Have you posted in the right country - there are no Dennys in the UK. A few years ago they had plans to expand but AFAIK came to nought

Frankie and Bennie's might be a (fairly) close equivalent

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_restaurant_chains

Plenty of places listed there.

Take your pick.

Personally I would go for something local and not part of a chain where possible but to each their own.

I think the reference to Dennys was not meant to suggest that there were any in the UK rather that he OP was seeing places not disimilar to them.

As far as I know Dennys doesn't operate here, but there are literally dozens of others, some nationwide, other regional.

There are chains that are more common in town or city centres, eg Carluccios and Strada (both Italian), GBK (I think their origins are in NZ so perhaps familiar ground) and Byron for more "upmarket" burgers.

Mainly outside centres there are several pub-restaurant chains - eg Beefeater, Chef & Brewer, Ember Inns, Harvester, Table Table, and many more. Pizza Hut, Frankie & Benny's and a few more can sometimes be found in centres and on leisure parks (cinema, bowling alley, a few shops, hotel etc).

Many of the chains will have offers - limited menu/early diner/vouchers etc. This link has some of the current offers:

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/deals/cheap-restaurant-deals

You can often get better value and better food at independent places.

Pubs are variable, and quite a lot are chains (though again.. independents can be better, and sometimes cheaper). Some at the top end are expensive, while there are others that offer decent food at good prices, and they often do childrens menus - though of course these cheap places won't be on tourist routes.

I have no idea what Denny's is ...

There are dozens of chains. Several italians: Pizza Express, Ask ...Also, where in the UK are you going? Or asian places like Wagamammas. There are also of course regional 'mini chains' as well.

M

In the UK many people have a snack or light meal at their local department store. Many of then have cafés and restaurants and are usually good value for money.

I'm not really sure there are any UK restaurant chains entirely equivalent to Denny's in terms of menu variety or price. Frankie and Benny's serves American-style food and seems to have a special where you can get 2 courses for £12 (~$18). On the normal dinner menu, main courses are in the £8-20 range. Note that the quantity of food is likely to be considerably less than Denny's because portion sizes are based on someone being able to eat a 3 course meal comfortably (not order a main + dessert and have lots of leftovers to take home after in the American chain restaurant fashion).

You may also want to check out the Giraffe chain. Many larger supermarkets have well-priced cafes, but these tend to be edge of/out of town, so less good for tourists relying on public transport or visiting central London.

Frankie and Benny's don't count as reasonably priced under my definition, but there's no doubt that they are a chain!

The places that offer the most value are, in my view, local cafe's and coffee shops, though they may not be open late for dinner. Pubs, fish and chip restaraurants and supermarket cafes can also be good value, especially if there are special offers such as two meals for £8.99.

Many non chain restaurants will have an early or late evening special table d'hote offfer, which might compare favourably with the likes of F&B.

Sorry I used Dennys as an example as they are an American chain that is here in nz so I assumed if they had moved into our market they were a global thing and would be in the uk too. To be clear - can't stand the place or the food, too American for me!

I have a 10 year old autistic son, and we will be going all over the uk. As he needs routine and consistency chain restaurants can be the easiest solution especially when we have had full on days of new experiences being able to seek out a restaurant that is located at Birmingham york glasgow cardiff etc will just give him a consistent grounding in the chaos.

When we travel here in nz we stick with going to lone star as it has set menu etc we know what to expect. This is a kiwi restaurant chain so was after examples like that, but knew no one would have a clue if I used it as an example.

I've been to NZ but I don't have any recollection of Lone Star, sorry!!!

The problem you may have is finding a chain restaurant that is located conveniently to you in all these different cities. That's if I read your post correctly in that you want to eat at the same restaurant for conisstency in the places you mention. But have a look at chains like Bella Italia, Harvester, Strada and Nando's to see if they fit the bill. (Many chain locations are in out of town areas such as retail parks these days, this is certainly true of where I live!)

Otherwise, if consistency is important, Wetherspoons pubs may provide the answer, though you would have to eat earlier than 8 or 9 o'clock in most cases.