top trends
top trends
2025
Just like fashion , food trends come and go , and with current events and social media helping predict what ’ s up and coming , we are predicting a good year for eating well ! While this list may leave you yearning for an epic dinner around martinis , caviar and a pasta flight on the side , raise a glass to 21 hot restaurant and food trends we see taking over the city in 2025 .
Photo by Ian McCausland
CANADIAN CLASSICS MEET GLOBAL FUSIONS
Adventurous diners , willing to try innovative dishes that challenge conventional notions of flavour combinations are contributing to a spike in next generation fusion cuisine , where traditional Canadian dishes are being reimagined by chefs with influences from around the globe while incorporating local ingredients . The rise of third culture dining blends ingredients , techniques and philosophies from two or more distinct cultures to create an entirely new and innovative style of cooking . As food boundaries blur , expect more innovative dishes , from snacks to desserts . As local chefs experiment and bring new flavour elements to their dishes it will result in some seriously exciting food . We see poutine topped with spicy curries and croissants filled with ube . With so many fresh flavours on menus , this is the year to order something you ’ ve never tried before and maybe never even heard of .
REGENERATIVE SEAFOOD
The popularity of bivalves , particularly mussels and oysters has spanned decades , partially due to the wildly delicious French inspired preparations found around town . There may be more to the winning formula that meets the palate , though . Oysters have become the poster child of the regenerative farming movement , which advocates for raising food in ways that do not just leave the environment unharmed , but improve it , creating healthier waterways , more fertile soil , cleaner air — all while ideally sequestering carbon to slow down climate change . Seafood has a lower impact on the environment than land grown food , and oysters remove impurities from the water where they grow while also providing nutritious food that ’ s high in protein . We may be landlocked but our love for sea life is wider than the ocean .
A LUNCH RUSH
It doesn ’ t come as a surprise , following last year ’ s increase in breakfast dining , lunch is next to have its moment . An uptick in diners who opt for a midday break is expected . The social experience of dining out with friends , family , and work colleagues during the day is a shift we ’ ve started seeing since flexible schedules have become a norm . Lunch also tends to be a more accessible price point , inviting guests to get to know a restaurant before adding it into their regular rotation .
ciao ! / feb / mar / two thousand twenty-five 9