America's Favorite Restaurant Chains 2022

LICENSING
If your restaurant is listed in the ranking, click here to learn more about the licencing options.

METHODOLOGY
The 2022 ranking was compiled based on the results of an independent survey of customers and employees of restaurant chains in the United States. The survey ran from August to September 2021.
Survey respondents were asked to indicate which restaurant chains they would recommend for one of 16 different dishes/ ethnic cuisines. They were also asked to share their experiences by rating the restaurant chains regarding 10 assessment criteria (e.g., taste of food, service, accessibility). All ratings were then transformed into a score value and aggregated toward a final score.
To receive an award, a restaurant chain needed to receive a minimum number of recommendations and an overall score of at least 7 out of 10. In addition, a restaurant chain was required to have at least three locations across different cities within at least one U.S. state.
The survey was conducted using online access panels providing a representative sample of more than 4,000 American restaurant customers and employees. Each survey respondent provided evaluations for one or several restaurants. In total, more than 35,000 evaluations were collected.

The assessment criteria were:
1. Taste of Food
2. Cleanliness: e.g., clean eating and dining areas, restrooms and kitchen.
3. Hygiene: safe food handling procedures are applied e.g., employees are regularly washing their hands.
4. Transparency about ingredients: e.g., a list of ingredients and allergen statements are offered.
5. Location: e.g., easy reachability by foot, public transport or car.
6. COVID-19: safe behaviors such as wearing face masks and practicing social distancing are encouraged.
7. Dealing with environmental issues: e.g., the use of recycled, sustainable or reduced packaging is promoted.
8. Accessibility: e.g., accessibility by wheelchair or baby carriage.
9. Service Quality: e.g., friendliness, responsiveness, reliability and speed of staff.
10. Treatment of employees: e.g., the chain treats its employees with respect and shows them appreciation.

The top lists were created through an elaborate process: Participants' responses as well as the final selection of restaurant chains in each category were carefully reviewed. Statista makes no statement about the quality of restaurant chains that are not included in the lists and their reputation is not disputed.

For the full methodology, download this file.