I Tried Soft Pretzels at 5 Chain Restaurants and One Blew the Rest Away
Legend has it that the invention of the soft pretzel is credited to an Italian monk way back in the Middle Ages. It's also widely thought that Germans were some of the first to adopt the recipe. And, they even used them at weddings as a symbol of tying the knot–pretty sweet, right?
Eventually, soft pretzels made their way to America, thanks to the Pennsylvania Dutch. And now, they're about as American as hot dogs at a ballgame. You see them everywhere—at football stadiums, hanging from street vendors' carts, and, of course, on the appetizer menu at chain restaurants. It's here that you'll find them coated in thick salt and often served alongside a cup of cheese sauce or Dijon mustard. How could you resist that?
But, don't get it twisted—not all soft pretzels are created equal. Recently, I set out to find out which chain restaurant does the best version of this classic snack. I tried five different pretzels, searching for the softest, chewiest, and most flavorful one that does this centuries-old tradition proud. Here's how they stacked up.
BJ's Brewhouse
BJ's Brewhouse serves up a menu of mostly American foods. However, the chain also draws influence from all over the world, which is how it ended up with dishes like New Orleans Jambalaya, Deep Dish Ziti, Ahi Poke, and a German-style pretzel in its repertoire. The big pretzel is baked in a pizza oven and sprinkled with pretzel salt. At a price of $10.99, it also comes with two dipping options including cheese made from BJ's Brewhouse Blonde beer and honey Dijon mustard. It's one of two restaurants in our taste test that offers two complimentary sauces.
The Look: The only pretzel to come in a classic twist shape, just like what you would find at a German beer hall. The color is a light brown with sporadic salt flakes. I also couldn't help but notice that with both yellow-orange sauces tucked into the openings, it looks like a dumbfounded face.
The Taste: The dips carried the entire appetizer. The housemade beer cheese was creamy and salty while the mustard reminded me of a tangy stadium mustard but with a sweet honey twist. Delicious. The pretzel itself, though, left much to be desired–more of a vessel to bring the sauces to your mouth rather than the main attraction. It was reminiscent of those honey wheat braided pretzels sold at the grocery store. But, in soft pretzel form, it turned out to be too dense, dry, and bland, especially with the scanty salt.
Cheesecake Factory
If you keep digging through Cheesecake Factory's immense appetizer section for a while, you'll finally land on the pretzel bites. They are baked soft and warm (the warm part may be fairly obvious, but I appreciate the clarification) and come with what the chain calls cheddar cheese fondue. The restaurant also claims on its website that the dish additionally comes with whole grain mustard but that piece was not included in my to-go order. Still, I paid $14.95 for the hors d'oeuvre.
The Look: Perfectly round dough balls that are so browned they almost appear burnt., especially on the bottom. In contrast, the cheese sauce takes on a pale shade of orange.
The Taste: Each sphere is just about as dense and devoid of flavor as it looks. With hardly any flakey salt and this chewy texture, they're not necessarily distasteful but just meh and forgettable. The viscous cheese does help, presenting itself as an elevated nacho cheese with a cheddar sharpness. But, it is merely a bandaid and not a solution to fix these take-it-or-leave-it-orbs. I'm also confused by Cheesecake Factory's suggestion that this appetizer feeds two to three people when I could likely gobble down the ten pieces myself.
Buffalo Wild Wings
Buffalo wings would be nothing without a warm-up dish to enjoy while you await your order. At B-Dubs, your options include plenty of fried finger foods, chips and dip, and Everything Pretzel Knots. As their name would suggest, the soft pretzel nuggets come topped with everything bagel seasoning–a blend that typically contains sesame seeds, poppy seeds, dried garlic, dried onion, and salt. Like BJ's, the sports bar also throws in two sauces including a honey mustard and a beer cheese made with New Belgium Fat Tire beer. The starter costs $8.99.
The Look: The tray came with five total knots, all layered like the dough had been wrapped around itself (not tied like a garlic knot). They're darker in color and covered in black-and-white seasoning specks that are confined mostly to the centers. Two small dip ramekins also sit at the edge.
The Taste: The pretzels were undeniably fresh. I had no doubt they were pulled straight from the oven mere minutes before they reached my table. This process resulted in knots that were crisp on the outside and soft on the inside, with just a slightly unbalanced ratio of exterior breading to doughy interior. I expected more from the everything bagel seasoning, however. A few more shakes of the mix would have been appreciated as I could hardly taste it on some bites. This left the sauces in charge of most of the app's flavor–not a huge problem since the thick and rich beer cheese is some of the best I've ever had and the mustard takes after BJ's recipe, like a mix of honey and Dijon.
Red Robin
Red Robin refers to itself as the "Gourmet Burger Authority". But, its food lineup extends well beyond big-mouth handhelds into more shareable dishes such as the fan-favorite Pretzel Bites. They're not bottomless like the fries, though they do come blanketed with salt and alongside a cup of New Belgium Fat Tire beer cheese, just like the one served at B-Dubs. The dish came out to a total cost of $8.49.
The Look: Puffed-up nuggets in a similar shape and style as Buffalo Wild Wings', but smaller and lighter in color. My only concern was that there wasn't nearly enough light orange cheese to go around. Prepare to ration.
The Taste: Please refer to Red Robin's slogan: yummm. Each bite-sized piece is pillowy, doughy, and buttery to the point that some melted butter pooled at the bottom of the tray. The salt was unevenly applied but on most nuggets, it was sufficient in dialing up the flavor. They reminded me of Auntie Anne's pretzels in a way, but not quite as crave-worthy. And, with the full-flavored, succulent cheddar cheese sauce (which was in fact nearly identical to the one at B-Dubs), this appetizer was one to beat.
Applebee's
Appetizers are quite famous at Applebee's. Perhaps because they are often discounted to half price at lunchtime or during late-night service. Or, because they are sometimes served in an all-you-can-eat format. Boneless wings and spinach and artichoke dip are some of the heavy hitters on the list, but soft pretzels are another salty and savory option. The pretzel sticks are Bavarian-style and come with a side of Blue Moon white cheddar beer cheese. Honey Dijon mustard was also supposed to be on the table, but that was missing from my $9.99 to-go order.
The Look: The first thing I noticed was that the salt was poured on thick and specifically just on the center two pretzels. Appearing like scaled-down versions of French baguettes, the sticks themselves looked a little dry. However, I was ecstatic to finally see an adequate amount of cheese filling more of a soup cup than a ramekin.
The Taste: An enlarged and even more scrumptious version of Red Robin's pint-sized nuggets. It doesn't look like it, but butter seeps into every inch of these pretzel sticks, making them the perfect combination of chewy yet soft. Throw a touch of salt onto their natural flavor (after distributing the granules more evenly) and they become addicting even just on their own. I will say that the cheese sauce was a bit of a letdown–runnier and less bold than the others (a shame since I I had access to so much of it). But, in terms of the pretzels alone, Applebee's has everyone beat by a mile.
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