Chick-fil-A Tops Quick-Service Restaurants for 11^th Straight Year Despite Slowest Growth in Two Decades, ACSI Data Show

ANN ARBOR, Mich.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Amid rising food prices and shifting consumer preferences, the restaurant industry is facing a dilemma of “super size” proportions.

The brands that succeed will be the ones that adapt quickly to shifting tastes without compromising consistency or experience.

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Quick-service restaurants maintain a steady customer satisfaction score of 79 (on a 100 point scale), while full-service restaurants — despite slipping 2% to 82 — remain one of the highest-rated industries in the Index, according to the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI^®) Restaurant and Food Delivery Study 2025. At the same time, U.S. chain sales grew just 3.1% in 2024 — falling short of the 4.1% menu-price inflation rate.

Restaurants must now navigate a razor-thin margin between maintaining customer loyalty and managing escalating costs. With households increasingly treating dining out as a luxury, every menu item and service interaction becomes a potential make-or-break moment.

“Restaurants can't simply rely on their traditional playbooks anymore," says Forrest Morgeson, Associate Professor of Marketing at Michigan State University and Director of Research Emeritus at the ACSI. "Smaller, popular brands like Raising Cane's and Wingstop are proving that creative marketing, digital engagement, and focusing on core strengths can challenge even the most established chains. The brands that succeed will be the ones that adapt quickly to shifting tastes without compromising consistency or experience.”

Texas Roadhouse takes the restaurant crown

Among sit-down venues, steaks still reign supreme.

Last year’s co-leaders Texas Roadhouse (down 1%) and LongHorn Steakhouse (down 2%) finish first and second with ACSI scores of 84 and 83, respectively. Olive Garden slides 2% to 81.

Applebee’s inches closer to the leaders, up 1% to 80. Although the chain faces the same traffic challenges as much of the industry, customers seem to appreciate its “Everyday” value platform. Red Robin climbs 3% to 78 thanks in large part to its focus on menu and food.

Meanwhile, Chili’s, which saw average unit volumes increase 16% in 2024, experiences a 3% satisfaction drop to 78. This lower satisfaction was largely driven by its carry-out performance during spring 2024, when it began targeting McDonald’s with products and messaging.

At the bottom end of the industry, Buffalo Wild Wings sinks 4% to 76, and Denny’s slips 1% to 75.

Customers can become more critical of the quality of products and services when prices increase. This is the case with the full-service restaurant customer experience, as customer experience benchmarks decline across the board. Still, the food and service metrics are quite high. Accuracy of food order leads the way at 88, while beverage quality and waitstaff performance both score 86. The lowest ratings are related to the digital experience, which also shows the most deterioration. Website satisfaction tumbles 6% to 82, mobile app quality slides 6% to 80, and mobile app reliability plunges 8% to 78.

Additionally, customer satisfaction with full-service restaurants varies significantly depending on the type of purchase experience (dine in, carry out, or delivery). Customers who dine in are by far the most satisfied (despite the score slipping 1% to 83). However, satisfaction falls 5% to 79 for carry-out service and plummets 9% to 74 for delivery.

Chick-fil-A rules the roost among quick-service restaurants

Chick-fil-A leads the industry for the 11^th year in a row with a steady ACSI score of 83. However, the chain experiences its slowest growth in 20 years after U.S. sales only grow 5.4% in 2024, providing openings for popular brands like Raising Cane’s and Wingstop.

Among other chicken chains, KFC stumbles 5% to 77 as it faces competitors who are adapting to shifting preferences more quickly. Popeyes (up 4% to 75) looks to build on gains by rolling out its “Easy to Run” initiative to standardize processes, improve order accuracy, and reduce wait times.

Other notable score changes include Panda Express (up 4% to 80), which jumps into a second-place tie with Starbucks (unchanged). The chain’s documented emphasis on training shows in its strong performance on service quality and value. Little Caesars, up 3% to 77, improves ratings for food and service quality since introducing Crazy Puffs and continues its strong performance for value.

Five Guys and Sonic both falter 4% to scores of 75 and 73, respectively. Last-place McDonald’s dips 1% to an ACSI score of 70. The chain’s new efforts to speed up R&D to drive faster technology and menu changes may reverse this trend.

The customer experience for quick-service restaurants is similar to last year. Every aspect receives a score of 81 or higher. Accuracy of food order and quality of mobile app lead the way at 85, both down 1% year over year. Mobile app reliability is 1% lower at 84, matching beverage quality, staff courtesy and helpfulness, food quality, and website satisfaction (the only metric to increase in 2025).

Chick-fil-A leads in the South and West, rivals Culver’s in the Midwest, while Starbucks has the goods brewing in the Northeast

Most of the reported quick-service restaurant brands fall into one of four categories: burgers, chicken, pizza, and coffee/bakery-cafe.

Culver’s (78) leads burger chains (the largest category), followed closely by Burger King (77). Chick-fil-A (83) leads the chicken category by a wide margin. Papa Johns and Pizza Hut (both 79) share the pizza chain lead, just ahead of Domino’s (78). Starbucks (80) outperforms Panera Bread (79) and Dunkin’ (78) in the coffee/bakery-cafe chain category.

ACSI is also reporting its first-ever geographic results by region. Chick-fil-A and Starbucks show broad appeal across regional markets. Chick-fil-A leads outright in the South (84) and West (82). The chain faces stiff competition in the Midwest, however, tying Culver’s for the top spot at 82 apiece. Starbucks is a top-two performer in three of the four regions: first in the Northeast at 80, second in the South (tied with Pizza Hut at 82), and second in the West (81).

Group of small brands outperform the big players in food delivery

Despite improving 1% to an ACSI score of 74, the food delivery industry still lags well behind full-service restaurants and quick-service restaurants.

Customer satisfaction with the group of smaller food delivery services drops 3% to 77 yet still outclasses the larger brands: Uber Eats (up 1% to 75), DoorDash (unchanged at 73), and Grubhub (up 3% to 73).

Satisfaction varies based on the customer’s reason for using the service. Those looking for convenience (for example, work schedule, spending time with family, or group events) are more satisfied than those ordering due to need (e.g., health, not having a vehicle, lack of time, or not wanting to drive). Customers using the service for family time or group events generally perceive higher value. Gamers report the lowest level of satisfaction and greater frustration with the ordering process.

Although prices are still the lowest-scoring part of the food delivery experience, scores have improved somewhat, with fairness of food prices and fairness of taxes and service fees both up 3% to 71. Mobile app and website satisfaction improve 1% each to 83 and 82, respectively. Yet, while customers may find the ease of ordering (80) to be acceptable, lower scores for food temperature (up 1% to 74) and order accuracy and accuracy of quoted delivery times (both unchanged at 75) remain problematic.

The ACSI Restaurant and Food Delivery Study 2025 is based on 16,381 completed surveys. Customers were chosen at random and contacted via email between April 2024 and March 2025. Download the full study and follow the ACSI on LinkedIn and X at @theACSI.

No advertising or other promotional use can be made of the data and information in this release without the express prior written consent of ACSI LLC.

About the ACSI

The American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI^®) has been a national economic indicator for over 25 years. It measures and analyzes customer satisfaction with about 400 companies in about 40 industries and 10 economic sectors, including various services of federal and local government agencies. Reported on a scale of 0 to 100, scores are based on data from interviews with roughly 200,000 customers annually. For more information, visit www.theacsi.org.

ACSI and its logo are Registered Marks of American Customer Satisfaction Index LLC.