American restaurant chains are setting their sights across the pond.
From Wendy’s and Wingstop to chicken-focused newcomers such as Raising Cane’s and Dave’s Hot Chicken, US brands are expanding rapidly in the UK — and increasingly making London their first stop.
Now, the American casual-dining revival is joining the invasion.
Chili’s, which has staged one of the biggest restaurant-chain turnarounds in the US in recent years, recently said it was looking for a UK-based franchise partner, signaling a potential return to Britain after its previous UK locations closed years ago.
A shared language, a similarly demanding market for grab-and-go options, and an appetite for American menu items largely driven by social media make the UK a natural fit for US chains looking to expand overseas.
Early successes are also fueling the rush to grow across the pond: Wingstop UK and Ireland’s revenue surged 73% to £216.4 million (around $285 million) in 2025, while Popeyes’ UK revenue climbed 50% to £178 million (around $235 million) as it expanded to 108 restaurants in the UK and Ireland.
From food-court classics to full-service chains serving burgers, fajitas, and margaritas, these American restaurants have their eye on the UK.
Wingstop’s model is proving successful in the UK.
Founded in Garland, Texas, in 1994, Wingstop has grown from a single chicken-wing restaurant into a chain with 2,728 US locations as of June.
Revenue for Wingstop’s UK-based restaurants surged 73% to £216.4 million in 2025, or around $285 million, driven by new restaurant openings.
The chain hit its 100th UK restaurant milestone this summer and plans to open up to 30 more locations across England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland this year, The Independent reported.
Chili’s comeback in the US could also bring the casual-dining chain back to Britain.
Founded in Dallas in 1975, Chili’s helped popularize the casual-dining formula of burgers, fajitas, baby back ribs, and margaritas, and now has about 1,110 US restaurants, with plans to ramp up to 30 new Chili’s a year by fiscal year 2029.
Chili’s closed all eight or nine of its UK restaurants in 2009, but the chain is now looking for a local franchise partner to help it make a comeback. It hasn’t shared where or when it plans to open yet.
“As we continue to expand globally, we are seeking strategic partners who share our vision for growth and success to join us in spreading #ChilisLove hospitality and establishing this iconic brand in the UK,” the chain wrote on its website.
Jersey Mike’s has built a US sandwich empire, and now it wants 400 UK and Ireland locations.
Jersey Mike’s began as a single sandwich shop in Point Pleasant, New Jersey, in 1956, before Peter Cancro bought it at age 17 and grew it into a chain with more than 3,300 locations across the United States and Canada.
The company is now planning to enter Europe with a 400-store rollout in the UK and Ireland. The chain’s British expansion will begin with a London restaurant on Argyll Street in Soho this November, with three more central London locations to follow, Restaurant Online reported.
Popeyes wants to have 150 locations in the UK and Ireland by the end of 2026.
Popeyes was founded in New Orleans in 1972 and has grown into a fried-chicken giant with more than 3,000 US restaurants.
The chicken chain opened its first UK location in London’s Westfield Stratford in 2021 and has since grown its footprint to more than 100 locations.
The business is proving successful: In 2025, revenue grew 50% to £178 million, or around $235 million, and the chain’s restaurant locations expanded from 64 to 108. It now aims to reach about 150 locations across the UK and Ireland by the end of 2026, according to FoodColumn.
Raising Cane’s will open its first London location in 2027.
Raising Cane’s opened near Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge in 1996 and has built a devoted following around its tightly focused chicken-fingers-and-sauce menu, with more than 900 US locations.
Its UK reception remains untested: The chain’s first European restaurant is set to open near Piccadilly Circus in early 2027, with more London sites planned.
This isn’t the chain’s first international expansion, however. Raising Cane’s operates 49 restaurants in the Middle East — Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE — through franchise partner Alshaya.
Chick-fil-A has three UK locations, with plans to add two more.
Chick-fil-A’s roots date to 1946, when founder Truett Cathy opened a diner near Atlanta; it now has more than 3,000 restaurants across the US, Puerto Rico, and Canada.
The chain has only recently begun its permanent UK rollout, so it has not disclosed British sales figures, but it is moving ahead with a five-restaurant, $100 million initial investment plan.
Dave’s Hot Chicken’s first UK location was wildly successful.
Dave’s Hot Chicken started as a parking-lot pop-up in East Hollywood in 2017 and has expanded to nearly 400 restaurants worldwide, most of them in the US.
Its first UK location in Soho reportedly drew four-hour lines, Time Out London reported at the time, and later welcomed more than 1,000 customers a day, The Times reported, leading its UK operator to plan 57 more restaurants across Britain as part of its greater 180-location European rollout plan.
Denny’s is eyeing a larger expansion in the UK.
Denny’s was founded in Lakewood, California, in 1953 and operates more than 1,300 restaurants across North America. The chain had announced plans to close 150 struggling locations by the end of 2025.
However, Denny’s has seen success in the UK. Denny’s lone UK diner in Swansea has shown enough promise to serve more than 13,500 dine-in orders a year and generate strong margins, prompting the chain to seek a franchise partner for a broader British expansion, Elite Franchise Magazine reported.
Wendy’s hopes to eventually operate 400 restaurants in the UK.
Wendy’s opened its first restaurant in Columbus, Ohio, in 1969 and now has more than 5,700 US locations.
Wendy’s previously operated about 10 restaurants in the UK, but, due to high operating costs, the burger chain closed those locations in 2001.
The chain relaunched in the UK in 2021 and has since built a roughly 45-restaurant footprint, though its rollout has had setbacks, including the recent closure of a Peterborough location, per The Telegraph. It still has an ambitious long-term target of up to 400 UK restaurants.
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