McDonald’s, Burger King and KFC may be the world’s biggest fast food chains, but they’re certainly not the only ones – and according to those in the know, they’re by no means the greatest, either. From Australia to India (and from tasty dishes like Asian spaghetti to Saudi Arabian fried chicken), we’ve rounded up the best lesser-known fast food chains around the world that you might not have heard of, but should definitely keep an eye out for.
Albania has, for the most part, managed to resist the fast food conglomerate takeover: McDonald’s, Starbucks and Domino’s have yet to expand into the country, and KFC only entered the market in 2016. Instead, Albanians love Proper Pizza. Hugely popular with young people, the chain offers a selection of pizzas that range from the classic to the rather more obscure (ketchup base, cheeseburger sauce swirl, meatballs and iceberg lettuce, anyone?). Authentic Italian this is not, but it certainly is delicious.
Forget McDonald’s versus Burger King. In Argentina, the real fast food fight is between McDonald’s and Mostaza, a home-grown burger chain that’s been going strong since 1998. Though the company has a smaller market share than its American rival, it’s still the second biggest fast food chain in the country. It's well-loved, too; plenty of people on social media are outspoken in touting Mostaza’s burgers as being bigger, more original and better value than their McDonald's counterparts.
Billing itself as ‘an ethical fast food restaurant’, this 100% vegan chain specialises in loaded fries, veggie burgers and hot dogs. Given the name, it’s no surprise that the fries menu is extensive: choose from classic, chunky, shoestring and sweet potato versions, plus condiments ranging from the obligatory tomato sauce and garlic aioli to Indian mango chutney. Having started in Melbourne, the chain can now be found in almost every Aussie state – and there's a spot in New Zealand too.
If asked to guess one of the most popular cuisines in Brazil, you might not immediately think of Middle Eastern food – yet the likes of kibbeh (bulgur wheat and minced beef croquettes) and sfiha (flatbreads topped with spiced minced lamb) are huge favourites here. Enter Habib’s, a fast food chain started by a Brazilian with no personal Arab connection, which now has nearly 500 stores. Its classic menu item is the Beirut sandwich: a large pitta filled with sliced meat, a fried egg, pickles, salad and cheese.
The most popular Chinese-style fast food chain in China, Home Original Chicken was started back in 2003 by a chicken farmer looking for a new venture. Bucking the fried chicken trend, he won over customers with traditional chicken dishes and soups delivered in a fast, convenient way. As well as poultry, you can also get items like pork meatballs, hot and sour fish and steamed aubergine with chilli sauce.
With locations throughout much of the country, Sr. Wok is Colombia’s number one stop for Asian dishes like sushi, noodles and stir fries. Not only does the fast food joint claim a large chunk of the country’s fast food market share, but it also has a huge social media presence, cementing itself as a go-to takeaway, and one of the most popular places around for late-night eats. The food is indulgent, rather than authentic (think kung pao shrimp, sweet beef teriyaki and chop suey) – but boy, sometimes that really hits the spot.
Is it any surprise that Germany has a hugely successful pretzel chain? Boasting 200 shops, Ditsch is well established as one of the world’s leading producers of pretzel products. The brand’s story can be traced back to a small Mainz bakery in 1919, but today you’ll find it all over Germany, serving fresh pretzels classic-style, sweet, or loaded with currywurst.
With a focus on fresh, raw and smoked fish, this German chain might not be for everyone, but if seafood is your thing, it’s the place to go. Nordsee launched back in 1896 as a fishery, has served meals since 1964, and today boasts almost 400 stores across Europe. Popular dishes include breaded fish fillet sandwiches, fresh fish sandwiches and fried calamari.
Specialising in vada pav (a deep-fried potato patty served in a soft bread roll with various chutneys), Goli Vada Pav is popular in cities across India. The story goes that founder Venkatesh Iyer was inspired to kick-start an ethnic fast food revolution after seeing a tiny vada pav cart set up next to a huge Mumbai McDonald’s. The winning combo of crispy potato fritter, spicy sauce, fluffy roll and tangy chutneys – always cooked hot and fast to order – meant Goli Vada Pav proved instantly popular, and the company continues to expand today.
A huge producer of sweets, snacks and frozen foods both nationally and internationally, Haldiram’s has a chain of fast food restaurants that can be found across much of India. It started life as a Rajasthan sweet shop back in 1937, so naturally, there are lots of sugary treats like gulab jamun (fried dumplings in syrup) on offer. However, customers also love the savoury, street food–style options, such as masala dosa pancakes and deep-fried panipuri snacks.
Earning points for its delightful name alone, Abrakebabra has been keeping Ireland in plentiful supply of late-night kebabs and loaded fries since 1982. It’s credited with introducing the doner kebab to the Irish market, arguably making it a national hero, and is beloved as the number one place to go for a fuss-free, sauce-laden kebab when cravings hit. Want more on the side? The chain also offers falafel, hummus and beer-battered onion rings.
Famous for its Mighty Mac burger, Supermac’s is an Irish institution, established in 1978. In 2019, it beat McDonald’s in a trademark battle; McDonald's attempted to prevent the small start-up from expanding into more markets due to similarities between the burger names Mighty Mac and Big Mac. As well as its burgers, Supermac’s is also loved for its chunky loaded fries, with tasty toppings like curry and cheese.
Though it's ubiquitous in Japan today, Mister Donut was actually founded in the USA in 1956. In 1990, almost all of the chain's North American stores became Dunkin’ Donuts outlets, leaving the brand to live on in Asia and Nigeria. In Japan, Mister Donut set out to change people’s perception of doughnuts from childish treat to high-brow indulgence, offering an inventive range of sweet creations alongside savoury favourites like the teriyaki chicken and mayonnaise pie.
Standing for ‘Mountain, Ocean, and Sun’, MOS BURGER started in a small town near Tokyo called Narimasu, and is now hugely popular throughout East Asia, with almost 2,000 stores. The chain aims to celebrate Japanese food culture through American hamburgers, and enjoys particular success with its rice burgers, which feature buns made from a mix of rice, barley and millet. Particularly saucy, MOS burgers are best eaten still in the wrapper; those in the know suggest finishing the burger, then dipping your fries in the sauce left lingering behind.
Famous both for its meat pies and for bringing Nigeria its first ever drive-through restaurant, Mr Bigg’s has been the country’s go-to fast food chain since 1973. Though its monopoly of the market has waned in recent years thanks to the arrival of some fast food competitors, it's still beloved as a national icon. Favourite dishes include asun rice (rice with goat meat), spiced jollof rice, stew, chicken wings, wraps, and of course, the ever-popular range of scene-stealing meat pies.
Offering a menu that melds Filipino flavours with American influences, Jollibee is hugely successful: we’re talking well over a thousand stores around the Philippines, and several hundred across the rest of the world. Despite this, and despite food that's widely considered to be absolutely delicious, it’s still relatively unknown in the UK and the US. Flagship menu items include the peach mango pie, the Yumburger, a fried chicken meal called Chickenjoy, and Jolly Spaghetti: pasta loaded with a meaty sauce.
The largest home-grown fast food chain in Poland, Da Grasso has been serving great pizza since 1996. Using a franchise model, the company has grown to 200 locations across 140 cities in under 30 years, and remains the ultimate destination for takeaway pizza in Poland. Customers particularly love the doughy crusts and range of topping choices, some of which feature local flavours like smoked sausage and pickled cucumbers.
The country's largest restaurant chain, AlBaik holds legendary status in Saudi Arabia; the much-adored brand has been credited with popularising fried chicken in the Muslim world through its halal meat offering. The chain is famed for its 18-spice secret recipe, as well as for 'broasting' its meat – a technique that combines pressure-cooking with deep-frying. The result? Tender, wonderfully crispy chicken.
The largest fried chicken fast food chain in the world that didn’t originate in the US, Chicken Licken is renowned for its hot wings, crispy chicken thighs and hot sauce. Back in the 1970s, it gained a loyal following by serving black customers in their cars when apartheid restricted restaurant access – and it's still loved today. Fans of the joint say that the chicken here is more tender and well-spiced than anything the big American brands have to offer.
MAX Burgers opened its first burger bar in 1968, a full five years before McDonald’s arrived in Sweden. Despite the fact that the chain's fast food offerings are appealingly cheap, it also has some forward-thinking environmental policies – it even states the exact amount of carbon dioxide emitted per item on its menu, making it a good choice for the eco-conscious. Crucially, of course, the food is also delicious: the burgers get rave reviews across social media, and are incredibly popular among both Swedes and Norwegians.
Though it now also features a range of hamburgers and French fries, Sibylla started out by serving proper Swedish classics back in 1932 (think grilled sausages and meatballs with mashed potatoes and lingonberries). Since then, the chain has gone from sausage stand to national franchise, with over 150 restaurants and kiosks across the country. Swedes and tourists alike love the food, particularly the crispy, crinkle-cut fries.
Decidedly old-school and no-frills, this small chain of fast food joints is a wildly popular fixture on Istanbul’s eating scene. The unlikely star of the show is kokoretsi, or – brace yourself – seasoned offal that's cooked on a spit, then wrapped in lamb intestines. Here, it’s served in a sandwich, and you shouldn’t knock it until you’ve tried it. Customers line up on the street to do so, and many sceptical tourists have been won over. This is also a great place to sample midye (stuffed mussels).
Similar in appearance to bagels, simit are ring-shaped breads typically covered in sesame seeds. As the name might suggest, they're the number one product at Simit Sarayi, a Turkish bakery and fast food chain that started out as a simit shop back in 2002, and now sells products ranging from cheesy borek pastries to simit pizzas and simit burgers. Decidedly crowd-pleasing, it’s spread to 22 countries, with a few stores in London and New York City.
The unique runza sandwiches on offer at Runza keep the residents of Nebraska coming back for more. Stuffed with minced beef, onions and cabbage (with additional fillings to choose from), these bread dough pockets date back to the 18th century, when Volga Germans brought their recipes to the States. Today they’re a fast food speciality, with the chain boasting 86 locations – not to mention a starring role in Nebraskan cuisine and cultural identity.
We think of American fast food restaurants as being huge conglomerates but, for the people of Ohio, the ultimate burger joint is Swensons Drive-In, a chain with 20 locations that dates all the way back to 1934 – that’s six years before McDonald’s. It’s best known and loved for the Galley Boy, a double cheeseburger with two special sauces (barbecue sauce on the bottom bun, and tangy tartare sauce on the top), garnished with a signature green olive on a toothpick.
Now read all about the most iconic fast food items in history