The question of whether adults should be allowed to order from restaurants’ kids’ menus is a divisive one. Some think it should never happen, while others argue the rule is unfair.
Most often, however, the pricing difference is mostly explained away by portion size. You pay less for a kids’ meal because you get less food. But what happens when both portions appear to be the same, yet are priced differently?
That’s what one Florida creator says she experienced while dining at Longhorn Steakhouse.
What Caught Her Attention During Lunch At Longhorn Steakhouse?
In her viral video that got over 1.2 million views, TikTok creator Kaleigh (@k.brzo) compared the two meals.
“Why’s the kids steak look bigger and better than the adults?” she asked in the video’s text overlay.
She then pans the camera across both plates. “For $11.79, you can get this at your local Longhorn off the kids’ menu,” she says while filming a kids’ sirloin dish with a side of Brussels sprouts.
Then she switches to the adult version, where the steak appears identical in size and preparation. “Or, for $17, you can get this at that same local Longhorn,” she says.
She adds more details in the caption, saying she asked the server to ring it up as a kids’ meal and was allegedly told, “gotta be 12 or younger.”
In the comments, she shared even more context. “Mind you, the waitress goes ‘yeah I know it’s basically the same’ this is when I asked her to ring mine up a kids meal and she declined” she wrote.
Is There A Difference Between The Kids’ And Renegade Sirloin?
The two dishes Kaleigh appears to be referencing are the Renegade Sirloin, which costs $17.29 for a 6-ounce steak, and the Kid’s Sirloin, which also comes with a side and a drink for a total of $11.49.
According to the restaurant chain’s nutritional guide, the steak in both dishes has the exact same nutritional profile. Specifically, both have 320 calories, 15 grams of fat, 530 milligrams of sodium, and 36 grams of protein.
While the restaurant doesn’t explicitly list the weight of the kids’ sirloin, the identical nutritional information suggests it may also be a 6-ounce steak.
Why Can’t Adults Order Off Kids’ Menus?
As Great American Restaurants CEO Jon Norton told The Washington Post, restaurants often treat kids’ meals as “a loss leader similar to happy hour pricing.”
That means they’re priced low to encourage families to dine in and order full-priced adult meals. From that, we could infer that kids’ meals aren’t meant to be sold on their own, since children are typically accompanied by adults when they go out to eat.
However, not all restaurants strictly enforce age limits on kids’ menus. Across the U.S., diners frequently share “hacks” for ordering from the kids’ menu at a lower price. Even when a restaurant’s policy states the meal is for children under 12, some customers attempt to bypass the rule by ordering takeout or delivery instead of dining in.
Commenters Are Split
“What does it matter if it’s a 12 year old or not,” wrote one commenter. “It’s the same portion.”
Another commenter disagreed. “It’s not $6 more because they guaranteed you more steak,” they wrote. “It’s $6 more because you are an adult.”
One commenter claiming to be a server at Longhorn Steakhouse weighed in. “As a longhorn server, I can confirm they are the exact same cut of meat, ounces, seasoning… just one less side for significantly cheaper,” they wrote.
@k.brzo I asked her to ring mine up as a kids menu and ofc said “gotta be 12 or younger” 😒 #restaurant #food #longhorn @Longhorn Steakhouse
BroBible has reached out to Longhorn Steakhouse via email and Kaleigh via Instagram messages for comment.