London’s best chain restaurants, ranked

A swish Bombay brasserie in the style of the Irani cafés of Bombay, London's various branches of Dishoom are filled with retro design features: whirring ceiling fans, low-level lighting and walls adorned with vintage Indian magazine advertising. The main attraction though is the menu, with birianis, bhel (crunchy puffed rice with tangy tamarind chutney) and pau bhaji (toasted white bread rolls with a spicy vegetable stew as a filling). It's the iconic breakfast bacon naan however, that pulls us back again and again – and even makes us willing to queue at 10am. 

Bao's Taiwanese street food dishes are some of the most popular in town. From Soho to Borough via Marylebone and Shoreditch, their fluffy white steamed buns – in this case filled with braised pork, sprinkled with peanut powder – are iconic. Each branch is slightly different. Marylebone does all-day dumplings while Shoreditch and Battersea Power Station do oodles of lovely noodles. Best of all is the weekday set menu, where you get three courses for £15.

It seems like a new branch of Yard Sale is launching every month right now, and we couldn't be more pleased – recent openings include Tottenham. Their perfect pizza is servied fresh from the oven in either 12-inch or 18-inch stonebaked sourdough rounds and toppings range from classic margherita to the meat-tastic ‘Full House’, with pepperoni, spicy ground beef and flavoursome slices of own-made fennel sausage. Keep your eyes open for regular tasty collabs with everyone from comedian Romesh Ranganathan to gastropub The Camberwell Arms, Punjabi restaurant Tayyabs and Nigerian tapas spot Chuku's.

With sites from Marylebone to King's Cross, as well as their OG Soho deli and Greek Street restaurant, Lina Stores is London's go-to swish pasta place. With exemplary dishes, served beautifully, from pillowy grass-green ravioli filled with pea and ricotta, to perfect crab linguine and majestic tagliolini, the attention to detail is there for all to see. Lots of branches are open for brekkie too, so swing by the Bloomberg Arcade branch for a fried egg and grilled provolone sandwich or rosemary fried potato with eggs, mushrooms and truffle. Bellissimo!

For those in need of a beef injection on a budget: at this no-bookings chain, £14 gets you a lovely, thin ‘flat iron’ steak sliced into little hunks, with a dinky pot of lamb’s lettuce. The look inside is understated cool, and there’s a killer cocktail list. You’ll probably have to queue, but Flat Iron is worth the wait. Sides are all around £4 (mash, fries, truffled mac and cheese) and a glass of house red will set you back £5.50.

Bone Daddies is not your average noodle joint. Instead, this chain of New York-inspired, butched-up ramen-yas offer gutsy noodle soup dishes that don’t skimp on flavour. Come here for one of the richest bowls of tonkotsu ramen you’ll find in London: the broth made from 20-hour simmered pork bones; sweet miso and butter ramen; and sesame sauce and peanut-laced tantanmen noodles slicked with chilli oil. There are no low-fat options here.

This Sri Lankan restaurant chain, with branches in Soho, Kings Cross and Marylebone is an absolute joy. Exposed brick meets wood panelling; pretty patterned tiles meet carved-wood. The menu, likewise, gives traditional Sri Lankan street food a fun boost - there are slender breaded and deep-fried mutton rolls with a ginger, garlic and chilli ‘ketchup’ and dinky dishes of roast bone marrow with a fiery ‘dry’ sauce. It's the egg hopper savoury pancakes from which is place takes its name; and they're exceptional.

Opened in 2008, the original Brixton branch of Franco Manca moved to brand new premises at the start of 2024. There are now absolutely loads of them across town, too. Wood-fired sourdough pizzas with serious artisan credentials guarantee queues at this cult-status chain. Prices are decent, the pizzas are served up super-quickly, and kids can watch the pizzaiolo doing ‘messy play’ in the open kitchen. 

Rosa's Thai all began at Brick Lane street food stall back in 2008, and now they have bricks and mortar joints all across the capital. The focus is on accessible Thai dishes, with some less-known options thrown in, too. Expect green, red and massaman curries, pad Thai noodles, tom yum soups and papaya salads alongside northern-style spicy sausage and special menus showcasing dishes from different regions from across Thailand.

From Mayfair to Elephant and Castle, via Euston, seek out this chain of Northern Chinese restaurants, where flavours are bold, and everything comes very fast, with no ceremony. The highlight of the wipe-clean menu is a deep bowl of hand-pulled noodles topped with pak choi, delicate omelette and braised pork. Also delicious is the speciality pork ‘murger’, which Murger Han describes as the Chinese equivalent to the Western hamburger. 

Wagamama has rescued many a Time Out staff member from a sinister hangover and we remain convinced that this fast, friendly and fun noodle joint offers one of the best quick meals in town. Their Japanese and pan Asian bowl food spans hotpots, donburi, ramen, yaki soba noodles and katsu curry, and their vegan and veggie options are always reliable. The first one launched in Bloomsbury in 1992, with Alan Yau at the helm (who later opened Hakkasan and Yauatcha) and we've loved it ever since. Thank you for your service. 

Launched in Soho back in 1965, the all-conquering Pizza Express is one of fast food’s success stories – familiar, kid-friendly, reliable and cheery, but with one eye on the trends and, crucially, great pizza. Live jazz has made their Dean Street branch in Soho iconic. Read all about its saucy history here. 

Hawksmoor’s butch steakhouses score an exhilarating bullseye with their grass-fed British beef, irresistible sides, perky cocktails and red-blooded wines – all served in swanky surrounds (lots of leather and dark wood panelling). You can get power breakfasts and luxe seafood in some branches too.

Trading on authenticity, this ramen chain dispenses its bowls of noodles in long-simmered bone-stock broth with impressive speed and Japanese efficiency. The Dracula tonkotsu is a must-have, the hirata buns are wickedly good, and there’s an awesome choice of sake, shochu and umeshu for aficionados.

Food snobs look away now. This Portuguese chain is the people’s choice for peri-peri chicken, but also makes its money with burgers, wraps, pittas, salads and steaks. As a family-friendly go-to option, it has special menus for young ‘nandinos’ too and there are more than 70 branches across London. 

Find Coqfighter in Kings Cross, Soho, Finsbury and Croydon and Shoreditch's Boxparks and feast on their burly vodka-and-sesame-battered chicken wings. But the best thing on the menu is still the burgers. Take the Original stack: succulent, deep-fried thigh which comes laden with crisp iceberg, pickled red onion and a sweet and peppery sambal mayo, all the while oozing more of that lovely hot sauce. Then there’s the towering Green Chilli Cheese, topped with fiery pickled green chillies, glossy sheets of American-style cheese and smoky chipotle mayo. Extra napkins are necessary with both, FYI.

Tonkotsu plies a no-nonsense trade in Kyoto-style ramen – distinguished by its creamy pork-bone broth. No frills and no bookings, but there are global beers for a ‘big night out’, Tokyo-style. This branch was the first, opening in 2012, and now there are spots in Bankside, Battersea, Peckham, Kentish Town, Stratford and across London. 

Some crave the confit chicken wings, others drool over the rosemary-salted fries, but it’s really about the kookily titled burgers at this bare-bones dude-food joint – anyone for Smokey Robinson or Lambshank Redemption? Expect neon-lit booths, cult beers, rum punch and long queues. 

Synonymous with good times in the capital, Wahaca’s vibrant interiors, unfailingly bubbly service and tequila-fuelled drinks hit the button every time. Almost everything on the instantly addictive menu is an outright winner if you’re into self-styled Mexican market food with hip, edgy overtones.

Peddling the US ‘roadside burger’ experience in stripped-back diner surrounds, Shake Shack has all the stateside trappings – from buzzers announcing when your food’s ready to drive-by style hatches for picking up your full tray. Just add hot dogs, frozen custard ice cream and thick shakes. 

Chandeliers, cowhide, black leather and moody lighting – welcome to Gaucho’s spin on an upmarket steakhouse with big-money aspirations. Myriad cuts of pampas-reared beef dominate the show, although the menu spans everything from ceviche to dulce de leche cheesecake. Serious Argentinian wines too.