Walk into your favorite restaurant chain today and something feels off. The portions seem smaller, the service slower, and that burger you once craved just doesn’t hit the same. You’re not imagining it. Many consumers have noticed a decline in quality at some of their favorite restaurants since the pandemic, with product and service decline becoming worse since 2020. From skimpy servings to inconsistent food quality, customers are speaking out across social media and review platforms about chains that have lost their edge. Here are ten restaurants where diners say the quality is seriously slipping.
Chipotle
CEO Brian Niccol disclosed in 2024 that a company investigation found one in ten Chipotle restaurants were too meager with their servings, affecting about ten percent of its roughly 3,500 locations. The portion controversy exploded on social media in 2024, with customers posting videos comparing their sparse bowls to what they expected. Wells Fargo analysts released a study confirming that portion sizes at Chipotle restaurants vary significantly, finding some locations served burrito bowls that weighed thirty-three percent more than what they received at others. One Reddit user wrote they had been a near-daily Chipotle customer for ten years, stating not only did the meat quality nosedive, but the portion size reduced by about thirty-three percent. The controversy even sparked a shareholder lawsuit alleging the company failed to disclose serving smaller portions.
McDonald’s
In 2023 and 2024, McDonald’s received the lowest customer satisfaction scores out of every fast-food chain considered in the annual American Customer Satisfaction Index Restaurant Study. The most common complaint McDonald’s customers have aired in 2024 revolves around prices, with diners facing a barrage of criticism believing the chain isn’t as affordable as it used to be. According to the company, average prices have risen by twenty-one percent for Big Macs, twenty-eight percent for ten-piece Chicken McNugget meals, and forty-four percent for medium orders of fries since 2019. CEO Chris Kempczinski said their performance in 2024 did not meet expectations, and the E. coli outbreak that sickened more than one hundred people across a dozen states made things worse. Customer reviews cite food quality issues alongside the pricing concerns, with some preferring the old burger recipes over the revamped versions rolled out in early 2024.
Sonic Drive-In
Sonic scored a disappointing seventy-three in 2025 on the American Customer Satisfaction Index, falling well short of the seventy-nine point average for quick-service restaurants, and has fallen considerably from last year’s score of seventy-six. Over on Trustpilot, Sonic’s reputation takes an even harder hit with a dismal 1.5-star rating. Customers report dealing with rude staff, shakes that arrive runny instead of thick, an ordering system and app that is often not working, getting orders wrong as a regular occurrence, and complaints about undercooked food. Indicative of Sonic’s 2025 decline is the fact that some Sonics have closed down the drive-in stalls at times, instead urging customers to order in the drive-thru, with multiple online discussions about a sudden lack of quality Sonic restaurants. The chain’s signature drive-in experience, which made it unique, appears to be crumbling along with its food quality standards.
Subway
The addition of freshly sliced meats was intended to boost Subway’s overall quality and standing among customers, but reports emerged in 2024 that the assimilation of slicers into the larger Subway system has been anything but smooth, with no indication that the slicers have improved business or sales. According to Bill Mathis, chairman of the North American Association of Subway Franchisees, the results have been a mixed bag, with no data showing these slicers have driven sales, customer counts or profitability. When Daily Meal evaluated the quality of meat at popular sandwich chains, Subway came dead last with sandwiches dubbed mediocre at best. A new lawsuit filed in 2024 accuses Subway of grossly misleading customers by advertising sandwiches that contain at least three times more meat than it delivers. Customer complaints range from stale bread to inadequate portions, with franchises refusing to honor coupons adding insult to injury.
Chili’s
The American Customer Satisfaction Index gives Chili’s a score of seventy-eight, not terrible but falling short of the overall score of eighty-two for sit-down restaurants, and it’s dropped from a score of eighty just last year. According to ACSI, around spring of 2024 Chili’s rolled out new promotions and menu items aimed at attracting McDonald’s customers who came in with different expectations than Chili’s typical crowd, and this shift along with rapid changes happening at the chain is the cause of its decline. With a 1.4 rating on Consumer Affairs, Chili’s is facing a flood of complaints. The first theme customers notice when reading through reviews is the lack of cleanliness, with reports of dirty plates, filthy bathrooms, and hair showing up in their food. The chain’s attempt to capture a different customer base appears to have backfired, leaving longtime fans disappointed.
Olive Garden
Like so many other chain restaurants in recent years, the quality that Olive Garden offers has been declining despite rising prices. Customers felt less comfortable with the restaurant’s expanding menu, inconsistent quality, and aversion to competitive prices, with the investment firm Starboard Value giving a public presentation of parent company Darden Restaurants’ many problems in 2014, and though the difficult turnaround paid off, consumer trust has never fully recovered. Customers claim that the breadsticks, one of the chain’s most beloved items, are now smaller and harder than they once were. A notable complaint from recent years concerns pasta quality, which is particularly troubling for a restaurant defined by pasta, with diners reporting the pasta tastes gummy and greasy. Some point to the pandemic as the turning point when service quality and that homey feel were mostly lost to corporate cynicism.
Red Robin
With a 2.2 rating on Trustpilot, Red Robin is facing a barrage of complaints about incorrect orders, food arriving either cold or burnt, poor customer service, and prices that don’t match the quality. One reviewer’s experience captures the extent of the problem when their fish came out cold and burnt, the sweet potatoes were cold and dried out, and the coleslaw looked like it came out of the trash can, with the only edible item being the onion rings, meaning they essentially paid thirty-three dollars for a side of onion rings. The American Customer Satisfaction Index scored Red Robin at seventy-eight, well below the eighty-two benchmark for full-service restaurants. Complaints about servers who are rude and impatient, excessively long waits just to receive menus, and food that takes forever to arrive paint a picture of a casual dining chain that has lost its way.
Wendy’s
Signs that Wendy’s was struggling were apparent by the end of 2024, with plenty of customers starting to notice those struggles affecting the quality of the Wendy’s experience the following year, with a decrease in food quality being pivotal to the chain’s decline. Customers have noticed classic items like the Baconator and the Vanilla Frosty, among others, tasting worse than they remember. Another common critique of Wendy’s restaurants is that they’re insufficiently staffed. Long wait times combined with disappointing food quality have turned once-loyal customers away. The chain that built its reputation on fresh, never frozen beef and quality ingredients seems to be cutting corners, leaving customers wondering where the old Wendy’s went.
Pizza Hut
Pizza Hut was once considered the gold standard of chain pizza, especially during the 1980s and 1990s, but modern Pizza Hut has drifted far from those nostalgic roots, and recent customer feedback paints a picture of a chain struggling with quality, service, and relevance. In the past two years, diners have noted that even locations with dine-in spaces often operate more like takeout counters, with self-serve areas and limited staff presence, and this shift erodes what used to make the chain special. Food quality complaints have also increased, with guests reporting undercooked pies, dough that lacks flavor, inconsistently prepared breadsticks, and wrong order sizes. The once-beloved red roof restaurants that offered a unique family hangout experience have transformed into something unrecognizable, disappointing longtime fans who remember better days.
IHOP
Prices at IHOP jumped about eighty-two percent in five years, one of the steepest increases among major chains. Customers complain that many of the better, more difficult-to-make menu items have been erased from the menu, only to be replaced by simpler dishes, that items which used to be complementary are now upcharged, and considering IHOP has been hit by inflation, customers are paying a premium for food that tastes a lot worse. Some suggested IHOP is likely to go out of business because of this discrepancy in price and quality, and even Forbes has reported that the chain is struggling financially. Customers with far-reaching nostalgia for IHOP have noticed the downsizing of menu and portions, as well as the selectiveness in pancake promos, and older visitors are having a harder time pardoning the lack of heart and dependable quality. The promise of cheap stacks of pancakes at any hour has slipped away, replaced by high prices and declining standards that leave longtime fans feeling betrayed.
