Return to all postsReturn to all resources
The UK's Most Popular Restaurant Cuisines

The UK's Most Popular Restaurant Cuisines

Written by
Abbie Dawson
Published

June 7, 2024

Category
Latest research

We're a nation of foodies, but what are the most popular cuisines across the UK?

If there's one thing about us Brits- we love our food. Britain's cuisine has been flavoured with various cultural influences worldwide for hundreds of years. As a result, multiple restaurants offering different culinary tastes have thrived since. 

From the opening of the first Indian restaurant in 1810 to the first Italian in 1803 (can you believe that?!), these cuisines have become memorable household flavours. And we're delighted to work with some of the biggest and best restaurants in the UK.

But what cuisine can't the UK get enough of? And is there an underlying reason behind the undoubted appetite for those flavours?

How did we find out?

We analysed the number of restaurant and monthly searches for 15 different cuisines in the 24 largest cities across the UK.

Interestingly, there was one who came out quite clearly on top! 

Infographic showing a map of the UK with the most popular restaurant cuisines in the largest cities

The winning cuisine

Indian food is the most popular cuisine in the UK. It features comforting bowls of curries, deep layers of spicing, and delicious side plates. In the 24 cities we researched, there are nearly 4,000 restaurants serving Indian food. In 10 cities, including Birmingham, Nottingham, Manchester, and Swansea, it is clear that Indian is the favourite. 

Although for most, it's all about the comforting warmth of a spiced Indian curry, scientists revealed that it is the non-overlapping flavours of ingredients that make Indian food irresistible for many.  

Interestingly, in the past year, Google search terms for Indian restaurants have been significantly higher than for Indian takeaways. 

Among the researched cities, Manchester has the most Indian restaurants per capita, at 61.1 per 50,000 people. The city with the second most restaurants is Birmingham, which has 29.5 per capita, closely followed by Leicester, at 19.7. 

Its overall popularity shows in the quality of the dishes produced in the UK too.

There are 36 restaurants with Indian influence in the UK featured in the Michelin Guide, proving that Indian cuisine is loved as both a cosy takeaway and a luxurious feast.

In most cases, Indian restaurants naturally display a sense of cultural heritage, and guests are greeted with a warm welcome. This creates a comforting atmosphere. Restaurants embrace sharing a meal, vibrant decor, and authentic music in the background, both upbeat and melodic. 

What about the runners up?

Italian cuisine is revealed as the second most popular cuisine in the country. In eight cities, it is the cuisine with the most restaurants and search interest.

While it was a top choice for multiple cities, including Leeds, Bristol, and Glasgow, most cities have ranked this cuisine, which boasts fresh flavours, as their third favourite. This includes Birmingham, Manchester, Stoke-on-Trent, and more. 

In Leeds there are 22.5 Italian restaurants per 50,000 people while Bristol follows closely with 21.3 restaurants per capita.

While the first pizza sold in London was in 1875, it is now recognised as the most popular food bought in restaurants across the UK. Typically cosy with dim lighting, these restaurants have the ideal setting that influences diners to stay longer, accompanied by a more relaxed ambience.  

Italian is a popular cuisine in the Michelin Guide too, with 46 restaurants cooking up delicious Italian cuisine in the UK. 

Chinese cuisine takes third place, with 6 out of the 24 cities favouring Chinese restaurants. 

Although Chinese tea has been available in the UK since around 1400, the first Chinese restaurant opened in London a few hundred years later, in 1908. While Liverpool, Sheffield, and Belfast have the most Chinese restaurants and search interest, most cities, including Birmingham, Glasgow, and Manchester, rated it a close second favourite. 

Manchester has the most Chinese restaurants per capita, with an impressive score of 42.9. Glasgow follows this with a score of 19.4.

Appreciating an array of textures, the dishes' irresistible fragrant taste and smell make Chinese cuisine so loved across the country.  Accompanied by a plentiful menu, authentic delicacies, and eight different cuisines from Chinese cooking, such as Cantonese and Sichuan, it is undoubtedly a staple choice in British households across the UK. 

And where is the food capital?

Out of all the cities in the UK, Manchester is undoubtedly the top foodie city.

It offers the highest number of restaurants per capita in 12 cuisines out of 15. Manchester is the ultimate destination for those looking to intrigue their palate and enjoy a diverse dining experience. 

The perfect restaurant experience

Ever entered a restaurant and been wowed by the atmosphere? Even if you didn’t notice the background music… well, that’s probably by design!

Whatever your requirements, we give you the tools needed to design and scale your perfect atmosphere with our restaurant background music.


Methodology:

Our researchers used various sources to gather the data for this study. Google's Keyword Planner was used to find average monthly search volume of different cuisines, while publicly available information on Tripadvisor.com was used to find each city's total restaurant numbers. The Michelin Guide was used to find each cuisine's total Michelin star restaurants.

All data collection was carried out on 5th June 2024.

Heard enough?

Ready to create standout customer experiences? Get in touch to find out how we can use music and tech to help you achieve your goals.

Request a quote
Rotary phone

Heard enough?

Music is powerful, but using it with intention takes skill. Chat to our team today to find out how our behavioural-science backed, curated playlists could help you achieve your goals.

Tell me more
Woman dancing

Heard enough?

Seeing is believing. Engaging your customers through vibrant visual displays can be a game-changer in your retail or hospitality experience. Chat to our team today to find out how our dynamic digital signage solution could help you achieve your goals.

Tell me more
Woman's face

Heard enough?

Live sport has been at the heart of many pubs for decades. Chat to our team today to find out how Arena, our automated, all-inclusive sports promotion platform, could help you achieve your goals.

Tell me more
People watching sports in a pub

Heard enough?

Your environment is always changing. Chat to our team today to find out how using our invaluable insights to auto-adjust your atmosphere could help you achieve your goals and fine-tune your operations.

Tell me more
Happy woman eating in restaurant

Heard enough?

Replicate a perfectly curated atmosphere across an entire estate, all from a single platform. Chat to our team today to find out how using Studio could help you achieve your goals.

Tell me more
Technoology

Heard enough?

Creating something so deeply subjective as an atmosphere without a strong understanding of human behaviour is kind of silly. Chat to our team today to find out how behavioural science can be applied to help you achieve your goals.

Tell me more
People walking

Heard enough?

Dedicated management, free player replacements, 24/7/365 support… what you want, baby we got it. Chat to our team today to find out how relentless our Relentless Support™ really are.

Tell me more
Man with headphones

Heard enough?

Creating a standout retail experience isn’t easy. Chat to our team today to find out how we can use music and tech to create a till ringing atmosphere and help you achieve your goals.

Tell me more
Clothes on rack

Heard enough?

Creating a standout restaurant experience isn’t easy. Chat to our team today to find out how we can use music and tech to serve up the perfect atmospheres in your restaurants and help you achieve your goals.

Tell me more
Restaurants kitchen

Heard enough?

Creating a standout coffee shop experience isn’t easy. Chat to our team today to find out how we can use music and tech to brew the perfect atmospheres for your cafes and help you achieve your goals.

Tell me more
Cafe

Heard enough?

Creating a standout pub experience isn’t easy. Chat to our team today to find out how we can use music and pint-sized tech to create the perfect atmosphere and help get the drinks flowing.

Tell me more
People celebrating in pub

Heard enough?

Creating a standout hotel experience isn’t easy. Check out (or in) how we can use music and tech to create the perfect atmospheres and help you achieve your goals by chatting to our team today.

Tell me more
Restaurant table with cutlery

Heard enough?

Creating a standout gym experience isn’t easy. Chat to our team today to find out how we can use music and tech to get your atmospheres into perfect shape and help you achieve your goals.

Tell me more
Gym equipment

Heard enough?

Creating a standout salon experience isn’t easy. Chat to our team today to find out how we can use music and tech to create an atmosphere with the perfect finish and help you achieve your goals.

Tell me more
Salon equipment

Heard enough?

Creating a standout office experience isn’t easy. Chat to our team today to find out how we can use music and tech to create atmospheres that work as hard as your customers.

Tell me more
Co-working space

Heard enough?

Creating a standout spa experience isn’t easy. Chat to our team today to find out how we can use music and tech to create the perfect peaceful atmosphere and help you achieve your goals.

Tell me more
Towels and insense

Heard enough?

Creating a standout ship experience isn’t easy. Chat to our team today to find out how we can use music and tech to create the perfect atmospheres for your cruise ships and help you achieve your goals.

Tell me more
Beach with cruise ship in background
The UK's Most Popular Restaurant Cuisines

Abbie Dawson

With a degree in Marketing and a Marketing Week Mini MBA in Marketing, Abbie has always had a goal of working with a brand with music in its DNA. Enter: Startle. She is in charge of our marketing activity, making sure to spread the word of Startle to as many brands as possible. When Abbie’s not working, you'll find her vinyl shopping to add to her collection or in the gym picking up heavy things or making enemies with a punching bag.

Say hello on LinkedIn

Hey, we've just met you and this is crazy. But here's our number +44 (0)203 397 7676. So, call us maybe?

  • Number of locations *