I don’t know about you, but here at ES, this year has seemed to disappear in a flash – and much has happened to show for it. On the food and drinks front, some trends have come and gone (we’re looking at you, Barbie pink pasta) while others prove unshakeable, allowing us a glimpse at what lies in store for the year ahead. And where better to look for clues than at the places we’ve been drinking and dining to our heart’s content, as well as the likes of Resy and Opentable, who’ve got a keen eye on who’s where, eating what and when. So without further ado, here’s what’s predicted for breakfast, lunch, dinner and beyond in 2024.
Prepare to book further in advance
As social media hype inches the prospect of visiting London’s most coveted restaurants into near impossibility, it seems we diners are becoming more and more organised (some may say neurotic) when it comes to bookings. This year, on average, we booked tables 143 hours in advance as opposed to 135 hours in 2022. At least we know some people are able to whip their group chats into shape...
It’s time to befriend the under thirties (and make them pay)
Who knows where the funds are coming from, but according to a survey by OpenTable, those aged between eighteen and nineteen expect to spend the most on a meal out, budgeting for an average of £147 per person. Nevertheless, OpenTable restaurants with an average spend of £25 per head are still the most popular.
We’re still lukewarm about *trigger warning* small plates
Listen, it was an exciting prospect when the late Russell Norman introduced us to Polpo way-back-when, but in this economy, we need a tad more bang for our buck. According to Resy, 37 per cent of diners in London prefer to spend £14 on four anchovies on toast over a main dish. By default, surely that indicates that the rest of us are the very least meh about piddly portions. But big plates for sharing? Now that we can get behind. A longtime stalwart at many restaurants such as Silk Road and Otto's, it seems more and more people are adopting ‘family style’ serving methods at the likes of Dorian, Bistro Freddie and Llama Inn, which offer big slabs of meat and fish to be enjoyed between, two, three, four or more.
Expect to see more invasive species
Douglas McMaster, the chef behind hyper-sustainable restaurant Silo, has been dishing up invasive species such as crayfish, grey squirrel and Japanese knotweed for several years now, while Crayfish Bob has been serving his namesake at pop-ups in Peckham and Tom Aitkens championed muntjac deer at his restaurant, Muse, during 2023. In 2024, it’s not going anywhere, with chefs including Jack Stein of Rick Stein Restaurants, and Peter Weeden, executive chef of The Culpeper Group, among just a few expressing excitement at the prospect of including the pests on menus not simply because they’re sustainable, but because they’re delicious, too.
Celebrity drinks are the new celebrity calendar
From Ridley Scott's Mas des Infermières wine to Blake Lively's Buzz soft drinks, celebrity sips are the fan-favourite that just keep coming. Early next year, we can look forward to the arrival of Eurythmics member Dave Stewart's rebellious Poetry vodka and Lykke Li’s Yola mezcal, among, we expect, many others.
We might be getting ‘modern British’ fatigue
You might not be the only one wondering how many more ‘Modern British’ restaurants this city can handle, seeing as according to OpenTable, other cuisines have seen a huge surge in bookings this year. Vietnamese received a twenty eight percent increase, followed by Lebanese and Portuguese, which received a hike of twenty two and fifteen percent retrospectively. Want a piece of the action? Try Sông Quê, Yalla Yalla and Lisboeta.
Surprise, surprise, more people are dining solo
I’m not saying it has anything to do with my ES Magazine column, A Table For One, but… according to statistics gathered by certain booking platforms, we’re taking ourselves out more than ever, with Resy seeing a twenty five percent increase in bookings for one, and OpenTable receiving a more modest four percent rise over the last year.
Mushrooms are continuing to mushroom
We’ve been talking about mushrooms – magic and otherwise – for yonks now, but our collective love for the edible kind shows no sign of diminishing. If cooked right, everything from hen-of-the-woods to shiitake can make a brilliant meat substitute thanks to their sturdy, adaptable textures and flavour profiles. Next year, as an increasing number of restaurants such as Roti King (think shiitake cooked rendang style) and Rosa’s (try the pulled shiitake as a meat substitute) introduce the fungi onto menus, expect to see more chefs cutting out the middleman and taking the lead of those behind Fallow and The Ledbury by growing their own in-house.
It’s not just teetotalers opting for nolo drink options
According to a survey by the Bacardi group, the trend in 2024 is that most of us will be ‘drinking less but better’, and nearly half of us ‘choose nolo options [a non-alcoholic beverage produced with ethanol that has had ethanol removed] on certain occasions and full strength on others.’ Perhaps not surprising seeing as Mintel predicts the global market is set to grow by 67 per cent to $359M by 2026, and brands and institutions are making opting-out of alcohol consumption much easier, with even London’s best new destination for Guinness purists, The Devonshire, offering the brand’s 0.0 option for those seeking the taste without the hangover.
Yes, tequila and mezcal are still on the up
Unless you've been living under a rock, you'll have noticed the mass hysteria around agave spirits, with many new bars including Mezcalito Brompton and Ixchel springing up in the last few months to satiate our desire for the Mexican speciality. According to the Barcadi group survey, our thirst is only set to increase, with bartenders surveyed showing a 67 per cent rise in interest in tequila and a 63 per cent jump in mezcal in the last year. Salud!
