Little Chef was a British chain of roadside restaurants; opened in June 1960 by Sam Alper who was inspired by American diners. The chain was famous for the "Olympic Breakfast" – its version of a full English breakfast – as well as its "Early Starter" and "Jubilee Pancakes". The restaurants were mostly located on A roads, often paired with a budget hotels and petrol stations.

The chain expanded rapidly throughout the 1970s, with its parent company acquiring its only major competitor, Happy Eater, in August 1986. After all Happy Eater locations were converted to the Little Chef fascia in the late 1990s, the chain peaked with 439 restaurants. Little Chef began to face decline in the early 2000s, mainly due to over-expansion, meaning it could not properly invest in all of its locations, as well as competition from fast-food and pub chains. By the end of 2005, almost half of its locations had been closed.

In January 2007, the chain was rescued from administration and subsequently reduced to 196 restaurants. This was followed by another closure programme in January 2012 to reduce the chain to 94 restaurants. In February 2017, owners Kout Food Group sold the remaining 70 locations to Euro Garages who would convert the buildings into Starbucks, Greggs, Subway or KFC franchises. After Euro Garages' licence to use the Little Chef name expired, the remaining 36 restaurants became EG Diner by February 2018, and were either converted or closed by the end of October 2018.

The defunct Little Chef brand is still owned by Kout Food Group; however, the trademark is now registered in Kuwait as the group is no longer operating in the United Kingdom.

In the 1930s, during the Great Depression, American lunch room operator Arthur Valentine created the concept of selling small prefabricated diners through mail order. These were called Valentine Diners, and various models were manufactured in Wichita, Kansas, later becoming famous landmarks across the U.S. Route 66. In 1958, British caravan designer Sam Alper was travelling the United States, and saw Valentine's 'The Little Chef' model in Leedey, Oklahoma, creating the British version of the Little Chef concept upon his return home.

On 22 July 1959, Alper founded Little Chef Limited. The first prototype Little Chef diner was created in Francis the Builders Yard on Armour Road, in Tilehurst, Reading, by Raymond Torin and Walter Cardy. The first Little Chef eventually opened on 17 June 1960 on Oxford Road, Reading in the car park of the former Rex Cinema, it had just eleven stools, and was supplied by a company called Lockhart. On July 8, 1960, West London Observer reported on the Reading diner, and mentioned that the Little Chef had ambitious plans to expand across the country with their pre-fabricated diners, measured at 30 feet long by 11 feet wide.

Throughout 1960, Little Chef opened other roadside diners in Biggleswade, Bedford, and Sherborne, Dorset. There was also an attempt at a high-street location, located at 70 High Street, Bedford, though this closed only after a few months of trading. In October 1960, Little Chef expanded into Antrim, Northern Ireland with a site on Belfast Road, Lisburn. In March 1961, another Little Chef roadside diner was opened in Camberley, Surrey.

It is understood that in the 1960s through the existing relationship with Lockhart, Sam Alper and Little Chef would form an alliance with caterer Peter Merchant; Lockhart had previously acquired Merchant's catering business. Little Chef would then become part of Lockhart also. Merchant's catering background and experience would then help Little Chef to further expand its presence, including a short-lived opening in 1964 in London's Regent's Park.