---
title: "Casual dining chains in New Zealand: Which brands are most popular in search?"
description: "Compare the sit-down restaurant chains New Zealanders book for family meals. Share of Search among Denny's, Speight's Ale House, Cobb & Co and Lone Star, the casual dining chains Brandwave compares in New Zealand, using the same methodology, market, and reporting period. Branded searches tell you how often people look for a brand by name or related terms. Comparing these searches across competitors helps you see how popular each brand is over time."
canonical: "https://gobrandwave.com/demand/nz/categories/nz-casual-dining-chains"
publisher: "Brandwave"
---

# Casual dining chains in New Zealand: Which brands are most popular in search?

Compare the sit-down restaurant chains New Zealanders book for family meals. Share of Search among Denny's, Speight's Ale House, Cobb & Co and Lone Star, the casual dining chains Brandwave compares in New Zealand, using the same methodology, market, and reporting period. Branded searches tell you how often people look for a brand by name or related terms. Comparing these searches across competitors helps you see how popular each brand is over time.

## Key facts

- **Competitive set**: Casual dining chains
- **Market**: New Zealand
- **Brands compared**: 4
- **Month measured**: Aug 2026
- **Highest Share of Search**: Denny's, 32%

## Which brand is most popular in search among casual dining chains in New Zealand?

- Denny's and Speight's Ale House share the highest estimated Share of Search among casual dining chains in New Zealand, at 32% and 31.6% in August 2026.
- Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Denny's’ estimated Share of Search among casual dining chains in New Zealand decreased from 37% to 32%.
- Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Cobb & Co’s estimated Share of Search among casual dining chains in New Zealand increased from 18.2% to 19.6%.
- Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Lone Star’s estimated Share of Search among casual dining chains in New Zealand increased from 13.3% to 16.8%.
- Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Denny's’ estimated Share of Search among casual dining chains in New Zealand peaked at 37% in October 2025 and was lowest at 29.9% in January 2026.
- Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Speight's Ale House’s estimated Share of Search among casual dining chains in New Zealand peaked at 37.2% in March 2026 and was lowest at 29.8% in July 2026.
- Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Cobb & Co’s estimated Share of Search among casual dining chains in New Zealand peaked at 24.3% in July 2026 and was lowest at 15% in November 2025.
- Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Lone Star’s estimated Share of Search among casual dining chains in New Zealand peaked at 18.1% in May 2026 and was lowest at 13% in November 2025.
- Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Speight's Ale House held steady: its estimated Share of Search among casual dining chains in New Zealand moved less than 0.5 percentage points.

## Compare search popularity between leading brands

- [Denny's vs Speight's Ale House: compare search popularity](/demand/nz/compare/dennys-vs-speights-ale-house): 32% against 31.6% Share of Search.
- [Denny's vs Cobb & Co: compare search popularity](/demand/nz/compare/cobb-and-co-vs-dennys): 32% against 19.6% Share of Search.
- [Denny's vs Lone Star: compare search popularity](/demand/nz/compare/dennys-vs-lone-star): 32% against 16.8% Share of Search.
- [Speight's Ale House vs Cobb & Co: compare search popularity](/demand/nz/compare/cobb-and-co-vs-speights-ale-house): 31.6% against 19.6% Share of Search.
- [Speight's Ale House vs Lone Star: compare search popularity](/demand/nz/compare/lone-star-vs-speights-ale-house): 31.6% against 16.8% Share of Search.
- [Cobb & Co vs Lone Star: compare search popularity](/demand/nz/compare/cobb-and-co-vs-lone-star): 19.6% against 16.8% Share of Search.

## How did search popularity change for New Zealand casual dining chains in August 2026?

- In August 2026, Speight's Ale House gained estimated Share of Search among casual dining chains in New Zealand, from 29.8% to 31.6%.
- In August 2026, Denny's gained estimated Share of Search among casual dining chains in New Zealand, from 30.4% to 32%.
- In August 2026, Lone Star gained estimated Share of Search among casual dining chains in New Zealand, from 15.5% to 16.8%.
- In August 2026, Cobb & Co lost estimated Share of Search among casual dining chains in New Zealand, from 24.3% to 19.6%.

## Share of Search ranking

| Rank | Brand | Share of Search | Estimated monthly branded searches | Change vs prior month | Owned by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | Denny's | 32% | 11.2K | -3.7% | Denny's |
| 2 | Speight's Ale House | 31.6% | 11.1K | -2.9% | Speight's Ale House |
| 3 | Cobb & Co | 19.6% | 6.9K | -26.3% | Cobb & Co |
| 4 | Lone Star | 16.8% | 5.9K | -0.2% | Lone Star |

## Historical estimated branded-search demand

| Month | Brand | Estimated monthly branded searches | Share of Search | Rank |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Oct 2025 | Denny's | 14K | 37% | 1 |
| Oct 2025 | Speight's Ale House | 11.9K | 31.5% | 2 |
| Oct 2025 | Cobb & Co | 6.9K | 18.2% | 3 |
| Oct 2025 | Lone Star | 5K | 13.3% | 4 |
| Nov 2025 | Denny's | 13.4K | 36.2% | 1 |
| Nov 2025 | Speight's Ale House | 13.3K | 35.9% | 2 |
| Nov 2025 | Cobb & Co | 5.5K | 15% | 3 |
| Nov 2025 | Lone Star | 4.8K | 13% | 4 |
| Dec 2025 | Denny's | 16.2K | 35.3% | 1 |
| Dec 2025 | Speight's Ale House | 15.6K | 34.1% | 2 |
| Dec 2025 | Cobb & Co | 7.2K | 15.7% | 3 |
| Dec 2025 | Lone Star | 6.8K | 14.9% | 4 |
| Jan 2026 | Speight's Ale House | 16.2K | 35.8% | 1 |
| Jan 2026 | Denny's | 13.6K | 29.9% | 2 |
| Jan 2026 | Cobb & Co | 9.2K | 20.2% | 3 |
| Jan 2026 | Lone Star | 6.4K | 14.1% | 4 |
| Feb 2026 | Speight's Ale House | 13.5K | 36.1% | 1 |
| Feb 2026 | Denny's | 11.3K | 30% | 2 |
| Feb 2026 | Cobb & Co | 7.1K | 18.9% | 3 |
| Feb 2026 | Lone Star | 5.6K | 14.9% | 4 |
| Mar 2026 | Speight's Ale House | 13.6K | 37.2% | 1 |
| Mar 2026 | Denny's | 11.2K | 30.6% | 2 |
| Mar 2026 | Cobb & Co | 5.9K | 16.1% | 3 |
| Mar 2026 | Lone Star | 5.9K | 16.1% | 4 |
| Apr 2026 | Denny's | 13.5K | 33.7% | 1 |
| Apr 2026 | Speight's Ale House | 13.4K | 33.6% | 2 |
| Apr 2026 | Cobb & Co | 7.2K | 18.1% | 3 |
| Apr 2026 | Lone Star | 5.9K | 14.7% | 4 |
| May 2026 | Speight's Ale House | 11.4K | 31.5% | 1 |
| May 2026 | Denny's | 11.3K | 31.3% | 2 |
| May 2026 | Cobb & Co | 6.9K | 19% | 3 |
| May 2026 | Lone Star | 6.5K | 18.1% | 4 |
| Jun 2026 | Speight's Ale House | 11.3K | 32.4% | 1 |
| Jun 2026 | Denny's | 11.3K | 32.2% | 2 |
| Jun 2026 | Cobb & Co | 6.7K | 19% | 3 |
| Jun 2026 | Lone Star | 5.7K | 16.4% | 4 |
| Jul 2026 | Denny's | 11.7K | 30.4% | 1 |
| Jul 2026 | Speight's Ale House | 11.4K | 29.8% | 2 |
| Jul 2026 | Cobb & Co | 9.3K | 24.3% | 3 |
| Jul 2026 | Lone Star | 5.9K | 15.5% | 4 |
| Aug 2026 | Denny's | 11.2K | 32% | 1 |
| Aug 2026 | Speight's Ale House | 11.1K | 31.6% | 2 |
| Aug 2026 | Cobb & Co | 6.9K | 19.6% | 3 |
| Aug 2026 | Lone Star | 5.9K | 16.8% | 4 |
| Sep 2026 | Cobb & Co | — | — | — |
| Sep 2026 | Denny's | — | — | — |
| Sep 2026 | Lone Star | — | — | — |
| Sep 2026 | Speight's Ale House | — | — | — |

## What is being compared

- **Cobb & Co**: Measured on the search terms “cobb & co”, “cobb & co menu”, “cobb & co near me”, “cobb & co nz”, “cobb & co restaurant”, “cobb and co”, “cobb and co menu”, “cobb and co near me”, “cobb and co restaurant”, “cobb and co reviews”, “cobb co”, “cobb co menu”, “cobb co near me”, “cobb co nz” and “cobbco”, summed into one figure.
- **Denny's**: Measured on the search terms “denny's”, “denny's menu”, “denny's near me”, “dennys”, “dennys co nz”, “dennys highland park”, “dennys hrs”, “dennys menu”, “dennys near me”, “dennys new zealand”, “dennys nz”, “dennys online” and “dennys restaurant”, summed into one figure.
- **Lone Star**: Measured on the search terms “lone star botany menu”, “lone star cafe near me”, “lone star dinner menu”, “lone star hamilton menu”, “lone star menu”, “lone star menu prices”, “lone star near me”, “lone star restaurant”, “lone star restaurant locations”, “lone star westgate menu”, “lonestar nz” and “the lone star restaurant”, summed into one figure.
- **Speight's Ale House**: Measured on the search terms “speights ale house”, “speights ale house menu”, “speights ale house near me”, “speights ale house nz”, “speights ale house restaurant”, “speights ale house tower junction”, “speights co nz” and “speightsalehouse”, summed into one figure.

- [Cobb & Co](/demand/nz/brands/cobb-and-co)
- [Denny's](/demand/nz/brands/dennys)
- [Lone Star](/demand/nz/brands/lone-star)
- [Speight's Ale House](/demand/nz/brands/speights-ale-house)

## Methodology

- [How is branded search demand measured?](/demand/methodology): Where the figures come from, what they compare, and how they may be reused.

## Frequently asked questions

### Which brand is most popular in search among casual dining chains in New Zealand?

Denny's and Speight's Ale House share the highest estimated Share of Search among casual dining chains in New Zealand, at 32% and 31.6% in August 2026.

## Cite this page

Brandwave. "Casual dining chains in New Zealand: Which brands are most popular in search?". https://gobrandwave.com/demand/nz/categories/nz-casual-dining-chains

This page is also available as HTML at https://gobrandwave.com/demand/nz/categories/nz-casual-dining-chains. Brandwave publishes an index of its Markdown pages at https://gobrandwave.com/llms.txt.