Which Fast Food Chain in Australia Makes the Best Hot Chips?

Hot chips are an important — nay, essential —  component of any takeaway meal. With so many fast food chains in Australia fighting for the title of Best Chippie in Town, it’s up to the people aka Lifehacker readers to cast their vote and crown their favourite joint once and for all.

In honour of National French Fry Day, we’re revisiting this poll to determine which fast-food joint has the best fries and whether the vote holds up to today’s standards.

The perfect hot chips in our opinion are golden and crisp on the outside and fluffy on the inside. It’s that teasing crunch that decides whether you’re going to have a good meal or a great one. But it also depends whether you like your chippies skinny like the ones we get at McDonald’s or is a thicker cut more your jam, like the ones at Oporto or KFC.

It’s also a deal-breaker if the fast-food joint’s overkilled it with the salt because the right amount of seasoning is everything. Chicken salt, however, always gets you bonus points.

So, which hot chips do Aussies love most?

Now, on to the very important matter at hand. We have eight fast-food chains on our polling list that most Aussies frequent for their guilty pleasure: KFC, McDonald’s, Grill’d, Red Rooster, Guzman y Gomez, Nando’s, Hungry Jack’s and Oporto. There’s also an option at the end of the list if you’re meh about all of them and would rather visit your local corner shop for hot chips any time, any day.

Take a look at the vote below to find out which fast-food chain has the best hot chips in town.

Spoiler alert: the winning chip is an old favourite…

The current rankings

According to our reader poll, there was fierce competition for the hottest hot chip. Here’s how the vote played out:

1. KFC
2. Hungry Jack’s
3. Red Rooster
4. McDonald’s 
5. Nando’s
6. Local corner shop
7. Oporto
8. Grill’d
9. Guzman y Gomez

KFC is well and truly holding onto the top spot. It makes sense when you think about it – they’re not cut too thick but also not too skinny, they’re crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside and they come with delicious salty seasoning. KFC chips are pretty hard to beat.

Hungry Jacks fries placing above McDonald’s in the shoestring category comes as a bit of a surprise, but each to their own.

IMO Guzman y Gomez does not deserve the bottom spot on the list but, to be fair, not many people go to a Mexican joint for fried chippies. Give them a shot the next time you’re visiting GYG.

How do you feel about the results? Did your favourite hot chip get the ranking it deserves?

This article has been updated since its original publish date.