The British high street is currently in the middle of a massive second wave of the American fast-food invasion, and it goes far beyond the usual golden arches.
This is becoming the year that holiday legends—those cult brands previously only found on a Florida road trip or a New York City break—finally plant their flags on UK soil with aggressive expansion plans. From Chick-fil-A’s controversial comeback in London to the “shatter-crunch” obsession following Popeyes across the North, the battle for your spare tenner is getting a lot more crowded.
We’re seeing a major move toward highly specific, hype-heavy menus that rely as much on social media lore as they do on their secret sauces. These are some of the US chains soon to be opening a drive-thru near you.
Raising Cane’s is the one everyone’s talking about.
If you follow food content online, you’ll already know about Raising Cane’s, the Louisiana-born chain with a following that borders on obsessive. It does exactly one thing: chicken fingers, served with its signature sauce, buttery toast, coleslaw, and crinkle-cut fries. That’s the entire menu, and fans wouldn’t change a single thing about it.
The first UK location is opening on Coventry Street in London later in 2026, right between Piccadilly Circus and Leicester Square, and more sites are already being lined up across the capital including Oxford Circus, Paddington, and the South Bank.
Dave’s Hot Chicken is already here and moving fast.
Dave’s Hot Chicken opened its first UK site on Shaftesbury Avenue in December 2024 and has been expanding ever since. Birmingham and Manchester followed, and on 3 April, the brand opens its first Welsh location in Cardiff.
In a nice touch, it’s launching there as David’s Hot Chicken in honour of the patron saint of Wales, with Dafydd’s Hot Chicken and Dai’s Hot Chicken being considered for future Welsh sites. The long-term plan is somewhere between 50 and 60 UK locations, so this is very much a brand settling in for the long haul.
Popeyes has already hit 110 UK sites.
Popeyes is arguably the success story of this whole American invasion. It launched here in 2021 and has grown so quickly it was recently named Europe’s fastest-growing food and beverage brand. There are now 110 UK sites and the brand has no intention of slowing down, with upcoming openings planned for St Helens, Hull, Dublin, Liverpool, and a second Bristol location.
The spicy chicken sandwich in particular has become something of a benchmark dish in the UK market, and the brand has managed to hold its own in an increasingly crowded fried chicken landscape.
Chick-fil-A is back after a rocky first attempt.
Chick-fil-A had a short and troubled first run in the UK back in 2019, closing its Reading branch after protests over the company’s charitable donations. It eventually returned more quietly, opening sites in Kingston, Leeds, and Belfast, and is now backing that up with a stated plan to invest $100 million across the UK over the next decade.
The chain is consistently rated the most popular fast food brand in America by customer satisfaction surveys, so there’s genuine curiosity about whether it can replicate that level of loyalty here.
Wendy’s is still growing steadily.
Wendy’s arrived in the UK during the tail end of the pandemic and has been building its presence methodically ever since. There are around 50 sites now, spread across London, Liverpool, Brighton, Glasgow, and Reading, with new locations continuing to open.
Dundee has just welcomed one, and Norfolk is next on the list. The square burger format has translated well, and the brand seems to have found a comfortable footing without needing to shout too loudly about it.
Taco Bell is targeting the M4 and M5 corridors.
Taco Bell has been in the UK long enough that it barely feels like news anymore, but the expansion is still very much ongoing. There are currently 23 locations across the South West, Midlands, and Wales, with up to 12 new sites planned each year and a target of more than 50 locations by 2029.
The next wave of openings is specifically targeting the M4 and M5 corridors, which suggests a deliberate push to get beyond the major city centres and into more accessible roadside locations.
Chili’s is eyeing a return.
Chili’s actually had a UK presence back in the ’90s and early 2000s, with sites in places like Cambridge and Reading, before quietly disappearing. It’s now looking at coming back, and the brand has confirmed it’s actively seeking franchise partners to make it happen.
The menu is a full Tex-Mex spread covering chicken, ribs, fajitas, burgers, and more, which puts it in slightly different territory to the fried chicken chains dominating the current wave. No confirmed timeline has been announced yet, but the search for partners suggests something is genuinely in motion.
Chuck E. Cheese is coming for the family market.
Chuck E. Cheese is a bit different from the rest of this list in that it’s as much an entertainment venue as a restaurant. Each site has arcade games, rides, live shows, and a party atmosphere aimed squarely at younger children, alongside a food menu covering pizza, chicken wings, and fries.
A multi-unit agreement has been confirmed to bring the chain to the UK, with Leeds, Milton Keynes, Birmingham, Glasgow, Manchester, and Bristol all identified as potential targets. For anyone with young kids who’s heard about it from American TV or holidays in the US, it’ll be a very familiar concept.
Magnolia Bakery is considering the UK.
Magnolia Bakery is most famous outside the US for its appearance in Sex and the City, but the brand’s real star is its banana pudding: fresh bananas, vanilla wafers, and vanilla pudding that has developed a cult following in New York.
The chain has confirmed that the timing feels right to enter the UK and is currently assessing its options and looking for a long-term franchise partner. Nothing is confirmed yet, but the language suggests this is more than just idle speculation.
Denny’s already has one UK site and wants more.
Denny’s has actually been in the UK since 2017, with a single site in Swansea that’s been quietly ticking along. Towards the end of 2025 the chain revealed it’s now considering a significant expansion, looking at city centres, airports, and service stations as potential locations.
Swansea proved there’s appetite for the classic American diner format here, and if the expansion moves forward, the all-day breakfast menu of pancakes, waffles, French toast, and burgers could end up being far more widely available than most people realise.
Carl’s Jr. has one UK site and wants 100.
Carl’s Jr. opened in Cardiff in spring 2025, bringing its chargrilled burgers, milkshakes, and brownies to a UK audience for the first time. It’s currently the only location, but the brand has made clear that it wants more than 100 UK sites by 2029, which is an ambitious target from a standing start.
Whether it can hit that number will depend largely on how Cardiff performs, but the goal alone signals a brand that sees serious long-term potential here.
