Wendy’s UK Restaurant Menu Is Full of Frostys and Baconators | Eater London

"The newly opened Reading outpost of the U.S. fast-food chain announces itself with a three-foot-tall gold statue of its signature frozen drink. Its menu leans on brand staples — square burgers, the Baconator, the Frosty (including an off-menu 'black and white' chocolate-and-vanilla swirl that Eater NY critic Ryan Sutton called "truly the quintessential American fast-food dessert"), and spicy chicken nuggets that deliver actual heat. The opening completes a long-promised U.K. push that was in the works since 2019 and marks a return after the chain left the market in the early 2000s; the operation is as well known for its hyperactive Twitter persona as for its food. The company also arrives amid controversy over low starting wages (reported as low as $8/hour), public comments blaming income inequality for sales stagnation, refusal to join the Fair Food Program, and frequent worker involvement in Fight for $15 strikes — it promises "no-zero hours" contracts for U.K. staff but has not disclosed starting pay. In a market already crowded with large American chains, this Reading site will test whether theatrical marketing and signature menu items translate into lasting success." - James Hansen