Inflation has made dining out more of a luxury these days, but despite higher prices, Americans' satisfaction with their restaurant experiences has actually risen a bit over the past year – and the people have spoken when it comes to the places they love most.
The American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) Restaurant and Food Delivery Study 2024, released Tuesday, found consumers' overall satisfaction with full-service dining climbed 4% to 84 out of 100 from last year and the score for fast food ticked up 1% to a score of 79.
Here are the top full-service restaurants according to this year's index survey:
A LongHorn Steakhouse restaurant on June 22, 2023, in Skokie, Illinois. (Scott Olson/Getty Images / Getty Images)
Darden's LongHorn Steakhouse shared the top spot with Texas Roadhouse, with the beloved steak chains each receiving scores of 85 – securing the best readings in both the full-service restaurant category and in all restaurant categories.
Customers enter an Olive Garden restaurant in Pittsburg, California, US, on Friday, Dec. 9, 2022. (David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)
Of the major chains, another Darden-owned chain, popular Italian restaurant Olive Garden, came in just behind the winning steak houses with a score of 83.
Florida, Stuart, Cracker Barrel Old Country Store. (Photo by: Jeffrey Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty Images) (Jeffrey Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty Images / Getty Images)
Southern comfort-food chain Cracker Barrel made the top five with a score of 82.
Chick-fil-A has topped the list of best customer satisfaction for fast food restaurants for a decade. (Jeffrey Greenberg/Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images / Getty Images)
For the tenth year in a row, Chick-fil-A was ranked the top fast food chain in America for customer satisfaction, despite its score dropping 2% to a reading of 83 on the index in 2024.
KFC, owned by Yum! Brands, came in second place of the major chains with a score of 81, and it was followed closely behind by Arby's, Culver's, Panera Bread and Starbucks, all of which scored 80.