The Definitive Ranking Of Steakhouse Loaded Baked Potatoes

The best baked potatoes are a delicious dream of fluffy starch, crisp skin, and flavorful toppings. America's best steakhouses are temples of culinary excellence. Put them together, and you get something truly delicious: loaded baked potatoes, a la steakhouse. Loaded baked potatoes — traditionally topped with cheese, butter, sour cream, bacon, and chives — are always tasty, but steakhouses have a way of taking them to the next level. Or at least, that's what they should do. Some steakhouses turn the spud into an unparalleled side dish, while others fumble the opportunity entirely. Thus, we decided to create a definitive ranking of steakhouse loaded baked potatoes.

This wasn't an easy task. The United States has hundreds of steakhouses, which have spawned a wide variety of takes on the loaded spud. Accordingly, we put much care and attention into creating this list, using personal experiences to judge each item based on many different factors. At the end of this article, you can view our methodology, which explains this in more detail. With this list in hand, potato fans can go forth with confidence, knowing they have a handle on the best spuds from the best spots. From tried-and-true chains to celebrated institutions, this is the ultimate guide to steakhouse loaded baked potatoes.

The best dishes at Texas Roadhouse are flavorful, well-textured, and distinctive. Sadly, its loaded spud fails on all three counts. These aren't terrible baked potatoes, by any means: They're of decent size, fully cooked, and bear an appropriate amount of toppings. But they don't excel. You'll find no crisp skin here, nor any cloud-like flesh. It's just a plain old baked potato.

The toppings disguise some of these failings, but they can't totally overcome them. Texas Roadhouse opts for a fairly standard complement of toppings: sour cream, butter, cheddar cheese, and bacon are all on offer here. Chili is also available for the adventurous eater. Each individual element is fine, and they work pretty well together (though the chili really is best added by itself). But it only adds up to a side that will be finished but never raved about.

A crisp baked potato is a beautiful thing. Popular U.S. steakhouse chain LongHorn's loaded tater definitely fits that bill; its skin is a papery dream, speckled with salt and eager to flake at the slightest touch. Unfortunately, it's overloaded with dairy. LongHorn slathers its spuds in sour cream, to the point that it drowns out everything around it. A generous amount of butter doesn't help. The cheddar cheese, which is notably sharp, does manage to distinguish itself against this rich backdrop, but it also adds to the milk-heavy problem.

The bacon and green onions are a smoky and zingy relief amidst all this lusciousness. Sadly, there just aren't enough of them. With a little tweaking, this could be a great potato. As it is, it's simply too much.

The best thing about Del Frisco's loaded baked potato is its lavishness. This spud is crowned with an absolute avalanche of sour cream, bacon, cheese, and chives. It's not too much, somehow — in fact, it's perfectly balanced. We suspect this is because its potatoes tend to be bigger than average.

There's just one problem: The potato's skin is simply too salty. This flavor is overwhelming, intruding upon every mouthful. The sour cream helps blunt it to a minor degree, but it can only do so much. It's just one flaw, but it's too big to ignore.

Compared to many other entries on this list, Claim Jumper's loaded baked potato is a modest affair. It includes sour cream, bacon, cheese, and green onions, but it doesn't drown the spud in them. This keeps every flavor in balance, allowing the potato's own taste to shine through and making it significantly easier to eat.

Unfortunately, it's texturally subpar. These potatoes are oddly soft, and the skin never crisps up. At best, it gets tough and somewhat chewy, kind of like a microwaved potato skin appetizer. That best is rare, though. Most of the time, the toppings melt through, reducing it all to mush. It's pretty flavorful mush, granted, but it's just the same.

Morton's does not do things by halves, and its loaded baked potatoes are proof. Each one begins with a seriously gigantic tuber — among the biggest on this list, in fact. An ocean of sour cream and butter is churned into the potato's interior, resulting in a fluffy eruption of flavor. But it is the bacon that truly steals the show. Rather than settle for confetti-like bacon bits, Morton's opts for thick curls of meat, full of smoke and sweetness.

This makes for a seriously good potato. Sometimes, though, the ratio of ingredients is just a tiny bit off. This is most often a problem with the sour cream, which has a way of overwhelming everything else with its rich tang, but the bacon has been known to dominate as well. The potato underneath is always excellent, though, which counts for a lot.

Saltgrass Steak House's loaded baked potato is a relatively tidy little thing, and this is largely to its benefit. Each tater is moderately sized — not too big, nor too small — and crowned with the traditional suite of sour cream, cheese, green onions, and bacon. The sour cream is the stand-out, here. It's tangier, richer, and smoother than most other sour creams on this list, and it melts deliciously into every nook and cranny of the fluffy spud. The cheese plays especially nicely with it, melting into an orange-and-white swirl.

There is no major flaw in this potato. It should be noted, though, that the sour cream is by far the greatest strength. The fact that it so clearly outstrips everything else isn't a problem, exactly, but it does keep this spud from a higher spot on the list.

Every ingredient in Outback's loaded baked potato is fine, but there's always one that's lacking. Sometimes you don't get enough sour cream. Other times you're bereft of bacon bits. Chives are the most frequently missing guest: A bare sprinkle is generally the best you can hope for.

These are significant issues. But they're not damning, because the potato itself is so darn good. It's the perfect size for a side, as the midpoint between the mammoth spuds some places offer and the teensiest taters on this list. It's also baked to absolute perfection every single time. This results in a dreamily tender interior and irresistibly crisp skin — the stuff baked potato dreams are made of, in other words. If Outback ever learns to nail its toppings, this item will speed to the top of this list.

Mastro's, one of the best high-end steakhouse chains in America, takes a bold approach to dining. Its loaded baked potato is a great example: This is one seriously jaw-dropping spud. It's advertised on the menu as the "1 Lb Baked Potato," and indeed it is. Toppings tower atop it, making it so large that it threatens to enter main course territory.

This is, without question, a delicious potato. The bacon and shredded cheese are especially tasty. But it's so huge that it presents some problems. You either need to prepare to take some home or share it with another guest — it's simply too big to be eaten without such consideration. If you're okay with either of those options, it's not to be missed. But planning is necessary.

The first thing you notice when you set eyes on a Strip House's loaded baked potato is the bacon. Thick, juicy chunks of pork crown each spud, glistening with fat and salt. Each bite bursts with pure porcine goodness, followed by lingering notes of maple, woodsmoke, and something faintly fruity.

The bacon melds marvelously with the well-baked potato, sour cream, cheese, and butter. It must be said, though, the bacon is indisputably the star of the show. This might frustrate some folks, but bacon lovers will likely be pleased with this offering. Carefully consider which group you fall into before ordering.

As the name denotes, Ocean Prime specializes in steak and seafood. It's a testament to its quality that the chain does both well. The loaded baked potato is a solid example of this high-achieving streak: This is one tasty tuber.

By and large, this potato succeeds because of its straightforwardness. The potato itself is very good, and so are all the toppings. Perhaps more importantly, those toppings are exceptionally well-balanced. There's just enough bacon to bring a meaty kick to the proceedings, while the sour cream cushions it all in dairy-rich bliss. It's not necessarily the most mind-blowingly good loaded baked potato you've ever had, but it provides diners with a tasty side — and it does so consistently. This potato is sure to be satisfying, tasty, and well-proportioned.

Black Angus doesn't just offer one kind of loaded baked potato — it has four. One is the standard set-up, bursting with cheese, sour cream, bacon, and chives. The others (described as Supreme Stuffed Baked Potatoes) crown the spud with barbecue pork, blue cheese and bacon, or broccoli and queso.

This is a dazzling amount of variety. What's more, all the options are pretty darn good. The standard potato is wonderfully balanced and features an especially generous helping of cheese. Among the stuffed spuds, the blue and bacon potato is the clear winner. The funky flavor of the cheese is a delectably sharp contrast to the creamy potato and a perfect complement to smoky bacon shreds. The other options are strong — we'll never turn down a baked potato loaded with broccoli and cheese — but not quite as mouth-watering.

BOA Steakhouse offers a traditional loaded baked potato — complete with cheese, chives, butter, bacon, and sour cream. But it's easy to ignore this menu item in favor of its elevated cousin, the BOA "Boujee" Twice-Baked Potato. This spud boasts crème fraîche, a generous scattering of chives, and caviar. Yes, that's right — caviar.

This over-the-top potato is indeed delicious. Salty caviar is an excellent complement to the tuber's earthy sweetness, and the crème fraîche melts decadently into every nook and cranny. But don't sleep on the traditional loaded potato. It's nowhere near as fancy — and it's outclassed by the top entries on this list — but it's a perfectly good side dish. Notably, both potatoes showcase elegantly crisped skin packed with flavor.

Steakhouse standby Ruth's Chris is beloved for a reason: This chain produces some seriously good food. While its steaks get most of the attention, diners shouldn't sleep on its loaded baked potato. The first thing you notice about this spud is its size: It's among the biggest on this list. This is a potential stumbling block. Plenty of other restaurants bet everything on a gigantic tuber, then fail to proportion its crowning ingredients accordingly.

Not so with Ruth's Chris. Its enormous potatoes come loaded with an appropriate ocean of toppings. The bacon is the star, coming in full, toothsome chunks that haven't been fried to a complete crisp, so they retain a certain juiciness. The sour cream is also excellent, with a bit more tang than most other loaded potatoes enjoy.

French Quarter mainstay Dickie Brennan's Steakhouse goes the extra mile when it comes to the steadfastly loaded baked potato. The spud's set-up is fairly standard: It's a classic Russet, topped with sour cream, cheese, butter, bacon, and chives. But the little details make it something special.

The most notable is the cheese's texture, which is velvety. It's great on its own, but even better once it's melted lusciously into the potato's craggy interior. The potato's skin is similarly excellent. It's as crisp and papery as you could want, no matter how much dairy has soaked into it. We could use a few more chives, and maybe even a bit more bacon, but these are far from major complaints.

Bern's is one of the greatest steakhouses in the world (and home to a legendarily huge wine collection). It makes sense, then, that it serves up a great loaded baked potato. This is a truly elegant take on the side — yet it doesn't achieve this through adding caviar or an offbeat cheese. Rather, every single detail is perfect.

The potato itself is delicious, boasting an irresistible contrast between delicate skin and tender interior. The bacon bits are tinier than is typical — almost as though they've been grated. This doesn't mean you're getting stiffed, though. In fact, Bern's applies them more generously than most spots on this list. They seem to melt into the sour cream and potato flesh, giving the whole dish a meaty, smoky undertone.

Whether you're eating in the Boston or Boca Raton location, Abe & Louie's always serves up an excellent potato. The standard loaded potato is delicious and huge, with some of the best skin on this list. It's not just crispy, feather-light, and perfectly flaky — it's also the tiniest bit charred. There's no burnt taste, though. It simply retains the faintest note of smokiness, which pairs marvelously with the traditional toppings.

Sometimes, there's another loaded potato on the menu — and it's a doozy. The Million Dollar Potato is a perfectly crisped potato topped with crème fraîche, smoked sturgeon, and caviar. This costs quite a bit more than the normal potato, as you might guess, but the divine taste of milky crème fraîche mixed with sharp, tangy caviar and sturgeon is more than worth it.

In many ways, Barclay Prime's loaded baked potato is more modest than most entries on this list. The potato isn't ginormous, it's not blanketed in sour cream or bacon, and it doesn't boast some kind of super-elite ingredient, like caviar or lobster. This doesn't make it a disappointment, though. In fact, it's all to its credit.

Barclay Prime's potato doesn't need any of that razzle dazzle because it's impeccable unto itself. Every single detail is perfect. The bacon is crisp, thick, and shimmers with rendered fat. The chives are full of sharp, bright flavor. The dairy elements are unctuous and rich without being overwhelming. A final sprinkle of salt adds exactly the right amount of edge. It's the loaded baked potato that dreams are made of: simple, excellent, and satisfying.

Indianapolis icon St. Elmo Steak House offers up a seriously hearty loaded baked potato. You'll find no dainty sprinkles of bacon here, nor modest dollops of sour cream. Each spud is sizable, salt-dappled, and covered in thick layers of cheese, sour cream, bacon, and chives.

This makes St. Elmo's potato one of the most flavorful around. Each ingredient gets to truly shine and intermingle in new ways, especially the chives. So often relegated to a minor garnish, they reveal themselves to be a pungent powerhouse in this potato, cutting through all the richness and fat like a green streak of lightning. The cheese is also notably excellent; it's full of the funky sharpness you only get from a truly well-aged cheddar. This really pops against the backdrop of sour cream.

The fact that Fleming's loaded baked potato stands out is a testament to its greatness, as it's far from the only potato side dish on the menu. But even amongst such delights as the spot's signature Fleming's potatoes and lobster mashed potatoes, this spud shines. It's hard to say what, exactly, distinguishes this potato, because, in truth, it's everything. This potato is a beautifully orchestrated symphony made up of stone-cold professionals.

The potato itself is full of earthy-sweet flavor, encased in crackling skin. The butter is rich and silky, melting deliciously into everything it touches. The bacon and cheese intertwine into a decadent layer of tangy, salty, smoky, creamy goodness. The green onions are so fresh they taste like they just came out of the ground. It's a delicious dish, in perfect harmony with itself.

What does it take to land at the top of this list? Perfection. New York City hotspot 4 Charles Prime Rib doesn't just achieve this — it makes it look easy. Each potato is a craggy landscape of fluffy starch, crisp (nearly to the point of crunchiness) skin, and sea salt. Some of the best cheddar cheese you've ever had in your life is luxuriously draped on top. Chives keep the whole thing lively, finding their way into every luscious bite.

And then there's the bacon. If all this potato had going for it was bacon, it'd still be worth ordering. These thick-cut chunks of pure porcine joy burst with smoke, salt, unctuous fat, and a faint hint of apple cider-esque sweetness. They're everything you could want from bacon, plus a little bit more, and they take this potato to steakhouse side dish heaven.

To compile this list, we first drew on our personal experiences. We have visited most of these restaurants ourselves: In some cases, there have been many return visits. Then, we talked to friends and family across the U.S. and asked them to share their experiences with steakhouses' loaded baked potatoes. This yielded many passionate opinions.

Every aspect of the loaded baked potato was carefully examined to create this ranking. Texture, taste, presentation, and freshness were the most important factors. Special consideration was paid to unique ingredients like crème fraîche and caviar. After thoughtfully weighing the pros and cons of each rendition, we determined which potatoes were the best, and which were lacking.