FEATURE: People still want to eat at pubs, give them a reason to visit yours

Rising labour costs, food inflation and volatile consumer confidence are still factors dampening the outlook for growth and squeezing margins.

According to latest data from market intelligence firm Lumina Intelligence, the eating-out market is forecast to be worth around £105.8bn leading up to 2027.

Despite all the challenges consumers face, it seems they still want to dine out.

But what are set to be the latest trends for food operators and what is set to make it onto pub menus this year?

Here are some trends to look out for in 2025.

Cost of living

It will be no surprise to anyone that food trends are being, and will continue to be, impacted by the challenges of food costs and the cost-of-living crisis.

According to the Barclays Hospitality and Leisure: 2025 Outlook, the sector will continue to be directly impacted by consumers’ disposable incomes, their confidence to go out and operators may need to find new ways to offer value and build customer loyalty.

Pub chefs will need to keep this in mind when planning their menus and sourcing ingredients in the current climate.

Ashley McCarthy, licensee and chef of Ye Old Sun Inn, in Colton, near York, is seeing consumer habits continue to change with further restrictions on spending.

“People are scared and they don’t want to go out and feel they can’t afford it. Pubs are an easy option to cut back on,” says McCarthy.

Ye Old Sun Inn focuses on running events but is also seeing these impacted by people changing their purchasing habits, either by spend or by size of parties.

McCarthy says: “At some events, people only want two courses such as a main and a dessert and the cost per head has come down. On the other hand, we are also doing more smaller events and people are having the lot.”

He says chefs are having to be more creative with many looking at the smaller cuts of meat and moving away from tasting menus.

A lot of the ‘higher end’ pubs are having to adapt, he says, by offering cheaper alternatives even if it is just at lunchtime to get people through the door.

Rachel Dobson, managing director of hospitality buying specialist Lynx Purchasing, agrees consumer confidence remains fragile.

“Pubs will have to plan menus that offer good value to try to keep customers engaged with eating out right through the week but they will also need to plan for occasions when customers are looking to treat themselves.

“Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day and Easter are all opportunities to persuade people to push the boat out early in the year,” she says.

Local and sustainable

Despite the pull on the purse strings, the trend for people who want to eat local and know where their food is coming from shows no sign of abating.

Moira Edwards, owner of the Three Horseshoes, in Fordham, Kent, which recently received its third AA Rosette, says its focus on using locally sourced food and taking a sustainable approach has been a real success story.

“We use a lot of the local allotments nearby and we take whatever they have in excess and try and use it how we can.

“When I first did it, I thought I was just giving the chefs extra work but actually they love it and they use it for purées, make oils and ice creams. We have even had an artichoke ice cream made out of it,” Edwards says.

“We are also growing the garnishes that are expensive such as the sturgeon leaves and sorrell.

“We have to be clever about what we do. We grew rocket and we got three or four yields out of that.

“Using produce from the local allotments meant we had some amazing courgettes this year. We give [the growers] a Sunday lunch in payment or do something for them.”

As well as taking food from the allotments, the pub is also happy to pay for the leftover produce from its suppliers such as ‘wonky veg’, meaning it is really ensuring there is no waste and it is cost-effective.

Healthier options

There is no doubt that since the Covid-19 pandemic, consumers have been increasingly focused on having a healthy lifestyle and what they are eating is an important part of that. While this trend for pubs might still be in its infancy, it is one that is fast approaching.

Bidfood’s Food and Drink Trends Report 2025, produced with CGA by NIQ, found healthy eating, gut awareness and digestive health were all a focus for consumers. Of those it surveyed, 73% revealed they thought eating a variety of plant-based foods were also important for good health.

While the vegan and vegetarian market has, in recent years, seen a huge surge as consumers focused on eating less meat, this trend is slowing down.

In the period from 2023 to 2024, pubs and bars experienced a 3% decrease in the number of vegan options on menus, according to the Lumina Intelligence UK Menu & Food Trends Report 2024.

Lantmännen Unibake UK marketing manager Samantha Winsor predicts pubs and bars will focus menu innovation on quality plant-based and non-processed dishes that have universal appeal.

Meanwhile, Fuller’s marketing director Sam Bourke says people are becoming much more conscious of the benefits of whole foods and a varied diet.

“Our briefs to our chefs contain more emphasis on functional eating to ensure our menus are flexible, contain a variety of protein, carbs and whole foods so our customers can tailor or personalise our menus to their needs,” she says.

“There are a lot of comms in the media about gut health, plant-based dishes and functional eating. In aggregate, we haven’t seen a massive shift towards ‘healthier’ options, but we do aim to balance our menus with enough choice to ensure a healthier option exists for those who want it.”

Adapting menus

Pubs will need to continue to adapt their menus, especially during quieter times of the week and in response to the changing demands of the customer, as well as to tackle the challenges of food supply and costs.

Lumina Intelligence predicts short and specialised menus are expected to be popular in 2025. It says snacking menus will continue to rise while shorter menus and smaller plates are expected to be more popular.

Licensee and chef Tom Trubshaw, at the Peterville Inn in St Agnes, Cornwall, a Punch pub, had to adapt his menu when he noticed consumers were not eating as many starters.

Trubshaw says he thinks dining styles are changing due to a combination of costs and habits.

“We now have nibbles priced around £5 to £6. These fly out a lot more in place of starters,” he says.

He has also noticed the daytime lunch occasion is also shifting with a move towards people having more sharing and snacking lunch options.

“People are coming in sitting sharing some crispy calamari, a mackerel pate and a bowl of chips,” he says.

Fuller’s has also seen some changes in consumer habits and has been working on catering for this across its estate, especially in snacking and small plates, which are proving popular.

These include dishes that are fresher and healthier, such as a range of kebabs & skewers, including venison and prawn. Its biggest sellers have been whipped feta dip and green pea hummus.

Bourke says: “In the short term, we’ve really been working on elevating our lunch time offer – whether that’s a different cut of steak for those that prefer a bavette, a salad over lunch or if it’s visiting us at midday for our two-course prix fixe offer, we wanted to ensure that we were catering for all occasions, and all day-parts to ensure our customers have a great experience every time.”

Variety and experimentation

According to CGA’s Food Insights Report 2025, consumers like the idea of trying new food and drink trends.

Top food trends capturing consumer attention in the report include chopped sandwiches, Louisianian dishes like seafood boils and po boys, and Japanese cream fruit sandwiches.

While some of these might not be making it onto pub menus, what it does show is consumer tastes are becoming more adventurous as pub chefs look far and wide for more inspiration.

Star Pubs food development manager Karl Watts predicts new international cuisines will rise in 2025 and highlights cuisines such as southern US states, Turkish, Greek, Argentinian and Swiss.

“When eating out, consumers like to explore different unique cuisines offering authentic ingredients, flavours and formats to learn about new cultures,” Watts adds.

“Customers also like innovative dishes and flavours to a degree. Our Singapore noodles launched in 2023 and was an immediate hit, becoming our eighth best seller between steak and scampi.”

Nostalgia and classics

While consumers might be more adventurous, imagine the outrage if they came in for their usual pub classics such as fish & chips, Sunday roast or pie & mash and they were not on the menu.

These classics remain popular, with burgers retaining their popularity and chips, fries and wedges ranking the highest for dishes being shared, according to the Lumina Intelligence Eating & Drinking Out Panel for December 2024.

Dobson at Lynx Purchasing agrees: “Consumers are looking for the comfort of traditional and timeless pub classics, and the way to compete is to make your core menu the best it can possibly be.”

Fuller’s says its own data shows that customers love its freshly made pub favourites.

“One trend we continue to see, particularly in pubs, is the customer desire for wholesome nostalgic foods” Bourke says.

“We’re always trying to find clever ways of adding these dishes to our menus and ultimately have a bit of fun. One dish that we’re really excited to launch in summer is an Arctic Roll, which is made with vanilla ice cream and raspberry jam, it’s literally childhood on a plate.”

While Edwards at the Three Horseshoes predicts more success via ‘classics with a twist’. She highlights their “pimped up” fish & chips, served with a range of sauces including curry sauce, which has seen sales “go through the roof”.

Experiences are a must

With consumers continuing to demand more from their out-of-home visits, offering theatre and experience is set to become an increasing trend.

Research from the Barclays Hospitality and Leisure Outlook 2025 report found consumers are increasingly prioritising experiences and it also identified a notable rise in spend on special occasions celebrated with personalised and memorable experiences.

Ye Old Sun Inn in Colton has its own Fairfax Distillery on site and runs events such as cocktail making masterclasses and blending experiences.

McCarthy says: “People are coming out for an experience and want to be involved.”

There is also a knock-on effect for the pub in that all these experiences require a food offer. Ye Old Sun Inn serves a range of tapas as part of the experience, which allows it to make the relevant margin and GP.

Meanwhile, Edwards at the Three Horseshoes agrees there needs to be some theatre or something more to interest the customer.

“I ended up having a little kitchen garden and that brought interest from everybody because they could see the chefs going out and picking their own bits. It’s enhancing the food offer by making points of interest,” she says.

British dishes in spotlight

Trubshaw at the Peterville Inn has a pub that is known for its fresh and seasonal ingredients, including its fish that comes daily off local boats and steak sourced from the nearby butcher.

The menu doesn’t respond to trends or fads but sticks to what it is good at but keeps the interest for the customer.

“There are a lot of different trends happening and classic British dishes are in the spotlight at the moment,” he says.

“We do stay in lane being a classic pub and it does work for us.”

He considers the pub has a style of cooking rather than a menu. Dishes are constantly changing but there are some core elements the customers expect such as the steak and mussels.

“Rather than have a stagnant menu, you can change dishes up. You can eat here one week and come back a week later and have a different menu,” he says.

“It is a relatively small village so it is nice that people can eat here a couple of times a month and have different dishes.”