The No. 1 restaurant for every generation but Gen Z - USA Today

Markets By USA Today • September 15, 2026, 8:40 PM UTC

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While generations may disagree on a lot, commonality is found in Olive Garden, a study found.

In its annual U.S. restaurant brand rankings, YouGov found that Olive Garden is the most popular casual dining restaurant among millennials (ages 30-44), Gen X (45-64) and baby boomers (65+), while Gen Z (18-29) gravitated toward Chili's. Olive Garden was, however, the second most popular casual dining restaurant for Gen Z, the data analytics and market research service found.

Looking a bit deeper, Olive Garden was ranked the highest for casual dining service, value and dining experience, the YouGov poll found.

As part of its annual rankings, YouGov polled more than 750 Gen Zers, 2,300 millennials, 5,900 Gen Xers and 7,500 baby boomers between March 1, 2025, and Feb. 28, 2026, according to the published study.

Greta Cross is a national trending reporter at USA TODAY. Story idea? Email her at gcross@usatoday.com.

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https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/food/2026/09/15/olive-garden-most-popular-casual-dining-restaurant-survey/91776241007/

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