I ordered the same meal at Hard Rock Cafe and Margaritaville. While Hard Rock's food was better, I'd only go back to Margaritaville.

Margaritaville, a chain of restaurants and hotels inspired by the music of Jimmy Buffett, opened the doors of its Times Square location in 2021.

The Hard Rock Cafe, a rock 'n' roll-themed chain, has been around longer, opening its Times Square doors in 2005.

In the US alone, there are 32 Hard Rock Cafes and 25 Margaritavilles.

I spent a night at Margaritaville in December.

As someone who lives in New York City, I typically avoid "tourist traps" in Times Square, but since I was already acting like a tourist for the day, I decided to do as the tourists do and eat at Margaritaville and a nearby Hard Rock Cafe.

The two restaurants were a few blocks apart: Margaritaville is on the corner of Seventh Avenue and 40th Street, while Hard Rock is slightly further north, on Seventh Avenue and 43rd Street.

The Margaritaville restaurant inside the resort is on the second and third floors of the hotel and is accessible from the street via escalator or from inside the hotel via elevator.

It is one of three establishments where you can get a meal at the hotel, in addition to the Landshark Bar and Grill and the 5'O Clock Somewhere Rooftop Bar, which has elevated bar food.

The restaurant's centerpiece is a two-story replica of the Statue of Liberty, but instead of a torch, she's holding a margarita glass. Instead of the Declaration of Independence, her tablet reads, "No Passport Required."

The walls and ceilings are also painted to look like a cloudy sky, and there's a full tiki bar and a replica of Buffett's plane, the Hemisphere Dancer.

All in all, it's 100% committed to the relaxed, vacation-forward lifestyle espoused in Buffett's music.

This was a true surprise, and a highlight of the evening. The light show plays to some of Buffett's classic songs, and everyone was humming along.

I felt like a burger, fries, and a margarita were the easiest and most affordable comparisons, especially since Hard Rock and Margaritaville are both known for their burgers.

You might be able to tell, but the ombre effect in the glass was made possible by putting the Margaritaville Silver Tequila on top and the watermelon purée at the bottom. At first sip, it was tough.

After mixing for a minute or two, I was able to slurp this down easily.

As the menu says, the Cheeseburger in Paradise is the "signature burger topped with classic American cheese, lettuce, tomato, and pickles." It has 730 calories.

The menu recommended a cold beer to pair with it, but I stuck to my margarita.

This was a perfectly average burger. I would've liked to order it medium rare, but the restaurant's policy is that medium is the rarest a burger can be, so it was a little less pink than I would prefer, but it wasn't a big problem.

The lettuce was a bit soggy, and I would've appreciated some mayo or special sauce, but I made up for it with ketchup.

I did like the little palm tree it came with.

It reminded me of the dining establishments that are available at theme parks. You're not expecting a gourmet meal at the characters' breakfast at Disney World — you're in it to see Mickey.

It also reminded me of the Rainforest Cafe, a personal favorite of mine when I was 5.

That's because it was all about the little touches and care put into creating this place, not the food.

I couldn't remember having ever been to a Hard Rock Cafe. At first, I thought I'd been to one inside the giant dome at Disney Springs, but some research told me that's actually a Planet Hollywood.

So, I think this was my first Hard Rock experience.

On a relatively warm December night, Times Square was packed.

I was surprised to see that the main floor was just a store. If I was a tourist who didn't know any better, I might've missed that this was a restaurant.

There were tables with people sitting, and what seemed to be a fully stocked bar with neon lights, but no bartender.

The Guitar Wall was impressive. It looked like hundreds of guitars were stacked up and displayed, which makes sense for a rock 'n' roll-themed restaurant.

What was less clear was why there was a wax figure of Ed Sheeran on loan from Madame Tussauds in front.

This cost a bit more than my Margaritaville drink, but I understood why: It had a fresh slice of pineapple and more ingredients. However, it was just a little too sweet for me.

The Original Legendary Burger, according to the menu, is a "fresh steak burger with applewood bacon, Tillamook cheddar cheese, crispy onion ring, leaf lettuce, and vine-ripened tomatoes."

It contains a whopping 1,720 calories.

The basic burger at Margaritaville was just a cheeseburger — this was a bacon cheeseburger with onion rings. I also was able to get it prepared medium rare, which I appreciated.

If I had time (and a magnifying glass), it would've been interesting to look at all the music memorabilia on display.

But my table was in the middle of the dining area, so I was far from the walls. It also didn't seem like the decor was organized in any way — to me, it looked like people had just thrown things at the wall.

The exposed, dark ceiling made it impossible to forget that I was in a basement.

Even though the food, in my opinion, was substantially better at Hard Rock, it wasn't much more expensive, which was surprising to me.

Yes, the food at Hard Rock Cafe was better, but if you're looking for stellar food, I wouldn't recommend Hard Rock or Margaritaville. It's New York City! There are plenty of better options.

When compared in price, Margaritaville was slightly cheaper. While $31.25 and $36.74 isn't a huge price difference, it is something to consider when deciding where to eat in an expensive city.

But ultimately, I thought Margaritaville provided a better experience.

So if you're looking for a cheap meal that delivers on the fun, I think Margaritaville is the way to go.