It used to be that menu trends started at expensive, high-end restaurants and trickled their way down. Case in point: global flavors, plant-forward dishes and sustainable practices. Even the tradition of listing vendors’ names, once the domain of independent restaurants, can now be found at restaurants of all price points.

While still common, there’s also another dish journey at play these days: Trends starting at lower-end places and working their way up to higher-end spots. Take street food, for instance. Food trucks and carts have morphed into successful brick-and-mortar restaurants. Then there’s the upward trajectory of french fries. Once simply the carb-heavy companion to burgers, they can be topped with truffles or paired with caviar at fancier establishments. In France, American-style doughnuts are trending, while here in the U.S. laminated pastries like croissants have found their way into bakeries of all types. And who among us could have predicted that the humble chicken tender would warrant a full-blown article in The New York Times?

Consumers continue to show healthy appetites for ethnically inspired foods, like these menu items from Teriyaki Madness. So, where does this blurring of restaurant lines leave menus? Well, in lots of different directions, and that provides an awesome arena for diners but a somewhat complicated one for restaurant operators and chefs trying to meet the ever-changing demands of their guests.

For Mike Kostyo, vice president of Menu Matters, “value” and “safe” are the words that come to mind when thinking about menu trends this year. “Value was certainly the top conversation overall in the industry, with high prices and inflation being top-of-mind for so many people,” he says, adding that plenty of value and combo meals were launched by major national chains. “I also say ‘safe’ because a lot of operators played it fairly safe this year. With so many operators focusing on value, there wasn’t a lot of room for true innovation when it comes to flavors, cuisines and dishes.”

The focus on price was also a leading factor for Darren Tristano, CEO of Foodservice Results. “There are a lot of areas where pricing has become very important with regards to the menu, and that’s definitely going to continue to be a deciding factor for a lot of consumers,” he says.

In line with concerns about pricing is a shift toward menu simplicity. “The days of having too many items on the menu are gone and we continually see a shift toward fewer items,” says Tristano.

But even with all the talk of inflation and high prices, we still saw consumers treating themselves this year. “It’s telling that at the same time, everyone is mad about $18 burgers, caviar also had a really good year,” says Kostyo. “It continues to show up on social media and we continue to see restaurants offering caviar bumps. Sometimes, during difficult times, we see consumers treat themselves even more to take their minds off the issues.”

Utilizing plant-based products is another trend Tristano sees as growing this year. “The quality has improved, and there are a lot more options,” he says, as two reasons this continues to be a trend. And it’s not just limited to lunch and dinner. “For breakfast, you’ve got plant-based sausage now,” he says.

Plant-based isn’t limited to vegetarians either. “We continue to see consumers looking for a well-rounded diet that includes plants, often in a more natural or less processed form in their eyes, but that also includes meat in some fashion,” says Kostyo. “Today’s eating aspirations are really driven by a wide-ranging diet that prioritizes clean label produce alongside proteins. Let’s be mindful of how we eat but also leave room for what we enjoy.”

Spicy foods remain a priority among diners, which is why Firehouse Subs brought back its Hot Sauce Bar. The chain had paused this feature during the pandemic. The Firehouse Subs Hot Sauce Bar features 13 different options.

Keep it Spicy

Spicy flavors continue to be a strong menu trend, although Gen Z are also leaning toward sweet, fun flavors, says Kosyto. “America’s love of heat shows no signs of slowing down and, if anything, sweet heat flavors like hot honey are now the norm,” he says. “Many brands are seeking out the next generation of extremely hot options and are seeking out the next ghost pepper.”

In the National Restaurant Association’s annual What’s Hot Culinary Forecast — in which 1,500 culinary professionals weigh in on what they see as the leading menu trends — heat-forward condiments topped the list in 2024: chili crisp, tajin and chipotle ketchup took the top three spots.

“Spicy flavors have gone more mainstream, especially with younger consumers,” says Tristano. “I’ve got kids who wouldn’t touch Tabasco or Cholula and now they can’t eat food without it.”

And speaking of younger consumer, menu trends at universities and colleges offer a glimpse into what we might see emerge in the mainstream soon.

At the University of Wisconsin-Madison, flavor stations that include a variety of spices and hot sauces accommodate students seeking more meal customization and amped-up flavors. “We give the students the option to kick up the spice as much as they want or keep it a little bit more on the mellow side,” says Peter Testori, director of dining and culinary services. “Since spice can be subjective, this gives them the opportunity to choose their own adventure.”

“One of our largest focuses right now is offering menu items based off of our population of students from all over the world,” says Donald LaFlam, executive director of dining at New York’s Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT). Africa is a region that now ranks third for the university in terms of students’ home countries. As a result, RIT now offers more African, specifically West African, menu choices.

The University of Pittsburgh recently unveiled 11 distinct dining options influenced by the city’s cultural diversity, including a concept focused on flavors from West Africa and Asia Minor.

Multinational dishes continue to have strong menu placement in restaurant concepts. “One of the misconceptions about fusion cuisine is people think there’s a right and wrong,” says Laura Lentz, FCSI, design principal at Culinary Advisors. “Personally, I think the whole point of fusion is to get outside the box, think about something new and to break down barriers.”

Curry Up Now, one of the nation’s fastest-growing Indian casual concepts, recently introduced the El Jefe Naan Wrap, a LTO featuring a chili garlic naan base loaded with guacamole, chutney and onions. In Chicago, new restaurant Mirra is earning plenty of buzz for its thoughtful, vibrant mix of Indian and Mexican flavors and ingredients. In this year’s October issue of Food & Wine, many of its 10 best new chefs feature dishes at their restaurants that defy borders and represent their own mixed heritages. And it’s no coincidence that this year’s Culinary Institute of America’s Worlds of Flavor conference in November will focus on how shifting migrations have given life to entire cuisines and new ways of seeing authenticity.

But there is a trending flipside to fusion. “Chefs seem to be able to define the cuisine and dishes they are cooking a lot more than years prior when fusion, mash up and chaos food had been popular,” says Max Robbins, Culinary Director of Lettuce Entertain You, which owns, manages and licenses more than 60 brands and 130 restaurants in a dozen states. “You see a lot less restaurants touting generalized ‘contemporary American’ or global cuisine and a lot more places being able to define exactly what and where they are cooking with French bistro, Filipino, omakase and tavern-style pizza among popular examples.”

Chipotle brought back Chicken Al Pastor as a limited time offer earlier this year.

Here to Stay

Caesar salad is one dish that earned a lot of frequent flyer miles this year. “Caesar salads had a surprisingly good year,” says Kostyo. “It feels like every moderately cool restaurant has to have a variation on the Caesar, with everything from the ubiquitous kale Caesar to global variations like a Japanese or Mexican Caesar on menus. You might say Caesar salads were the birria of 2024.”

Beverages have also undergone some changes this past year. “Beverages continue to be a prime innovation platform for the industry,” says Kostyo. “One thing we certainly saw this year was that spirit-free drinks are here to stay. Every operator worth its salt that serves alcohol today also has a spirit-free menu. They are doing a much better job creating drinks that are just as exciting and enticing as alcoholic options and earn their higher price tag. Consumers, particularly younger consumers, have really made them a part of their lifestyle.”

Sparked by consumers love of spicy foods, Red Robin Gourmet Burger added the Jalapeno Heatwave to its menu. This burger includes grilled jalapeno, pepper-jack cheese, caramelized onion and green chili aioli. The chain also now offers its Scorpion Sauce on its wings.In conjunction with the emphasis on price, these cocktails, including low-alcohol and spirit-free drinks, have gotten better. “As consumers are seeing higher prices at the bar, they’re looking for ways to justify it through the value proposition,” says Tristano. “What we’re starting to see is better quality ingredients with more inclusion of things like fresh-squeezed juices.” He also has seen an increase in cannabidiol (CBD) in adult beverages. “I think that trend is going to continue.”

Diet concerns endure when it comes to menus. “Keto is finding a place in the grocery stores in a number of different places, so I think it’s going to start to find its way into kitchens,” says Tristano. “There are so many people struggling with diabetes, including myself.”

New trends can also be found in the back of the house regarding equipment. “We’ve seen a number of limited-service operators really embracing cobotics, or robots that work alongside human workers, particularly on the limited-service side,” says Kostyo, citing Chipotle’s testing of the Hyphen robot to make bowls and their Autocado robot that preps avocados as examples. “A lot of this is driven by the lack of human workers and the fact that these robotic solutions are getting better and better, which is also driven by the advancements in AI.”

Sustainability continues to be a factor for diners and hence operators. Kostyo cites sensors that reduce waste, as well as options that are made for more alternative locations. But overall, there is still some hesitation when it comes to technology. “We still hear from a lot of operators, however, that they are skittish to spend a lot of money on unproven solutions. Will this robotics company be around in a few years? Will this tech be obsolete in five years? Operators want to know that an equipment solution will be worth it in the long term.”

The Crystal Ball

So, what might we see in the not-so-distant future?

“I think barbecue, especially Texas-style, is starting to have and will be having a major moment both locally and globally,” says Robbins. “Also, I see the return of the classic American neighborhood restaurant but with fancier ingredients.”

Wings and Rings, an 85-unit, Cincinnati-based restaurant and sports bar franchise, spiced up its menu this fall with two new wing sauces and a limited-time offer. The chain added Curry Garlic and Pumpkin Chile sauces to its line of wings. And it offered Chorizo Loaded Fries and Nachos for a limited time. Wings and Rings also introduced a Spiced Spiked Vanilla Coke.Kostyo is happy to see the operations that look like they came from a generic template on how to build a social media-friendly restaurant — think astroturf walls with cutesy neon messages and menus featuring the same crispy Brussels sprouts and smash burgers — diminish. In their place, he is seeing a trend of more intentional restaurants with clear stories that are authentic to the chefs and central concepts. “They feel singular and like every aspect of the experience has been thought through,” he says. “We need to create more restaurants that are driven by creative humans.”

And one emerging menu trend is going to the dogs — literally. “One of the more interesting trends, whether you agree or disagree, are menus specifically for dogs,” says Tristano, citing the increase of service dogs as one influencing factor. The recently refreshed Palm House in San Francisco has added a tasting menu for dogs, which features a choice of loco moco or huli huli chicken, tropical or peanut butter cookie and a doggy espresso martini add-on, made of organic beef bone broth and carob. Then there are those popular Puppuccinos (or Pup Cups for those in the know) from Starbucks.

Whatever the incentive, Kostyo feels it’s time to get diners excited again, citing Menu Matters’ 2025 theme “give me something new” as a positive step for the year to come. “We need to give them a fresh view of our industry and along with that a renewed focus on creativity, new ideas, fresh thinking and human-centered design,” he says. “The long tail of the post-COVID funk has lasted far longer than we ever thought, but at some point, we have to shake ourselves out of it and create the future. I hope the next year, and beyond, can be thought of as a new renaissance for our industry.”