Joe Marshall · 31 May 2026
UK Food and Hospitality Search Trends [May 2026]: What Britain's Dining Searches Reveal
We pulled Semrush data on UK food and hospitality search. Just Eat draws 3.35m searches a month, “near me” is the default behaviour, dining-out demand peaks in summer and the festive season, and delivery is the steady everyday habit. Here is what it means for hospitality brands in 2026.
![UK Food and Hospitality Search Trends [May 2026]: What Britain's Dining Searches Reveal](/assets/blog/uk-food-hospitality-search-trends-2026-hero.webp)
Food and hospitality is the highest-volume corner of UK search we have measured, and one of the most local. We pulled search data from Semrush across the delivery apps, the chains and the endless hunt for somewhere to eat nearby. The picture: a handful of apps own ordering, "near me" is the default behaviour, and demand ebbs and flows with the British social calendar.
The biggest and fastest-growing food & hospitality brands in UK search
The 10 biggest food & hospitality brands in UK search
Hospitality demand is dominated by delivery. Just Eat takes more than a third of the searches across the biggest food and hospitality brands.
| # | Brand | UK searches / mo | Share of top-10 demand |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Just Eat | 3.4M | |
| 2 |  Deliveroo | 1.0M | |
| 3 |  Domino's | 1.0M | |
| 4 |  KFC | 823K | |
| 5 |  McDonald's | 673K | |
| 6 |  Uber Eats | 673K | |
| 7 |  Greggs | 550K | |
| 8 |  Nando's | 450K | |
| 9 |  Starbucks | 368K | |
| 10 |  Toby Carvery | 301K |
Branded search volume, UK, Semrush (May 2026). Share is each brand’s percentage of the combined monthly search volume of the ten brands shown.
The fastest-growing food & hospitality brands in UK search
Bakery and chicken brands drove the growth. Gail's rose fastest, with Uber Eats, Nando's and Greggs all up double digits as casual dining demand held firm.
| # | Brand | UK searches / mo | 12-month search trend |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Gail's | 41K | |
| 2 | Uber Eats | 673K | |
| 3 | Nando's | 450K | |
| 4 | Greggs | 550K | |
| 5 |  Popeyes | 135K | |
| 6 |  Wingstop | 165K | |
| 7 | Toby Carvery | 301K | |
| 8 | Deliveroo | 1.0M |
Change in branded search demand over the trailing 12 months, UK, Semrush. Ranked by trajectory; arrows show the direction of travel.
The delivery apps own the front door
Before anyone picks a restaurant, most reach for an app. "Just Eat" pulls a staggering 3.35 million searches a month, with "Deliveroo" and "Domino's" at around 1 million each and "Uber Eats" at 673,000. The aggregators have become the default way Britain orders dinner.
Our take: for individual restaurants this is the central challenge, the same one finance faces with comparison sites, a layer of apps sits between you and the diner and takes a cut of every order. The apps are unavoidable for reach, but the brands building direct demand, through Google visibility and a name people search for and order from directly, protect their margin. Owning your own delivery and booking journey is worth real money when the alternative is renting access to your own customers.
“Near me” is the whole game
Hospitality is the most local vertical in search. "Restaurants near me" alone pulls 1.22 million searches a month, with "food near me" at 550,000 and breakfast, takeaway, pub and coffee "near me" all commanding serious volume. People rarely search a place by name first, they search for what is close.
Our take: if you run a venue, local search is not a tactic, it is survival. A complete, reviewed Google Business Profile, accurate opening hours, photos and menu, and strong local rankings decide whether you appear in that "near me" moment when someone three streets away is deciding where to eat. It is the cheapest, highest-intent demand in the whole category, and it is won on fundamentals, not budget.
Demand follows the social calendar
Dining-out search is not steady, it tracks when Britain goes out. Demand for eating-out terms peaks in summer and again in the festive party season around November and December, the two moments when tables get booked and group plans get made.
Our take: the calendar should shape your marketing. The run-up to summer and the Christmas party season are when bookings spike, so promotions, set menus and availability messaging need to land before the peak, not during it. Venues that prepare their festive offer in October capture the planners, the most valuable bookings of the year.
Occasion versus everyday
Underneath the totals are two different behaviours. Dining out is an occasion, spiky and seasonal. Delivery is everyday, far steadier across the year. Plot them together and the contrast is clear.
Our take: these are two different businesses with two different marketing rhythms. The dine-out side rewards timing, seasonal pushes around the peaks. The delivery side rewards consistency, an always-on presence and a frictionless reorder. Knowing which one drives your revenue tells you where to put the budget, and most hospitality brands are quietly doing both.
What this means for hospitality brands in 2026
The UK food and hospitality search market rewards a clear plan. The delivery apps own ordering, so build direct demand you control. "Near me" is the default, so win local search on the fundamentals. Demand is seasonal, so prepare your summer and festive offers early. And occasion and everyday are different games, so resource them differently. If you want help turning this into a plan that fills tables and baskets, get in touch.
This is part of Clicky Trends, our ongoing research into what the UK is actually searching for, industry by industry. See also our breakdowns of retail and travel search.
All search volume, cost-per-click and trend figures are from Semrush’s UK database, pulled in May 2026. The twelve-month trend window runs from March 2025 to February 2026, with each series indexed to its own peak.