6 dining trends for 2021: with Covid-19 come more restaurant delivery services and Zoom cooking classes, plus a focus on green and healthy eating with plant-based Impossible and Beyond Meat

Jan 25 , 2021

Hong Kong restaurant Mott 32 has introduced plant-based menus – one of the key trends to emerge from a difficult year for the dining scene locally and globally. Photo: Maximal Concepts

In Hong Kong, Mott 32 launched a plant-based menu, Michelin-starred Tate Dining Room opened a lifestyle store and Coa sources artisanal tequilas and mescals – but mocktails are getting more popular, too

It may seem futile to predict food trends for the next 12 months given the year-long blindside that was 2020, but there are interesting directions developing in the F&B industry that have emerged from our Covid-19 experience. An emphasis on healthy, sustainable options and individualised menus are two, as well as – of course – ordering restaurant food to eat at home.

Butcher at Bones & Blades in Hong Kong. Photo: @bonesnblades/Instagram

Restaurant models rethought

In 2020, the traditional restaurant model has proven to not be sustainable in the face of the pandemic, as evidenced by the closure of so many restaurants worldwide. Emerging from the fire though are new models, often providing curated groceries alongside dining facilities. In Hong Kong, a few restaurants had already had the foresight to do just that, such as Bones & Blades, Feather & Bone and more recently, Tate Dining Room, which converted its on-site cakery into a lifestyle store, expanding to include high-end food and wines.

Sweet treats from Tate Dining Room. Photo: @tatediningroom/Instagram

Then there’s Castellana Restaurant, which has an online store called Owl of Minerva Hong Kong offering fine Italian food and wines. This model, according to trendsetters, is the future for a successful restaurant.

Hokkaido scallop Donosteirra at La Rambla at the International Finance Centre (IFC) in Central, Hong Kong. Photo: SCMP

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