OpenTable reveal the trends and consumer behavior that reshaped the culinary landscape, with out-of-the-box dining habits gaining momentum through 2025. Another standout trend among OpenTable's new consumer research is optimism for dining out next year, with 54% of respondents planning to dine out more next year than they did this year. Younger generations are leading this movement, with 71% of Gen Zers and 68% of Millennials planning to increase their dining frequency in 2025.

Three trends permeated the dining scene in 2024, through Sept. 30, and are expected to continue through 2025:

• Is Wednesday the new Friday? – Mid-week dining emerged as a new trend, with Wednesdays seeing an 11% increase in dining year over year  – the largest increase of any other day. Looking to 2025, 43% of Americans from OpenTable's research said they plan to dine out on Wednesday if they were to dine out during the week. Why? 41% say to break up the week.
• Come one, come all – While solo dining is up 10% year over year, group dining is also having a moment: parties of six or more are up 8% year over year. Consumer research backs the trend's staying power, with 55% planning to group dine over the holidays and a further 43% planning to do it more frequently in 2025.
• Diners are challenging the status quo – They are being drawn to dining experiences from multicourse tasting menus to cooking classes to Omakase and everything in between: OpenTable Experiences bookings are up 27% year over year, and 42% of Americans are more interested in experiential dining next year versus this year. Diners are also looking to up the ante in other ways: 61% plan to try new restaurants in 2025 rather than stick to the same.

"We're seeing a new age of dining out that is more adventurous than years past, evidenced by diners embracing midweek dining, dining solo or with large groups, or upping the ante with a dining experience," said Debby Soo, CEO of OpenTable. "And with more than half of diners planning to dine out more in 2025 than 2024, this is great news for restaurants all around."

"We're consistently seeing more large parties at our restaurants – while we do see a lot of special occasions, we're also seeing 'just because' group dining," said Kevin Boehm, co-CEO and co-founder of Boka Restaurant Group and OpenTable Advisory Board Member. "We love this because we know magic happens when people come together over a meal and hope to see this build momentum into 2025."

Source: OpenTable Inc.