Exploring the UK’s Favourite Cuisine: What the Data Says 

Exploring the UK’s Favourite Cuisine: What the Data Says 

September 26, 2022

Chinese cuisine labelled the UK’s favourite with Korean food identified as the fastest growing in popularity. Cuisines from around the world are becoming ever-present around the dinner table and the UK’s favourites have been revealed. Recent search data has been completed that helps identify what type of cuisine the UK is searching for the most.

Chinese cuisine came out on top as a firm favourite, with three times more popularity than second place. This is no surprise to see given the UK’s love of Chinese food. Taking up the second spot was Indian cuisine followed by the spicy flare of Mexico. 

Rounding up the top five most searched for cuisines in the UK was Japanese cuisine in fourth and Italian in fifth.

The Differences Between The Four UK Nations

The flair and flavour of Mexican cuisine appears to be a favourite in England and Wales, sitting among the top three cuisines. However, this isn’t the case for Scotland or N. Ireland who opt for Japanese and French cuisine respectively in third place. Italian cuisine is a popular choice for all four nations, marking its place in the top ten. American cuisine makes a surprise appearance in Wales’s top ten, but doesn’t feature for any other UK nation.  

Let’s take a look at the most popular UK cuisine study in its raw data form.

Top Ten Most Popular Cuisines In The UK:

1. Chinese

2. Indian

3. Mexican

4. Japanese

5. Italian

6. Greek

7. Thai

8. French

9. Spanish

10. Korean

Top Ten Most Popular Cuisines In England:

1. Chinese 

2. Indian

3. Mexican

4. Japanese 

5. Greek

6. Italian

7. Thai

8. Korean

9. French

10. Spanish

Top Ten Most Popular Cuisines In Northern Ireland:

1. Chinese

2. Indian

3. French

4. Mexican

5. Irish

6. Italian

7. Japanese

8. Spanish

9. Thai

10. Greek

Top Ten Most Popular Cuisines In Scotland 

1. Chinese 

2. Indian

3. Japanese

4. Mexican

5. French

6. Italian

7. Greek

8. Thai

9. Spanish

10. Korean

Top Ten Most Popular Cuisines In Wales 

1. Chinese

2. Indian

3. Mexican

4. French

5. Italian

6. Japanese

7. Greek

8. Thai

9. Spanish

10. American

Fastest Growing Cuisine In The UK (2019 vs 2021)

1. Korean

2. Chinese

3. Mediterranean

4. Filipino

5. Tex-Mex

6. Japanese

7. Turkish

8. Indian

9. Argentinian

10. Indonesian 

Cuisines Fastest Growing In Popularity

By comparing 2021 to 2019 search data the research has also highlighted the fastest trending cuisines in the UK. The study shows that Korean cuisine is the fastest growing in popularity in the UK with an increase of 83% in search interest between 2019-2021.

Interestingly, Mediterranean cuisine is the third most popular in growth in the UK with an increased interest of 66% between 2019 – 2021. Additionally, Filipino cuisine ranks in fourth place in growing popularity within the UK. With Tex-Mex and Japanese ranking in fifth and sixth place, respectively.

Riya is an inspired writer, passionate about traveling, lifestyle and encouraging startups.