(NEXSTAR) — Picking a new restaurant can be intimidating, especially for people who want something they know they’ll like. But if you look at most review websites, you might notice most people just don’t bother rating chain restaurants.
And while review sites, like TripAdvisor, are a wealth of information for discovering great eats from independent businesses, they can also offer insight into which chain restaurants get high marks.
So in case you’ve ever wondered, here are TripAdvisor’s highest rated chain restaurants in Texas.
But first a quick note on the methodology: in order to be considered, a business needed to have at least 10 relatively recent reviews. Because of this, there may potentially be locations that have higher bubble ratings than the top locations listed, however, the volume and date of their ratings may not have met these criteria for inclusion.
When possible, we’ve taken care to highlight restaurants with technically lower ratings than the top location but which have significantly larger volume of reviews.
Finally, a note on TripAdvisor bubble ratings. These scores are based on “quality, quantity, and age of individual travelers’ ratings and reviews,” according to TripAdvisor. The company explains bubble ratings differ from popularity indexes because they are based on “an absolute measure of quality,” with five bubbles being “excellent.”
Arby’s
No. 1 location: Arby’s, 3824 South Clack St., Abilene
This north Texas Arby’s has a 4.5-bubble rating across 15 reviews, while the next-highest-rated Arby’s is located at 1235 N. Fry Road in Katy. The Katy Arby’s has a 4.5-bubble rating based on 10 reviews.
Burger King
No. 1 location: Burger King, 13450 Highway 183 North, Suite 118, Austin
This Burger King in northwest Austin has a 3.5-bubble rating based on 12 reviews.
Chick-fil-A
No. 1 location: Chick-fil-A, 996 W. HIghway 287 Bypass, Waxahachie
This north Texas Chick-fil-A is one of only two 5-bubble ratings on this list, indicating a perfect TripAdvisor score. Its 5 bubbles are based on 24 reviews. Coincidentally, the other perfect score is the Chick-fil-A located at 902 W. McDermott Drive in Allen. This location’s 5-bubble rating is based on 36 reviews.
Chili’s
No. 1 location: Chili’s, 1212 U.S. Highway 259 North, Kilgore
With a 4.5-bubble rating across 11 reviews, this east Texas Chili’s is the highest-rated in the state. Next up is the 4-bubble Chili’s located at 1225 S. Jackson St. in Jacksonville, with a 4-bubble rating accounting for 64 reviews.
Chipotle Mexican Grill
No. 1 location: Chipotle Mexican Grill, 5717 Legacy Drive, Suite 150, Plano
This Chipotle location has a 4.5-bubble rating based on 18 reviews. The Chipotle located at 7322 Jones Maltsberger Road, Suite 206 in San Antonio, meanwhile, has a 4.5-bubble rating across 16 reviews.
Dairy Queen
No. 1 location: Dairy Queen, 901 S. Broadway St., La Porte
This DQ location between Houston and Baytown scores a 4.5-bubble rating across 31 reviews. Just one week ago, a customer raved: “Best DQ Ever!!” The next-highest scoring restaurant is the Dairy Queen located at 11972 U.S. Highway 271 in Tyler, which currently holds a 4.5 rating based on 18 reviews.
Five Guys
No. 1 location: Five Guys, 6076 Marsha Sharp Freeway, Lubbock
As far as most chains go, Five Guys as a whole has pretty significant (and high) reviews across the state. The highest-rated Five Guys is this northwest Texas location, with a 4.5-bubble rating based on 87 reviews. Next-highest-rated is the McAllen Five Guys located at 3701 Expressway 83.
Freebirds World Burrito
No. 1 location: Freebirds World Burrito, 700 Earl Rudder Freeway, College Station
This College Station Freebirds location is the leader of the pack by far, with a 4.5-bubble rating across 123 reviews. Its food, service and atmosphere all have 4.5 bubbles.
In-N-Out Burger
No. 1 location: In-N-Out Burger, 7940 N. Central Expressway, Dallas
This In-N-Out Burger in Dallas currently has a 4.5-bubble rating across 267 reviews, including a 4.5-bubble rating for service. A close second is the Waco In-N-Out located at 801 S. Fourth St, with a 4.5-bubble rating accounting for 180 reviews.
GattiTown/Mr Gatti’s Pizza
No. 1 location: GattiTown, 1150 N. Interstate 35, Round Rock
This central Texas GattiTown has a 4-bubble rating across 35 reviews, making it the clear leader among Gatti’s locations. The Mr Gatti’s Pizza located at 103 Garner Drive in Del Rio is the next contender with a 4-bubble rating based on 25 reviews.
IHOP
No. 1 location: IHOP, 5224 Seawall Boulevard, Galveston
This Galveston Island breakfast spot has a 4-bubble rating with a staggering 532 reviews (the most reviews for any one restaurant on this list).
Jack in the Box
No. 1 location: Jack in the Box, Lyndon B. Johnson Freeway, Dallas
This Jack in the Box site has a 4-bubble ratting accounting for 21 reviews.
KFC
No. 1 location: KFC, 3201 Padre Boulevard, South Padre Island
This KFC site in south Texas leads the rest with a 3.5-bubble rating based on 68 reviews.
McDonald’s
No. 1 location: McDonald’s, 2910 Soncy Road, Amarillo
This Amarillo McDonald’s has a 4-bubble rating across 16 reviews.
Olive Garden
No. 1 location: Olive Garden Italian Restaurant, 222 West Expressway 83, McAllen
This south Texas Olive Garden has a 4-bubble rating accounting for 186 reviews, receiving highest marks in service and atmosphere. Meanwhile, the Olive Garden located at 5520 S. Broadway Ave. in Tyler has a 4-bubble rating based on 128 reviews.
Pizza Hut
No. 1 location: Pizza Hut, 1110 S. Magnolia, Woodville
This east Texas Pizza Hut location has a 4.5-bubble rating based on 12 reviews.
Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen
No. 1 location: Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen, 103 FM 1960 Bypass East, Humble and Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen, 1670 Wildcat Drive, Portland
Popeyes earns the only tie on this list, with two Texas locations currently holding 4-bubble ratings across 15 reviews.
P. Terry’s Burger Stand
No. 1 location: P. Terry’s Burger Stand #10, 5900 N. Lamar Boulevard, Austin
Though P. Terry’s is generally located mostly in the Austin area, there are plenty of locations to choose from. The above location currently has a 4.5-bubble rating based on 12 reviews. The next-highest-rated location is P. Terry’s #12 located at 1800 E. Oltorf St. in Austin, with a 4.5-bubble rating across 10 reviews. It’s also worth mentioning that P. Terry’s Burger Stand #1, located at 404 S. Lamar Boulevard in Austin boasts a 4-bubble rating based on 223 reviews, which is still very high.
Shake Shack
No. 1 location: Shake Shack, 11228 Domain Drive, Austin
Nestled inside Austin’s Domain shopping complex, this Shake Shack location has a 4-bubble rating accounting for 116 reviews. The next-highest rated Shake Shack is also in Austin, with the 1100 S. Lamar Boulevard location earning a 4-bubble rating based on 102 reviews.
Sonic Drive-In
No. 1 location: Sonic Drive-In, 1605 Ranch Road 1431, Kingsland
This central Texas Sonic Drive-In currently has a 4.5-bubble rating across 16 reviews. The next highest rating is the Sonic located at 201 West Northwest Highway in Grapevine, which has a 4-bubble rating based on 31 reviews.
Starbucks
No. 1 location: Starbucks at the Westin Memorial City, 945 Gessner Road, Houston
It looks like Houston has the “best” Starbucks locations in Texas, according to TripAdvisor. In addition to the above location, which has a 5-bubble rating based on 141 reviews, the second-highest rated Starbucks is located at 900 Gessner Road, with a 5-bubble rating across 52 reviews.
Subway
No. 1 location: Subway, 17420 FM 306 #B, Canyon Lake
This Comal County Subway currently holds a 4.5-bubble rating based on 16 reviews. The next-best ranked is the Subway located at 240 E. Houston St., Suite 40 in San Antonio. This restaurant holds a 4-bubble score based on 37 reviews.
Taco Bell
No. 1 location: Taco Bell, 1510 FM 1431, Marble Falls
This Taco Bell location in central Texas has a 4-bubble rating across 16 reviews.
Tarka Indian Kitchen
No. 1 location: Tarka Indian Kitchen, 5207 Brodie Lane Suite 120, Austin
This Austin location is one of many highly rated sites for this casual Indian chain.
Texas Roadhouse
No. 1 location: Texas Roadhouse, 4002 Saint Michael Drive, Texarkana
With a 4.5 bubble rating across nearly 300 reviews, this east Texas Texas Roadhouse location is the state’s number one. The restaurant has 152 “excellent” ratings, 101 “very good” ratings and 28 “average” ones. The location receives 4.5 bubble ratings in food quality, service and atmosphere areas.
Whataburger
No. 1 location: Whataburger, 18303 W. Interstate 10 Frontage Road, San Antonio
With a 4.5-bubble rating accounting for 59 reviews, this San Antonio Whataburger has earned high marks for its food quality. Meanwhile, the Whataburger located at 117 Shannon Road in Sulphur Springs boasts a 4.5-bubble rating across 42 reviews.
It should also be noted that as Whataburger is Texas’ signature burger chain, Whataburger locations had vastly more reviews on TripAdvisor than all other fast food chains.
With that in mind, the following 4-bubble locations also deserve recognition. Despite not having the highest technical bubble score, they have hundreds of reviews and still have pretty high scores:
121 N. Shoreline Boulevard, Corpus Christi (281 reviews)
412 E. Commerce St., San Antonio (256 reviews)
729 Highway 361, Port Aransas (218 reviews)
6327 Stewart Road, Galveston (118 reviews)
4920 W. Airport Freeway, Irving (111 reviews)
Wendy’s
No. 1 location: Wendy’s, 2328 Seawall Boulevard, Galveston
This Galveston Wendy’s has a 4-bubble rating across 60 reviews.
Note: Some restaurants/chains may have been excluded due to lack of data. Don’t see your favorite listed here? Don’t forget to rate them on TripAdvisor or wherever you look to for recommendations!
Happy eating, Texas!
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