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Tuesday, September 15, 2026

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The No. 1 restaurant for every generation but Gen Z

The most popular casual dining restaurant was the same among millennials, Gen X and baby boomers, YouGov found.

· 255 words· updated September 15, 2026 at 02:36 PM

While generations may disagree on a lot, commonality is found in Olive Garden , a study found.

In its annual U.S. restaurant brand rankings , YouGov found that Olive Garden is the most popular casual dining restaurant among millennials (ages 30-44), Gen X (45-64) and baby boomers (65+), while Gen Z (18-29) gravitated toward Chili's . Olive Garden was, however, the second most popular casual dining restaurant for Gen Z, the data analytics and market research service found.

Looking a bit deeper, Olive Garden was ranked the highest for casual dining service, value and dining experience, the YouGov poll found.

As part of its annual rankings, YouGov polled more than 750 Gen Zers, 2,300 millennials, 5,900 Gen Xers and 7,500 baby boomers between March 1, 2025, and Feb. 28, 2026, according to the published study.

Best burgers in America, according to our food team | See photos

The Cuban Frita at The Inferno Room in Indianpolis, Indiana, is one of the t op burgers in America, according to USA TODAY Network food writers . The restaurant is a tiki bar helmed by a Cuban chef.

What are the top 10 most popular casual dining restaurants?

Here's a closer look at the top 10 most popular casual dining restaurants based on all surveyed age groups:

What casual dining restaurants does each generation enjoy the most?

Here's a closer look at the top 5 casual dining restaurants for each generation:

Greta Cross is a national trending reporter at USA TODAY. Story idea? Email her at gcross@usatoday.com .

Gathered from external sources. Rights to this text belong to whoever originally published it.