Austin Chain Restaurants Ranked by Health Score

Updated January 24, 2026 · Based on Austin Public Health data

Chain restaurants get a bad rap from food snobs, but here's something they have going for them: consistency. Corporate standards, regular audits, standardized procedures. In theory, this should translate to reliable health scores.

We pulled inspection data for the biggest chains operating in Austin—everything from fast food to casual dining—and calculated their average scores across all locations. Some results confirmed what you'd expect. Others... didn't.

Here's the full breakdown, from the cleanest chains in Austin to the ones that might want to step up their game.

#1
MN - Whataburger #1108
97Excellent
Manor · 12003 E US 290 EB HWY MANOR
Score of 97/100 on Nov 18, 2025. Average score: 96.7 across 6 inspections.
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#2
Chipotle Mexican Grill
98Excellent
East Riverside · 1920 E Riverside Dr # Bunit # 150 Austin
Score of 98/100 on Sep 22, 2025. Average score: 96.6 across 5 inspections.
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#3
BC - Starbucks Coffee #6397
97Excellent
Bee Cave · 12400 W SH 71 Unit 710 BEE CAVE
Score of 97/100 on Aug 11, 2025. Average score: 97.4 across 5 inspections.
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#4
In-N-Out Burger
98Excellent
Hyde Park/North Loop · 4515 Airport Blvd Austin
Score of 98/100 on Nov 19, 2025. Average score: 97.1 across 7 inspections.
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#5
LW - Raising Cane's Restaurants
96Excellent
Lakeway · 1600 S FM 620 RD LAKEWAY
Score of 96/100 on Nov 20, 2025. Average score: 97.2 across 5 inspections.
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#6
Wingstop #1664
97Excellent
South Austin · 9600 S Interstate 35 Ste S325 Austin
Score of 97/100 on Jun 20, 2025. Average score: 95.0 across 4 inspections.
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#7
Chick-fil-A
96Excellent
Downtown Austin · 503 W Martin Luther King Jr Blvd Austin
Score of 96/100 on Aug 21, 2025. Average score: 95.2 across 6 inspections.
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#8
Taco Bell #030139
96Excellent
Wells Branch · 3501 Wells Branch Pkwy Austin
Score of 96/100 on Jul 7, 2025. Average score: 96.6 across 5 inspections.
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#9
Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen
96Excellent
South Congress (SoCo) · 2101 W Ben White Blvd Bldg 3 Austin
Score of 96/100 on Jul 22, 2025. Average score: 96.0 across 2 inspections.
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#10
Wendy's Old Fashioned Hamburgers #111-2244
96Excellent
South Austin/Manchaca · 6428 S Ih 35 Austin
Score of 96/100 on Sep 23, 2025. Average score: 91.8 across 4 inspections.
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#11
McDonald's #1116
95Excellent
Crestview/Allandale · 7950 Burnet Rd Austin
Score of 95/100 on Aug 22, 2025. Average score: 91.8 across 5 inspections.
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#12
Burger King #4228
96Excellent
North Austin/Rundberg · 9523 N Lamar Blvd Austin
Score of 96/100 on Jun 24, 2025. Average score: 96.8 across 5 inspections.
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#13
Five Guys Burgers & Fries #1097
97Excellent
Southwest Austin · 4301 W William Cannon Dr Ste B180 Austin
Score of 97/100 on Apr 11, 2025. Average score: 97.3 across 3 inspections.
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#14
Domino's
95Excellent
Austin · 1200 BARBARA JORDAN BLVD STE 322
Score of 95/100 on Jun 13, 2025. Average score: 94.5 across 4 inspections.
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#15
MN-Pizza Hut
94Excellent
Manor · 11300 E US 290 WB HWY Unit 300 MANOR
Score of 94/100 on Sep 23, 2025. Average score: 95.0 across 6 inspections.
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#16
Panda Express #1644
94Excellent
South Austin · 309 W Slaughter Ln Austin
Score of 94/100 on Sep 15, 2025. Average score: 95.2 across 5 inspections.
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#17
MN - Subway
91Excellent
Manor · 11923 E US 290 EB HWY Bldg 1 MANOR
Score of 91/100 on Jul 24, 2025. Average score: 93.7 across 6 inspections.
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#18
Papa John's Pizza #1296
91Excellent
South Austin/Manchaca · 500 W William Cannon Dr Ste 512A Austin
Score of 91/100 on Sep 23, 2025. Average score: 88.6 across 5 inspections.
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#19
IHOP
88Good
Northwest Austin · 13201 N FM 620 NB RD Bldg Q AUSTIN
Score of 88/100 on Oct 21, 2025. Average score: 87.3 across 3 inspections.
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#20
Applebee's #8003
89Good
Cedar Park · 11013 Lakeline Mall Dr Cedar Park
Score of 89/100 on Nov 10, 2025. Average score: 91.0 across 2 inspections.
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The Top Performers

Three chains tied for the highest average in Austin: Whataburger, Chipotle, and Starbucks, all averaging 97 across their Austin locations. For Whataburger, that's 24 locations maintaining near-perfect scores. For Starbucks, it's 59 locations. That kind of consistency at scale is genuinely impressive.

Raising Cane's and Wingstop also hit 97. In-N-Out—which has earned a cult following for its fresh-never-frozen approach—averaged 97 as well, though with only 4 Austin locations, it's a smaller sample size.

Chick-fil-A came in at 96 with a range of 93-100 across 13 locations. Not a single location below 93. Whatever you think about their politics, they're running tight ships in Austin.

The Middle of the Pack

Most major chains cluster in the 94-96 range. McDonald's (40 locations) averages 95. So do Burger King, Five Guys, and Domino's. Taco Bell and Wendy's both hit 96.

Panda Express averages 94, with individual locations ranging from 86 to 99. Pizza Hut sits at 94 as well.

These are solid scores. Nothing to worry about. If you're grabbing fast food, you can be reasonably confident that any of these chains is maintaining acceptable standards.

The Ones That Surprised Us

Subway averages just 91—the lowest among major fast food chains in Austin. One location on Research Blvd scored 72. That's technically passing, but it's the kind of score that makes you think twice about that footlong.

The sit-down casual chains did worse than their fast-food counterparts. Olive Garden averages 86. One location has a 0 in its inspection history (likely a temporary closure that was resolved). IHOP averages 90. Denny's comes in at 87.

But the biggest surprise? Chili's. The chain averages just 82 across Austin—a full 15 points below Whataburger. One location on 6th Street scored 82. The North Lamar spot: 83. These aren't failing grades, but they're a far cry from the near-perfect scores the fast food giants are pulling.

What Corporate Oversight Gets You

The data tells an interesting story about what works in food safety. Fast food chains—with their standardized processes, limited menus, and intense corporate oversight—consistently outperform casual dining chains with more complex operations.

There's a lesson here: simplicity and standardization help. When every location follows the exact same procedures for everything, it's easier to maintain consistency. The chains struggling tend to be the ones with more complex menus, longer cook times, and more opportunities for things to go wrong.

For consumers, the takeaway is this: that Whataburger drive-through might actually be a safer bet than the "nicer" chain restaurant you're considering. At least when it comes to what the health inspector found.

Methodology

We identified major chain restaurants with 3 or more locations in Austin and calculated the average health inspection score across all locations. Only the most recent inspection per location was used. Scores represent the chain's average performance in the Austin area.

This list only scratches the surface.

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