The Cheesecake Factory has what I like to call a “shit ton of menu options.” It’s the one thing everyone knows about The Factory. If you were asked the question, “what kind of food does Cheesecake Factory have?” You’d simply answer “A lot.” There is no rhyme or reason to any of these food options, either. There is no unifying theme (unless you count chaos as a theme), and there isn’t a singular dish that can represent the experience of eating there.
No, not even cheesecake. Of which there are thirty-freaking-five.
The bloated menu makes eating at Cheesecake Factory a stressful experience, especially if it’s your first time. Once you hit menu page 14, you’re probably going to be juggling at least 37 different dishes in your head that you might like to eat. But don’t worry, we’re here to help. Not only have we done a breakdown of the 25 best dishes on the menu, but we’ve also tried every cheesecake on the menu. And now — perhaps the most vital for diners…
We’re about to review and rank every. Single. Appetizer.
Have we made our way through even half of the available menu options at Cheesecake Factory? Not even close! But baby steps, people! One thing we can guarantee is that by using our Cheesecake Factory guides, you’ll leave the restaurant with a good meal every time.
To help make this ranking a bit easier to navigate, I’ve categorized the appetizers into three distinct categories: Non-essential, good, and great. A quick note before we begin though — if you find something on the non-essential list that you’re curious about, go ahead and satisfy that curiosity. Just because we dropped the option in the non-essential section doesn’t mean we think it’s “bad.” More that it feels like a wasted choice.
Everything at Cheesecake Factory is scratch-made in a restaurant, except for the cheesecakes, ironically, so while some of these are inessential, just about everything is still pretty damn tasty. Let’s eat!
PART I — Non-Essential Apps
17. Pretzel Bites With Cheddar Cheese Fondue
Thoughts & Tasting Notes:
You’re going to get exactly what you expect here: little balls of soft warm pretzel with a salty cheddar cheese dip to pair it with. There isn’t anything special or otherwordly about these pretzels, it’s pretty standard stuff: buttery, chewy, with a light dusting of salt.
Despite the Pretzel Bites being good, I don’t understand who these are for. Cheesecake Factory is always located in or near a mall. Always. That means in the mall you can hit up Auntie Anne’s or Wetzel Pretzel, pick up a fresh baked pretzel for a third of the price, and essentially get the same experience.
So do that instead.
The Bottom Line:
They’re pretzel bites. Nothing special here, they aren’t elevated in any way and they don’t offer you anything a regular soft pretzel doesn’t. Skip these, and actively talk people at your table out of ordering them. They’re a waste of table space.
16. Quesadilla
Thoughts & Tasting Notes:
I love a good quesadilla as much as the next person, and this is a pretty good quesadilla, but, ultimately, it’s inessential.
Let’s talk about what works: It’s huge, grilled, and has a thick layer of Monterey Jack cheese, green onions, and mild chiles inside, with a side of guacamole, salsa, and sour cream for dipping.
Something is missing with this quesadilla though. The salsa is essentially just pico de gallo, meaning it provides zero heat, the guacamole is a bit more complicated than it needs to be and goes too heavy on the onion, and the tortilla has this thick and bready quality about it that doesn’t capture the magic of your typical buttery and chewy flour tortilla.
Something about it tastes so glaringly inauthentic that after I ordered it I had a craving for something from my corner taqueria. Not a good sign.
Now I’m fortunate enough to live in Los Angeles where there are significantly more taquerias where you can get a mind-blowing quesadilla than there are Cheesecake Factory restaurants. If that’s not your situation, I suggest hitting up your local market and getting all the necessary ingredients to make this on your own.
The Bottom Line:
It’s not going to be the best quesadilla you’re ever going to eat, and it’s not going to taste better than what you can make at home in about three minutes.
15. Warm Crab Dip
Thoughts & Tasting Notes:
There are plenty of seafood-related options to snack on before your main course, but considering the Warm Crab Dip is just a blend of crab, artichokes, and cheese, with a side of crostini for dipping, it feels pretty minor in comparison to more shareable dishes like the Ahi Poke Nachos or Fried Calamari and isn’t quite as good a dip as the Hot Spinach and Cheese Dip or the cheddar cheese fondue from the Mini Pretzel bites.
As for the flavor, it’s a mix of sweet and creamy notes with a nice tender texture and a subtle savory quality. It’s not bad by any means, but it’s a very minor side that will be gone a bit too quickly.
The Bottom Line:
The most boring seafood-related dish on the appetizer menu.
14. Sweet Corn Tamale Cakes
Thoughts & Tasting Notes:
Don’t let this eye candy dish fool you, I know it looks incredibly satisfying, like some sort of cross between a tamale and a sope, but the flavor here isn’t nearly as interesting as the photo suggests. The dish consists of sweet corn cakes topped with avocado, tomato, and cilantro sitting in a thick sauce that Cheesecake Factory calls Salsa Verde, but is some sort of super mild, slightly sweet gravy.
Seriously, in what world is this salsa?
Overall the whole dish is also way too sweet, almost to the point of being a dessert. If you’re a fan of sweet tamales, you might find something to like here and the dish certainly is photo-worthy, but if you’re after big complex flavors, look elsewhere.
The Bottom Line:
This super sweet dish is missing a savory element to help balance it out.
13. Factory Nachos
Thoughts & Tasting Notes:
These are essentially a glammed-up version of movie theater nachos consisting of tortilla chips topped with melted cheese, a tiny scoop of guacamole, a light drizzle of red chile sauce, sour cream, pickled jalapeños, green onions, and salsa.
Don’t let the double dose of red chile sauce and salsa fool you though, this dish is more sweet than spicy.
These nachos just don’t do the dish justice — there is no meat, no beans, no cilantro, none of the things that make nachos truly great. Unless your idea of good nachos is what you’ll find at a movie theater or sports stadium.
The Bottom Line:
Expensive, slightly elevated movie-theater nachos.
12. Hot Spinach and Cheese Dip
Thoughts & Tasting Notes:
Cheesecake’s Spinach and Cheese Dip goes hard on the garlic and shallots, making this an incredibly aromatic dish that tastes great and is appetizing in the moment, but stains your palate for the rest of the day. For that reason alone, I wouldn’t order this dish.
I can’t deny that it is pretty tasty. It’s served with a side of freshly fried tortilla and it’s the type of dish that you sort of mindlessly eat without stopping because it’s right in front of you. My only real issue with this dish, besides the way the flavor permeates, is that it feels a bit overpriced at nearly $20 in the LA area.
For the money, there are more satisfying dishes on the appetizer menu.
The Bottom Line:
You certainly shouldn’t stop someone else at the table from ordering it, but don’t be the one — because it’s a steep price for what is just a slightly elevated cheese dip and chips.
PART II — The Good
11. Ahi Poke Nachos
Thoughts & Tasting Notes:
It might seem strange that the Factory Nachos are on the “Inessential” list but the Ahi Poke Nachos are on the “Good” list, but that’s because this dish tastes novel and unique and not like someone is trying to trick you into paying nearly $20 for nachos you could easily make at home.
The Ahi Poke nachos feature a mix of marinated raw Ahi tuna, avocado, green onion, chiles, sesame seeds, and crispy wontons all drizzled with sriracha aioli. The perfect chip (meaning a bit of everything on the wontons) has a flavor that combines fresh bright-buttery tuna flavor, with added buttery, peppery, and tangy top notes with a gentle heat that builds on the palate.
My only gripe with this dish is that there isn’t nearly enough tuna (or chiles) so after a few delicious bites of this dish, you’re going to just be eating wontons.
The Bottom Line:
A solid-tasting dish that runs out of its star ingredient after just a few bites.
10. Thai Lettuce Wraps With Chicken/Avocado
Thoughts & Tasting Notes:
I like the Thai Lettuce Wraps (available both with chicken or avocado) so much. Every ingredient hits here. The satay-style chicken strips are tender, a bit sweet, and nicely charred, the carrots are bright and sweet, the bean sprouts and coconut curry noodles add nice texture, the cilantro and cucumber are great fresh finishers, and the big buttery leaves of lettuce and cabbage wrap it all together in a perfect bite.
And that’s before we even get to the trio of sauces, which include variations on peanut sauce and sweet chili. But this dish is impossible to share, and I think a great appetizer needs to be shareable.
There just isn’t enough chicken here. Even eating this thing solo, I ended up left with just lettuce and the sides pretty quickly.
The Bottom Line:
I love the fresh flavor, but there isn’t enough chicken to rid whoever ordered it of the impulse to slap people’s hands away when they reach for some. And a good app should be shareable.
9. Fried Calamari
Thoughts & Tasting Notes:
I don’t have a lot to say about Fried Calamari. It’s a good dish, shareable, and delivers pretty much what you’d expect from Fried Calamari. The Calamari is light and crispy with a sweet flavor that pairs nicely with the garlic sauce and cocktail dip. If you like calamari, you’re going to love this dish, simple as that.
So why is it in the good not great list? It just seems pretty standard to me, not mind-blowing or a reason to go to the Cheesecake Factory.
The Bottom Line:
It delivers pretty much what you’d expect. Standard fare. Good, but not great.
8. Buffalo Wings
Thoughts & Tasting Notes:
Like the Fried Calamari, I feel like these buffalo wings are pretty much on par with other chains and pubs. They’re crispy, tender, and covered in a thick buffalo sauce. The buffalo sauce isn’t very wet or saucy, and the heat here isn’t very intense, but the flavor has a nice tang to it with the right amount of sweetness.
Note — Cheesecake Factory uses that sauce in a better dish. We’ll get to it soon.
The Bottom Line:
Wings are always a good appetizer and these are no different, but if you’re looking for something truly unique that uses the same flavors, stay tuned, we have a dish for you in the “Great” section.
7. Spicy Tuna
Thoughts & Tasting Notes:
The Spicy Tuna is a near-perfect bite. The rice has a crispy lightly fried texture to it which pairs nicely with the texture of the Ahi tuna. Everything works in harmony here, including the light shavings of green onion, and the sweet mildly spicy ginger drizzle.
The issue with this dish is that it’s only suitable for a group of four, this way everyone can have one each. If you try and knock out this dish with two people, you’re going to end up feeling a bit too full. It’s a small gripe, but again, this doesn’t feel like a reason to go to Cheesecake Factory, and that’s what we’re looking for in the “Great” category.
The Bottom Line:
A perfect bite with a nice texture and a great flavor.
6. Chicken Pot Stickers
Thoughts & Tasting Notes:
The Chicken Pot Stickers are pan-fried dumplings housing tender and succulent chunks of chicken in a sweet and salty soy ginger glaze with toasted sesame seeds. Tasting this dish was a true pleasure and there wasn’t a single element of this dish that I could find an issue with but for whatever reason, after I ate these I had a craving for dumplings from a real dumpling house.
I think that decidedly means this dish is good but not great.
The Bottom Line:
A tasty pan-fried dumpling. Delicious but not a reason to visit Cheesecake Factory.
PART III — The Great
5. Housemade Meatballs
Thoughts & Tasting Notes:
Now we’re talking! This is where Cheesecake Factory goes from merely good, to straight-up mind-blowing. Admittedly this meatball dish is painfully simple, it consists of only three meatballs in a tomato sauce topped with ricotta and parmesan cheese with some fried basil leaves.
The beef is luxurious, thick, and meaty paired with a wonderful savory sauce full of umami, and I love the little iron skillet that houses the dish, keeping everything blazing hot. I know I said a great appetizer dish has to be shareable, and it seems hard to share three meatballs, but all you need is half of a meatball to really fall in love with this dish.
I wish there were more meatballs, but a single bite is so satisfying that it’s all you need, no matter how big your appetite.
The Bottom Line:
A truly mind-blowing meatball.
4. Buffalo Blasts
Thoughts & Tasting Notes:
I know, these things don’t look great, no angle or lighting is going to change that, but trust me, this dish is f*cking incredible. And I have this article to thank for trying it because otherwise, I would never order something called “Buffalo Blasts.”
The Buffalo Blast is essentially a fat chicken tender stuffed with cheese and buffalo sauce, fried, and served alongside more buffalo sauce and your dressing of choice. Think of the Buffalo Blasts like a clean boneless wing, it has all the buttery and tangy flavor you’d expect from a buffalo chicken wing, but with more meat, crispiness and an infusion of salty cheese in every bite.
The Bottom Line:
It’s essentially a cheese and buffalo sauce stuffed fried boneless wing with more meat and more flavor. Sounds confusing but also, delicious!
3. Roadside Sliders
Thoughts & Tasting Notes:
If you’ve been to Cheesecake Factory a handful of times, you’ve probably on at least a few occasions thought about getting one of the Factory’s big meaty Glam-Burgers. We’ve all been there, and while the Glam-Burgers are maybe the best chain restaurant cheeseburgers ever, there is just too much stuff on the menu worth trying. We get it, a burger seems unceremonious when ordering from the compendium that is the CF menu.
The Roadside Sliders allow you to have a taste of that magic, without counting as a true meal. Win-win.
These sliders are tiny — about palm-sized — with a savory lacy patty that reminds me a bit of a smashed patty, topped with onions, pickles, ketchup and lettuce in a nice buttery lightly toasted bun. It’s the type of burger you can knock out in two bites, but be warned, it’s incredibly hard to not want more than one.
The Bottom Line:
A perfect little burger bite that captures some of the magic of the Factory’s bigger burgers but enables you to still order a main dish. We suggest you order it with cheese, because that doesn’t come stock.
2. Fried Macaroni and Cheese
Thoughts & Tasting Notes:
Yes, you’re right to be intrigued because this is indeed as good as it sounds. “Too highly ranked for mac and cheese” you say? You’re wrong — this is macaroni and cheese leveled up! The dish is essentially a ball of gooey mac and cheese covered in bread crumbs and fried. This adds what is usually a soft and chewy dish with textural crunch it desperately needs.
You know how the best mac and cheese has that oven-baked crust on top? This is that, only around the entire serving. All of this would be enough to make a truly great dish, but the Factory takes it a step further by laying the dish on top of a creamy marinara sauce which adds a lot of brightness to the dish.
The Bottom Line:
A must-order at Cheesecake Factory. It’s easily the best mac and cheese you’re going to find from an American chain restaurant.
1. Egg Roll Sampler
Thoughts & Tasting Notes:
Here it is people, the ultimate Cheesecake Factory appetizer. The Egg Roll Sampler is essentially a greatest hits package of all of Cheesecake Factory’s egg rolls, which luckily, are all delicious. Yes, there is a hierarchy, but I honestly think ordering the full sampler is the best way to go rather than the individual egg rolls.
Let’s start with my favorite: The Tex-Mex. This egg roll is stuffed with white meat chicken, corn, cilantro, peppers, and black beans paired with a mild and fresh-tasting avocado cream salsa. It’s a perfect bite.
Next up we have the Chicken Taquito, which is essentially a bite-sized chicken enchilada. The flavor is intense, and the chicken is juicy.
Moving onto the Avocado Egg Roll — you’ve got fresh buttery avocado with tangy sun-dried tomatoes, red onions, and cilantro served with the Tamarind Cashew sauce from the chicken lettuce wraps. Imagine all the deliciousness of luxurious avocado but with a crispy fried mouthfeel. It’s a perfect bite (and probably the dish that most contributed to the company’s rise to fame in the 1990s).
And finally, we have the Cheeseburger Egg Roll. This egg roll is the weak link but it’s still enjoyable. The roll features ground beef and cheese inside an egg roll with thousand-island-style dipping sauce. It tastes like, well, a cheeseburger in egg roll form. It’s high quality, beefy, and incredibly savory. Not my first choice, but a welcome addition.
The Bottom Line:
If you need one reason to hit up Cheesecake Factory, this perfect appetizer is it! Don’t stop at one order — get two!
Find you nearest Cheesecake Factory here.
