This taste test cost us only $28.43 before tax. The Costco food court is a steal!
We Ranked Every Costco Food Court Item, and the Winner Shocked Us
Published on Mar. 06, 2025
8. Turkey Swiss Sandwich
I do not understand who Costco’s Turkey Swiss sandwich is for, and after tasting it for professional reasons, I understand it even less. If you’re familiar with the ciabatta rolls from Costco’s bakery (which, in my opinion, are a must-try), you know they’re best when warm. It makes the bread soft and pliable. Sadly, this does not happen at the Costco food court, where a pile of sliced turkey and cheese sits upon a throne that is cold and crumbly.
Generous dollops of sun-dried tomato spread and mustard-mayo spread keep this sandwich from being too dry, but overall, it’s unremarkable. You’d be far more satisfied grabbing anything from the prepared foods section over this.
7. Chocolate Chunk Cookie
This cookie is good but not great. It’s far too sweet to be truly enjoyable without an ice-cold glass of milk to temper the sugar. Since Costco doesn’t sell milk at its food court, your only option is to start swigging the milk in your shopping cart. I personally don’t have a problem with this, but you might. This cookie also loses major points for bumping the Costco churro from the menu, which remains the most tragic moment in Costco history.
6. Ice Cream Sundae
Costco’s soft serve ice cream is surprisingly good, and at the bargain price of $1.99 a cup, it’s an impromptu indulgence that’s pretty hard to talk yourself out of. For 50 cents more, you can upgrade to an ice cream sundae, which adds your choice of hot fudge or strawberry topping. I’m all for a fun ice cream upgrade if you need to make a special treat extra special!
Personally, I like the plain chocolate ice cream just fine and don’t think it needs anything else to be a bright spot in my day.
5. Chicken Caesar Salad
Costco’s rotisserie chicken makes a fantastic Caesar salad, and the family-sized version found in the prepared foods section is a personal favorite. In fact, I’d skip the snack bar for this item and buy yourself the big one. It lasts for a few days in the fridge, meaning you can have your urgent chicken Caesar salad needs met while also making an investment for your salad future. There is nothing wrong with this salad conceptually, but within the boundaries of a snack bar, it’s out of place.
4. Cheese Pizza
Even though I grew up in Brooklyn, a veritable pizza paradise, I believe that all pizzas are beautiful in their own way. Pizza is a spectrum, and there is as much need in this world for garbage pizza as there is for high-quality artisan pies.
Costco has created its own category of garbage pizza, and I mean that as the highest compliment. The sauce is canned, the crust is spongy and the cheese is greasy. It’s exactly the sort of thing I want to eat when I’m using pizza not for sustenance but for my mental health.
3. Pepperoni Pizza
This is everything good about Costco’s cheese pizza, plus pepperoni. Really, what else needs to be said?
2. Chicken Bake
I have a soft spot in my heart for the Chicken Bake, as it’s the only item on the Costco snack bar menu that has no true equivalent in the outside world. In most pizzerias, chicken rolls and strombolis go the classic Parmesan route with tomato sauce and cheese, or the chaotic bacon ranch route (which is better in theory than practice). But Costco’s Chicken Bake exists somehwere in the middle, combining sliced chicken and bacon with provolone, mozzarella and Parmesan cheese, then inexplicably introducing green onions and Caesar dressing to the equation.
Few others have attempted this combo, and fewer still have succeeded, for they lack the inherent magic that lives inside each and every Costco. It’s not the best thing on the menu, but it’s arguably the most iconic.
1. Hot Dog
Though the Chicken Bake may be a Costco exclusive, its signature offering is the $1.50 hot dog deal, and it’s impossible for me to leave the store without partaking in the most hallowed of Costco traditions.
Sure, Costco might not have raw onions at the toppings bar anymore, and asking for a cup of sauerkraut on the side is hit or miss. But even if the hot dog is eaten au naturale, it’s amazing. The size of the hot dog alone is something worth celebrating. The franks aren’t jumbo, they’re colossal, and the price makes them taste even better.
Even if you’re in the mood to eat something else, it’s worth the buck fifty for the fountain soda alone. Then, a few hours later, when you feel peckish, you’ll remember you have a Costco hot dog in your purse. The value just doesn’t stop!
