5 Restaurant Trends Making A Comeback

Restaurant trends from yesteryear are always making their way back around, because time is a flat circle. Right now, we’re seeing restaurants across the country lean hard into old-school sentimentality—maybe as a reaction against minimalism, or maybe because they know we could all use a place to hang our coats and eat some bananas foster flambé. And just like we hope our cities’ classic institutions withstand the test of time, we’re thrilled to have these trends back and going strong.

THE TRENDS

Musephoto credit: Jessie Clapp

Vintage Desserts

Over in the dessert department, old-school elegance is in full swing. We’re seeing a resurgence of desserts you’d normally find at traditional steakhouses in hot restaurants and bars around the country. Baked Alaska is gaining traction, thanks to places like Atoma in Seattle and Bludorn in Houston. Bananas foster flambé is alive and well at Atlanta’s Little Sparrow, and in LA, selecting Muse’s caramel-glazed St. Honoré off of a tray is like opening a birthday present.

Bridgesphoto credit: Kate Previte

Fine Dining Touches At Sceney Restaurants

Someone taking your coat doesn’t necessarily stand out at a restaurant where you might swipe a corporate card, but we’re surprised by how many cool new spots are embracing the odds and ends of high-end service. Restaurants like Smithereeens in New York and Choy in Nashville have coat checks, while white tablecloths and crumbers are showing up at Bridges and Borgo, as well as at Drusie & Darr. As prices continue to rise, these little touches—maybe even a fun butter presentation—make nights out feel extra worthwhile, without requiring their own lines on the bill.

Stissing Housephoto credit: David A. Lee

Fire, Real Fire

We’re talking candlesticks with real flames, people. Particularly in romantic spots, like Verjus in San Francisco and Meetinghouse in Philadelphia, restaurants are using tapered or pillar candles to set the mood. Yes, it turns out that fire is sexy, but big candlesticks also transport diners to pre-Apple times. (Such is the case at Stissing House in Upstate New York.) The return of table flames could portend a swing away from the expensive-looking LED lamps of the early 2020s. Thank god.

Delilahphoto credit: Courtesy Delilah

Clubstaurants Ditching DJs

Miami is the center of America’s clubstaurant epidemic, so we look to them for all things party-dining trends. The latest: musicians holding instruments are replacing DJs in booths. At Delilah and Sparrow, live bands play jazz during dinner service. We’ll happily take jazzy covers over DJ Biceps giving us tinnitus, but that’s not to say either place is worth a trip. What these pioneering clubstaurants do tell us is that there’s room for change in a scene that sometimes seems unmovable.

Sammy’s Roumanianphoto credit: Alex Staniloff

Tableside Preparations 

The appeal of in-meal entertainment never went away, but restaurants are now going to impressive lengths to offer diners a show. In New York, a medieval-looking bone press makes velvety pasta sauce, and at Houston’s Fung Kitchen, salt-baked shrimp gets scorched in a hot wok. Some of these tableside presentations amount to what is essentially bowl theater, but when the ticket to the show comes with an excellent caesar salad in Philly or a “Jewish guacamole” of chicken liver in New York, it's memorable.