If you’re someone who eats out at restaurants often, you probably won’t notice changes in trends as they happen. Menu alterations happen subtly, with new flavours and ingredients slowly changing the face of restaurant eating. And all of a sudden, everyone’s serving terrines, tartlets or tuna tartare.

Changing restaurant trends are fascinating to watch, because they’re borne from changes in the economy, health fads and even the weather. They’re also an emotional reflection of the people eating at restaurants. The many factors at play are what eventually lead to you digging into a plate of sautéed kale. From décor to dining, here are the latest global restaurant trends to look out for:

Simplicity is king

The rise of artisanal bread and cheese tells us something clear about the direction of restaurant dining – taste and quality matter. People no longer want a highfalutin seven layered salad, when they can eat a caprese salad made with top-quality buffalo mozzarella, sweet tomatoes and flavourful basil. They’ll eat it with fresh bread and olive oil, and they’ll be getting their money’s worth.

From the bustling markets on Portobello Road to Michelin star dining, simplicity is in. Coffee, chocolate and pasta have all reverted to their most original form – five ingredients or less – and being served in a decidedly less complicated way.

Freedom from meat

French Monegasque chef Alain Ducasse recently removed all meat from his menu. And no one was mad. In fact, meat-free meals are now ubiquitous at fine dining establishments – and not squashed onto the back page of the menu under ‘vegetarian’. They’re listed in amongst the other dishes, given new and unprecedented love and attention.

Vegetarian meals are now a gourmet experience. Other chefs like Jamie Oliver and Marcus Wareing are also embracing menus with more vegetable-based dishes. If you haven’t noticed the trend on menus at your favourite restaurants, you will now.

Seamlessly stemless

No, they’re not tumblers and you shouldn’t be clutching your pearls at the sight of them. Stemless wineglasses are all the rage overseas and local restaurants are quickly catching up – and if anyone asks, you shouldn’t have been holding your wine glass by the stem anyway, so this new style of drinking isn’t going to mar the ‘correct’ way of sipping your favourite vino.

Stemless wineglasses are a welcome logistical reprieve from the constant anxiety of wineglass-knocking. They look slick and stylish, and allow diners to interact and speak to one another without having to peer over a forest of glass.

The same can be said for drinking coffee and tea from glasses. In cultures where coffee drinking has been happening for centuries, this is nothing new. It’s the way it’s always been done, and it allows for an authentic drinking experience. So get on board, because it’s not going anywhere.

Open seasoning

For restaurants who are brave enough to try it, salt and pepper bags and bowls are charming and on-trend. Some people struggle with the concept of someone else’s fingers taking a pinch of salt just before them, but then that’s a matter of personal compulsion. Stylists are designing gorgeous embossed salt bags and futuristic bowls that add a whole new dimension to restaurant décor.

Some food experts even believe salt and pepper grinders are, in fact, far more unhygienic than bags or bowls, as the salt and pepper absorbs the moisture of piping hot food, and festers inside the device. Either way, unique open seasoning designs are something to look out for.

OPEN Food’s event management and catering teams embrace the latest trends to provide a unique dining and event experience. Click here for more info.