Burgers
McDonald's
The chain every other chain is measured against - and the one with the most copied sauce in the world.
Every chain we cover, with its menu, prices and copycats
Every chain we cover.
What each one is actually known for, what its food tastes of and why, the items worth rebuilding at home, and the priced menus we hold for it across eleven countries.
Every chain we cover, and what each one is known for
Fried chicken
KFC
A pressure fryer, a seasoned flour, and the most argued-about spice blend in food.
Burgers
Burger King
Flame-grilled rather than griddled, which changes what you need to do at home more than you would think.
Burgers
Wendy's
Square patties, fresh beef, and a chili that is genuinely one of the best things any chain sells.
Tex-Mex
Taco Bell
Not Mexican food and not pretending to be - a distinct American cuisine with its own very copyable seasoning profile.
Sandwiches
Subway
The bread and the sauces are the whole brand, and both copy beautifully.
Coffee
Starbucks
Syrups, sauces and cold foams - the three things that turn coffee into a five-pound habit.
Grilled chicken
Nando's
A marinade, a baste and a bird butterflied flat - the most reproducible chain menu in Britain.
Pizza
Pizza Hut
Pan pizza - which is a fried bread recipe pretending to be a pizza recipe, and that is the secret.
Pizza
Domino's Pizza
In Britain, the dip is the product. Everywhere, the dough is the lesson.
Burgers
Five Guys
Peanut oil, a double patty by default, and a Cajun seasoning worth keeping a jar of.
Burgers
Shake Shack
A potato roll, a proper smash, and a sauce that is mostly mayonnaise and patience.
Wings
Wingstop
Eleven flavours over one fried wing - which makes it a seasoning site more than a chicken site.
Tex-Mex casual dining
Chili's
Skillet queso, honey-chipotle glaze and a molten cake - three recipes that carry a whole menu.
American casual dining
TGI Friday's
The Jack Daniel's glaze, and a plate of potato skins that defined a decade.
Doughnuts
Krispy Kreme
One yeasted dough, one thin glaze, and a window with a light in it.
Coffee and doughnuts
Dunkin'
A New England coffee shop that sells doughnuts - the iced coffee is the actual product.
Bakery
Cinnabon
Makara cinnamon and a frosting with more cream cheese in it than anyone expects.
Pretzels
Auntie Anne's
A bicarbonate bath, a butter dunk, and the smell that fills a shopping centre.
Pizza
Papa John's
The garlic dipping sauce is the reason people order twice.
Pizza
Pizza Express
Dough balls and garlic butter - a British institution built on two pounds of ingredients.
Sandwiches and coffee
Pret A Manger
Lunch as a subscription - and a handful of dressings and soups worth reverse-engineering.
Filipino fast food
Jollibee
Sweet-style spaghetti, Chickenjoy and a gravy people queue for.
Burgers and breakfast
Hardee's
Made-from-scratch biscuits are the reason to bother.
Steakhouse
Outback Steakhouse
A blooming onion, a dark honey-wheat loaf, and a spice blend that goes on everything.
Frozen desserts
Dairy Queen
Soft serve with enough body to be held upside down.
Ice cream
Baskin-Robbins
Thirty-one flavours, a handful of which are genuinely worth churning yourself.
Ice cream
Cold Stone Creamery
The frozen slab is theatre; the ice cream base is the recipe.
Grill and salad bar
Sizzler
The cheese toast is the entire reason anyone remembers Sizzler.
Ice cream parlour
Swensen's
A soda-fountain menu that survived in Asia long after it faded at home.
Coffee
Costa Coffee
Britain's biggest coffee chain - and a flat white habit that adds up faster than people think.
Japanese curry
CoCo Ichibanya
Japanese curry built to order, from a roux block anyone can buy.
Pizza
The Pizza Company
Thailand's own pizza chain, with a menu that reflects it.
Thai coffee and food
Black Canyon Coffee
Thai iced coffee done properly - condensed milk and all.
Coffee
Coffee World
A Southeast Asian coffee chain included here for its price data.
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