You know when fast food chains try to get creative, and instead of culinary magic, you get something that tastes like disappointment and regret? This year, they outdid themselves. Soggy sandwiches masquerading as “premium,” reimagined fries that were better in theory, and sauces that nobody asked for—all dropped with the fanfare and marketing dollars of a summer blockbuster. And then, reality hit the taste buds. Here are the worst new fast food flops of 2025, ranked and rated so you can side-step disaster at the drive-thru.

1. McDonald’s Chicken Tenders (1.0/5)

Let’s start with what needs no further introduction: the McDonald’s Chicken Tenders comeback. This re-re-relaunch was hyped as a “new & improved formula.” Sorry, but if by “improved” you mean “somehow drier than the Mojave,” congratulations? The reviewer consensus: burnt on the outside, chewy on the inside, and apparently designed to remind you that Chicken McNuggets were never that bad. Bonus points if yours arrived cold—hey, at least you know you’re not alone. Multiple diners even reported “mystery gristle” and the general feeling that the only thing tender about these was your disappointment. You messed up, golden arches.

2. Taco Bell Caliente Sauce Nacho Fries (2.0/5)

Taco Bell brought back fries with their new "Caliente Sauce"—marketing speak for “makes your mouth sad.” Advertised as piping hot and covered in “spicy, zesty goodness,” the actual product arrived limp, with a barely-there cheesy sweat, and a pool of neon orange sauce that tasted like it needed a lifeguard. Reviews nailed it: “Like chewing spicy bathwater fries—zero crisp, all regret.” Somewhere, old-school nacho fries wept in the freezer aisle.

3. Popeyes Pickle Glaze Chicken Sandwich (2.2/5)

Popeyes, riding the high of their previous chicken sandwich success, unleashed this monstrosity: a Pickle Glaze Chicken Sandwich. The idea? Southern tang meets sweet crunch. The execution? A sticky, syrupy glaze that turned the bun into a soggy pillow and the chicken into a vinegary mess no one wanted seconds of. Most bites were either overpoweringly sweet or aggressively tart—never both, never just right. One reviewer called it “Dill Donut Hell.” Ouch.

4. Wendy’s Thin Mints Frosty (2.4/5)

We were promised Girl Scout cookie nostalgia, we got toothpaste in a cup. The Thin Mints Frosty had one job: deliver cool chocolate-mint realness. Instead, it delivered watery, barely-minted cocoa sludge. Reports of inconsistent texture—one day it’s soupy, the next you can stand a spoon up in it—mixed with a medicinal aftertaste ensured this sugar rush ended in pure regret. Minty, yes. Good? Not so much.

5. Steak 'N Shake Beef Tallow Fries (2.5/5)

First up, we have Steak 'N Shake's beef tallow fries, which sound like they should be amazing until you realize it's all smoke and mirrors. Picture this: a chain that's closed over 200 locations decides to court the anti-seed oil crowd by promising "pure" beef tallow fries. Plot twist? These beauties are still loaded with soybean oil, canola oil, and corn syrup before they even hit the fryer.

It's like claiming you're going vegan while secretly scarfing down bacon cheeseburgers. The cognitive dissonance is almost artistic. When your marketing strategy relies on people not reading ingredient labels, maybe it's time to reconsider your life choices.

6. KFC Mike's Hot Honey Chicken (2.6/5)

Hot honey is having a moment, which means every chain needs their version, regardless of whether they understand what makes it work. KFC's collaboration resulted in chicken that was basically regular KFC drizzled with expensive regular honey.

The "hot" in hot honey should provide some heat, some contrast, some reason to exist beyond marketing synergy. Instead, customers got syrupy sweetness that offered nothing different from KFC's existing honey packets. When your limited-time special tastes identical to your permanent condiments, you've failed at the most basic level of product differentiation.

7) Subway Hot Honey Pepperoni Sub (2.7/5)

Subway's hot honey subs suffered from the classic Subway problem: not enough of anything good. The pepperoni version was particularly tragic, featuring insufficient meat distribution that left customers with honey-sweetened bread punctuated by occasional protein cameos.

The chain has found success with bizarre offerings like Doritos Footlong Nachos, proving that sometimes embracing the weird works. But when your bread-based empire can't execute a basic sandwich with trendy sauce, maybe it's time to lean into the nacho thing full-time.

8. Dunkin' Ham & Swiss Pretzel Sliders (2.7/5)

These sliders arrived too soft, too sweet, and too confused about their own identity. The King's Hawaiian pretzel buns overpowered everything else, while the honey mustard got lost in translation. The result was a mushy disappointment that satisfied neither lunch cravings nor pretzel expectations.

Multiple Reddit threads dedicated to hating these exist, which is almost an achievement in itself. Creating food so memorably bad that strangers unite online to complain about it takes a special kind of failure.

9. Panera Croissant Toast Sandwiches (2.8/5)

Panera took the croissant—a buttery, flaky masterpiece of French engineering—and somehow made it dry. This is like taking champagne and removing the bubbles, then wondering why people aren't celebrating.

The croque monsieur version had all the right ingredients except for moisture, creating a sandwich that required aggressive beverage pairing just to consume. When customers can't substitute the bread because it's too terrible to eat, you've created a menu item that argues against its own existence.

10/ McDonald's Bagel Sandwich (2.9/5)

Calling this thing a bagel is like calling a Hot Pocket authentic Italian cuisine. It's tiny, gummy, and lacks every quality that makes an actual bagel worth eating.

The chain already dominates breakfast with McMuffins, biscuits, and McGriddles. Adding a subpar bagel to this lineup is like the Yankees deciding they need a cricket team. Sure, they could probably field one, but why would they want to?