9 Chain Restaurant Mozzarella Sticks, Ranked

Mozzarella sticks are magical little appetizers. Somehow, there always seems to be room for one more, no matter how full you feel. Do I want to eat 10 string cheeses? Of course not; that would be absurd. But do I want to eat 10 string cheeses that have been battered, deep-fried, and dipped in marinara sauce? Absolutely. Where do I sign up?

Over the course of three days, I sampled mozzarella sticks from nine different fast-food and full-service chains to determine which is best. I compared them based on their appearance, flavor, texture, value, and, of course, that critical signal of mozzarella satisfaction — the cheese pull. Along the way, there were some pleasant surprises and a few disappointments, but there was also lots and lots of gooey, melty cheese, and who could complain about that? Based on my taste testing, here are nine chain restaurant mozzarella sticks, ranked worst to best.

Aside from one alcohol-induced indiscretion involving an order of Burger King's Chicken Fries, I haven't eaten at the chain in years, so I did not have high hopes for its Mozzarella Fries. And while they were better than I expected them to be, they were still my least favorite on this list. It definitely has the essence of a mozzarella stick, and the texture is pretty good, but they're super skinny, and the flavor is lacking, especially considering how much seasoning is visible in the breading.

The only upside is the price. At $1.99 for an order of four sticks, Burger King was the least expensive per stick. But that, to be honest, is also a red flag. The cheese neither felt nor tasted like mozzarella, and for less than 50 cents a stick, I have to wonder how much real cheese is actually in them.

Though not the worst mozzarella sticks on this list, the ones at Applebee's were the biggest disappointment. They were very heavy, and the breading tore more than it cracked, which was an immediate turn-off. They gave a distinctly fried-from-frozen vibe, which, apparently, they are, along with all the other fried appetizers on the Applebee's menu.

The cheese pull was lacking, and the cheese itself was rubbery. The flavor was okay initially, but after a couple of bites, the saltiness became overwhelming, followed by a weird, almost bitter aftertaste. Even the marinara — which was watery, though I didn't factor that into this or any other rating — did nothing to mask the reheated quality of the mozzarella sticks. And at eight sticks for $10.49, they weren't the most expensive per stick, but they weren't cheap, either, and the flavor and texture did nothing to justify the price.

Could my opinion have been biased because this was my sixth order of mozzarella sticks that evening? Possibly, but as someone who has been known to eat an embarrassing number of mozzarella sticks in one sitting, I can assure you that there's always room for one more good mozzarella stick, and the leftovers from the best mozzarella sticks on this list were still tempting me from the passenger seat.

I really expected to love Red Lobster's Mozzarella Cheesesticks. Red Lobster was my special occasion spot for most of my young adult years, and I couldn't wait to experience its post-bankruptcy revival. Unfortunately, due largely to circumstances outside the restaurant's control, my carry-out order was delayed by about 20 minutes. Normally, I would have checked to see if the order was cold and, if so, politely requested a remake. But the platter was piping hot, and the sticks were gorgeous, dusted with Parmesan and cobwebbed with strings of melty mozzarella, so I took it and went on my way.

The breading was crispy and golden-brown with lots and lots of texture from the breadcrumb coating, but the cheese, disappointingly, didn't pull at all. And by the time I went to eat my second stick, the breading had gone chewy, and the cheese had turned to rubber, almost like it had cooled after being microwaved. At $9.99 for 10 pieces, the price is right, but the quality was super disappointing. I can't say for sure whether this is how they always are or if it was due to the unavoidable delay, but I would add these to the list of dishes to avoid at Red Lobster.

I was a teenager when I realized that Checkers and Rally's were the same restaurant. I grew up in Ohio, one of the states with the most Rally's locations, but moved to Florida as a tween, where Checkers restaurants are so abundant that they outnumber Olive Garden restaurants by nearly two to one. In those days, I wasn't a fan of either restaurant. Having been raised in the Midwest, the famous fry seasoning — a blend containing salt, onion powder, garlic powder, paprika, and pepper — was, I'm a little ashamed to admit, too spicy.

But after nearly a decade of developing my decidedly bland palate, I've come to love the peppery seasoning that Checkers & Rally's are known for, which is why I was stoked to try the Fry-Seasoned Monsterella Stix at my neighborhood Rally's. They were immediately appealing, with large flecks of cracked pepper visible in the batter, and the smell was mouthwatering. The batter was very crispy, and the cheese had a nice pull, but it was a little soft and slightly creamy, almost like there was a blend of something other than mozzarella mixed in.

The flavor of the fry seasoning was lighter than I expected, and while it was still noticeable, I was disappointed that it didn't play a larger role in the flavor profile. Still, it definitely sets it apart from other restaurants' mozzarella sticks. An order of six Fry-Seasoned Monsterella Stix was just $4.19, so it's excellent value, too.

I don't typically eat a lot of fast food, but I'm a sucker for Sonic on a hot day. Everything on the menu is just consistently good — or maybe everything just tastes better when you're sipping a fruit slushie or soda with that chewy nugget ice. But I resisted the urge and skipped the slushie this time, and the mozzarella sticks still held up to the hype.

They were handed to me piping hot, and the cheese pull went on for miles. Thankfully, I was eating alone, so no one was around to hear the embarrassing noises I made as I stretched the first stick. And it wasn't a fluke; the second stick pulled just as well as the first. The batter itself had lots of texture and visible herbs and was one of the best-seasoned sticks on this list. And best of all, they were cheap, coming in at $3.86 for an order of four pieces, making them one of the least expensive options per stick.

Arby's is one of my favorite fast food restaurants. When I was pregnant with my youngest child, one of my most persistent cravings was among the best high-protein meals Arby's has to offer: the Classic Beef 'N Cheddar sandwich, with that iconic, pillowy onion bun and two whole packets of Horsey Sauce dolloped on one bite at a time. I would also occasionally round out the meal with some mozzarella sticks or jalapeño poppers. So, I had high hopes going into this particular taste test, and somehow, the mozzarella sticks from Arby's still exceeded my expectations.

I got an order of four sticks for $4.49, which is a pretty good deal, especially considering how thick they are — nearly double the thickness of the sticks at restaurants like Rally's and Red Lobster. The batter is thick and smooth, and it's crispy on the outside and moist on the inside, with just the right amount of seasoning. The cheese pull is nice — stretchy but not stringy — and the cheese itself has a nice squeak. To quote my 8-year-old assistant mozzarella stick taste tester (a very official job title for a very official job), "It's going to be hard to beat this!"

While researching for this article, I was shocked to find that the international chain IHOP had mozzarella sticks (or Mozza Sticks, as they're called on the menu), and I certainly never would have ordered them on a whim. After all, you generally don't order the pizza at a Mexican restaurant, so why order mozzarella sticks at IHOP when there are so many pancakes to choose from? But even if I'd had higher expectations, IHOP's Mozza Sticks still would have been the biggest surprise on this list.

They were battered, breadcrumbed, and fried to a perfect golden brown color. It had a cheese pull for days, and the flavor was clearly and distinctly mozzarella. They weren't rubbery or chewy; the texture was, frankly, perfect. The seasoning was straightforward, with no obvious herbs visible or detected in the flavor, but the salt level was spot-on. I still won't be sparing any pancake-eating room for mozzarella sticks in my future IHOP adventures, but that's only because, well, they're pancakes.

Buffalo Wild Wings, or B-Dubs, as we used to call it, was one of my most-loved restaurants in high school, and its onion rings are still my all-time favorite. But this was my first experience with its mozzarella sticks, and they did not disappoint.

They appeared to be both battered and breadcrumbed, with visible herbs in the light golden-brown crust. The cheese pull was a bit of a let-down, stretching just a little before tearing, but the flavor and texture more than made up for that. The mozzarella had a little squeak but wasn't chewy or rubbery, and it was super moist — almost juicy, somehow.

The only downside is the value. At $8.99 for six mozzarella sticks, Buffalo Wild Wings has the highest price per stick of any restaurant on this list, and for a shareable appetizer, that's not a lot to snack on. But they were so good, I had to slide them out of reach to stop myself from munching on another one while on the way to my next stop on the cheese tour.

Hands-down, Red Robin's Cheesy Mozzarella Twists were the best on this list. First of all, they were adorable — a platter of cheesy curlicues oozing with melty mozzarella. The cheese pull was amazing, and it separated into stringy threads, like a perfect slice of pizza.

The batter and breadcrumb coating was perfectly crisp and loaded with texture, and a smattering of herbs was visible in the crust. Of course, all of that is nothing if the flavor is off, but even that was spot-on — just the right amount of salt, a tasty crust, and real mozzarella cheese. They're also a great value at 10 sticks for $10.49, and while it may have been an optical illusion caused by the twisty shape, they certainly seemed larger than most of the mozzarella sticks I tried.

These were my fourth order of mozzarella sticks that day, and I still found myself reaching for them in the passenger seat as I drove home from my sixth stop. As a matter of fact, I think I'm going to go warm them up in the oven right now.

I chose the restaurants on this list based on a few basic selection criteria. First, they must be from a restaurant (no convenience stores), and the fried mozzarella offering must be stick-shaped. That means no patties, no chunks, no bites, and no curds (sorry, Culver's). And while all the restaurants were within a reasonable drive of my home in Ohio, I only sampled from national or, at minimum, semi-national chains.

As for the ratings themselves, I weighed each order's appearance, flavor, texture, and value, along with the ever-important cheese pull. I tasted each restaurant's mozzarella sticks both with and without the included marinara sauce, but I did not factor the condiment into the rating at all, leaving the mozzarella sticks to speak for themselves.