Although the Cheesecake Factory is most renowned for its signature dessert, the selection of entrees at the restaurant is equally as impressive. With over 250 items to choose from, those spiral-bound menus have something for every appetite, as well as every budget.
Like many chain restaurants, the Cheesecake Factory aims to be an affordable, accessible eatery. While the Egyptian columns, Victorian-era wood paneling, and ornate lighting may signal a restaurant with a refined menu, Cheesecake Factory has pretty much any dish one could want or expect from a decently priced spot.
For those wanting to keep their check low, Cheesecake Factory serves everything from sports bar staples like its smokehouse BBQ burger or Tex Mex eggroll to give you the best bang for your buck. But for those hoping to lean into the restaurant’s more upscale offerings, dishes like steak Diane and chicken piccata are offered. The Cheesecake Factory’s has a number of options in between and a wide price range to go with them. However, when it comes to the cheapest and most expensive entrees on its menu, those honors go to its tossed green salad and filet mignon, respectively.
The Cheesecake Factory’s cheapest entree is costlier in the long-run
If you’re trying to narrow down which entree you want while spending as little as possible, order Cheesecake Factory’s tossed green salad. While it is the most inexpensive item, how much you spend depends on the restaurant’s location. The entree will run you anywhere from $11.50 to $12.50. There are similar fast food salads for cheaper, but if you’re at Cheesecake Factory for some tasty greens, you can’t go wrong with this affordable entree.
Although the tossed green salad is moderately priced, it’s not something everyone would consider filling. The dish consists of mixed greens, cucumbers, tomatoes, carrots, and croutons, along with a dressing of your choice. The chain does offer other items that you can bulk it up with, but they come with a price. You can add avocado, grilled chicken, shrimp, salmon, or chargrilled steak, which costs anywhere from $3.95 to $9.50, bumping the dish from being the most inexpensive menu item.
If you want something heartier and don’t mind shelling out an extra dollar or two, try Cheesecake Factory’s cheese flatbread pizza. Depending on your location, it costs between $11.95 to $13.95, which is a decent price for a flatbread. While the salad isn’t the most “bang for your buck” item, the good thing about it is that it leaves plenty of room in your budget to try out all kinds of Cheesecake Factory cheesecake flavors.
The Cheesecake Factory’s most expensive entree is worth the price
For those who want to experience the more upscale dishes at the dining spot, try out its filet mignon. Depending on the location of the restaurant, the steak dinner will run you anywhere from $45.95 to $46.95. Due to its rareness and tender mouthfeel, filet mignon is special, so we can’t really fault the Cheesecake Factory for charging that much. The cut comes from the cow’s tenderloin muscle, which only makes up about 2% to 3% of its body.
If you’re buying filet mignon from a butcher or grocery store, the cut will cost around $30 to $45 a pound, so the Cheesecake Factory’s price for its entree isn’t outrageous. While the restaurant doesn’t mention the weight of its steak, the whole meal is 860 calories; small, pricier sizes at other eateries are typically about 340 calories, so we’d imagine it’s pretty sizable. At popular steakhouse chains in the U.S., the same cut may cost you up to $59 or more, which makes the Cheesecake Factory’s price seem more affordable.
With these other chains, sides aren’t always included with the steak, so $46 isn’t a bad price to pay for filet mignon. Along with the prized cut, the Cheesecake Factory’s filet mignon entree comes with a side of mashed potatoes and green beans, making the entree well worth its price.
