10 trends set to shake up Australian dining in 2024
From old-school parmis and fresh takes on favourites, there will be plenty of tantalising options to choose from on your next night out.
Do you remember the first time you tried burrata? The ubiquitous hunk of cheese became a menu staple in restaurants around 2019, and has lingered like the dense cloud it resembles ever since. While undoubtedly delicious, seeing it now is something of a faux pas in restaurant circles. It’s a trend. And it’s had its time.
This leap year, 2024, promises the Olympics, an Australian Taylor Swift tour, and a wealth of new and improved dining trends set to bring us back to the best seats in the house. Like everything in this world, dining has its trends fall in and out of favour. Remember those burger restaurants that would serve a behemoth of a thing impaled with a steak knife for some reason? And no other cutlery? Thank goodness we’ve more or less passed that stage.
Then there were the trends that stuck around. The first person to put avocado on toast is probably kicking back in the mansion his millennial customers now can’t afford, a trend that has stuck around for pure deliciousness and nourishment. As soon as chilled red wine was first served with a soft frosting around the glass, we were hooked. Given the soaring temperatures so expected here in Australia, cooling your vino down a few degrees has become a viable and thirst-quenching way to still drink red wine in the heat of summer.
So, with a fresh year ahead, and a range of new dining and drinking experiences opening up, we’ve wrapped up the top trends we’re expecting to take centre stage on your next meal out.
The Potluck
When we first came out of the pandemic, everyone was desperate to show off the cooking skills they learned in isolation: the cake you’d mastered; the marquee pasta that was made to be shared. Then it was abandoned in favour of dining out as we headed out to support local restaurants. Now we’re going back to the potluck dining model. Bringing food to share and enjoy communally is back on the rise as the cost of living forces us to rehash our home cooking expertise.
Better cheese
Despite the best efforts of food critics, burrata isn’t going anywhere. However, what we’re picking to dive into the market share is a better and more considered approach to cheese. Australian cheese regulations have softened over recent years, which has led to the emergence of artisan dairies and cheesemakers all over the country. From inner-city cheesemaker Colin Wood and his Goldstreet Dairy, to award-winning Bruny Island Cheese Co, which took home a rare super gold medal at the recent the World Cheese Awards in Norway in 2023, cheese in Australia is better than it’s ever been.
Amaro cocktails
The popularisation of the bittersweet Italian liqueur has skyrocketed. They’re on drinks lists all over the country, and plenty of Aussie distillers have had their own crack with the myriad botanicals we have access to here. Typically served neat, or with ice, we’re hoping for more amaro in more ways in 2024. From shaken Braulio to Fernet-Branca and the Hanky-Panky cocktail, amaro is here to stay, and we want it in more ways than ever.
Aussie comfort food
Particularly in the cost-of-living crisis, on the infrequent chances we’re able to dine out, we’re showing more love to Australia’s most classic recipes. From old-school parmigiana, vegetarian stroganoff, and even salt-and-pepper squid, we’re going to be seeing more of these tried and true recipes make their way into the restaurant vocabulary. While we might not have the culinary history of the French, we’re all the better for our classics, and we’re encouraging chefs here to add their own spin.
AI and food
As artificial intelligence infiltrates just about every other part of our daily lives, we’re predicting it to get more involved in our dining experience come 2024. Whether it’s helping curate seasonal menus, or developing dishes based on daily produce availability, the AI model will be there to help chefs curate meals tailored to patrons. Extending to wine-pairing according to AI and selecting a new bottle based on past flavours, there are new opportunities with AI.
Storytelling from chefs and sommeliers can never be replaced, but AI will help with the mundane aspects of hospitality, leading to a better experience for all.
Latin American food
While Mexican cuisine has lived comfortably on the palates of Australians for years, 2024 will bring new interest to the wider world of Latin American fare. In Sydney, Morena, inspired by chef Alejandro Saravia’s Peruvian roots, will include sprinklings of Cuban and Brazilian cuisine, too. In Melbourne, Pincho Disco will tap into the fun-loving side of Latin American food, combining everything from Mexican to Argentinian at the spacious Collingwood spot. It’s time to party.
Grenache
The much-maligned grenache grape has plummeted in stature in Australia, despite our country’s plantings being some of the oldest in the world. A change in approach has seen the red wine grape find new footing in recent vintages, a far cry from the overly alcoholic blending grape it was resigned to for years.
In the right hands, Grenache now is medium-bodied, elegant, and perfect with the Australian diet. Vanguardist Wines, Vinya Vinya Vella and Alkina are leading the South Australian resurgence of this delicious varietal. Expect to see a lot more wine lists featuring great grenache – and you should go ahead and give it a shot.
A seat at the bar
Less an actual food trend and more something we’re hoping for as part of the dining experience is opting for a seat at the bar. The seat of the solo diner, the enigmatic traveller, or just the worker on their break, we’re hoping patrons will opt for this treasured throne in 2024.
A chance to engage with the person making your drinks, or stare into the kitchen as its staff are making your food, a seat at the bar is a prized position, no longer the “only spot left”. Treat this spot with the respect it deserves, and your dining experience will be rightly rewarded.
A new steakhouse
Aussies and our red meat; we’re well above the global average per capita, and our love affair with steaks and the like isn’t showing any signs of faltering. What we’re seeing more of is the emergence of a new type of steakhouse.
Take Alfie’s in Sydney, hitting the throttle on the traditional restaurant model – serving just one cut of perfectly cooked sirloin to your table in 15 minutes. Steak isn’t going anywhere, we’re just changing the way we eat it. Served smaller and faster, but still cooked to perfection, the days of the centrepiece rib-eye might not be looked at in the same way again, and your stomach will thank you for it.
The early spot set menu
As rising costs pluck at our ability to dine out frequently, one thing to look forward to is the early spot set menu. For a discounted price, we’re tipping more restaurants to establish a set menu in your traditional “happy hour” timeslot.
For a few hours, as the restaurant opens its dining service, we’re predicting more opportunities for three- to four-course meals for a flat fee during the week, so you can pop in and support your local with a nice meal, and be back home for the late news.
