UK’s Favourite Cuisine Revealed

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. Audley Travel has studied recent search data to 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.

Alex Bentley from Audley Travel has commented on the study ‘It’s no surprise to see that the
Chinese cuisine is the most popular cuisine type in the UK.’

‘We have seen an increased appetite for food experiences across Asia, with our clients often looking to taste culinary specialities throughout the region. Whether this is on a street-food tour with a food expert, making traditional dishes in a private cooking class led by an award-winning chef or simply visiting the local markets to experience the hustle and bustle of food merchants selling artisanal produce and handmade delicacies.’

‘Experiencing a true taste of India is another popular travel request with clients booking through Audley. India has long been a culinary hotspot, with many clients looking to sample traditional Indian cuisine, from culinary delights of Delhi to a traditional dosa breakfast hailing from south India.

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.

To view the full survey findings and discover which cuisines are most popular in some of the UK’s largest cities head over to the full UK cuisine popularity study page.