10 restaurant trends for 2025

1 Chefs and farmers team up

Whatever one’s stance on the row over Inheritance Relief Tax reform and Jeremy Clarkson, most would agree that farmers are having a tough time of it at the moment. A decline in British farming will hit higher-end restaurants that take a farm-to-table approach especially hard, cutting them off from the (usually) relatively affordable and often local produce that defines their approach. With farmers facing many of the same existential problems as the restaurant industry - not least high utilities prices, a lack of staff and razor-thin margins - it is perhaps unsurprising that farmers and chefs are working together more and more closely. For example, Mýse chef patron Josh Overington’s close relationship with his dairy farmer has given him access to colostrum - AKA first milk - that he uses to make a custard tarts of sorts. It’s a win for both parties, with local Jersey cow dairy Grey Leys Farm getting paid for a product that often goes down the drain and Mýse gets to serve something that (as far as we know) no other restaurant in the country offers. In some cases, chefs are also looking to invest in farms to secure very specific produce including Thai restaurants AngloThai and Khao Bird.

2 Smaller portions

At a time when rising costs continue to make running a restaurant ever more challenging, it would seem financially prudent for owners to offer smaller portion sizes to help them balance the books. Yet it will be consumers, rather than businesses, who will be the likely driver of the smaller portion trend thanks to the increase in use of appetite suppressant drugs such as Ozempic. We’re not talking fast food operators (who pays for the drug and then binges at Five Guys?) but in smarter restaurants where the clientele still wants a taste of eating out without fear they will undo all their hard work don’t be surprised to see a rise in smaller meals designed to save people the embarrassment of having to leave half of what’s on their plate. In Soho the demand for smaller portions is already there, according to Nima Safaei, the founder of London restaurants 40 Dean Street and 64 Old Compton Street, who told the Daily Mail that he was seeing an impact of the drug in that his customers were ordering less food. To avoid any confusion, we’re not suggesting a resurgence of the small plates trend which swept the capital a decade ago, but of actual meals reduced in size.

3 Fine dining ++

There was a time not so long ago when restaurateurs were shrugging off the opulent trappings of fine dining and making their dining rooms more approachable and democratic (think more Dabbous than Le Louis XV) but the tables are now turning. In a drive to attract the sort of lucrative jet set travelling gourmand that pays little attention to the figure on the bill, restaurants are becoming ever more exclusive to stand out from the crowd. Endo Kazutoshi recently upped the ante at his already impressive Endo at Rotunda, reopening with a reconfigured sushi counter that now seats only 10 guests to ‘ensure a closer interaction between Kazutoshi and his guests’ while restaurants such as The Cocochine in Mayfair and hotel Broadwick Soho have filled themselves unashamedly with some of the world’s most feted artworks to appeal to an ever more discerning clientele. Jason Atherton’s new Savile Row flagship Row on 5 also fits firmly in this category. Not only does the restaurant have one of the capital’s great wine lists, Atherton has donated his private collection of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, stored in a separate wine cellar with prices available on request. If that wasn’t enough by way of luxury, the restaurant also provides hand tailored smoking jackets to diners and will even dry clean your jacket free of charge while you dine. The race for the top is likely to intensify this year, with Restaurant Gordon Ramsay Mark II, a 14-seater chef’s table iteration of his three Michelin star flagship at the chef’s 22 Bishopsgate project, which is unlikely to be anything short of breathtaking.

4 Pizza playing to a new beat

Pizza had yet another moment in 2024 thanks to the emergence of different styles in London and elsewhere, most notably that of New Haven pizza. Max Lewis has been something of a trailblazer in this regard, launching a long-term residency of Lenny’s Apizza (pronounced ‘abeetz’) at The Bedford Tavern on Seven Sisters Road and bringing authentic New Haven style pizza (charred and chewy) to the capital. Lewis and Carl McCluskey, who founded the hyper successful New York style pizza brand Crisp Pizza W6, have helped enlighten people to the fact that there is more to pizza than the now ubiquitous (but also very tasty) Neapolitan pizza, and boy have people taken notice. So much so, in fact, that Lewis has been courted by some of the industry big boys keen to get a slice of the action and other big players have made their own moves, including ATFC, the company behind the Angus Steakhouse and Muriel’s Kitchen brands, which launched New York style pizzeria Alley Cats last year, and Franco Manca owner The Fulham Shore, which has just launched Super Club Roma serving Roman style crispy pizzas. Now that pizza players have freed themselves from the Neapolitan yoke, we expect to see more enter the sector in 2025, bringing even more diversity to the party. Take, for example, Riley’s in Leeds, which specialises in what it describes as Tokyo pizza - a Neapolitan-style pizza that has a crispy rather than a floppy base. Riley’s is currently on pause, but its founder Chris Riley-Smith looks to have something exciting planned for early this year, so watch this space. Then there’s Coco di Mama, which is about to add pizza to its pasta-focused menu for the first time in the form of a range of Roman-style pinsa pizzas, and Officina OO, which is also dipping its toe into the world of pizza for the first time, serving pizza in a rutiello at its soon-to-open Covent Garden restaurant. As for what else might come, expect to see even more New York style pizza hit the UK’s streets, particularly in the by-the-slice format, as well as Chicago, Detroit and even St Louis style pizzas, the latter being a round, cracker-thin pizza typically cut into squares rather than slices.

5 The evolution of the smashed patty

Smashburgers took 2024 by storm and their popularity is unlikely to show any signs of waning over the coming 12 months as more and more players enter the category. With that in mind, 2025 could be the year where we see different styles of smashed patties becoming more popular to bring the UK’s burger scene even more in line with its friends across the pond. Anthony Murphy, co-founder of West Country-based burger brand The Beefy Boys believes that the Oklahoma-style smashed patty, where onions are smashed into the burger on grill, could become much more of a thing this year, alongside the animal style patty where the meat is fried with American mustard. Animal style is already a favourite for many at California-based burger restaurant In-N-Out, which offers it on its ‘no so secret menu’. While we’re talking California burgers, could 2025 also see the return to favour of the slightly healthier California-style burger – one made with lettuce, onion, and tomato?

6 Fine cider takes its rightful place on wine lists

Cider has traditionally competed with beer for its place on the table but that’s changing – in the upper echelons of the industry, at least – thanks to a new breed of producers that are in many cases borrowing from the playbook of the natural wine movement. The rules around the category are surprisingly lax at present - ‘cider’ must contain at least 35% apple juice either from fresh or concentrate and have an abv of at least 1.2% - which goes some way to explaining the lacklustre nature of more mainstream products. But fine cider, the name preferred by most producers and Felix Nash of East London-based The Fine Cider Company which has played a key role in championing them, has much more in common with top quality wine in that they are made with 100% fruit harvested on site or very locally just once a year and wild yeasts with producers often taking a low-intervention, organic and biodynamic approach (in some cases all three). Another important similarity to wine is that proper fine cider will have a vintage date and has the potential to improve with age (although it isn’t as long-lived as some wines). Typically served from 750ml bottles into wine glasses – in most cases this complex, powerfully-flavoured liquid isn’t something you’d want a pint of – these products are an increasingly common sight in top restaurants particularly on wine pairing selections with places championing it including The Ledbury, KOL, The Clove Club, Holm and even the three-Michelin-starred The Fat Duck. How do you like them apples?

7 The return of the restaurant spin-off

History suggests that new brands from existing operators are doomed to fail but that hasn’t stopped a new wave of operators throwing their hats into the ring. Within the past few months Pizza Express has just cut the ribbon on a new supermarket carpark-based grab-and-go concept called Pizza Express Pod; Honest Burgers has launched smash burger concept Smash + Grab; and Franco Manca-owner The Fulham Shore has opened a crispy-Roman-style pizza concept called Super Club Roma. Motivations for creating spin-offs vary. It could be existing brands looking to hit different demographics, take advantage of a new category of real estate or - in Honest Burgers and The Fulham Shore’s case - capitalise on a new food trend in a bid to stay relevant in a rapidly changing market. While the restaurant graveyard is littered with failed spin-offs, there are reasons for optimism with this latest crop given the strong performance of recently-created brands including Permit Room (Dishoom) and Brightside (Loungers). There’s more to come this year too. Pizza Pilgrims is set to relaunch its pizza-by-the-slice concept Slice and KFC’s tenders and dips concept Saucy could make its way across the pond at some point.

8 The rise of Korean cuisine (again)

You don’t need to be a Netflix executive to know that Korean culture is hot property right now. From the success of Squid Game to the rise of K-Pop, Brits are becoming more and more enamoured by the Land of the Morning Calm. Take new research from Just Eat, which says the nation is riding a ‘K-Wave’ boom for Korean food and products that’s apparently worth £3.5bn. Of this spending, food accounts for 58%, according to consultancy Development Economics. Restaurant ran a piece on the rise of Korean food in the UK a decade ago and looking back it was perhaps a tad premature, but now things are definitely changing. Just look at the success of QSR brand Bunsik. The Korean corn dog specialist arrived in the UK in 2021 and now operates seven sites across London and Manchester, with its opening on Wardour Street in London’s Chinatown drawing huge crowds last summer. Bunsik is owned by Maguro Group, which this year is also set to open what director Jae Cho has described as ‘the biggest Korean restaurant in the UK’ in Manchester. Maguro isn’t the only one making a bigger play in the Korean restaurant space; there’s also husband and wife duo Duncan Robertson and Kyu Jeong Jeon, who have made waves in Bristol with their restaurants Bokman and the recently-launched Dongnae. And in London, chef Judy Joo is pushing ahead with the expansion of her Korean fried chicken concept Seoul Bird, actively seeking new sites in the capital alongside the US, Middle East and continental Europe.

9 The Ivy-fication of the high street

In case you hadn’t noticed, a lot of high street restaurants are beginning to look notably similar to each other. There’s often smart brass detailing, wood panelling, subtle lighting, seating that is both luxe and comfortable, and an abundance of giant pot plants creating a vibe that is relaxed yet elegant. It all speaks to a maximalist style that has long been the synonymous with The Ivy group but has now evolved into something of a blueprint for operators in both the casual and premium casual dining spaces. Brassiere brand Browns and Italian chain Piccolino both seem to have borrowed from The Ivy aesthetic for their most recent launches and restaurant revamps and even San Carlo, already known for its super luxe fit outs, seems to be singing from the same design hymn sheet as The Ivy these days. Then there’s Bill’s which, like The Ivy, is backed by Richard Caring. Bill’s has gradually moved away from its greengrocer roots and has begun to adopt a similar look that, unsurprisingly maybe, more than echoes its sibling brand. As one of the country’s most successful restaurant groups (it has a rumoured £1bn valuation) The Ivy seems to have hit on a formula that works, and its influence is now spreading like its botanical namesake.

10 Music, maestro

To quote Duke Orsino: “If music be the food of love, play on.” That certainly appears to be the mantra being adopted by more and more restaurants with music becoming as integral to their concept as good food and service. Live music venue Albert’s Schloss, the Bavarian bier palace concept that hosts a daily line-up of bands, cabaret and gospel choirs across its four UK sites, is routinely full and rivals have taken note - Stonegate Group recently debuted its new Rita’s Beerhall and Ballroom in Leeds that offers a seven-day-a week programme of live music and entertainment. Then there’s restaurants like Louis in Manchester (which has designs on a London site), The Georgian in London, and Voya in Brighton, which also serve up live music, be it an impeccably dressed pianist, house band or a rotating DJ residency. Twin this with the rise in concepts inspired specifically by Japan’s analogue listening bars – places such as Drifter in Brighton, and Rainy Heart in Manchester, and you’ve got yourself a very musical trend. Play on indeed.