Eating out in Taiwan doesn’t have to be costly or a chore – if you’re on a budget, have a big family or just want a cheap and cheerful meal, there is a Taiwan chain restaurant for you.
From delicious dumplings at Din Tai Fung to flavoursome food at TKK Chicken or Formosa Chang, there is a Taiwan chain restaurant or cafe to suit your tastes (and budget).
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We love budget breakfasts at My Warm Day 麥味登, a big buffet at Mala Hot Pot 马辣顶级鸳鸯火锅, tofu time at MATA Tofu Pudding 山海豆花 – and our current addiction is truffle noodles at the Moon Moon Food 雙月食品社 chain.
Taiwan night markets will always be one of the best places for late night bites or cheap eats but eating in chain restaurants in Taiwan can also keep your costs down.
As well as chains unique to Taiwan, we’ll also highlight some of the international chain restaurants in Taiwan (many of which are Japanese).
Here is our guide to the biggest and best Taiwan chain restaurants and cafes + photos.
This article was originally published on 19 March 2025.
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Taiwan’s top chain restaurants
Moon Moon Food
Recommended several times before by Taiwan Travel Tips (TTT) Facebook group members, Moon Moon Food (雙月食品社) has around 15 branches in Taiwan including the one we visited in Beitou.
It certainly lived up to the hype in particular their famous al dente truffle noodles (NT$99).
We also tried their super spicy sesame noodles (NT$79), grilled fish (NT$160), clam soup (NT$110), kelp $NT30 and a side of greens.
Moon Moon Food is a Taiwanese ‘healthy’ restaurant chain that is recognised as a Michelin Bib Gourmand eatery – they also have a snack range available in convenience stores.
Ordering is via an electronic kiosk (with English options) and we really enjoyed our food – you could even say we were totally over the moon (Moon)!
Mala Hot Pot
You might have already heard about this popular Taiwan hot pot buffet chain – there are several Mala Hot Pots restaurants in Taiwan with many branches in Taipei.
We dined in Taipei’s Gongguan neighborhood at Mala Hot Pot 馬辣頂級麻辣鍋 台北公館店 (map) and enjoyed two hours of tasty buffet hot pot with free flow alcoholic drinks (self pour beer, wine and cocktails), plus Häagen-Dazs and Movenpick ice cream. All for $NT798 each (£19 / $25USD).
There are three different hot pot packages you can choose from – each table has a split pot and can choose from seven different types of soup base. We went for the basic option, but the more expensive ones include shrimp and wagyu beef. However there were plenty of seafood items for us to enjoy from the self-serve buffet.
Find out more about Mala Hot Pot in our Taipei’s best buffets guide >
Din Tai Fung 鼎泰豐
Perhaps the one Taiwan chain restaurant that is best known overseas (and certainly the one discussed the most in our Taiwan Travel Tips (TTT) Facebook group) is Din Tai Fung.
Trying Din Tai Fung’s 鼎泰豐 delicious soup dumplings (xiaolongbao) is a tasty Taiwan traveller rite of passage – with new Din Tai Fung restaurants popping up all over the world, there is no better place than to try them at the ‘source’ in Taiwan.
Given its popularity, don’t be surprised if you have to queue although they have a simple-to-use ticket waiting system and app; they’ve thought of everything! And you can even watch the dumpling masters at work in the kitchen, creating xiao long bao before your very eyes.
If you visit Taipei, head to the original Din Tai Fung where it all began in 1958 on Yongkang Street, or discover over a dozen different outlets across the city, including several in Xinyi.
There are currently 10 Din Tai Fung restaurants in Taiwan and many more around the world.
From prices to the menu (plus lots of dumpling merchandise), check out our Din Tai Fung guide >
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TKK Fried Chicken 頂呱呱
Taiwan’s local version of KFC, TKK Chicken 頂呱呱 in Taiwan has been serving up fine fried fare since the 1970s – you’ll see it everywhere from huge restaurants to tiny little kiosks in stations.
We’ve dined at TKK Chicken a couple of times, once in Taoyuan Airport on our way out of Taiwan (what a send-off!) plus at Zuoying Station before getting on the Sanrio themed train.
TKK Chicken have a handful of set chicken combos (chicken wings, chicken burgers, roasted chicken etc) plus are served up with sweet potato fries.
At the time of writing, there are around 50 TKK Fried Chicken chain restaurants in Taiwan – all of which are ‘clucking’ tasty!
Bah Fang Yun Ji 八方雲集
Bah Fang Yun Ji 八方雲集 is likely Taiwan’s biggest dumpling chain restaurant (pot stickers) with around 1,000 dumpling joints all over Taiwan.
We have a love / hate relationship with Bah Fang Yun Ji dumpling restaurants – when we first started visiting Taiwan many years ago, we visited a LOT of Bah Fang dumpling stores as it was easy to order, they are VERY cheap and you’ll always find one close to your Taiwan hotel.
However, we now realise these might not be the best dumplings but they are fine if you are hungry after a day of sightseeing and just want quick food.
Pot stickers are the main dish (you can choose from several flavours plus fried or steamed – usually NT$6 to NT$10 a dumpling) plus oodles of noodle dishes. You pay per pot sticker / dumpling and Bah Fang Yun Ji restaurants are usually very busy.
Dain Dain Burgers 丹丹漢堡七賢店 (Southern Taiwan)
A local southern Taiwan burger and fast food chain, we had our first bite of Dain Dain 丹丹漢堡七賢店 burgers in Kaohsiung. Kind of like a Taiwan McDonalds, you order at the serving hatch and then are served up your meals a few minutes later.
Popular with local families (expect big queues at the weekend), the branch we visited near Sanfeng temple in Kaohsiung was so busy so we reckoned it must be good.
From hamburgers and fried chicken to congee and corn soup, this is fast-food Taiwan style. Most combos cost between NT$100 to NT$120 including a main, side (like fries) and a drink.
Formosa Chang 鬍鬚張
One of the best known traditional Taiwanese restaurant chains, Formosa Chang 鬍鬚張 started life as a braised pork rice stall at Shuanglian Market in Taipei in 1960.
Known for its iconic bearded man logo, Formosa Chang’s identity was inspired by the stall owner’s penchant for growing a beard as he had so little sleep and time to himself, as his pork rice stall became so busy – Beard Chang became Formosa Chang.
Braised pork rice is one of Taiwan’s staple dishes and whilst a chain restaurant might not be the best place to try it, this is affordable food with lots of traditional Taiwanese lunchbox style set menus and a dozen side dish choices.
Serving up soups, chicken and hot pots (not forgetting braised pork), Formosa Chang is a formidable choice when dining out on the cheap.
Laya Burger 拉亞漢堡
Taiwan’s chain burger restaurant, Laya Burger 拉亞漢堡 has been around for over 20 years and has over 470 restaurants as of March 2025 – it is one of the biggest chain restaurants in Taiwan.
Laya Burger is obviously famous for its burgers but it also does some very interesting breakfast foods like matcha cream bagels. As well as American style food, it serves up Italian fare like pasta and risotto.
It is also famous for its brunch menu especially their ‘thousand layers’ egg roll pancakes including a sweet Kit Kat Banana pancake roll!
MWD / My Warm Day Taiwan 麥味登
One of Taiwan’s biggest breakfast restaurant chains, MWD (which stands for My Warm Day) 麥味登 has over 1,000 locations across Taiwan including Taipei, Keelung, Taichung and Taoyuan.
MWD’s first cafe opened in 1987 in Dadaocheng District in Taipei and is famous for its set meals and combo deals – particularly popular for brunch, MWD has a wide range of sandwiches, salads and burgers on its menu plus hot drinks galore.
A bit like a Starbucks or Komeda Coffee in Japan, this is a cheap and cheerful way to start your day in Taiwan.
We really like the Taiwanese breakfast pancake and radish cakes at My Warm Day (and their soy milk) but we don’t like their afternoon menu (sandwiches, fries, gyoza etc) so much.
Fruitful Food 果然匯
One of the best known Taiwan vegetarian buffet chains with around half a dozen locations across Taiwan, get your veggie fix at Fruitful Food 果然匯.
Based on the Fruitful Food branch we went to in Tianmu, Taipei , there were several stations of hot and cold vegetarian food which you serve yourself.
There was also a kitchen where chefs were cooking up creations like braised vegetarian beef soup with udon noodles (very good), vermicelli with black sesame oil, spicy hot bean curd, crispy risotto cake with creamed corn or tempura mushrooms.
Honestly, there was a lot of food, from vegetarian sushi and vegan nigiri to steamed buns, turnip cake to salads plus lots of dishes like tofu pastry, baked vegetables with miso sauce and steamed mushroom soup (served in cute little kettles).
Make sure you arrive on an empty stomach. Prices start from NT$638 each (not cheap) including unlimited food and soft drinks.
Book Fruitful in advance on Klook >
Mövenpick Café 莫凡彼餐飲集團
We always knew Mövenpick as a Swiss ice-cream brand in Europe, but in Taiwan they operate several hotels and around 20 chain restaurants.
Now here comes the chain caveat – Mövenpick is cheap (very popular with lunch time workers too), especially for their set menu deals – but we thought the western style food offerings weren’t great, based on our palette preferences. But locals seem to love it so what do we know?!
We tried the Mövenpick business lunch set menu which costs between NT$288 to NT$410 (plus 10% service charge) whereby you get to have soup, a main dish, garlic bread and a drink. Dishes include pasta and salads.
MATA Tofu Pudding
MATA Tofu Pudding 山海豆花 is a popular chain tofu pudding spot with a wide selection of dessert dishes and mouthwatering finds.
There are six locations including Yongkang Street and Taoyuan Taipei International Airport (where we ate – one final Taiwan treat before we flew back)!
MATA Tofu Pudding’s signature dishes are Taiwan red bean tapioca with peanuts and Japanese Tokyo spicy tofu pudding with peanut crisp – they also have other branches in Taipei and across Taiwan.
MATA Tofu Pudding 山海豆花 branches can be found in Taipei, Tainan, Taoyuan and Taichung.
Mei & Mei (美而美)
Taiwan traditional breakfasts served up chain restaurant style – that will do for me (Mei).
Mei & Mei (美而美) is a Taiwanese cafe chain that serves up all day dishes like burgers, pastas, salads and of course brunch style combo deals.
There are around 300 Mei & Mei (美而美) restaurants in Taiwan, complete with a weird doll logo!
Smokey Joes
A little bit of Mexico in Taiwan, Smokey Joe’s is a banging burrito and top Taiwan taco joint with locations in southern cities like Kaohsiung, Kenting and Taichung.
Western food served up on big plates, Smokey Joe’s Taiwan menu is over 50 pages long so you might want to ‘taco’ your time when browsing it – this tasty Tex Mex joint has been around for over 12 years – there is even a Smokey Joe’s Hotel in Kaohsiung!
Monga
An honorary mention to Monga fried chicken which we think is much better than TKK Chicken or the more famous Hotstar chicken. They have branches all over Taipei including Ximending and Linjiang Night Market but it is takeout only so not really a restaurant.
Dicos
A quick mention of Dicos 德克士, a Taipei fast food chain which is similar to McDonalds and has around 15 branches in Taipei and New Taipei, generally in student areas and high footfall Tianmu Baseball Stadium branch.
Whilst not quite as tasty as the southern Taiwan fast food chain Dain Dain Burgers 丹丹漢堡七賢店, it is very cheap and the food quality is OK.
When we visited the Gongguan branch, we tried their NT$69 saver menu where you could combine a burger, chicken, wedges or other snacks with a hot or cold drink of your choice – a good bet if you want to feed a large family quickly and cheaply.
International Chain Restaurants in Taiwan
Obviously you’ll likely want to be trying local Taiwanese food most of the time but sometimes, you just want a break or a culinary change. Some of the biggest international restaurant chains in Taiwan include:
Chain Sushi Restaurants in Taiwan – Kura Sushi, Sushiro and Sushi Express
These are the big three conveyor belt sushi restaurants in Taiwan – prices are similar in all of them.
Sushiro sometimes does local Taiwan tie-ins like the recent Bugcat Capoo store takeover (Bugcat Capoo is a Taiwanese cartoon alien cat with several themed Foam Cat cafes and even a themed 7-Eleven).
Marugame
A Japanese udon noodle chain, Marugame has lots of Taiwan shopping mall restaurant branches.
We love Marugame Seimen because it serves up super inexpensive bowls of udon noodles (with veggie options available), katsu curry and top tempura too.
Saizeriya
A little bit of Italy via Japan, Saizeriya is a cheap and cheerful Italian chain restaurant which is popular with younger diners, families and tourists (possibly not Italians though).
Amazingly, there are over 1,100 Saizeriya Italian restaurants in Japan and Taiwan has a few too including a popular one next to UNIQLO in Ximending, Taipei.
Food quality is OK and the pizzas, pasta and wine are ridiculously cheap.
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Sukiya
Welcome to Japan’s biggest gyudon / beef bowl restaurant chain, now in Taiwan . Big beef bowls are their signature dish plus you can eat cheap curry rice and inexpensive set meals.
Yakiniku Like / Tasty! Quick! Value! BBQ
Ever fancied having a go at barbecuing your own meat and vegetables at your table? Welcome to Yakiniku Like, which literally means ‘grilled meat’ in Japanese.
Popular with locals and tourists alike, use your table tablet to choose which meat platters you want to grill – all meals are served with sides like rice, wakame seaweed soup, and kimchi.
There are around 12 Yakiniku branches in Taipei and Taiwan as of 2026.
YAYOI
Another Japanese restaurant chain in Taiwan, YAYOI 彌生軒 is a great place for tablet ordering with one of the biggest menus we’ve seen.
Meals include special ‘settos’ where you can choose a main with rice, miso soup and drinks – think katsu curry, grilled fish, udon noodle dishes and more.
There are over 20 branches of YAYOI around Taiwan, including Taipei, Taichung and Tainan.
Coco Ichibanya
Japan’s number 1 casual curry restaurant (Ichibanya literally translates as ‘number 1’), Coco Ichibanya is iconic for its curry and katsu based dishes and now has around 25 branches in Taiwan including Taipei, Kaohsiung, Taoyuan, Taichung and Tainan.
Popular Coco Ichibanya plates include pork cutlet curry (our favourite), sausage curry and chicken cutlet curry – ordering via a tablet or QR code and it also works as an inexpensive family restaurant in Taiwan as they do cut-price kids meals.
What is also a nice touch is that you can customize your curry in terms of spiciness, sides and size of rice.
Shop for Coco Ichibanya products on Amazon >
International burger restaurant chains
We won’t dwell on this too much but just to say Taiwan has lots of international burger chains including McDonalds, MOS Burger from Japan plus Burger King.
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