What re the best -fast-food knock offs in the world? I am not a fast food guy, hey i’m the street food guy, but we all get the twang for fast food every now and again right?
Ideally this would usually involve us going to a tried and tested place, McDonalds, KFC, Burger King etc. Yet whilst they are in a lot of places and a lot of countries they are not EVERYWHERE.
To read about which countries have McDonalds click here
Enter the Fast-Food knockoff
As the saying goes if a man is thirsty enough he will drink piss. And I have many times been in the fast food equivalent of this. Sometimes a burger is just a burger and if that is what you need, that is what you need.
Fast-Food Knock-offs also have an amusing allure. Seeing something familiar, but well “different” grabs us. Well me any way.
I’ve therefore put together 12 of the bets knock offs from around the world. I have decide to only include ones I, or friends have been to. I have also included a couple that are not exactly rip-offs, but such as “Rapido” which Cubans say is “like” their McDonalds (it is not).
To read about which countries have a KFC click here .
12) Burger King!
HAHA, ok so perhaps this is a bit controversial, lazy, or just clickbait, but hey who can dispute Pepsi copied coke? Lets be honest Burger King copied McDonalds. And much like Pepsi are living proof it is OK to be number 2. They are worth more than 3 billion now. To me this is the original of the Fast-Food knock offs
To read about when Pepsi owned a navy click here
To read about which countries McDonalds is in click here.
11) Dicos.
I have written a fine article about Dicos which you can read here . Much like Oppo copying Apple, Dicos started as a direct clone of KFC. They have since, like Oppo become a major force in China. They even do buckets! Are they as good as KFC, hell no!
10) KKFC
This Nepalese brand with the bird logo and the red packaging might look a little familiar. That is because they really did not try to conceal copying KFC. Fear not though KKFC stands for Krispy Krunchy Fried Chicken. Thus avoiding all confusion
9) MashDonalds and Iran in General!
When it comes to the best Fast-Food knock offs Iran takes some beating! MashDonalds is just one example. Iran previously had a ton of fast food chains, Come the revolution and they all left. BUT you can still get fast food in Iran and almost all are rip-off joints of western brands. The best bit is they don’t care!
8) El Rapido
Not really one of the best Fast-Food knock offs, but what Cubans refer to as their McDonalds. Huge menu with only one catch, due to the Socialist system it rarely has any food! A great place to get rum though, they always have cheap cartons of rum. El Rapido, we salute you.
7) Luckin Coffee
I’ve avoided too many coffee joints, but I personally know someone who helped found this one. An obvious Starbucks clone, the management admit that was exactly what they were looking for. They still manage to stay within the confines of Chinese copyright law and are popular in the country.
6) McDavids
One I have not been to, but recently learnt about. When McDonalds were taking over the world they opened in Israel. McDonalds got a bit peeved about this sued them AND LOST. McDavids were told to stop selling Big Macs though. Pretty hilarious. Sadly only two stores remain.
5) Pizaa Hat
OK, so we have covered Iran in general, but probably the best example of copycat in Iran is Pizza Hat! They really do a great take on Pizza Hut. The Tehran eatery is favourite for locals and apparently at least has good pizza.
4) MAC Dolands
Whilst running a tour to Tajikistan we couldn’t help but notice this McDonalds rip-off. You can read more about the place here , but another awesome McDonalds clone for the list. Not the best Fast-Food knock offs, but still very amusing/
3) KFD
I LOVE this one. I remember being in a backwater Chinese town near the Vietnamese border. I saw what looked like an oriental version of Colonel Sanders. Turns out it was KFD! Not to be confused with KFC. The usual eclectic menu which whilst it had fred chicken also included putrid pice dishes. Proud to say I went there though!
2) MaDonal
MaDonal is a rip-off McDonalds in Iraqi Kurdistan that is so famous it even has a Wikipedia page . They blatantly use the McDonalds logo and even offered free food to US servicemen. Ironically the real McDonalds is now in Erbil, Kurdistan. The owner has said he’d like to be a real franchise one day. And yes they have a big Mac. Runner up in our best Fast-Food knock offs, butonly just!
1) Claudia Sanders, The Colonel’s Lady”.
My absolute favorite of the whole bunch. Colonel Sanders was quite character! He formed KFC made it a legend, sold it at a profit AND was paid to be their face. He was also a moody bugger! He was sued after claiming the gravy tasted like “wallpaper paste” and then said fuck it I will start my own restaurant. He did and wanted to franchise. KFC sued again. He died before it could become much of an issue. Tome this was the best of Fast-Food knock offs! And done by the legendary Colonel himself.
