Execution is now the dividing line in the restaurant industry.
According to the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI®) Restaurant and Food Delivery Study 2026, quick-service restaurants (QSRs) keep customer satisfaction stable at an ACSI score of 79 (on a scale of 0-100) for the third consecutive year. Full-service restaurants (FSRs) also maintain their score of 82, continuing to rank as one of the highest-scoring industries in the Index. Food delivery posts a 1% gain for the second straight year, reaching 75 as all three reported brands improve.
The stability at the industry level, however, belies a more demanding consumer environment. The U.S. restaurant industry faced headwinds in 2025, with chain restaurant sales growing just 3% — below the 3.8% menu-price inflation rate — marking the slowest growth outside the pandemic since the Great Recession. Growth is now largely driven by higher prices rather than increased customer traffic, leaving real demand under pressure.
In this environment, consumers are spending more selectively rather than simply spending less. QSRs are facing traffic declines as customers question whether the experience justifies the price, with some trading down to convenience stores and supermarkets. At the same time, some full-service restaurants are finding stability as customers consolidate visits into fewer occasions where the experience feels worth the higher check.
This shift is reshaping what drives satisfaction. In a market defined by trade-offs, customers are placing greater emphasis on consistency, reliability, and perceived value. Brands that deliver a consistently strong experience, whether through menu improvements, strength in a popular category, or service excellence, are gaining ground.
“Restaurant industry-level scores are stable, but there’s real movement underneath,” said Forrest Morgeson, Associate Professor of Marketing at Michigan State University and Director of Research Emeritus at the ACSI. “New brands are entering our rankings and immediately competing at the top, which tells you something about where consumer expectations are headed. Price still matters, but it’s no longer enough on its own. Consistency across the full experience is what separates the leaders right now, and that’s showing up clearly in the data. The challenge going forward is sustaining that as costs continue to rise and competition intensifies from outside the traditional restaurant space.”
Other key takeaways from the study include:
Full-Service Restaurants
- Industry leadership tightens as the top-scoring brands cluster together. LongHorn Steakhouse (down 1%) and Texas Roadhouse (down 2%) are now tied at 82, with Olive Garden (unchanged) a close third at 81.
- Operational execution shows gains across customer experience metrics, especially for accuracy of the order and the digital experience, suggesting brands are investing in the basics and improving technology while consumers remain value-sensitive.
- Chili’s, which was the No. 1 traffic brand in casual dining throughout 2025, increases 1% to an ACSI score of 79. However, surging traffic can challenge operations and may be related to the chain’s above-average complaint rate.
Quick-Service Restaurants
- Jersey Mike’s enters the ACSI rankings as the top-rated brand at 84, recognized for freshness, food variety, and value. The chain, which added 238 net new locations in 2025 and reached $4.2 billion in systemwide sales, has maintained quality while scaling rapidly.
- Chick-fil-A (unchanged at 83) stays the clear leader in the chicken category. It also remains one of the highest-scoring brands in any ACSI category. KFC’s improvement efforts pay off with a 4% gain to 80. New entrants Raising Cane’s (79) and Wingstop (77) expand the competitive set, while Popeyes falls 3% to 73.
- The burger category was squeezed by steep increases in beef prices in 2025. Culver’s (unchanged) now shares the top spot with Burger King (up 1%) at 78. Culver’s continued focus on fresh, made-to-order food, with an emphasis on friendly service, has been a major differentiator. Burger King, in the midst of upgrading its messaging, restaurants, and flagship Whopper, benefits from offering a broader range of food than most chains in this category. Meanwhile, Sonic shows significant improvement, surging 5% to 77 by leaning into value offerings.
- Customer experience metrics show incremental gains in accuracy and most in-store measures, while mobile app quality slips slightly as customers increasingly look to apps for both ordering and discounts.
Food Delivery
- Uber Eats rises 1% to 76, while Grubhub climbs 3% for the second straight year to 75. DoorDash gains 1% to 74 as app enhancements help boost satisfaction for both DoorDash and Grubhub.
- In accordance with satisfaction gains for the food delivery industry, the ACSI score for QSR delivery customers is also higher this year.
The ACSI Restaurant and Food Delivery Study 2026 is based on 16,464 completed surveys. Customers were chosen at random and contacted via email between April 2025 and March 2026. Download the full study and follow the ACSI on LinkedIn.
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®) is a national economic indicator and a leading provider of customer analytics products that help organizations build lasting customer relationships and prove ROI on experience investments. ACSI’s AI-enhanced platform delivers intuitive dashboards and cause-and-effect analytics that pinpoint the quality drivers most predictive of customer allegiance, retention, price tolerance, and financial performance. ACSI data has been shown to correlate strongly with key micro and macroeconomic indicators, including consumer spending, GDP growth, earnings, and stock returns.
Founded in 1994 at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business, the ACSI measures customer satisfaction with more than 400 companies in over 40 industries, including federal government services, based on approximately 200,000 annual interviews. Learn more at https://www.theacsi.com/.
ACSI and its logo are Registered Marks of American Customer Satisfaction Index LLC.
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