The Cheesecake Factory menu is too big, right? I mean, I get it, variety is the spice of life, blah, blah, blah, but we can all agree that this menu has too much variety? Way too much.
Every time I open the tome that is the Cheesecake Factory menu a moment of panic strikes my soul as I have to quickly scan through 250 dishes (not an exaggeration, the menu literally has more than 250 different options) and decide on which one I want to disappoint me. I say “disappoint,” not because I think the Cheesecake Factory isn’t good — it’s actually better than a lot of giant restaurant chains and everything is scratch-made — but because I can’t help but think of the dish I could’ve ordered instead once mine finally arrives.
Eating at the Cheesecake Factory is an exercise in FOMO. You’re always going to wonder what might have been.
So, in an effort to make the menu a bit more digestible, we’ve taken 35 of the most popular items, tasted them, and ranked them to make navigating the menu a bit easier. 35 might not sound like a lot when you consider the hundreds of options before you but we’ve pulled the most popular dishes from every category on the menu, including every single appetizer.
One day we’ll get the whole 250 down the gullet for one mega-ranking, or, you know… we’ll die. Whatever happens first!
PART I — Completely Skippable:
35. Pretzel Bites With Cheddar Cheese Fondue
Thoughts & Tasting Notes:
I wish there was some sort of catch to this dish, but nope, this dish is exactly what it sounds like: balls of soft warm pretzel served with a salty cheddar cheese dip. The pretzels aren’t exactly the most amazing soft pretzel you’ll ever eat either, its standard stuff: buttery, chewy, and lightly dusted with salt.
Now, I may be wrong here but in my experience, I’ve never seen a Cheesecake Factory that wasn’t connected or at the very least in the same marking lot as a mall. Which means you can go to Auntie Anne’s or Wetzel Pretzel and pick up a fresh baked pretzel for a third of the price. So you should do that instead.
The Bottom Line:
Standard pretzel bites. Skip ’em.
34. Quesadilla
Thoughts & Tasting Notes:
Quesadilla’s are kind of hard to f*ck up, you just need a tortilla, and some cheese. These are a slight step up because they’re fire-grilled, which adds a nice fire-charred top note to this thick Monterey Jack cheese, green onion, and mild chili stuffed quesadilla. The dish is paired with guacamole, salsa, and sour cream for your dipping pleasure.
Having said all that, something about this quesadilla is lacking. The salsa provides no heat, the guacamole is more complicated than it needs to be, and the tortilla is suspiciously thick and bready. No one should come to Cheesecake Factory for authenticity, but there is something so glaringly inauthentic here that it made me crave the real thing from a corner taqueria.
I live in Los Angeles, so quesadillas are abundant, but even if you don’t have a taqueria nearby, we suggest you go to the market, pick up all these ingredients, and make an even better quesadilla at home.
The Bottom Line:
A waste of menu space. If you’re really craving a quesadilla, just make one at home, it’ll be better than this.
33. Warm Crab Dip
Thoughts & Tasting Notes:
It’s not that the Warm Crab Dip is bad, it’s just that there are several other shareable seafood dishes to snack on before your main course, and this simple blend of crab, artichokes, and cheese with crostini for dipping feels pretty minor when you compare it to better dishes (Ahi Poike Nachos and Fried Calamari come to mind).
Flavorwise, expect a mix of sweet and creamy notes with a tender texture and a subtle savory finish.
The Bottom Line:
Every other seafood dish on the Cheesecake Factory menu is better than this one. Skip it.
32. Sweet Corn Tamale Cakes
Thoughts & Tasting Notes:
This is one of the strangest dishes on the whole menu. It sounds delicious, it looks incredible, seriously the presentation of this dish alone is enough to make me hungry. But it just doesn’t taste great.
The dish is a combination of sweet masa cakes topped with sour cream, salsa verse, and avocado. The cakes themselves are delicious, they’re sweet and have giant corn kernels embedded in them which supply a nice textural element. But altogether, this dish is way too sweet. It’s practically a dessert, but its topped with avocado and tomato, which you know, aren’t exactly dessert-ingredients. Ultimately, I feel like this dish desperately needs meat to make it work.
And don’t even get me started on the salsa verde, which is less like a sauce and more like a gravy. It’s entirely devoid of heat. I wouldn’t even have thought it was salsa it if wasn’t written on the menu.
The Bottom Line
THe presentation is admittedly incredible, but the dish is a mess.
31. Factory Nachos
Thoughts & Tasting Notes:
I know, this dish seems like a good idea, but what you’re getting here are glammed-up movie theater nachos. Over a bed of tortilla chips is an impossible-to-share scoop of guacamole, chaotically dispersed red chili sauce, sour cream, pickled jalapeños, green onions, and salsa, with a layer of melted cheese.
The salsa and red chili sauce is incredibly sweet, and like the sweet corn cakes, I think this is a dish that could greatly be improved by the inclusion of meat. Also, what’s up with these nachos not having beans? No beans, no meat, no cilantro, green onions for some reason, who the hell made these nachos? It’s as if this dish was designed by AI.
The Bottom Line
A yassified version of movie theater nachos, yet half as satisfying.
PART II — Good But Forgettable:
30. Hot Spinach and Cheese Dip
Thoughts & Tasting Notes:
What I love about this dish are the aromatics. The garlic and shallots give this Spinach and Cheese Dip a mouthwatering aroma and taste great, but the way it stains your palate for the rest of the day is straight-up off-putting. For that reason alone, I’m going to suggest you skip this dish unless you have gum handy.
Palate-staining qualities aside, this dish does instead taste pretty good. The dip is served with a side of fried tortillas and it becomes very easy for one bite to turn to two, then three, then four, and then before you know it, you’ve eaten all of the dish. It’s way too easy to mindlessly eat this dish, and considering its an appetizer, that might ruin the main course.
The Bottom Line:
A slightly elevated cheese dip that is pretty damn good, but is ultimately a real meal spoiler. It’s also too expensive at $20.
29. Pepperoni Flatbread Pizza
Thoughts & Tasting Notes:
Good but forgettable, this Pepperoni Flatbread is a solid mini personal pizza served on airy, chewy dough, with perfectly crisped pepperoni cups. It’s good, but comes across as boring. I suspect this is on the menu for picky children who the rest of the menu doesn’t appeal to.
Also, you’re at a mall, surely there is another pizza place nearby that’ll allow you to get the real thing, rather than this simplified flatbread version.
The Bottom Line
Why are you ordering pizza at the Cheesecake Factory?
28. Ahi Poke Nachos
Thoughts & Tasting Notes:
Remember when I said the Factory Nachos were missing meat? Well, the Ahi Poke Nachos fixes that misstep, and the result is a pretty damn good dish.
This dish features a mix of marinated raw Ahi tuna, avocado, green onion (again with the f*cking green onion), chilies, sesame seeds, and crispy wontons drizzled with sriracha aioli. If you can manage to get all of the ingredients on a wonton, you’ll get a perfect bite that combines fresh bright-buttery tuna, pepper and tangy top notes, and a gentle heat that slowly builds on the palate between bites.
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 bite (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.
The only issue is there isn’t enough tuna here to achieve a perfect bite more than a handful of times.
The Bottom Line:
A great-tasting dish that doesn’t provide enough of its star ingredient to be truly satisfying.
27. Thai Lettuce Wraps With Chicken/Avocado
Thoughts & Tasting Notes:
This dish is interesting because I think it’s incredibly enjoyable, yet not very satisfying. The ingredients all work, you get tender, slightly sweet charred satay-style chicken strips, bright and sweet carrots, textural bean sprouts and coconut curry noodles, and a great fresh cilantro and cucumber finish. The big buttery leaves of lettuce and cabbage is a nice way to wrap all the ingredients together into one perfect bite.
The trio of sauces, featuring variations on peanut and sweet chili sauce, are great, but there just isn’t enough here to share, which kind of makes it a failed appetizer in our opinion. Even if you were to eat this dish solo, there isn’t enough chicken to sustain the whole dish, leaving you with a bunch of lettuce and sides and no protein by mid-meal.
The Bottom Line:
A good dish, but considering its an appetizer that isn’t easily shareable, we’re going to have to hold that against it.
26. Fettucine Alfredo
Thoughts & Tasting Notes:
This is pretty much what you’d expect of restaurant chain Fettucine Alfredo. The sauce is incredibly thick and creamy, the noodles are al dente, giving the dish some bite, and… that’s about everything worth mentioning. You kind of need to add ingredients to make this great, chicken is a smart move, and broccoli and mushrooms would really help take it to the next level. But those are all add-ons, as it comes it leaves a lot to be desired.
The Bottom Line
Better than Olive Garden, but that’s not really saying much.
The Good:
25. Fried Calamari
Thoughts & Tasting Notes:
There isn’t much to say about this dish. It’s light, crispy, and has a sweet flavor that pairs excellently with the garlic sauce and cocktail dip it comes with. If you love fried calamari, this dish delivers.
Having said that, I think its merely good, not great, or mind-blowing. It’s certainly not a reason to go to Cheesecake Factory.
The Bottom Line:
If you love calamari, you’ll love this. If you’re lukewarm on it, this isn’t going to change your mind.
24. Buffalo Wings
Thoughts & Tasting Notes:
Again, these Buffalo Wings are good, but not blind blowing. What you get here are crispy chicken wings tossed in a thick mild buffalo sauce that has a nice tang to it and a bit of sweetness. They aren’t super wet and saucy, so you’re still going to get a lot of crunch from the chicken skin.
I like this dish, but there is a better option on this menu that takes these same flavors and gives you something truly novel. I suggest you order that instead.
The Bottom Line:
Everyone loves wings, but Cheesecake Factory uses this same flavors in a much more novel dish that we’ve ranked higher. So at least consider that one before ordering these.
23. Spicy Tuna
Thoughts & Tasting Notes:
The Spicy Tuna offers a perfect bite. There is a lightly fried crispy texture to the rice which pairs excellently with the Ahi tuna, and the light shavings of green onion and mildly spicy ginger drizzle wrap the flavors together nicely.
But there are four pieces to an order, so unless you’re splitting this four ways or you’re incredibly hungry, two to a person just comes across as overwhelming. It’s a small gripe, but that’s what hold the dish back for us a bit.
The Bottom Line:
A deceptively filling dish. It tastes great, but it might ruin your appetite.
22. Chicken Pot Stickers
Thoughts & Tasting Notes:
It’s hard to dislike this dish. The Chicken Pot Stickers are pan-fried dumplings with tender succulent chunks of chicken inside, served in a sweet and salty soy ginger glaze with toasted sesame seeds. Every element of this dish works well, but if you’ve ever had dumplings from a real dumpling house, these come across as lacking character.
Because of that, this dish is merely good, but not great.
The Bottom Line:
A tasty yet characterless chicken dumpling.
21. Pasta Da Vinci
Thoughts & Tasting Notes:
Pasta Da Vinci features sautéed chunks of white meat chicken tossed with mushrooms and onions in an umami-rich Madeira wine sauce served over penne pasta with parmesan cheese. It has this wonderful savory quality that makes your mouth water between bites and the way the onions provide a sweet counterpoint to the deeper richer flavors is wonderfully harmonious.
But Cheesecake Factory simply has better pasta dishes.
The Bottom Line
A delicious umami-rich pasta, but Cheesecake Factory has so many other pasta dishes that are better than this.
20. Miso Salmon
Thoughts & Tasting Notes:
Looking for the best salmon you’ve ever had from a big chain restaurant? It’s the Miso Salmon. It’s fresh and cuts like butter with the slightest touch of a fork. The salmon features a crispy crust that provides a nice textural element for each bite, with a focused and direct flavor. The salmon is served atop a bed of white rice in a small pool of miso sauce with a side of crispy fresh snow peas that admittedly are more of a garnish than a feature of the dish, but I appreciate the inclusion.
Great flavor aside, the presentation is absolutely beautiful. Having said all that, I think this dish could use some better sides.
The Bottom Line
A great-tasting glazed salmon dish with lackluster sides.
19. Korean Fried Cauliflower
Thoughts & Tasting Notes:
Vile weed! Just kidding. I’ll admit, I’m not the biggest fan of cauliflower, not because of the way it tastes, but rather just because it’s hard to get excited about this almost flavorless veggie. The good thing about cauliflower though is that it tastes like whatever it’s seasoned with, and in this case, it’s tossed in a spicy Gochujang-based sauce, which makes it taste pretty dan good.
The cauliflower (which are dusted in rice flour, giving the dish some extra crunch) is served with some toasted sesame seeds and green onions. They’re essentially garnishes, but I don’t mind it in this dish because it’s clearly designed to be an appetizer and not a main dish. The dish is also served with a lime wedge, which we suggest you squeeze all over this dish to add a burst of tartness.
If you’re looking for heat, this barely delivers. I’d describe the sauce as mild, with a pronounced sweet top note.
The Bottom Line
It’s fried cauliflower tossed in sauce, if that sounds good to you, this dish delivers. If not, there is no need to order this.
18. Chicken Parm Pizza Style
Thoughts & Tasting Notes:
This is a truly bizarre dish, the sort of thing that can only have come from Cheesecake Factory, and because of that, I love it! Let me make one thing clear, despite what the name might suggest, this is not a pizza. It’s a giant piece of white meat chicken that has been flattened out into a disk, coated with bread crumbs, slathered with marinara and melted mozzarella, and topped with chopped angel hair pasta in an alfredo-like cream sauce.
It’s weird and it makes you wonder, how did they make the chicken so wide and round? I find this dish tastes better when you don’t think about that.
I like this dish, weird as it is it doesn’t pretty damn good but it does make me wonder why Cheesecake Factory doesn’t just have chicken parmesan instead of this.
The Bottom Line
Delicious Cheesecake Factory chaos.
17. Oreo Dream Extreme
Thoughts & Tasting Notes:
Could a cheesecake be too decadent? Because that’s my problem with this one. The Oreo Dream Extreme (come on, “extreme” is right in the name!) features Oreos baked into a cheesecake base with fudge cake layers, Oreo mousse, and milk chocolate icing, resulting in bite after bite of rich chocolate tones with a tangy cheesecake finish and… I’m completely aware that I’m not selling to you the idea that this is somehow a bad thing.
Let me just say that I have a big sweet tooth, and yet I could only get a few bites through this cheesecake before I had to tap out.
The Bottom Line
Order it if you love Oreos. But be warned, this is proof that you can have too much of a good thing.
16. Sourdough/Sweet Wheat Loaf
Thoughts & Tasting Notes:
Table bread probably shouldn’t count as a dish, but we’re going to go ahead and rank it anyway just so we can say Cheesecake Factory has the best table bread amongst all the big chain restaurants. Yes, that means over Olive Garden and their weird over-hyped bread sticks. At Cheesecake you get a mix of sourdough and sweet oat-encrusted wheat bread which both pair amazingly with butter.
If I had to pick which loaf was better, I’d go with the wheat. It has a sweet earthy flavor with crusty oats. I can’t get enough of this stuff!
The Bottom Line
Eat the table bread. It’s worth the extra carbs.
PART III — The Great:
15. BBQ Ranch Chicken Salad
Thoughts & Tasting Notes:
Kicking of the “Great” category is the BBQ Ranch Chicken Salad. This salad features fresh avocado, tomatoes, grilled corn, and savory black beans over a bed of romaine lettuce tossed in a sweet BBQ ranch dressing. In addition to the above ingredients, you’ve got cucumber, which adds a nice refreshing top note that cuts through these otherwise heavy flavors, and crispy fried onion rings, which add some nice crunch and a savory edge to the dish.
What makes this salad work is how it’s balanced. The sauce is creamy but the grilled chicken pieces help to emphasize the dish’s savoriness, while the black beans help to balance out the sweetness imparted by the BBQ. It all results in a perfect forkful of flavor, and that is the sign of a great salad.
The Bottom Line
A delicious hearty salad that is perfect for sharing with the table.
14. Roadside Sliders
Thoughts & Tasting Notes:
If you’ve ever scanned the Cheesecake Factory and wondered if the big meaty Glam-Burgers were worth ordering, we’re here to tell you that they are. In fact, they might be some of the best chain restaurant burgers ever. If you’re still skeptical, play it safe and order the Roadside Sliders so you can have a little taste of the magic they promise, without it counting as a full meal. It’s a win-win.
These sliders are palm-sized with a savory lacy smash-style patty topped with onions, pickles, ketchip, and lettuce in a buttery lightly toasted bun. You can knock this burger out in two bites, but be warned, once you have one, you’re going to want a second and at that point you are probably better served just ordering a full sized burger.
The Bottom Line:
A perfect little burger bite. It’ll make the case that a full-sized Glam Burger is worth ordering.
13. Fresh Strawberry Cheesecake
This is fairly standard stuff in terms of what you’d expect from a cheesecake, and while it’s not as exciting as the Oreo Extreme, it tastes better, and that’s all that matters at the end of the day. This cheesecake is topped with fresh strawberries glazed in a thick sweet syrup which adds an element of brightness to the supremely rich cake. The graham cracker crust adds notes of nutmeg and cinnamon to this dish, which helps to add some depth and complexity to the rich egg and fresh cheese base.
While this is a basic cheesecake build, it’s tang is incredibly mild, focusing more on rich and sweet flavors than anything else.
The Bottom Line
This cheesecake does not disappoint. Great execution of a classic flavor.
12. Housemade Meatballs
Thoughts & Tasting Notes:
Meatballs aren’t the most exciting dish but these are straight up mind-blowing. There are no tricks to this dish, it’s simply three giant meatballs in a tomato sauce topped with ricotta and parmesan and oven-baked basil leaves. It’s pretty standard stuff, build wise, but the flavor is mouthwatering.
The beef is luxurious, thick, and meaty, paired with an umami-rich sauce and served in a mini iron skillet that keeps everything blazing hot. It might seem like a bad appetizer because there are only three meatballs here, so it’s hard to share, but truthfully you only need about half a meatball, they’re so thick, rich, and hearty.
The Bottom Line:
A truly mind-blowing meatball.
11. Buffalo Blasts
Thoughts & Tasting Notes:
One of the things that sets Cheesecake Factory apart from other big chain restaurants is the presentation. They knock it out of the park, even for dishes that don’t taste great. The Buffalo Blasts have the opposite problem. There is no angle or lighting that is going to make this dish look good, but trust me when I tell you that it tastes f*cking incredible.
This dish is a big chicken tender stuffed with cheese and buffalo sauce that is deep fried and served alongside more buffalo sauce and whatever dressing you prefer to pair with buffalo-sauced chicken. Think of this dish like a giant, boneless chicken wing, it has all the buttery tangy goodness you’d expect from buffalo wings with way more meat, and crispiness thanks to the sauce being inside of the fried casing.
The Bottom Line:
A cheese and buffalo sauce-stuffed fried boneless wing. It’s way more delicious than it looks and that description sounds.
10. Bacon-Bacon Burger
A few entries back I said that Cheesecake Factory probably makes the best burgers of any restaurant chain, the Bacon-Bacon burger is why I think that. The bacon on this thing is insane, each strip is thick, perfectly cooked, and crispy. There is still enough fat on it to be flavorful and indulgent, but not so much that its chewy, allowing for a crispy crunch while still providing that savory goodness bacon is beloved for. The ground beef patty is thick, cooked medium, and topped with American and cheddar cheese, which helps to provide the melt that makes American the ideal burger cheese, with all the nutty, complex flavor that cheddar offers.
The flavors are pulled together with a mayo-based special sauce, but honestly, this burger is so full of juicy flavor that it doesn’t need the sauce. You can’t say that about many burgers out there.
The Bottom Line
Hands down the best bacon cheeseburger from any big restaurant chain.
9. Steak Diane
We need to give a round of applause to whoever the hell Diane is, because this steak is amazing. Like the best steaks, its simple, seasoned with a touch of freshly ground black pepper in a mushroom-based wine sauce with some sweet onions. The steak has a ncie chew with a great charred outer that works in perfect hamony with the earthy and floral pepper notes. The sauce helps to ensure that each bite is juicy and tender, while the mashed potatoes that the dish is served with serve as a nice creamy and buttery palate cleanser, which allows you to experience the intensity of that first bite of meat over and over again.
The Bottom Line
A truly great steak and a savory highlight of the menu.
8. Chicken Madeira
A great take on a classic dish,t he CHicken Madeira is a must-order. This dish consists of juicy bites of tender chicken breast, asparagus, and mozzarella cheese smothered in an umami-rich mushroom Madeira sauce with a side of red-skinned mashed potatoes, which serve as a perfect sponge for this rich and decadent sauce.
For best results, toss all the ingredients together.
The Bottom Line
One of the Factory’s greatest chicken dishes.
7. Spicy Crispy Chicken Sandwich
I find myself often underwhelmed by restaurant chicken sandwiches, compared to the fast food version I feel like there is often too much going on with these sandwiches that ultimately hurt the experience. That’s not the case with this one, this sandwich is f*cking astounding. You have the option of ordering this sandwich with spicy buffalo sauce or chipotle mayo, and both are good, but what will truly blow you away is the chicken.
The breast filet is juicy and tender and melts in your mouth before you even start chewing it, with a flaky and crispy batter that provides a wonderful crunch.
The sandwich is served on a sesame seed brioche bun and topped with melted jack cheese. If you want to take it to the next level, add bacon for more crunch and some smokey sweet notes.
The Bottom Line
One of the best chicken sandwiches I’ve ever eaten, and yes, that includes Popeyes.
PART IV — The Essentials
6. Carrot Cake
I feel like its easy to pass the Carrot Cake without giving it a second though considering this is the “Cheesecake” Factory, but that would be a mistake, because this dish is amazing. It features three layers of cake and cream cheese with chunky walnutes and julienned carrots encrusted into the cake, offering a bite that has more texture than most cakes on the market.
It’s moist without being as rich as cheesecake, but still sweet and decadent, checking all the boxes for a great dessert.
The Bottom Line
I promise you, it’s better than the cheesecake.
5. Fried Macaroni and Cheese
Yes, it’s maybe too high for mac and cheese, but did you see that this dish is fried? That makes it 10x better than your standard mac and cheese! We can all agree that the best macaroni and cheese has that addictive oven-baked cheesy crust, well the Factory elevates that idea by coating balls of creamy mac in crispy bread crumbs. This adds some much needed crunch to the dish, ultimately resulting in a dish with a satisfying mouthfeel that reveals molten melted cheese and pasta with every bite.
The dish is paired with creamy marinara sauce which adds some nice brightness to the dish. I don’t think its needed but it helps the presentation!
The Bottom Line
The greatest mac and cheese you’ll ever have.
4. Egg Roll Sampler
The Egg Roll Sampler is easily the best appetizer on the entire Cheesecake Factory menu. This platter features Avocado, Tex Mex, Cheeseburger, and Chicken Taquito egg rolls, and while there is definitely a hierarchy amongst these options, they all offer a great experience paired with a delicious sauce.
My least favorite is the Cheeseburger, which, as you might imagine, is basically a cheeseburger in the form of an egg roll. It has ground beef and cheese paired with a thousand island-style dipping sauce. It’s surprisingly good but I think every other egg roll is much better.
The Avocado Egg Roll is served with a pesto dipping sauce and features sun-dried tomatoes which adds a salty brightness to the dish. It’s great!
The Chicken Taquito offers a bite-sized chicken enchilada experience and is served with a creamy avocado-based sauce. The flavors are intense and rich, and the chicken is surprisingly juicy.
But my pick for the best is the Tex Mex, which features tender white meat chicken, corn, cilantro, and sundried tomatoes, served with what Cheesecake Factory pretends is salsa. Mild sauce aside, this egg roll is amazing and is an absolute must-taste.
The Bottom Line
Cheesecake Factory’s best appetizer.
3. Godiva Chocolate Brownie Sundae
If you only have room for one dessert, make it the Godiva Chocolate Brownie Sundae. No, it’s not a cheesecake, it’s not even cake, but trust me, nothing beats this dish. It features creamy scoops of vanilla ice cream topped with thick whipped cream and hot fudge, wedged between two dense and chewy Godiva chocolate brownies, topped with toasted almonds.
For the perfect bite, shave off a chunk of the brownie, lit it sit in the hot judge, and then spoon some vanilla and whipped cream on top. The results are mind blowing.
The Bottom Line
Moist, decadent, and refreshing in a way that the best cheesecake just isn’t. Nothing beats ice cream.
2. Spicy Chicken Chipotle Pasta
Admittedly, this mix of chicken, asparagus, bell peppers, peas, fried tortilla chips, garlic, and onions in a spicy Chipotle parmesan cream sauce sounds all over the place. like a dish that would only be created because of some weird cooking show challenge. But trust me, this dish delivers. Cheesecake Factory is at its best when the foot matches the restaurant’s all-over-the-place architecture, and no dish does that better than this.
The chicken is honey-glazed, giving it a nice sweetness that pairs well with the mild heat and earthy flavor of the chipotle cream sauce. The veggies provide a nice refreshing mix of vegetal flavors that pair really well with the richer earthier flavors of the rest of the dish.
It sounds and looks all over the place, but it delivers visually and on the palate.
The Bottom Line
It’s not spicy, as the name would suggest, but it’s delicious, and at the end of the day that’s all that matters. This dish is pure Cheesecake Factory chaos, and we love it for that.
1. Cajun Jambalaya Pasta
I think the Spicy Chicken Chipotle Pasta and Cajun Jambalaya are equals, but if I had to pick an absolute essential dish from Cheesecake Factory — and the existence of this article says that I do — then I’m going with the Cajun Jambalaya. This dish offers mouthful after mouthful of intense flavor that’ll quickly have you addicted.
Tasting this dish, I’m getting notes of onion, floral smokey paprika, earthy black pepper, and oregano, with a gentle hint of mild spice from cayenne pepper. Giant chunks of shrimp and chicken breast make this dish extra hearty and the spinach linguine everything sits atop is a nice touch that never feels too heavy. This dish truly delivers a journey of flavors. The shrimp isn’t too fishy, offering a clean and remarkably fresh flavor, with bites of fresh tomato that provide juicy bright bursts to offset this plate’s umami bomb qualities.
An absolute winner. You can eat the whole thing on a bed of rice, but I say give the spinach linguine a try — you won’t be disappointed.
The Bottom Line
Cheesecake Factory’s best pasta and best dish. Period.