Is cheesecake factory considered an average priced restaurant in the US?

37 comments

1. I have never been to one, but I am confident it will be on the expensive side for desserts.

   Edit: its rather telling that the prices are not on the website menu.

2. I would put them above average, and not really worth it unless you just love cheesecake.

3. Yeah it’s pretty average price, the cheesecake is a little pricey but it’s also really good cheesecake.

4. It’s average priced for slightly average food. The appeal is the massive portions

5. It’s a normal place for a middle class family to go to eat.

   They are well known for having large portions, so consider that many people may go there expecting to take leftover food home to eat later. If your entree was $25 and you had two meals from it, that lowers the cost in my way of thinking.

   It’s easy to find cheap food in most places, you didn’t choose a cheap place.

6. Eh yeah I’d say it’s pretty average, but what I may think is an “average” price and the person next to me thinks is an “average” price can differ greatly. I do want to point out though that the cheesecake slices there are expensive and you can most likely find one for the same price as a whole cheesecake at a supermarket…

7. Average is an interesting question. Like many countries hole in wall places can be dirt cheap, and Gas station restaurants can be affordable, olive garden and Texas road house have some pretty good priced items. I feel like every place has it’s specials to get you in the door and makes it’s money on drinks. Cheesecake factory is a bit pricier for what it is. A local diner serving homemade cheesecake would be a bit cheaper.

8. Definitely on the pricier side, though I do love their cheesecakes. But yeah, not a place I can afford to go more than two or three times a year

9. > everything was delicious and very big, but it was quite pricey

   I feel the same way as you about it. It’s slightly above average in price for a full-service restaurant.

10. I wouldn’t say it’s expensive, but it is a higher priced chain restaurant. The prices are higher than what you are paying for IMO. Much better local options for equal or lower prices so I never really go there.

11. I’d say it’s about average price for your standard microwave and boil-bag kitchens. I’d put it on the bottom F-tier of quality, right there with the other microwave/boil-bag places like Applebees and Golden Corral, but price-wise it is fairly average (but over priced for what you are getting).

12. They’re on the expensive side of the average but they are far from “very expensive”.

13. I think they’re above average, I’d certainly consider it pricy. Although not on the same level as some high end places

14. No. The only cheesecake factory I know of is in an expensive downtown location. The demographic who go there are suburban tourists. And they are probably charged tourist prices.

    My personal view is skewed because I think restaurants are overpriced in my city.

    But the other day I got a two taco platter with rice and beans for $9.99 and the pork was amazing in the tacos.

15. One factor that no one’s brought up is that CKF may be more expensive relatively to other restaurants in Mexico, since it’s an American transplant chain. It’s not terribly expensive here in America, but move it too another country and it becomes almost like a novelty restaurant.

16. Expensive for ~~fast-casual~~ *(my bad, “fast casual” is the wrong phrase, I apologize to The Cheesecake Factory corporation)*, but not expensive in general. You can make like 3 meals out of the food from there though, so I actually think it’s pretty reasonable.

17. Cheesecake Factory is typically a full service restaurant mostly based out of malls. It is probably a higher price point for the more casual sit-down dining (think TGI Fridays, Applebees). The prices aren’t budget prices, but you’re getting a lot of food and they specifically promote that “everyone leaves with a doggy bag” or whatever.

    It isn’t an every day thing for most people though. It isn’t even a every weekend-thing. Its where you go with your family on a night out, or when you want to splurge a little.

    But it also isn’t fine dining where you can easily spend $100-150 per person.

    Also I imagine most Cheesecake Factories abroad are probably in tourist areas catering to American or western tourists. They may even be more expensive than they are back home.

18. Definitely overpriced, but not “expensive” by restaurant standards.

19. I find it expensive for what you get – but everything is consistently good!

20. Above average. It probably falls in the category of “fancy chain”.

21. Not among my friends. It’s considered overpriced and expensive. The place is always packed, though that’s because all the locations are in the city. I wouldn’t call it your average restaurant because of the prices and how big the store is (it’s about 2x-3x bigger than a regular restaurant).

22. It’s more expensive than most restaurants I’d put it in the same class as. It’s not fine dining expensive, but for a chain with average food it’s pretty expensive.

    Plus foreign chains with long supply lines are always going to be more expensive than local foods with short supply lines.

23. It’s pretty normal pricing for a chain restaurant in upper middle class neighborhoods.

24. I’d be interested to know how much of the menu is microwaved

25. It’s not an *expensive* place, but it’s definitely a little more expensive than most.

    And, in my opinion, not really worth it. The biggest thing they have going for them is a large and diverse menu and almost everything on that menu is consistently pretty good. If you’re in the mood for something specific, there’s better food to be had elsewhere for less money. It’s great if you aren’t craving something specific or if you’re with a large group though.

26. It’s a little more expensive than similar restaurants, but tends to be located in pricier locations, is known for paying their employees well, and has a huge menu and the portions are massive. When my wife and daughter go, they often split an entree and a dessert, otherwise there are lots of leftovers. It likely seems a lot more expensive than similar restaurants in Mexico, because those would typically be less expensive than similar restaurants in the US.

27. I would guess it’s considered ‘mid-market’? But I’m from fancy ass Los Angeles, so what do I know? Well, I’m from a far flung boring suburb thereof, so yeah.

28. I would say pretty typical for a full service sit down restaurant serving the dishes that they serve. Maybe a bit above.

    Restaurants are for sure cheaper in Mexico. Even eating in CDMX was appreciably less expensive than I’m used to, and I would assume that’s a relatively expensive area.

29. I’d say it’s overpriced for what you get.

    Personally I don’t think the food there is anything special other than the cheesecake.

30. Moderate to high, kind of. Like, it’s more expensive than casual dining, but less expensive than the fancy places.

31. It’s on the higher and more expensive end for chain restaurants while still being a casual dining experience rather than even more expensive fine dining. It’s the casual upper-middle class of chain restaurants.

    You can certainly find better dining at better prices at some independent local restaurant.. BUT if you’re not familiar with the local restaurants and want something a little nicer than the average chain and with a VERY broad selection* it’s a safe choice.

    * The broad selection is also notable. There was an askreddit thread a while back asking chefs what was a red flag that a restaurant was bad and several of the top answers were variations of “a wide selection of unrelated foods”. It’s impossible to do everything well so if a restaurant is doing everything it’s NOT doing ANY of it well. Cheesecake Factory though was specifically mentioned by many in those threads as the exception to the rule… Apparently the chain put in a ton of effort and thought into figuring out ways of overcoming the difficulties of providing such a wide selection at a reasonable level of quality across the board and done a respectable job of it. The added expense required to pull that off is probably part of the reason for the premium pricing.

32. I really like their cheesecakes but they are pretty expensive yeah.

33. I would say that it’s slightly pricier. It’s not on the level of a Ruth’s Chris or Fogo de Chao.

34. Also, another thing to note, I remember in Chile any American restaurant was like 50x more expensive there than it was here.

    Wouldn’t surprise me if it were the same in Mexico.

35. Reddit is really weird when it comes to wealth.

    In another thread I’m being told minivans are only affordable to the very rich. Sometimes I feel like I’m the only one here who has ever bought anything in real life.

    I’d consider Cheesecake Factory a pretty averaged priced restaurant. It’s pricier than fast food places but cheaper than Michelin star rated restaurants. You can certainly do much cheaper but you can also do much more expensive. A burger and fries will run you about $15 there and that’s around what I would expect to pay for a similar quality burger.

36. I’d say its average. However, the prices and menu in another country could be wildly different. When I visited Costa Rica, Denny’s was a white-glove fine dining restaurant. However, here in the United States its very low budget and poor quality restaurant.

37. I would say it’s average.