From Sober Sommeliers To Fancy Fast Food: Here’s Our Food Trend Predictions For 2026
Another year has slipped behind us — one that proved particularly exciting for the modern diner. 2025 felt like the restaurant truly returned to London. We paid closer attention, cared a little more, and found joy in the city’s new burgers, pizzas, soups and everything in between as we flocked to delis and diners. In 2025, Londoners fell back in love with the restaurant.
2026 promises nothing less. But as our appetites change with the times, so too does the culinary scene. With a little help from the UK’s top chefs, here’s what we predict the 2026 food trends will bring.
Reservations Get Later… And Later
Finally, Londoners are staying up late again. And the restaurant is the going-out scene that people are beginning to chase. We’re prioritising community in restaurants with a new sense of excitement. Executive chef of Michelin-starred Pavyllon London, Benjamin Ferra Y Castell, says, “In 2026, people are seeking flexibility and connection with dining experiences that bring them together. Late-night dining is making a comeback, opening up the city’s after-dark scene with some incredible offerings and special menus post 9 pm.”
Next year, Simpson’s in the Strand will be reopening with one bar open until 1 and another until 3. Agora will continue to take last bookings until 10:30, The Dover at 11:30, Brasserie Zedel at 10:45, and Speedboat Bar at 10:30. Those are just a few of last year’s most talked about meals. It doesn’t seem like this should fade, as we’ll notice our friends and partners slowly push back the times that work best for them for dinner, and we’ll sense that the restaurant is less and less at a whisper, because dinner might be a party again.
Fast Food Turns Fancy
Lucky us, fast food is fancy now! 2025 saw the revival of the burger, of pizza, and of modern street food as an aspirational dish in intimate settings. Kerth Gumbs, chef de cuisine at Fenchurch, says “diners increasingly crave theatre and craft from their casual dining. I expect we’ll see chefs pairing accessible, affordable ingredients with playful presentation and layered flavours.”
While my beloved Normans saw closure of their permanent location this year with their £3 Negronis and £5 cheeseburger, we still watched as The Plimsoll, Heard, Dove, and One Club Row became the talk of the town with their casual dining and phenomenally well-done and simple burgers. The George was heralded as one of the best sandwiches in London with their toastie, and Crisp made a comeback in their new basement pizza parlour.
Fast food is the moment; people are craving casual dishes in beautiful, ambient settings, while still expecting something special. We’ve redefined what settings fast food staples should live in as our date spots lean toward the burger over the steak.
Sober Sommeliers
Now, while I am definitely in the camp of dinner being a party again, that is not to say people aren’t still going to be sober curious in 2026. One of the biggest consumer food trends of 2025 was Gen Z drinks less. Terms like “zebra-striping” have slowly cropped up, and the mocktail and no and low sections of menus have begun to be taken seriously. 2026 should prove to be the year of the sober sommelier.
Stuart Ralston at Michelin-starred Lyla offers a mixed pairing including elevated non-alcoholic drinks like fermented teas, seedlip cocktails, and juices. Meanwhile, figures like Jo Radford, co-founder of Timberyard, are gaining notoriety for overseeing an award-winning wine list while also serving an avant-garde selection of 0% cocktails and soft drinks. Up in the Lake District, Simon Rogan blew me away with a coffee kombucha.
Somms are proving that you don’t need to drink alcohol to partake in thoughtful menus and beautifully crafted drinks and cocktails. Drinks menus will place weight on non-alc sections just as much as they will on wine and cocktail lists, and we might all want to have a taste.
Zero-Waste Cooking As A Non-Negotiable
Sustainable cooking has become the expectation in London’s restaurant industry. Out of our bucket list venues, we hope that the kitchen does not overuse their food bins, and we hope they are making the most of their shipments. Chefs like Jack Croft and Will Murray and their menus at Fallow, Roe, and Fowl have set a precedent for the city to follow with their still iconic cod’s head dish.
Vivek Singh, founder and executive chef at The Cinnamon Collection, says, “I think we will see more chefs using offcuts to make preserves, pickles and ferments to complement their dishes and eliminate waste.”
As time carries on, sustainability will prove to become more and more innovative, and all those ferments we’ve seen on 2025’s menus are more than just a food trend, but a commitment to a long-term philosophy.
The Traditional French Revival
French food is having a revival with new brasseries rapidly opening across the city. But not just any French, we’re going back to the authentic classics. According to Brian Hennessy, head chef of Winter Garden Restaurant at The Landmark London, “French-inspired dishes and ingredients are firmly on the menu. Pâté en croûte is seeing a revival, while classic offal dishes like pig’s trotter, calves’ liver and tripe are being reimaged with finesse.”
Over the last few months, social media has been drip-fed London’s best new French with 74 Duke Mayfair rising to popularity and the anticipation of Brasserie Olivia opening their first flagship outside of France next year. While we’ve begun to dance with France in 2025, we’ll be in a full waltz come next year.
Discounted Cocktails
On a separate cocktail note, the cost-of-living crisis is expected to deepen into 2026, and many in the industry predict it will usher in the year of the “discounted cocktail.” We’re already seeing early signs of it. At the new Northern Thai BBQ spot Khao Bird, restaurateur Mike Palmer — inspired, reportedly, by being charged £12 for a vodka lime soda — now spotlights a cheeky “I Am Broke” cocktail: a double pour of Lidl vodka with lime and soda. It’s already gaining attention and popularity, for all the right reasons.
Further evidence of the shift can be found in Ellie’s £8 martini at Three Sheets. The Soho bar is set to continue pushing value-led serves, including a Sunday-to-Tuesday deal offering three oysters with a martini or a glass of champagne for £15. After a 2025 dominated by exorbitantly priced pours, this feels like a welcome turning point. If 2026 has a defining cocktail trend, it may well be this: restaurateurs and bartenders getting inventive to create great-value drinks that keep London’s bar culture vibrant — and, crucially, accessible.
