How Australians are dining now: experts weigh in

Restaurants, cafes and bars are constantly innovating. Whether they’re creating new dishes, new menus or responding to changing dining behaviour, food and beverage operators know that nothing stays still in this industry for long.

The first quarter of 2026 is proof. After a relatively stable 2025, plenty of businesses entered the year with a sense of cautious optimism. However, many small businesses – especially those that rely on discretionary spend, like restaurants, bars and cafes – have been impacted by rising fuel prices and ongoing supply chain disruption. Food and non-alcoholic beverage prices jumped 4.6 per cent in March (the category’s sharpest increase in six months) while household spending on hotels, cafes and restaurants remained soft.

Dining done differently

In response there has been a noticeable shift in consumer behaviour.  “Many diners still want to eat out, but they’re trading restaurant and café meals for the greater value they get from fast food, pubs, and clubs,” says Wes Lambert, CEO of Australian restaurant and café association.

When consumers do head out, spending looks different, says Laura Box, editor of Hospitality Magazine. “We’re seeing diners still spending, but they’re being more conservative about how they do it. Where guests might order an entrée, main course, dessert, and a bottle of wine, maybe now, they skip dessert, don’t buy wine, or just have one glass.”

That doesn’t mean the outlook is negative. Openings continue, venues are busy and the underlying demand for hospitality remains. “There’s still a buzz around the industry,” says Box. “Operators are hopeful that conditions will stabilise.”

What’s trending in food and beverage industry

Diners’ expectations are shifting fast. Here’s what’s shaping menus, formats and spend.

Mini meals

With one in 10 Australians expected to be using GLP-1 medications by 2030, portion sizes are coming under the spotlight. Internationally, chains are already adapting — from Olive Garden’s “Lighter Portions” menu in the US to Morrisons’ GLP-1-friendly product range in the UK.

Even fine dining is responding. New York restaurant Tucci now offers flexible portion sizing, while in Australia, services like Dietlicious and apps such as Menu Order AI are helping diners make more tailored choices.

Restaurant-inspired ready meals

Blame time-poor consumers and a growing hunger for convenience, but the Australian ready-meal market is soaring, and poised to surpass $1.4billion by 2030.   Now, some QSR chains are getting in on the action. In 2025, Grill’d launched a range of retail burger patties at Coles, while Zeus Street Greek recently announced a 15-product range at Woolworths, to help consumers recreate Zeus dishes at home. 

Dialling up drive-through

Is Australia on the cusp of a drive-through boom? In the US, drive-throughs now account for roughly two-thirds of all fast-food purchases, with chains doubling down on scale – take Chick-fil-A’s two-storey, four-lane sites designed to move up to 75 cars at a time.

In Australia, real-estate agents report intensifying competition for prime drive-through sites, while Guzman y Gomez says its drive-through locations are materially outperforming traditional formats – delivering $6.9 million in revenue versus $5.2 million for strip sites. The shift is being fuelled by a familiar force: time-poor customers trading dine-in for speed, convenience and value.