FEATURE: What’s shaping pub food menus in 2026?

Battered by cost headwinds and escalating food inflation the UK pub sector is feeling the pressure.

It is tougher than ever to get that customer out of home into the pub to dine out.

Consumer demands remain increasingly unpredictable with factors such as cost, value, confidence, experience, disposable income and health all influencing purchase decisions.

With the challenging market, how can pubs evolve their food offer to tackle not just the major challenges facing the eating-out market but emerging trends for 2026?

Rachel Dobson, managing director of hospitality purchasing specialist Lynx Purchasing, says food inflation will remain a concern for this year. While it is forecast to fall to the Bank of England’s 2% target level by the middle of 2026, there are specific areas where pub menus will continue to face challenges.

“Beef price inflation has been running at 20%-plus as demand continues to outstrip supply and poultry pricing is still volatile due to avian flu. The two most popular white fish species – cod and haddock – are under severe pressure due to changing quotas and climate change,” she says.

“If pubs use alternate meat cuts and just offer ‘fish & chips’ rather than name the species, they’ll be in a stronger position to offer better value dishes.”

Dobson also highlights the potential for weather-related disruption to impact on food supply chains. She advises pubs to help offset these challenges by keeping menus flexible using descriptions such as ‘served with seasonal veg’ and ‘catch of the day’ and working closely with suppliers to adapt to changing availability.

Another trend with a strong potential for pubs is to customise classic dishes with global and fusion flavours. A Scotch egg works really well with the addition of Indian spices, or bangers & mash can be pepped up by offering chorizo or nduja sausages as an option, Dobson advises.

Looking ahead to 2026, she predicts low consumer confidence and lack of disposable income will continue to shape customer behaviour.

“People expect quality and value whether they’re eating at a premium gastropub or just popping into their local for a midweek meal. Quality doesn’t need to be expensive but using the best produce you can, to serve dishes at a price that feels like value for money, is essential in this market,” she says.

“Comfort food such as stews and pies are popular across the winter but pubs can add a healthier twist by offering seasonal veg. Roasted root veg uses good-value seasonal ingredients and can tick both the comfort and healthier boxes.”

Deep, memorable flavours

Tim Bird, owner of Cheshire Cat Pubs & Inns, winner of Best Food Offer at The Publican Awards 2025 agrees pubs need to focus on quality and value for the year ahead.

He states about 80% of food sales typically come from 20% of dishes, so Cheshire Cat focuses on its core menu, complemented with seasonal specials.

“We feel that too big a menu with too much choice, tells the customer the wrong things, even if you are cooking it all fresh,” he says.

Bird sees growing demand for deep, memorable flavours while using different cooking techniques and more affordable cuts of meat.

“Mutton is cheaper than lamb but still offers great flavour. You’ve got an opportunity to almost slow cook a good mutton stew because people will order it,” he says.

“We have proved we can get different cuts of meat that are more reasonably priced and dress them up with a lovely description and make them tasty – and they become super popular. Make sure that you’re cooking them beautifully because it’s the sound of the dish that sells it.”

He also advises pubs and chefs to tap into the desire for some more traditional favourites such as liver & bacon with shallot gravy.

“This is a marmite thing, isn’t it? But you know, 50% of people love it,” he says, “and 50% of people is a lot more than the 1% of vegans.”

“We’re all dashing around, hands in the air in a mad panic, thinking we have to service 1% of the population when actually we just need to make a vegetarian dish vegan applicable. I’ve just eaten lamb chops on the Tuesday but that vegetable dish sounds so good I’m eating on the Wednesday. You’ve got to make your vegan dishes appeal to everyone. Not just 1% of the population, that’s the big thing for us.”

Game is also gaining traction, especially in its country pubs, and he predicts this will continue into 2026.

“During ‘Game Week’ at the Bull’s Head, the best-selling dish was pheasant in a whisky sauce. If I went back five years, that would never be the case,” he says.

Operators will need to focus on quality and delivery of value throughout 2026.

“Quality before quantity, definitely get your pricing right, and don’t be greedy,” he says.

“We need people to visit weekly or twice a week. We don’t want them to visit monthly and certainly not for a once-a-year special occasion – we’d be doomed. You have to encourage people to eat regularly with you, and that’s got to be our aim and continued aim.”

Operators have been highlighting the growth of sharing platters and starters as consumers focus on value when eating out. This is a trend that is predicted to grow in 2026.

Cheshire Cat’s seafood platters, which have been on the menu for 15 years, are more popular than ever, alongside small plates, sharing starters and shared desserts, Bird reveals.

Premium pub operator Fuller’s says sharing platters and light bites are a growing trend and expects this to continue into 2026.

Fuller’s commercial marketing manager Ella Cramer says post-work, snack sharing, light bites and small plates is “huge” in its City sites.

She adds: “What we’ve also seen during the past 12 months, and I’m sure we’ll see over the next 12 months, is the popularity of prefix menus or lunchtime menus where you’re still getting that value.”

One other trend that is continuing to impact on consumers is their focus on health and wellbeing, which will have a knock-on impact into pubs menus in 2026.

In the latest YouGov/AHDB Pulse survey, 90% of consumers stated ‘diet’ was important and 86% said ‘fitness’ was too, in contributing to their overall health (December 2024).

Fuller’s admits ‘health’ remains a major driver within its business, with lighter options increasingly important to its menus.

Cramer says: “It’s more of a social movement but everybody’s trying to be more health conscious and for all the right reasons. With that also comes sustainability with whole foods, fermentation and thinking about where foods are coming from,” she explains.

With this emerging trend, Fuller’s is also prioritising sustainability, including regenerative farming, after launching grassroots beef onto its menus.

“We will see this start to land with consumers this year and people will start to notice these sorts of keywords on menus and trade into those dishes,” Cramer predicts.

“Regenerative farming is a great sustainability call but it also really showcases farming and agriculture while ‘hero-ing’ the ingredients.”

This sustainability trend and focus on the ingredients is also leading to more focus on the colour of foods as people want to eat foods that are inviting.

Nostalgia is on-trend

“People are looking to move away from beige dishes and when you bring in fermentation, wholegrains and greens, it completely changes the way that the plate looks. It’s how you enhance that plate by making it feel brighter, literally with a colour,” Cramer adds.

As well as these ongoing trends, Fuller’s is capitalising on the nostalgia trend in 2026 especially in sharers, starters and desserts. This trend has already been taken to a new level, with dishes such as baked Alaska on Fuller’s Christmas menus and arctic roll in its summer dishes.

“It’s about creating those bar snacks and sharers and that bring a bit of fun. During the past few years, there has been this whole nostalgia piece that is very much generational,” she explains.

Star Pubs is also tapping into the nostalgia trend.

“With the credit crunch and the uncertainty the Budget has brought, people are wary about going off-piste. They want comfort food that they are familiar with. Nostalgia is on-trend but the dishes are with twists,” says Star Pubs food development manager Karl Watts.

“We’re introducing a trifle sundae on our Just Add Talent managed-operator pub summer menu. It will consist of all the ingredients of an old favourite, the arctic roll – ice-cream and sponge, jelly, and custard – but layered and presented in a sundae glass.”

Watts also highlights a shift in dining habits with more people eating out in the day with brunch or lunch than in the evening, which he predicts will continue into 2026.

“We’re looking at how we can extend lunchtime trading into the afternoon and are making brunch items more prominent on menus with elevated options like a focaccia base with chorizo and peppers in tomato sauce with an egg on top; smashed avocado with halloumi and hot honey,” he says.

Butcombe Group director of food & drink Alice Bowyer also highlights the changing eating-out trends. She reveals breakfast and lunch are its biggest areas of food sales growth.

She says consumer behaviours are now “nuanced” rather than “radical” and advises pubs need to adapt in a way that works operationally.

“We’re also paying close attention to changing health behaviours, including the impact of weight-loss medications on food and drink choices. Some guests are eating smaller portions, prioritising protein and vegetables, and drinking less alcohol.

“For pubs, this is an opportunity to offer more choice – from flexible portion sizes to lighter interpretations of classics – without losing the warmth and generosity people expect from pub dining,” she says.

“The strongest trends aren’t about reinvention for its own sake – they’re about making familiar dishes better, more relevant and more flexible for how people want to eat today.”

One of the clearest patterns Bowyer is seeing is the continued strength of premium comfort food.

“Guests are happy to trade up for quality ingredients, good provenance and dishes that feel indulgent but well-considered. Small plates and sharing dishes are also performing strongly, encouraging longer dwell times and giving our customers more control over their experience,” she says.

Finally, Bower says the focus at Butcombe Group is on using trends “intelligently”.

“It’s not about chasing every new food trend, it’s about understanding how behaviour is changing and responding in a way that still feels authentic to the pub experience,” she concludes.