Wendy's Menu Items You Can't Get In The US

With thousands of locations across the globe and a presence in dozens of countries, Wendy's is among the biggest fast food chains in the world. To say that it's come a long way from the first Wendy's location opened in 1969 would be an understatement. Over the course of those 50-plus years, the Wendy's menu has undergone countless changes. Many dishes have come and gone, like the Chicken Caesar Pita and Chicken Asiago Ranch Flatbread. But some dishes never grace the menus of U.S. Wendy's restaurants at all.

Why do these creations never reach American shores? Some are tied to country-specific tastes, like the green tea milkshakes of Japanese Wendy's. Others cater to a specific cultural need; many Indian Wendy's restaurants are completely beef free, which leads to unique menu options. What are you missing out on? Read on to discover the delicious Wendy's menu items you can only find beyond U.S. borders.

To the uninitiated, poutine may seem akin to loaded fries, but there's a lot more going on here than first meets the eye. Poutine is a beloved icon of Canadian, and especially Quebecois, food culture. It consists of a bed of crispy French fries topped by a ladleful of gravy and a small helping of fresh cheese curds.

We don't know if, when the chain opened in Ontario in the mid-1970s, poutine was included on the Wendy's menu. But it's there now, in all of its chicken-based-gravy-and-cheese goodness, and it isn't going anywhere anytime soon. Available both with and without bacon, Wendy's is actually one of the best fast food places in Canada to order poutine.

Familiar fast food restaurants like Wendy's can be a good way of dipping one's toe into another culture. If you're lucky enough to live near the Canadian border, you should take advantage. We aren't saying the poutine is worth the trip on its own ... but we also won't discourage anyone from getting in the car to eat it.

Did you know that Wendy's restaurants around the world offer onion rings in addition to French fries? The history of the onion ring is immense and glorious — cultures across the globe have been frying up this vegetable since time immemorial. So we aren't really surprised to find onion rings on a fast food menu ... but we are a little put out that they aren't on Wendy's menus in the United States.

Should you wish to give these crispy wonders a try, you will have to travel to the Middle East, where they are available in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates, or all the way to New Zealand. Once Wendy's launches in Australia (the company hopes to open its first stores by 2025), perhaps those locations too will include onion rings on the menu. If not, Australians will also need to leave the country to order Wendy's onion rings.

There is little point in arguing over the popularity of nachos, whether you're in or outside the United States. What's not to love about crunchy tortilla chips covered in cheese? What's more, nachos are infinitely customizable — beef, jalapenos, olives, and all kinds of other things can crown this delectable snack.

We can't say that Wendy's has never offered a form of nachos in the U.S. In 2023, the chain introduced the Loaded Nacho Cheeseburger, Chicken Sandwich, and Queso Fries, all of which were removed from menus in early 2024. But several Wendy's restaurants outside of the U.S. have chili cheese nachos listed on their sides menus every day of the year.

If you hop the border to Canada or head to the Cayman Islands, you will find crispy tortilla chips topped with cheddar cheese sauce and beef chili. Down in New Zealand, they have Chili Chips and Cheese (basically the same thing as chili cheese nachos) as well as the Guacamole Crunch Bowl, which is the Chili Chips and Cheese with scoops of guacamole and sour cream on top.

Wendy's has delighted customers by adding jalapenos to burgers in the past. Sadly, they never stick around for long. That is why true Wendy's jalapeno fans need to head outside the U.S. to get their fix.

It probably comes as no surprise that Wendy's Mexico includes a Bacon Jalapeno Melt on its menu. A quarter pound of beef is topped with cheddar cheese, sliced jalapenos, and three strips of crispy bacon. More surprising is the fact that Wendy's locations in Georgia (the country, not the state) offer a Crispy Jalapeno Cheeseburger. This all-beef burger comes with cheddar cheese, chipotle sauce, jalapeno slices, lettuce, and tomato. If red meat isn't your thing, this combination of ingredients is also available with a chicken patty, either breaded or plain, in place of the beef.

McDonald's Japan's Teriyaki McBurger is pretty famous. But did you know that Wendy's has a teriyaki burger of its own — and it isn't just found in Japan? Moreover, unlike the McBurger, which is made from pork, Wendy's teriyaki burgers are made with all-beef patties.

Wendy's First Kitchen (as Wendy's is named in Japan) offers Wendy's signature square beef patty topped with lettuce, teriyaki sauce, and garlic paste. You can also order it with a slice of cheese if you prefer. Originally available only in 50 gram patties, you can now order the more regularly sized 100 gram patties. Respectively, these are just shy of 2 ounces and neatly a quarter pound. Chicken can be substituted for the beef patty, making the Teriyaki Chicken Sandwich, which comes in both single and double options. For a limited time, you may also be able to order a teriyaki burger with a fried egg and avocado on it.

Indonesia offers even more teriyaki goodness, as it's home to the impressively named Teriyaki Beefanator. In December of 2023, this sandwich was also introduced as a limited time option in some Middle Eastern countries, along with Teriyaki Loaded Fries. Our mouths are watering.

This list just would not be complete without Japanese Wendy's First Kitchen's signature sandwich, the Wild Rock Burger (normally stylized with a five-pointed star between "Wild" and "Rock"). Designed as a low carb alternative to traditional sandwiches, the Wild Rock is almost an inversion of a conventional hamburger. Instead of a bun made from bread, the Wild Rock uses two all-beef burger patties. Sandwiched between them are a slice of tomato, lettuce, bacon, a fried egg, and, perhaps strangest of all, tartar sauce. Critical Eats Japan confirmed on YouTube that the patties are dry rather than greasy, making them easy to pick up with your hands.

The unorthodox Wild Rock must be a hit with customers, as it has remained on menus since it was first introduced on August 9, 2017. Hitting most of the notes of a traditional hamburger, it honestly doesn't sound too bad. We think it could be seriously popular among those in the U.S. who follow a low-carb or wheat-free diet.

One of the things that Wendy's is most known for in the U.S. is its tasty burger. This is not necessarily true when one ventures abroad. We now move away from sides and sandwiches into totally new territory, starting with pasta.

Japan's Wendy's First Kitchen offers six different pasta dishes. The Nostalgic Meat Sauce option appears to be a typical spaghetti with meat sauce. The Carbonara, Melty Mozzarella and Bacon Tomato Sauce, and Shrimp and Avocado Genovese are all fairly self explanatory, even if we've not heard of bacon tomato sauce before. The Nostalgic Neapolitan and Aged Hakata Mentaiko are more surprising. The latter makes an especially major mark by featuring prawns and okra.

Over in the Philippines, you'll find spaghetti with meat sauce and grated cheese. Indonesian Wendy's also offers something called Beef Spaghetti, which we assume is akin to the Filipino menu's spaghetti. The Macaroni Melt N Cheese, also available in Indonesia, appears to be a tray of macaroni and cheese.

Pizza is portable, delicious, infinitely customizable, and beloved around the world. It's difficult to find a person who truly doesn't like it. This is reflected by the thousands and thousands of pizza restaurants in the United States. With that kind of market, it's not difficult to understand why a fast food burger chain like Wendy's doesn't want to compete. McDonald's tried selling pizza and largely failed, after all. But what a novelty it would be to have a Wendy's brand pizza. What would it be like? Would people go for it? Would it be Wendy's-specific in an interesting way?

To answer these questions, you must travel all the way to the nation of Georgia, where there are a surprising number of options. Choose between 15 signature pizzas. all approximately 13 inches across. Some will be familiar to Americans, such as margherita, pepperoni, vegetarian, and four cheese pizzas. But there are also pizzas featuring more out-there toppings, like chicken and peppers, salami and mushroom, salami and bacon strips (as opposed to the crumbles as you typically see in the U.S.), and American Pizza Dog and Fries, which is topped with pepperoni, French fries, and sliced jalapeno peppers.

Did you know that Wendy's founder Dave Thomas got his start with Kentucky Fried Chicken? Thomas is actually the man behind the large red and white bucket that is seen rotating outside many KFC restaurants. After parting ways with the fast food chicken chain that he helped make successful, Thomas shifted gears to found his now popular burger empire. Therefore, it shouldn't be too surprising that Wendy's has also gotten into the chicken game, although not within the U.S.

If you'd like to try some fried chicken from Wendy's, you will need to head to Aruba, Argentina, Panama, the Philippines, or Indonesia. Judging from the menu pictures, each country seems to have its own recipe. Panama's chicken in particular doesn't seem to be nearly as crispy as Argentina's, and Indonesia offers both regular and spicy fried chicken. Perhaps boneless wings are more your thing? For that, you should visit a Wendy's in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, or Puerto Rico.

Rice is a staple food in much of the world, including Asia and Latin America. As we said earlier, international chain restaurants will often alter their menus to meet the dietary needs, preferences, and cultural norms of the countries in which they operate. So it only makes sense for Wendy's to include rice on its menus in countries where rice is a staple.

When Wendy's opened in India, for example, not only did it not have beef on the menu, but there were a number of rice bowls on offer, in addition to chicken and veggie sandwiches. The Philippines too has some tasty looking rice bowls, like the Beefy Mushroom, Texmex Chicken, Chipotle BBQ Beef, and Beef Chili, which includes a few tortilla chips. In Indonesia, you can try a rice bake or a combo of fried chicken with a side of rice.

Hopping over to the Middle East, Kuwait and Qatar offer Beef Rice, Homestyle Chicken, Spicy Chicken, and Crispy Chicken Rice Meals. Each is a patty of meat atop white jasmine rice with a side of mushroom chicken gravy to pour over the top. In Aruba, Wendy's serves trays of Chili Rice and Chicken Rice. For unknown reasons, Wendy's in the Dominican Republic offers only the Chili Rice, though you can also order a side of rice if you'd like.

Sure, you can get a cup of coffee from Wendy's to help perk you up when you're in a slump. But can you order an espresso, latte, cappuccino, flat white, americano, or mocha? If you are in the U.K., you can! The country of Georgia enjoys an even wider variety of coffee drinks on its menu, including espresso, hot and iced lattes, hot and iced cappuccinos, iced americanos, iced caramel macchiatos, iced mochas, and coffee with ice cream that can be ordered with or without Baileys Irish Cream.

Not many fast food chains have ventured into coffee shop territory. In fact, McDonald's is one of the only outliers with its McCafes and CosMc drive thrus. Perhaps the coffee competition in the U.K. and Georgia is not as fierce as in the U.S. Or maybe the demand is just that great? There don't appear to be any Starbucks locations in Georgia, so we suppose that leaves the door wide open for Wendy's.

We finally arrive at one of the most iconic menu items: Wendy's famous Frosty. Some readers in the U.S. may remember when Wendy's unveiled the Twisted Frosty in 2007, introducing popular candies and cookies as Frosty mix-ins. Alas, it was not long lived ... in the U.S., that is.

In Mexico, you can still order Oreo cookies, M&M's, and more to make both vanilla and chocolate Twisted Frosties. Chile, Aruba, and Georgia also have Oreo and M&M's Twisted Frosties, and Kuwait has the M&M's Twisted Frosty on its menu.

But that isn't where it stops — some countries get extra creative with their Frosties. In addition to the two mentioned above, Georgia also has mixed berry, vanilla frosting, banana parfait, berry parfait, and strawberry parfait options. These may not be called Twisted, but they have the same idea. You can also order your Frosty with cherry, strawberry, or chocolate sauce. Canada has the White Chocolate Strawberry Frosty, and Kuwait has the Triple Chocolate Nut Frosty. We love a classic Frosty, but it's hard not to love these jazzier options too.

Speaking of Frosty creativity, many countries include outright milkshakes on their menus. The invention and evolution of the Frosty sets it apart from ice cream served by other fast food chains. It's not soft serve, but it's obviously not solid either. This unique consistency makes it ideal for mixing up milkshakes.

Wendy's Mexico combines its classic Frosty with a number of flavored sauces to make unique shakes, complete with whipped cream and a cherry on top. Sauces include blackberry, strawberry, chocolate, vanilla, banana, and mango. It's difficult to tell from a picture, but Jamaica seems to offer at least some of the same options. Georgia has vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, cherry, and caramel shakes. New Zealand can choose between chocolate, strawberry, caramel, and mint flavors. Perhaps most unique of all, Japanese shakes are made with green tea and azuki beans.