A familiar chain abroad is a genuinely useful thing: known standards, predictable hygiene, a menu you can point at. What catches people out is assuming it is the same restaurant. It usually is not, and the differences are systematic enough to prepare for.
1. The menu is different, often substantially
This is the largest change and the most interesting one. Chains localise heavily, and the overlap between two markets' menus can be surprisingly small. In our price index, only 249 products across 34 brands appear under the same name in four or more of our eleven markets - Out of 15,775 items in total. The vast majority of what a chain sells is local.
The practical move is to look before you go. Every market's full menu is published here: open a country page, pick the brand, and you will see exactly what is on the board and what it costs.
2. Sizes are relative, not absolute
"Large" describes a position in the local range and nothing else. A large in one market can hold less than a medium in another under the same brand. Ordering by habit - "I always get a medium" - Tells you nothing about what will arrive.
Where a market publishes volumes or weights, use those. See what menu sizes actually mean.
3. Defaults are local
| What varies | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| What comes in a combo | The side and drink are not the same everywhere |
| Standard sauce and seasoning | Spice levels are calibrated to local taste |
| Ice in drinks | Standard in some markets, absent or optional in others |
| Sugar in coffee and tea | Pre-sweetened by default in several markets |
| Cutlery and napkins | Given automatically in some markets, on request in others |
| Table service | Common in some markets, absent in others |
Sweetened-by-default hot drinks catch out more travellers than anything else on that list. If you take coffee without sugar, say so explicitly rather than assuming.
4. The printed price may not be the price
UK, Irish, Australian and New Zealand boards include VAT or GST. American boards exclude sales tax, which is added at the till and varies by state and city. In several markets a service charge may also apply in seated formats.
Rule of thumb
In the United States and Canada, assume the price on the board is not the price you will pay. Almost everywhere else in our directory, assume it is.
5. Payment norms vary more than you expect
Some markets are effectively cashless; others still handle a great deal of cash. Some chains accept only local payment apps in practice, even where an international card technically works. Contactless limits differ. It is worth having a second payment method for the first day in an unfamiliar market.
6. The service model differs
Counter, kiosk, table service, delivery-first - The dominant model varies by market and it is not always obvious on walking in. In several Asian markets the seated, table-served format is far more common than in North America, and the pace of the meal differs accordingly. In dense delivery-led markets, a store may be primarily a kitchen with a small front counter.
None of this is difficult; it is just unfamiliar. Watching what the person in front of you does resolves most of it in ten seconds.
The thirty-second preparation
- Look up the local menu before you go - Every one we hold is at the country directory.
- Note two or three items you would actually want, with their local names.
- Check the currency and roughly what a normal item costs, so you can spot an airport or tourist-site mark-up.
- If you have an allergy, look up the phrase for it in the local language before you are standing at the counter.
And if the point of the trip is to try something you cannot get at home, the menus are the best place to start. The differences between markets are far stranger and more interesting than most travel writing suggests - See regional menu exclusives.
