• by Teresa Buyikian , Yesterday

Despite rising prices making dining out more of a luxury, a few full-service chains still come out on top in terms of customer experience, menu and value, according to a new report from Chatmeter.

The multilocation intelligence platform used its Pulse Ai: Signals for the 2025 Full-Service Reputation Ranking Report. It analyzed over one million customer reviews from 10 of the largest casual dining chains, with results spanning two years of data, June 2023 through June 2025.

Overall, positive sentiments were driven by menu innovations and operational improvements.

"Multilocation full-service restaurants have struggled to compete with fast-food restaurants on value, but we're starting to see them adapt to customer feedback and drive positive business momentum," says John Mazur, CEO of Chatmeter. "Customers are no longer just seeking a good deal; they are rewarding brands delivering menu creativity and operational excellence. By leveraging AI to analyze reviews at scale, restaurants can turn insights like these into actions that keep customers coming back."

Based on the volume of reviews and overall sentiment, the report ranked chains in order of customer experience, menu and value.

For customer experience, Outback Steakhouse came out on top, followed by Red Robin, TGI Fridays, Applebee's, Olive Garden, Texas Roadhouse, Chili's, Cracker Barrel, The Cheesecake Factory -- and lastly Buffalo Wild Wings.

The Cheesecake Factory earned the top spot for menu, with Olive Garden, Red Robin, Chili's, Outback Steakhouse, TGI Fridays, Texas Roadhouse, Applebee's, Cracker Barrel and Buffalo Wild Wings next on the list.

As far as value goes, Chili’s was number one, followed by Applebee's, Texas Roadhouse, Olive Garden, Cracker Barrel, Red Robin, Outback Steakhouse, TGI Fridays, The Cheesecake Factory and Buffalo Wild Wings.

The menu innovations customers cited included those at chains that majorly updated their menus, such as TGI Fridays, Olive Garden and The Cheesecake Factory.

And while value is still top of mind, that’s perhaps slightly less true now. The report found “mentions of value dropped by 18% over the past year, indicating that consumers are prioritizing other aspects of the dining experience.”

Still, value does retain some importance, and the report found that size matters: “discussion of portion sizes directly impacted customers' perceptions of value.” Those said to have a positive portion size-to-value ratio included Chili's "3 for Me" meal deal and Olive Garden's Never-Ending Pasta Bowl.

On the operational side, customers often noted that “upgrades in technology” such as digital ordering, loyalty programs and tabletop tech positively affected customer service. Outback Steakhouse, Chili's and Applebee's were highlighted here.