Brits are increasingly turning their backs on restaurant and pub dining, instead opting for ‘fast casual’ options such as Nando’s and Wagamama, or premium fast food outlets like Five Guys and Wingstop, new research shows.
Data from foodservice tracking platform Meaningful Vision – which tracks consumer traffic, pricing, promotions, and store openings across more than 60,000 top UK fast food and casual dining outlets – found that restaurant and pub visits fell by 6.8% last year, while fast food traffic rose by 0.9% over the same period.
Bakeries accounted for the highest number of store openings, with Greggs launching the most of any fast food brand last year. However, chicken chain Popeyes was the fastest-growing brand in percentage terms.
Performance also varied by fast food segment, with chicken restaurants being the strongest performers, with footfall up 5.9% year on year. This was followed by coffee shops, which recorded 3.6% growth, and bakery and sandwich shops, which added 2.6%.
However, burger chain visits fell by 2.9%, while ethnic fast food formats declined by 1.6%. Meaningful Vision said that the rising cost of beef was what “likely led to burger outlets recording the steepest menu price increases at around 10% year on year, compared to the historically more competitive pizza segment, which saw the lowest increase at 3%”.
It comes as figures from the Office for National Statistics show that food and beverage prices have continued to rise significantly, up 4.5% year on year between December 2024 and 2025.
“Looking at our 2025 data, it’s clear that rising inflation has fundamentally changed how people eat out,” said Meaningful Vision CEO and founder Maria Vanifatova.
”Restaurants and pubs are facing higher costs, which leaves them with little choice but to push prices up to protect margins – and it’s difficult to see that changing, with further minimum wage increases this year likely to disproportionately affect hospitality. That is leading to more consumers trading down – switching to fast food and fast casual options that feel like better value.
“At the same time, the growth of Popeyes and Wingstop is indicative of new brands and concepts entering the market in the UK. And premium fast food brands, in particular, have digital in their DNA and are using that to their advantage, engaging with Gen Z audiences. For those reasons, we believe the rise of premium fast food, at the expense of casual dining, is a long-term trend that will continue to play out this year and into 2027.”
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