As the wily old philosopher Heraclitus once said, “There is nothing permanent except change,” so with those wise words as our starting point, we’ve dusted off the crystalware to see what kind of culinary trends Dublin’s diners can look forward to experiencing in the coming year.
It seems that the emphasis on sustainability and biodiversity is here to stay in 2024, with a continued up-tick in the trend towards eating more authentic plant-based food. As the world of food and drink continues to evolve, Butter Boards have already morphed into Sharing Boards, while writers at Whole Foods are predicting a move away from ‘mock-meats’ to foods made with real plants throughout the year ahead.
Diners can also look forward to the reincarnation of Buckwheat, as the high-protein ancient grain becomes increasingly adopted as a mainstay of soups, stews and salads in kitchens everywhere, while Tahini too is set to have a moment, as it steps out of the shadow of hummus to enjoy its very own nutty day in the sun.
Also in vogue is a growing preference for solo dining, a trend that’s already being well catered for in the city via wine bars such as Bar Pez, Row Wines, Amy Austin, and others where a considerate supply of single seating, great wines and delicious plates of food have been attracting this particular dining demographic in recent times.
On the seating front, we’re old enough to remember many of the old-school Dublin bars who originally pioneered this particular design concept in the not too distant past.
Maybe our own ancient high stool philosophers were right after all. Perhaps the more things change, the more they may possibly stay the same.
Words: Martina Murray
