In the aftermath of Chili’s Triple Dipper and Big Smasher burger success, we decided to test their other burgers to see if they lived up to the hype. During a visit to their headquarters in April, executives shared that Chili’s was focusing on advertising campaigns and new menu items to improve brand awareness and attract more customers. This strategy seemed to be working as same-store sales rose 3.5% in the third quarter, according to CEO Kevin Hochman of Brinker International, Chili’s parent company.
Despite decreases in traffic across the casual dining industry, Chili’s outperformed competitors by over 7% in sales and nearly 4% in traffic during the third quarter. The successful quarter was attributed to a return to television advertising and the release of their new Big Smasher burger that mirrored McDonald’s Big Mac. Burgers are a significant area of potential growth for casual dining chains, with limited-service chains generating $110 billion in sales in 2023.
Chili’s is working to position itself as a value-focused burger chain with a renewed emphasis on their “core four” menu items which include burgers, fajitas, Chicken Crispers, and margaritas. While we have already tried the Big Smasher burger, we wanted to sample and rank every burger on their menu based on taste and value. We only tried full-sized burgers as-is, including fries as a side. Business Insider organized this taste test in partnership with Chili’s Grill & Bar; however, BI paid for our meal, and the chain had no influence on our rankings. Below is our ranking of every Chili’s burger from least favorable to most favorable based on our tasting experience: