Fast food chains always put them out to stay at the top of the customer list. Restaurants are always adding new menu items or bringing back favorites that have fans talking. However, sometimes a simple change to an existing menu item can be more cutting edge than a more responsive and new one.
Wendy has certainly seen that happen before – in both good and bad ways. While it faced backlash due to rumors about aggressive pricing and mixed reviews for its AI drive-thrus, the brand is also being praised for improving its taco salad for the first time since 2016.
However, Wendy’s latest change has some fans saying it’s “ruining the sandwiches.” Wendy’s turned leafy lettuce into shredded lettuce on its sandwiches and burgers.
Wendy’s is a replacement for lettuce in restaurants
A few months ago, rumors from the now-defunct line started swirling that Wendy’s was doing away with green leaf lettuce in favor of leaf lettuce. Since October, fans have seen a change in their drive-rus diet.
“The season of Lended Lettuce at Wendy’s has begun,” User Red posted with photos of lettuce wrapped in a chicken sandwich.
“We’re always exploring ways to deliver the best experience to our guests, including creative product updates,” a Wendy’s spokesperson told allrecipes.
The chain updated its menu photos on its site to show shredded lettuce on all chicken sandwiches, wraps, and burgers that contain lettuce.
“Leaf lettuce tastes fresh, has a nice texture, etc. Burnt lettuce tastes… bad. Like it actually tastes like a McDonald’s burger,” user red wrote.
McDonald’s has historically used shredded Iceberg lettuce in its burgers and chicken sandwiches, while Wendy’s always chooses romaine lettuce. Some chains, like Burger King, also use Iceberg Lettuce, but they use the whole leaf, rather than splitting it to preserve the texture. Unsurprisingly, the texture is what many fans have complained about since Wendy’s changed it to lettuce wraps.
“It’s getting soggy and slimy. I miss the crunch of all the leaves,” wrote one customer on Reddit.
“No idea how bad it makes it,” another commented. “Tastes like a restaurant burger.”
Fans have speculated that Wendy’s made the switch because shredded iceberg lettuce is cheaper than Romaine.
“It’s just an industrial way of using more than a head of lettuce. You can throw all kinds of ribs and wrap the pieces in the shredder,” wrote the red worker.
While the response from fans has been poor so far, it seems that Wendy has no plans to change the lettuce back.
“When I asked the manager about it, they told me it was a permanent business decision,” shared a Wendy’s customer.
However, if the reception continues to be lackluster, perhaps Wendy’s will reconsider its decision – especially after CEO and CFO UK Cook shared that Wendy’s is “not happy about [its] Sales performance “in the second quarter of 2025.
Read the original article on allrecipes
