Yelp users weigh in on 2024 food and beverage trends

SAN FRANCISCO — Yelp, the restaurant review hub, is looking back at 2023 to predict what trends may gain traction in 2024. Yelp users see cocktails, martinis, caviar, “girl dinners,” smoothies, and cold ramen noodles as all having potential.

Consumers seeking a little luxury in their food experiences enjoyed caviar in 2023. The delicacy may be enjoyed traditionally with blinis, served off-menu as a caviar bump, or atop a potato chip, Yelp said. Searches for “caviar” were up 31%, according to the study.

“Girl dinner,” a food grazing trend where women do not want to cook a full meal and created by TikTok influencer Olivia Maher, was popular among snacking trends this year. Girl dinner garnered searches like “noshing,” which was up 140%. However, next year women may be going to dinner together eating at mezze-serving restaurants, according to Yelp.

Colorful fruit and vegetable smoothie trends had consumers searching for terms like “Erewhon,” which was up 178%. In addition, the “Hailey Bieber Smoothie” was up 408% in searches. The “Hailey Bieber Smoothie” includes almond milk, strawberries, vanilla collagen, hyaluronic acid, coconut cream, sea moss gel, avocado, maple syrup, dates, and strawberry glaze. Other popular smoothie flavors included pumpkin pie latte, and peanut butter with oat and coconut milk.

“Tsukemen,” which are cold ramen noodles made for dipping in a broth with heat, had searches up 30% this year.

Coffee had its moment to shine this year as well, but in the form of a coffee cocktail. The carajillo is a spiked, two-ingredient coffee drink, according to Yelp. Searches for “carajillos” were up 118% this year.

Last year, a popular cocktail Aperol Spritz was in the spotlight as a refreshing, bubbly cocktail for the summer season. This year, Hugo Spritz was in the limelight. Searches for “light, low-alcohol cocktail made with elderflower cordial or syrup and topped with Prosecco and soda water” were up 1,121% in 2023. Searches for “elderflower-infused cocktails” also were up 323%, signaling the popular trend may be a year-round alcoholic beverage.

Another alcoholic beverage trend was martinis. Searches included “matcha martini” (up 1,323%), “tomato-tini” (up 131%), “truffle martini” (up 92%), and “espresso martini” (up 56%). Martinis may continue into 2024 as alcoholic beverage trends, Yelp said.

In 2022, Yelp forecast mocktails, pickle flavors, dirty sodas and oxtail would all trend in 2023.