FAQs

The first Wimpy opened in The Strand, London in a Lyons Corner House in 1954. Wimpy, then owned by J. Lyons & Co, was the first hamburger chain to be set up in the UK and rapidly became known as the “home of the hamburger”. The name “Wimpy” came from Popeye’s friend, Wellington Wimpy, who loved hamburgers just as much as Popeye loved spinach.

The Wimpy brand is owned by Famous Brands Limited and is Africa’s largest branded food services franchisor. The Brands portfolio consists of 25 restaurant brands, represented by a network of 2,853 restaurants across South Africa, the rest of Africa, the Middle East and the United Kingdom.

All of our restaurants are owned and operated by our dedicated franchisees. Some have been part of the Wimpy family for many decades and some are multi-generational, with parents passing their Wimpy knowledge on to their children. We are always on the look-out for enthusiastic and dedicated new franchisees across the UK and you can find out more by visiting this page.

Find out more about how you can own your own Wimpy restaurant here.

Our burgers are made from 100% British & Irish Beef with just an added seasoning. This means that the burger patty recipe is actually 99% beef (which is 100% British & Irish) and 1% seasoning. The seasoning is made up of salt, pepper and spices and because some of the spice is carried on wheat flour there is, therefore, a very small amount of wheat gluten present in the finished product. Our burgers have always contained our unique seasoning and we give full information about the ingredients and allergens that are present in our nutritional booklets in-store and on the Wimpy website.

This recipe has been established for many years and we use only approved and independently accredited manufacturers to supply all of our products.

Whether you have a fabulous Wimpy story to tell, great service to share or a complaint you want recorded, contact our Head Office.

Yes. Since January 2018, all own label Wimpy products – including the eggs used in our own delicious sauces - are free range and all shell eggs supplied through the Wimpy distribution channel are only free range. Wimpy has further committed to switching to cage-free alternatives on the remaining very small number of non-own label products that contain egg ingredients on our menu. This will be in place by 2025 at the latest. In the meantime, we continue to work closely with our third party suppliers in order to achieve this change at the earliest opportunity.

A nutritional booklet is available in all Wimpy restaurants, so please ask your server for a copy. This provides the full nutritional information for each menu item, as well as listing the presence of any allergens. In addition, we also publish an Ingredients and Allergen guide giving details of the component food products that we use to assemble our meals. This is available on our website and for reference in our restaurants.

The Beyond Burger® is currently available from the majority of our restaurants. Made from 100% vegan ingredients, it is cooked and prepared completely separately from meat products to ensure no cross-contamination.

The Wimpy menu includes many other meat-free alternatives and non-meat items. However, these items may be cooked in the same oil as meat or fish products and Wimpy does not claim any menu item (other than the vegan Burger) as being specifically suitable for a vegetarian or vegan diet.

We recognise that individual customers’ needs can vary significantly and are always happy to discuss your specific requirements at the restaurant.

Our home delivery service operates with a reduced menu but still serves the same Wimpy products found in our restaurants. Please view the nutritional and allergen information provided in our online menu.

Wimpy UK has adopted the European Chicken Commitment (ECC). This decision builds on our stated commitment to recognise the importance of higher welfare standards for chickens and also underlines our desire to source food sustainably.
By signing up to the ECC we commit to exclusively sourcing 100% of our chicken from suppliers who meet or exceed the standards set out in the ECC by 2026. All chicken products currently on our Wimpy menu are sourced from an approved, reputable supplier and meet current EU animal welfare laws and regulations. This move further underlines our commitment to animal welfare and follows our decision in January 2018 to only use free range eggs for all our own label products on the menu.

A number of items on our menu are free from ingredients containing gluten. However, we cannot absolutely guarantee that cross-contamination will not occur within the restaurant environment and therefore do not currently promote any foods with a specific “gluten-free” claim. We would always advise that you seek guidance from your doctor or medical professional to discuss the suitability of any of our menu items in relation to specific dietary requirements. Details of ingredients and allergens in our foods can be found in our In-Restaurant Information Guide available on-line and in-store by request.

We do not currently have Halal accreditation for any of our restaurants and do not specifically identify any of the products on our menu as being suitable for a Halal diet.
We recognise that individual customers’ needs can vary significantly and are always happy to discuss your specific requirements at the restaurant. 

If you are not 100% satisfied with your Wimpy experience, it’s important you raise your complaint with the restaurant staff at the time to ensure issues are resolved swiftly. All Wimpy restaurants are franchised, which means they are independently owned and managed, therefore Wimpy does not have control over the day-to-day management of the restaurant. If however you are not satisfied with the way in which your complaint has been dealt with, please contact our Head Office here.