Chili's fans slam 'incredibly disappointing' new menu addition that looks disgusting
This year, Chili's sales have been on fire. But their latest menu offering is causing fans to have a meltdown.
Last Tuesday, Chili’s rolled out a $10.99 southwestern queso and chips option at all of its 1,500-plus locations nationwide.
Customers say the dish is a dud.
'Literally tastes like the Tostitos jar you buy at the grocery store,' one customer wrote on Reddit. 'But somehow, it's worse.'
Another Chili's fan complained: 'It's literally crockpot queso. Incredibly disappointing'
Others complained about the dipping sauce's color, saying that US Health Secretary RFK Jr — known for his crusade against artificial ingredients —would crack down on the chain for using alleged food dyes.
'They'll have to change it again soon,' the commenter joked.
The new queso is Chili's third attempt at making the cheese sauce. Tuesday's launch replaces past cheese dips, including the skillet beef queso and the white skillet queso.
Chili's fans can grab the new queso dip in two dishes - the $11 appetizer with chips or the $14.79 nachos. This promotional picture is what it is supposed to look like, but instead it looks like this....
A Chili's customer posted this photo of the dip on Reddit. 'Literally tastes like the Tostitos jar you buy at the grocery store,' one customer wrote on Reddit. 'But somehow, it's worse'
Chili's said the new sauce is a combination of American and cheddar cheeses, blended with roasted green chiles, sweet onion, and lime.
The company has been testing the sauce for two years. It was developed by the director of culinary, Brian Paquette.
Shoppers who want to add more protein to their appetizer can opt for the $14.79 chicken bacon ranch nachos.
Chili's told the Daily Mail that it is continuously evolving its offerings to guarantee guests are receiving the highest quality options.
'Before making this change, we did conduct taste tests with guests and restaurant managers to directly understand what would make a new queso even better than before, knowing our previous iterations each made up only 1 percent of our sales,' a spokesperson said.
But, even if the single dish is a flop, the company is riding high on its 2025 sales figures.
The Dallas-based Tex-Mex brand, famous for baby back ribs and frozen margaritas, posted a 24 percent jump in sales last quarter, serving millions more customers than it did last year.
That's on top of a big increase in 2023, meaning the chain’s sales have soared 39 percent over the past two years. Chili’s has now logged five straight quarters of growth.
The chain has been a rare bright spot in a restaurant industry that has consistently reported diners are eating out less and cooking at home to save money.
Sales at Chili's locations this year have been booming - but the brand may have a dud on its hands, according to Reddit
Chili's CEO, Kevin Hochman, said the brand has experienced a massive bump in sales after slashing its prices - and said that the company has a 'winning product'
Burger King, Wingstop, Cava, Sweetgreen, Chipotle, and Shake Shack all reported either significant declines in their last quarterly sales or misses compared to Wall Street's expectations.
But Chili's has attracted shoppers by slashing prices at its 1,200 locations and launching an aggressive marketing campaign on TikTok.
Big deals include the chain's $6 margaritas and $10.99 'Big Smasher' burger, which it claims has 'twice the beef of a Big Mac.'
'It's clear we have a winning product with our new ribs, and our intent now is to use them to drive traffic,' Chili's CEO, Kevin Hochman, told investors in August.
'Those who believe our success was driven solely from a cheese pull and social media are just not close enough to our story.'
