Arby's slogan "We have the meats," certainly holds true when looking at their menu. This
doesn't mean everything on Arby's menu is a tasty choice, though. We've ranked Arby's
most popular items from worst to best, and while some are a hard pass, others are sure
to be a treat.
Even though the Corned Beef Reuben looks like it'd be a tasty sandwich, don't judge this
book by its cover. This Arby's menu item is a disaster — a mushy, messy disaster, to
be precise.
To make matters even worse, the Corned Beef Reuben is a complete and utter fraud. A real
Reuben sandwich has Russian dressing, while this sandwich has Thousand Island dressing.
Moreover, a Reuben sandwich is supposed to have firm bread that is satisfyingly crispy.
This abomination has airy, soft bread that is prone to sogginess.
Even if you ignore all this, this pile of corned beef, sauerkraut, and Swiss cheese
on marble rye just doesn’t taste good. From your very first bite, you'll know that you've
made a terrible sandwich decision.
“Arby’s reuben sandwich would go toe-to-toe with yours.”
“Get outta here.”
You're at Arby's and you decide you want to order something healthy. That's when you point
to the Chicken Club Wrap, thinking the nutrition will offset the high price tag. Tragically,
you'll be wrong on both accounts.
Like the Corned Beef Reuben, the Chicken Club Wrap has an unappetizing texture. It's too
soft and falls apart too easily. Within the wrap, everything is suboptimal. The roasted
chicken breast is so dry it's difficult to chew. The pepper bacon is so peppery that
the bacon flavor is missing in action. Additionally, there's too much lettuce and not enough cheddar
cheese, tomato, or onion. The final cherry on top of this bundled disappointment is the
chemical aftertaste of the honey mustard sauce.
Oh, and about this wrap being healthy — it's just not. If you manage to choke it all down,
you'll have consumed 650 calories, 35 grams of fat, 12 grams of sugar, and 47 total carbs.
Just say no to Arby's Chicken Club Wrap.
The idea of a cherry turnover from Arby's sounds good in theory. The sweetness and tartness
of this turnover will be the perfect addition to your meal, right? Wrong, unfortunately.
First of all, the Cherry Turnover is way too flaky. When you bite into it, this pastry
will stick to the roof of your mouth, while crumbs rain down onto your clothing. Even
worse, there's just not that much cherry filling in it. Plus, the cherry filling that you do
find will be overly sweet and won't have any of the satisfying tartness that you expect.
The white icing that zigzags along the top of this turnover only adds to the cloying,
unbalanced sweetness.
A better alternative at Arby's is the Apple Turnover because it’s less intensely sweet.
Better yet, get the Salted Caramel & Chocolate Cookie. It features Ghirardelli chocolate
and is quite yummy.
The Jalapeno Bites from Arby's is another item that sounds better than it tastes. Somehow,
someway, these things are a total letdown.
The primary issue is with Arby's Jalapeno Bites is they're simply stuffed with too much
cream cheese. But the cheese has more texture than flavor, and this texture can be best
described as slimy.
Sadly, the spiciness you're craving from these Jalapeno Bites is nowhere to be found. Maybe
Arby's specifically goes with mild-tasting jalapeno peppers, or maybe the cream cheese
overwhelms the spice.
The good news is that Arby's has a spectacularly good sauce for their Jalapeno Bites. It's
called Bronco Berry Sauce and it's basically a jelly that is sweet and spicy with a refreshing
berry-flavored aftertaste. Don't you dare switch it out for the Ranch Dipping Sauce.
Arby's ranch is one of the worst.
We’re in a golden age of fast food chicken sandwiches, but the Classic Roast Chicken
Sandwich at Arby’s isn’t up to snuff. The same dry, chewy chicken that plagues the
previously mentioned Chicken Club Wrap also drags this sandwich down. However, Arby's
slathers on so much mayo that the dryness of the chicken isn't as noticeable.
This sandwich also features multiple slices of tomato and the right amount of lettuce.
But there's more bad news: the bun. The texture is too soft and it's basically flavorless.
If you want a "classic" chicken sandwich from Arby's, the Classic Crispy Chicken Sandwich
is better. The dry chicken is replaced by a breaded filet that's juicy and flavorful.
It's obviously not Chick-fil-A good but it's definitely better than the roasted version.
You have to applaud Arby's for their effort when it comes to the Greek Gyro.
“Jee-ro? Jie-ro? Guy-ro? Mediterranean tacos!”
Even though they're mysteriously vague when describing the meat as simply "gyro meat,"
this menu item is good enough that you won't feel like you have wasted your money.
Along with the "gyro meat", Arby's includes red onion, tomato, shredded lettuce, gyro
seasoning, and a tasty tzatziki sauce. The flatbread is often chewy, but overall, it's
okay. If you can overlook the questionable meat, the Greek Gyro is a perfectly average
menu item. While not as popular, the Roast Turkey Gyro is actually better, trading the
"gyro meat" for thin slices of tasty roasted turkey.
The Loaded Italian is Arby's answer to Subway's Spicy Italian. And, honestly, Arby's does
a commendable job of copying what makes the well-known Subway menu item so iconic.
The Loaded Italian takes most of its flavor from pepperoni and Genoa salami. Arby's bulks
up this offering even more with slices of smoked ham. The Loaded Italian also has banana
peppers, tomato, red onion, and shredded lettuce. It's then topped with red wine vinaigrette
and garlic aioli for an extra pop of flavor.
Where the Arby's Loaded Italian falls short of the Spicy Italian from Subway is the bread.
While Subway has fresh-baked bread that's so good that you wouldn't hesitate to eat
it by itself, Arby's uses a toasted sub roll that always tastes like it's a few moments
away from being stale. The Loaded Italian is good enough to order but its bread holds
it back from climbing higher on this list.
It just makes sense that Arby's has a good French dip sandwich, as Arby's is known for
their roast beef. The French Dip 'n Swiss lives up to the expectations. While it's not
great, it's certainly above average.
Along with the roast beef, the French Dip 'n Swiss has Swiss cheese, an Italian sub
roll, and French au jus sauce for dipping. Two things hold the French Dip 'n Swiss back
a bit. First, the bread underwhelms. Second, there's less roast beef than you'd hope for
in this sandwich. The good news is that the latter issue can be solved by upgrading to
the Half Pound French Dip 'n Swiss.
The Classic Roast Beef sandwich is the best-selling item on Arby's menu — and that's not a surprise.
Roast beef is Arby’s MO, and getting this sandwich is the most straightforward way to
acquire their roast beef. The Classic Roast Beef sandwich comes with roast beef and a
sesame seed bun that has been slightly toasted. Yep, that's it.
The barebones nature of this sandwich is why it's not higher in this ranking. If you eat
it as is, it's a bit dry and totally monotonous. Sure, Arby's roast beef is yummy but your
taste buds will yawn from boredom.
Thankfully, you can easily jazz this sandwich up by adding Arby's Sauce or Horsey Sauce.
For those new to the Arby's universe, Arby's Sauce is somewhere between barbecue sauce,
steak sauce, and ketchup with an extra tangy and zingy kick, while Horsey Sauce tastes
like a mix of horseradish and creamy mayonnaise.
“Arby’s roast beef requires no introduction. But chicken at Arby’s? Requires some introducing!”
To keep up with changing tastes, Arby's has improved and expanded their chicken entree
options in recent years. Of all the chicken choices, the cream of the crop is their Buffalo
Crispy Chicken Sandwich.
Arby's takes its buttermilk breaded chicken fillet and drowns it in a buffalo sauce that
has the perfect amount of spice. The fillet sits on a bed of shredded lettuce and is topped
with a rich ranch sauce. Unlike their Ranch Dipping Sauce, the ranch in this sandwich
is actually really good and features peppercorn and parmesan flavors. The bun is far from
great but everything else more than makes up for it.
A one-of-a-kind menu item at Arby's is the Smokehouse Brisket. Even if you're a brisket
fanatic, this bad boy is probably unlike anything you've ever tried.
Arby’s brisket is smoked for 13 hours, and the results are tantalizing. Beyond the brisket,
this sandwich features smoked gouda cheese, which is as impressive as the meat. To finish
off the Smokehouse Brisket, Arby's adds crispy onions and a zesty barbecue sauce beneath
the top bun and some mayo on the bottom.
The only downside here is the mayo, which feels redundant on this ooey, gooey sandwich.
There's really no need, so feel free to ask for it to be removed.
While Arby's Jalapeno Bites are a bust, the Mozzarella Sticks more than hold their own.
Even if you think all fried cheese logs taste pretty much the same, you should order these
sticks and see that they are indeed some of the best in the fast food world — if not
the absolute best.
These golden brown flavor bombs have an incredible cheese stretch when you pull them apart.
Flavorwise, the cheesy, oily goodness will captivate. Even if you need to reheat them,
the crunch somehow holds up, and they’ll still be outstanding.
What makes the Mozzarella Sticks even better is the marinara dipping sauce. It's thick,
which makes it easy to scoop, and extremely flavorful.
Arby’s has a bigger dessert menu than most of its competition, so it may surprise that
the humble vanilla shake is the best of the bunch. This dessert is so good that it's one
of the best fast food milkshakes you can find anywhere. The vanilla flavor is so deep that
you will thoroughly enjoy each sip. Arby's Vanilla Shake also comes with whipped cream
on top that you will quickly inhale with an ear-to-ear grin.
The Chocolate Shake, which is also made with genuine Ghirardelli chocolate, is also really
good. It's not on the same tier as its vanilla counterpart but it’s a no-brainer if you
love chocolate. This shake is also capped with whipped cream, with even more Ghirardelli
chocolate drizzled on top.
If you need a pick-me-up, the Jamocha Shake is what you need for that job. It's like the
Chocolate Shake but with coffee added to the mix. Even better, you won’t find anything
just like it at any other fast food drive-through.
Arby's has the meats and there's no better way to experience them than to order The Meat
Mountain Sandwich. Although this mythical beast of a sandwich isn't on Arby's official
menu, it’s a secret menu staple pretty much everywhere.
This gargantuan sandwich, which came to be thanks to a request from a customer, is truly
mountainous. Open up The Meat Mountain Sandwich and you'll discover Arby's exemplary roast
beef, a pair of chicken tenders, multiple slices of pepper bacon, roasted turkey, corned
beef, smoked ham, and the same delicious smoked brisket from the Smokehouse Brisket sandwich.
But, wait, that's not all. The Meat Mountain Sandwich also has slices of Swiss and cheddar
cheese.
Arby's used to put Angus steak in this sandwich but no longer does. But even without the steak,
this behemoth will fill you up to the brim. You could actually split it in half and have
enough for two full meals.
“We had a picture in the dining room that showcased all the meats, and customers kept
saying ‘I would like to order that sandwich’. We’re like ‘what?!’”
You can make the case that the Curly Fries from Arby's are the best fast food fries in
existence. If you've never tried these fries before, be prepared to be stunned — in the
most pleasant way possible, of course.
The glory of these fries begins with their shape. After being spiralized from whole potatoes
at the factory, next they’re blanched, battered, fried, and frozen before being shipped out
to Arby's restaurants. When you order them, Arby's finishes cooking their legendary Curly
Fries so that you get them at their very best.
Everything about these fries is perfect. They're crispy on the outside and warm and soft on
the inside. The coating, which is believed to be a combination of garlic, salt, onion,
and various other spices, makes Arby's Curly Fries so scrumptious that you don't even need
to bother with a dipping sauce. No matter what you order, always (always!) add these
fries on the side.
While the Classic Roast Beef sandwich might be more popular, Arby's Classic Beef 'n Cheddar
sandwich is absolute perfection. By comparison, the Classic Roast Beef sandwich is a tired,
boring, sleepy afterthought.
While both sandwiches have roast beef, that's their only commonality. The Classic Beef 'n
Cheddar has an unbelievably tasty onion roll that is far and away the best bread available
at Arby's. The dryness of the Classic Roast Beef is solved by adding a cheddar cheese
sauce and a Red Ranch sauce. The result is an enjoyably gooey experience that will leave
your taste buds dancing with delight.
It's not a terrible idea to add Horsey Sauce if you want a bit of a kick, but it's difficult
to justify messing with perfection. The bottom line is you aren't doing Arby's right unless
the Classic Beef 'n Cheddar sandwich is your go-to menu item.
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