How Much A LongHorn Steakhouse T-Bone Cost In The '80s Vs 2026

From fashion to hair, a lot has changed since the 1980s, especially the prices of things. A gallon of gas used to hover around a dollar whereas now it's about four times as much, and if you remember going grocery shopping forty years ago, you've also noticed that the price of food has also gone up. Going out to eat has also become pricier. As such, if someone time traveled from the '80s to the present day, they might be shocked at what they'd have to pay at a restaurant for similar foods that they could get for a fraction of the cost in their home decade, especially somewhere like LongHorn Steakhouse, which opened in 1981.

In the 1980s, a 16-ounce T-bone steak, not the most popular cut at this chain but still a good pick, cost $13.95, whereas the same steak on the 2026 menu costs anywhere from $33 to over $35. That's a huge price hike since the days of acid wash jeans and teased hair. But if you take inflation into account, that steak in August of 1981 would be over $50 today, meaning that things weren't always cheaper back in the day at LongHorn, especially when you consider that you get 2 ounces more today than you did in the past.

However, what you got with your steak also changed. In the '80s, it came with soup, a potato, and a trip to the salad bar. The steakhouse no longer offers a salad bar, and getting a soup and side salad with your order, along with a potato, would bring your current bill up to anywhere from over $41 to close to $50, and you get a lot more salad at the bar, which may have been worth the extra money.

Besides the cost of a T-bone steak and the presence of a salad bar, eating out at LongHorn Steakhouse in the 1980s was a completely different experience than it is today. Nowadays, it's considered more of a casual restaurant, but 40 years ago, the menu offerings made it seem like something a lot more special. While the appetizer section was a little more concise than it is now, it included things like shrimp cocktail, baked French onion soup, and shrimp de Jonghe, a classic gratin of shrimp with garlicky breadcrumbs. The starters today include more pub-inspired fare, like fries and chicken wings, though stuffed mushrooms are still available as they were in the '80s.

The menu was also a lot more diverse back in the day, and there were significantly more non-steak options you could choose from, including a dedicated seafood section that included Alaskan king crab legs, which aren't present on today's menu. Besides seafood, you could also get lamb and roasted duck at LongHorn. Not everything is bigger today, either, as the biggest steak on the current menu is two ounces smaller than its '80s equivalent. The chopped steak, which is available now as it was then, used to be made with sirloin — whereas it's now made with generic ground beef.

However, not everything was necessarily better in the 1980s at LongHorn. Children really didn't have any options back then as there was no kids menu, as opposed to 2026 where little ones have the choice of five entrees. Desserts were also simpler back in the day, consisting of just ice cream, fruit, and a strawberry shortcake. Nowadays, they're a little more elaborate, although you can still get a strawberry shortcake.