The Chain Restaurant Side Some Reddit Users Rate Higher Than Olive Garden Breadsticks

In terms of casual dining — which is not to be confused with either fast food or fast casual – it's a bit hard not to pit Olive Garden and Texas Roadhouse against one another. While, on the surface, the two chains seem completely different (OG serves Italian, and the Roadhouse dishes up steaks), these restaurants are the top two eateries in America in their category. In 2025, Texas Roadhouse knocked Olive Garden down for the top spot. But Olive Garden and Texas Roadhouse have another similarity between them that invites comparison: both chains serve you free bread with the purchase of an entrée. Olive Garden dishes up its signature breadsticks, which you can enjoy fresh-baked with one ordering hack, and Texas Roadhouse has those baskets of delicious yeast rolls with honey butter. According to social media site Reddit, the Roadhouse has the lead when it comes to gratis sides, and it's not up for discussion.

"My friend has been making the argument that the bread rolls are better than any other appetizers, main dishes, and even desserts within the establishment," one commenter posted. "Honestly, it's the rolls that get me in the door! I love the butter!" read one response. "The bread and butter at Texas Roadhouse is better than olive gardens bread sticks so this tracks," one Redditor stated, talking about Texas Roadhouse's dominance in the casual restaurant category. "[T]exas roadhouse rolls are solid dopamine change my mind," gushed a comment in a third post.

Texas Roadhouse knows it has something special with its rolls ... there's a reason that they are served up near the front entrance, so that you catch a whiff of that yeasty, sweet savor as soon as you walk through the door. The restaurant bakes a fresh batch of rolls every five minutes, and keeps the goodness coming. You'll notice that, if you ask for more rolls, you get them. It's an abundant side that tastes fantastic and keeps guests happy. The addition of whipped honey cinnamon butter doesn't hurt the situation, either. The combination of bread and butter is just sweet enough to complement a juicy steak and some savory sides. Some copycat recipes on the internet swear that the secret to the lightness in the rolls is an enriched dough, which adds additional ingredients beyond flour, salt, and yeast for a more luscious product.

When you visit Texas Roadhouse, you likely aren't performing a mental analysis on why the rolls are so craveable; you just know that they are. We bet that few people are selecting a place to eat dinner based exclusively on who has the best bread, but, if diners were to do that, many folks might choose Texas Roadhouse for their inimitable yeast rolls. This isn't a knock against the innate wonderfulness of Olive Garden's breadsticks, but, when two great things face off, somebody has to win.