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  5. I ordered the same meal from Bahama Breeze and Margaritaville, and the spot with better vibes had inferior food

I ordered the same meal from Bahama Breeze and Margaritaville, and the spot with better vibes had inferior food

I ordered the same meal from Bahama Breeze and Margaritaville, and the spot with better vibes had inferior food
I ordered the same dishes at Margaritaville and Bahama Breeze to see which I preferred.Ted Berg
  • I ordered the same meal at island-inspired restaurant chains Margaritaville and Bahama Breeze.
  • The food at Margaritaville was OK but the margarita was excellent.

First, I visited Margaritaville.

First, I visited Margaritaville.
Margaritaville Resort Times Square is one of the most iconic locations of the chain.      Ted Berg

The Jimmy Buffet-founded chain opened in the 1980s, and it now has 22 Margaritaville restaurants in the US and Canada.

For this comparison, I visited the Margaritaville location nearest my home, which happens to be the restaurant inside the Margaritaville Resort Times Square.

I skipped the gift shop and got right on the escalator up to the enormous second-floor restaurant, where the host offered me the opportunity to dine poolside on the sixth floor at a different restaurant with the same kitchen.

I turned him down and got a table near the window overlooking 7th Avenue, giving me a nice view of where I had locked up my bike.

I was surrounded by fun decor.

I was surrounded by fun decor.
The faux Statue of Liberty had a giant margarita glass.      Ted Berg

Behind me, an enormous likeness of the Statue of Liberty held a margarita glass in the sky. The place was clean and festive, decked out in a broad range of island-related regalia, with Buffett singing out from TVs scattered around the space.

There was nothing I noticed to commemorate Buffett's recent death, which made sense — Buffett wasn't trying to bum anybody out.

One of the Buffett quotes on the wall advertised, "It's 5 o'clock somewhere," but it was decidedly 12:30 p.m. on a Thursday afternoon when I visited.

I started with the Who's to Blame house margarita.

I started with the Who
The margarita at Margaritaville was great.      Ted Berg

The drink list was long, but I asked the friendly server for a margarita, and he suggested the house standard Who's to Blame. He offered me a choice of frozen or on the rocks. I chose frozen because it's way more fun.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the margarita was the best thing I had from Margaritaville.

It's made with house-brand tequila and triple sec, and it tasted about as subtle as a sledgehammer. It was strong, with a surprisingly heavy pour of tequila for a Times Square chain restaurant. It was also salty and sour and syrupy sweet with triple sec.

As a bonus, this margarita bears the seal of approval of the man who did more to promote margaritas than anyone else in human history.

The spinach-and-artichoke dip was uninspiring.

The spinach-and-artichoke dip was uninspiring.
The spinach-and-artichoke dip at Margaritaville was underwhelming to me.      Ted Berg

For my first course, I ordered spinach-and-artichoke dip. It came quickly, and the dip was at least warm, but otherwise, there's not much to say for the dish.

The chip-to-dip ratio seemed off with how many chips I had for a small cup of dip. The chips weren't warm nor did they taste especially fresh.

In my opinion, the dip mostly tasted like mayonnaise mixed with Parmesan cheese and was extremely salty.

The Cheeseburger in Paradise would be better in paradise.

The Cheeseburger in Paradise would be better in paradise.
The Cheeseburger in Paradise was not great.      Ted Berg

Buffett's 1978 single "Cheeseburger in Paradise" was inspired by an actual cheeseburger he ate in the British Virgin Islands after an arduous boat trip, and I'm sure the Margaritaville Cheeseburger in Paradise would hit the spot if I had recently been lost at sea.

But I was at a restaurant, and even in Times Square I hoped for more from $19 cheeseburgers. I thought the beef patty looked unnaturally round, the meat tasted bland, the bun was soft but a bit greasy, the cheese wasn't fully melted, the fries were unremarkable, and everything was very salty.

The best I can say for it is that it tasted like something you might get from a poolside snack bar, so it was at least thematically consistent.

The Key-lime pie was humble but tasty.

The Key-lime pie was humble but tasty.
A slice of Key-lime pie at this Margaritaville location was $10.      Ted Berg

I prefer an understated Key-lime pie, so even though the $10 price tag seemed steep for the serving I got at Margaritaville, I knew it'd make a good complement to all the rich, greasy, salty food I'd been eating.

There was tang in the lime custard and a nice crumbly sweetness in the graham-cracker crust. This was not a notably good Key-lime pie, but it wasn't a bad one either.

Next, I visited a Bahama Breeze location.

Next, I visited a Bahama Breeze location.
This Bahama Breeze location I visited had a large bar.      Ted Berg

Another chain with an islandy feel, Bahama Breeze has been around since the 1990s. There are about 40 of them located throughout the US.

I ate alone at Margaritaville on a quiet Thursday afternoon, but I ate at Bahama Breeze with my wife and two children on a Saturday evening after an overnight trip for my son's 6th birthday.

The vibes here were quite nice.

The vibes here were quite nice.
Colorful chairs could be spotted around the restaurant and so could plenty of tropical nods.      Ted Berg

It was a bit difficult to compare the restaurants' atmospheres, but this Bahama Breeze location was lively, and my family was in good spirits.

The restaurant was very colorful and there was even a live DJ in the outdoor area where we sat.

I started with the chain's classic margarita, frozen.

I started with the chain
The frozen margarita at Bahama Breeze was solid.      Ted Berg

Again, ordering a traditional margarita made me a bit square, as I could see servers delivering rainbow-colored signature Bahamaritas to nearby customers.

The classic margarita at Bahama Breeze is made with Jose Cuervo, lime, and lemon juice. In frozen form, it was very refreshing, if not especially strong.

It wasn't as bold as the Margaritaville equivalent in any way, though that's not all bad. If I hadn't been driving, I might have ordered a second, whereas the sweetness of the Margaritaville cocktail would've limited me to one drink.

The chain's spinach-and-artichoke dip tasted like actual spinach.

The chain
The Bahama Breeze spinach-and-artichoke dip came with pico de gallo.      Ted Berg

At Bahama Breeze, the spinach-and-artichoke dip came with fresh, warm, restaurant-style tortilla chips in multiple colors, plus a smattering of plantain chips – a nice touch.

On top of that, I thought the dip was tastier, with far more spinach flavor than the one from Margaritaville. The serving size was also more generous.

It also came with a small bowl of pico de gallo, a sweet and light complement to the creamy dip.

The grilled cheeseburger was just OK, but the fries were tasty.

The grilled cheeseburger was just OK, but the fries were tasty.
The fries were the star of my meal.      Ted Berg

I often use burgers as the standard by which to judge a restaurant.

The burger at Bahama Breeze was good enough that I'd eat at another Bahama Breeze location if the situation called for it, but not good enough that I'd order the burger again (other dishes my family tried — especially the tasty, curry-tinged beef empanadas — also influenced that opinion).

It wasn't as juicy or large a burger as I'd expect from more burger-focused chain restaurants like Chili's or Red Robin, but it was better than fast food. The fries also had a salty, peppery, garlicky seasoning that I enjoyed.

Rebecca's Key-lime pie was too much for me.

Rebecca
Bahama Breeze's Key-lime pie wasn't my favorite but my kids liked it.      Ted Berg

I don't know who Rebecca is and I'm not here to knock her culinary expertise, but the Key-lime pie at Bahama Breeze was too rich for my tastes.

It feels strange to call it inferior to the Margaritaville equivalent because the slice is larger, less expensive, and more interesting, but the merengue topping and thick, cookie-sweet graham cracker crust made this the type of dessert you enjoy for one bite but no more.

My kids were into it, on account of all the sugar, but then getting them back into the car was not a Bahama Breeze.

Bahama Breeze serves better food, but Margaritaville serves a whole lifestyle.

Bahama Breeze serves better food, but Margaritaville serves a whole lifestyle.
The chain you should visit depends on what you're looking for.      Ted Berg

This didn't feel like a fair fight, food-wise. My sense from eating at Margaritaville was that the food was secondary to the fact that you're at Margaritaville, enjoying boat drinks and soaking up the Buffett lifestyle.

Although it was a fairly bleak scene on a weekday afternoon, it's easy to imagine the Times Square Margaritaville offering patrons a sunbaked good time on a busy night.

But if your focus is food, there's no question you're better off at Bahama Breeze.


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