False Things You Believe About Texas Roadhouse

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Texas Roadhouse is a chain that everyone knows and loves — well, most people at least. Between the juicy steaks, warm rolls, and lively atmosphere, it's no wonder customers keep coming back. Over the years, it's built up a loyal fanbase, and like any big name, it's also picked up its fair share of rumors.

Maybe you've heard that there's no variety in the menu, the food is way overpriced, or that all its steaks and rolls get shipped in frozen. Some of these claims sound believable, but when you do some digging into the chain, they don't actually hold up. In reality, Texas Roadhouse has a few surprises up its sleeve. It turns out its food is fresher than you might think, its prices are lower than you'd expect, and its traditions aren't quite as universal as they may seem. Even the décor has a story behind it. So, if you've been dining under some false assumptions, it's time to set the record straight. Here are some of the biggest rumors that have been floating around about Texas Roadhouse.

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With a name like Texas Roadhouse, it's reasonable to assume the company started in, well, Texas. But you might be surprised to learn that this chain doesn't have any roots in the Lone Star state. Fonder Wayne Kent Taylor was born in Missouri, raised in Kentucky, and attended college in North Carolina.  He founded Texas Roadhouse in Indiana, and it's now headquartered in Kentucky.

So why name it after Texas instead of one of the many states the founder lived in? Well, it's a nod to what makes the restaurant stand out from its competition: a rowdy, Western atmosphere that's designed to give patrons a lighthearted and lively experience. Taylor was inspired by all the family-owned roadhouses dotted across rural Texas, and he wanted to create a place where people could relax after a long day and enjoy a nice meal together. 

And it worked! The chain boasts hundreds of restaurants around the world. While it didn't get its start in Texas, it's no stranger there now. There are more locations in Texas than any other state – 81, to be exact (as of 2025). So, it seems that Texans and non-Texans alike have embraced its signature style.

We've established that Texas Roadhouse gets its name for being a rootin'-tootin' Texas-themed joint. So, it must have a menu full of nothing but the finest cuisine Texas has to offer, right? Well, not quite.

Texan cuisine mainly consists of hearty meats (particularly juicy steaks, smoked meats, and mouthwatering BBQ) along with Southern comfort food and Tex-Mex. Texas Roadhouse's main attraction is its steaks, which definitely fits the bill for classic Texan cuisine. But its expansive menu doesn't stop there, which is one of the reasons it appeals to a wide crowd.

If you're looking for something a little lighter, you can find decidedly not-Texan dishes, such as grilled salmon, herb-crusted chicken, and a grilled BBQ chicken sandwich. To round it out, you can also get steamed vegetables and Caesar salad as sides as well as cheesecake and brownies for dessert. The little rangers in your party can choose between Texas favorites, like ribs and steak, or a non-Texan dish, like grilled chicken or a hot dog. So, while there are plenty of Texan dishes to choose from, its menu isn't limited to regional staples.

We've all been there — you want to eat out with a group of friends or coworkers but struggle to find a restaurant that everyone likes. While a steakhouse probably isn't the first choice for a vegetarian, there are plenty of reasons why they might find themselves looking for a meal at Texas Roadhouse. Due to the meat-forward nature of Texas Roadhouse, you may think that they'd be stuck eating a plain side dish of steamed vegetables, but some of this eatery's most famous dishes are vegetarian.

For an appetizer, vegetarians and non-vegetarians alike can enjoy the Cactus Blossom, Rattlesnake Bites, and Fried Pickles. Main courses are a little harder to find because the menu is overwhelming meat-centered. However, the Country Vegetable Plate is vegetarian and any of the salads can likely be ordered sans meat — check with your server first.

Most of the side dishes are vegetables, including corn, steamed vegetables, and various forms of potato. There's also a long list of fun cocktails and margaritas to choose from. Pescatarians will find options for a Grilled Salmon, Fried Catfish, or Grilled Shrimp meal.

Casual, mid-range chains don't always have the best reputation for quality. And with so many high-end steakhouses to choose from, it's easy to assume there are much better places to get your steak dinner than Texas Roadhouse. But the steaks at this joint are anything but ordinary.

It all starts with where Texas Roadhouse sources its steak. All of its suppliers must meet the quality standards set by two different groups: the North American Meat Institute and the National Cattlemen's Beef Association. Then, the steaks are hand-cut and aged on location by a professional butcher. When you arrive, you have the option to hand-pick your own steak from a display window, ensuring you get a cut that meets your personal preferences.

All of these factors come together to create one great steak experience, and we aren't the only ones who hold this opinion. An American Customers Satisfaction Index report saw Texas Roadhouse voted as the best chain restaurant in both 2024 and 2025. Not only did it beat out other mid-range steakhouses, like Longhorn Steakhouse and Outback Steakhouse, but it also came out on top of other fan favorites, like Olive Garden and Applebee's.

For many diners, the rolls and cinnamon honey butter are so delicious that they surpass the steaks at Texas Roadhouse. And there's a good reason why. The rolls are always fluffy, buttery, and fresh out of the oven. From the first taste, it's clear that they're more than just an afterthought or a quick bite; they're a cornerstone of dining at Texas Roadhouse. Of course, it doesn't hurt that they come free at the start of your meal.

So, with every table getting a basket of rolls, it's easy to think that they must arrive at locations frozen and pre-portioned so employees can just toss them in the oven. After all, considering the sheer number of guests that walk through the door each day, making them any other way sounds impossible. One location said it goes through 5,000 and 10,000 rolls on a normal day.

However, Texas Roadhouse has figured out how to churn out flawless rolls for each table and have them always arrive nice and hot without relying on frozen dough. Each Texas Roadhouse location has an in-house baker that mixes, proofs, and bakes the rolls from scratch on location. And they don't just bake the rolls in the morning and head out for the day. They're popping fresh rolls out of the oven every five minutes from open to close.

So, the steaks are hand-cut and aged in-house and the rolls are made from scratch and baked fresh every five minutes. That might lead you to believe that employees focus on the stars of the show, and the rest of the menu relies on using food that's prepared off site, shipped in, and simply reheated before serving. After all, many other restaurants operate that way to keep prices down and the kitchen running efficiently.

Texas Roadhouse prides itself on doing things a little differently. Its mission is to provide fresh, high-quality food, which means making as many things in house as possible. This starts with the show stoppers, continues with the sides, and even extends to the small bits and bobs, like the bacon bits, croutons, and dressings for its salads. It's all part of the Texas Roadhouse experience, and it's what sets the spot apart from its competition.

As inflation has increased, more than a few restaurants have had to raise prices in order to stay open. This has left many feeling like their favorite mid-range restaurant is no longer mid-range. Since Texas Roadhouse is one of these casual chains, it tends to be lumped in with its competitors and get accused of overcharging for the portion and quality of its food.

However, Texas Roadhouse is one of the few that have actually found a way to keep prices affordable without cutting corners. In fact, the average check per person in 2024 was just $22. At a location near us in 2025, its most expensive meat-containing meal (a 23-ounce Porterhouse T-Bone) was $33.99, while the cheapest (the All American Cheeseburger) rang in at just $11.99. Considering the generous portion size and the fact that the table can enjoy free peanuts and rolls with cinnamon honey butter before their meal, this is already a bargain.

But Texas Roadhouse doesn't stop there. Like we mentioned before, it also adds value to its meals by focusing on quality and customer experience. Most foods, from the rolls to the salad dressings, are made fresh on the premises. The steaks are also sourced with care and aged in house, and diners can hand-pick their steak, something that's normally reserved for high-end steakhouses. When you consider the time, effort, and cost it would take to replicate a meal like this at home, dining out at Texas Roadhouse definitely seems worth it. Plus, you get the whole experience of the Wild West atmosphere.

There's a lot to love about Texas Roadhouse, and it all starts with the rolls and cinnamon honey butter you get when you first sit down. You may think that the butter would be easy to replicate at home. After all, shouldn't it just be three ingredients mixed together?

We don't know what kind of magic is involved in making this creamy, flavorful spread, but it's surprisingly difficult to mimic. A quick Google search reveals tons of copycat recipes, each slightly different from the next, but none that quite nail down the butter's perfect, distinct flavor. If you're not in the mood to grab dinner out and you can't get the recipe right at home, it might seem that you're out of luck.

However, there is a third option. Texas Roadhouse started selling a branded cinnamon honey butter spread at Walmart in late 2024. This came just a few months after it launched branded mini rolls at select Walmart locations that come complete with a honey cinnamon glaze to go on top. Now, you can stock up on your favorites and make them at home whenever a craving hits.

As if free rolls and cinnamon honey butter weren't enough, Texas Roadhouse also offers free peanuts for each table. Snacking from the giant peanut bucket on your table and tossing the shells on the floor used to be part of the rowdy, down-home experience of dining in that many people came to love. Adults liked the rustic, no-frills charm and kids enjoyed the rare opportunity to not only get away with throwing food on the floor, but also being encouraged to do so.

Unfortunately, it's had to dial back this practice. Not only did the mass of peanut shells on the floor make it difficult, if not impossible, for those with peanut allergies to dine in, but it also posed a slipping hazard. Of course, keeping up with peanut debris also proved difficult for many of the busier locations.

As locations phased out the practice of throwing shells on the floor, Texas Roadhouse also nixed the iconic tin buckets that sat on each table overflowing with peanuts. Now, if you'd like a salty snack before your meal, you'll have to ask your server for a bag of peanuts. It's not quite the same, but it's still free and still delicious.

Next to throwing peanut shells on the floor, watching the servers line dance to loud music is another major part of the fun and rowdy atmosphere, and it's easy to think that all locations would partake to keep the company's image consistent. While some locations have all its servers take line dancing lessons, dancing actually not a requirement from Texas Roadhouse. The company leaves it up to each franchisee's discretion, meaning there are locations that have cut the tradition entirely and others that will only dance when business is slow and the servers have time.

For the locations that still partake, line dancing plays an important role in keeping the atmosphere alive. The decision to have servers dance or have them hang up their boots isn't always easy. In fact, one location in Wichita, Kansas got in trouble due to a local law that requires a permit for any place that combines dancing with serving alcohol. The easier decision would've been to stop, but the owner took the extra steps to get the proper permits to keep up the boot scootin' good time.

The interior of all Texas Roadhouse locations is decorated to the brim with Wild West décor. When time is money and it already takes a lot of time to open a restaurant, you may think that the company would try to rush the process by relying solely on mass-produced decorations. But almost all locations take the time to get at least two hand-painted murals featuring a Native American theme and a local theme.

Texas Roadhouse founder Wayne Kent Taylor believed it was important to honor Native American culture, and he was also quite superstitious. After three locations that did not have a Native American mural closed down, he made it a point to ensure there was one in each location moving forward. Each restaurant also gets a mural that's unique to the location and showcases either a piece of local history or one of the area's local establishments, like a school. Some locations even get multiple local murals done. In fact, the Prattville location has quite a few!

So, who creates all these murals? Most of them are by Dave Carter of Dave Carter Fine Arts. Wayne Kent Taylor fell in love with his art and asked him to paint a mural in the flagship location. And from there, he asked him to continue the tradition in more and more locations.

It's no secret that most chains and large businesses spend a pretty penny on advertisements. And Texas Roadhouse must be no different, right? Well, when was the last time you saw a commercial for Texas Roadhouse on TV or heard one on the radio? It might shock you to know it does very few national commercials and campaigns.

Unlike other chain restaurants, Texas Roadhouse keeps its national advertisement spending incredibly low, which in turn helps keep its prices low. Instead, it leans on more organic and local-based means to drive business. Individual restaurants often get involved in local fundraising efforts, which gets attention from neighbors while also promoting a friendly, hometown feel.

It also gets lots of free publicity in the form of mentions in third-party articles. Then once the word is out, many locations send special offers to customers through loyalty programs to keep them coming back for more. And of course, its commitment to good customer service, high-quality food, and affordable prices help as well.