Commitments and Contingencies (Narrative) (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions	12 Months Ended
Dec. 26, 2018	Dec. 27, 2017
Guarantor Obligations [Line Items]
Loan amounts outstanding under the loan pools	$ 2.5	$ 5.1
Maximum payments guaranteed	0.9
Liabilities included as a component of other noncurrent liabilities and deferred credits	$ 0.1	$ 0.1
Minimum [Member]
Guarantor Obligations [Line Items]
Guarantor obligations, term	one
Maximum [Member]
Guarantor Obligations [Line Items]
Guarantor obligations, term	three

Guarantor Obligations, Loans Payable of Franchisee

No definition available.

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Namespace Prefix:	denn_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

The current carrying amount of the liability for the freestanding or embedded guarantor's obligations under the guarantee or each group of similar guarantees.

+ References

Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 460
-SubTopic 10
-Section 50
-Paragraph 4
-Subparagraph (c)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=115931803&loc=d3e12069-110248

+ Details

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Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Line items represent financial concepts included in a table. These concepts are used to disclose reportable information associated with domain members defined in one or many axes to the table.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

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Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:stringItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Maximum potential amount of future payments (undiscounted) the guarantor could be required to make under the guarantee or each group of similar guarantees before reduction for potential recoveries under recourse or collateralization provisions.

+ References

Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 460
-SubTopic 10
-Section 50
-Paragraph 4
-Subparagraph (b)(1)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=115931803&loc=d3e12069-110248

+ Details

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Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Describe the approximate term of the guarantee or each group of similar guarantees.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 460
-SubTopic 10
-Section 50
-Paragraph 4
-Subparagraph (a)(1)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=115931803&loc=d3e12069-110248

+ Details

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Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:stringItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Details

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Namespace Prefix:
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Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

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Namespace Prefix:
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Balance Type:
Period Type: