable becomes a weird mix of soggy and rubbery, causing it to lose all appeal.

This tends to be one of the major complaints about the steamed broccoli side at Culver's. Another is that the chain doesn't add any flavoring to the broccoli — it's literally just steamed broccoli. Some redditors say that while their broccoli wasn't overcooked, it was bland, though others say adding a little cheese sauce can really boost the taste. Other customers said they appreciate this healthy side option, despite the criticism. While it's admirable for a fast food company to expand beyond traditional salads for healthy choices, it seems Culver's could put a bit more effort into making the steamed broccoli side more appealing.

Culver's Wisconsin Swiss melt is made with seared beef topped with Wisconsin Swiss cheese and grilled red onions, all served on grilled rye bread. It's a relatively simple sandwich, but reviewers have pretty mixed opinions on it overall.

One Reddit poster said their Wisconsin Swiss melt experience was great, and Mashed ranked it as one of the best menu items at Culver's. However, several customers had negative experiences with this sandwich. One commenter on that same thread said their serving was dry and bland, while another mentioned their sandwich was overly salty. It seems that, like the buffalo chicken tenders, this can be a hit-or-miss option. At some locations, the Wisconsin Swiss melt may be excellent, but if you want a guaranteed winner, one of the other Culver's burgers is probably a safer bet. In fact, most locations will allow you to swap out the standard American cheese for Swiss, so you're still getting the same cheese on one of the brand's beloved Butterburgers.

Coleslaw is always a hit-or-miss side dish; some folks love it, and others hate it, and that's true of the coleslaw at Culver's, too. Coleslaw is a salad made with finely shredded cabbage, as well as some sort of dressing or mayo to make it creamy. Other types of vegetables are usually added as well. The Culver's side coleslaw contains the standard cabbage as well as carrots.

Reviews of the coleslaw tend to vary depending on what location you visit. Some say the veggies are crisp, while others found their serving to be limp. A few rated the dish as fine, but not their favorite, while our friends at Mashed named it the top fast food coleslaw. Overall, it seems that the coleslaw isn't terrible, and you probably won't dislike the dish if you order it (and you're generally a coleslaw person). However, Culver's has several excellent side options, like the cheese curds, onion rings, and pretzel bites, that the coleslaw pales in comparison.

As a resident of the upper Midwest, I'm pretty much obligated to make a pilgrimage to Culver's every few weeks. Since the nearest Culver's is half a mile from my house, that's pretty easy. As a Culver's frequent flier, I tend to order the same rotation of foods, so I was curious to see what other customers would think the worst food options are.

To find the items to avoid ordering at Culver's, I combed through Reddit, Facebook, and TikTok, in addition to different media outlets' coverage of the chain. Culver's is a pretty beloved franchise, so I had to dig deep. I looked for posts talking about foods that weren't popular, those that had changed negatively over the years, and those that discussed options that people generally didn't like.