The Infatuation London’s Restaurant Predictions 2021

2020 is over. Thank you, next. But what does 2021 hold for the restaurant industry? How will we be eating? What will we be eating? And, more importantly, will anyone look at a potato and think ‘that could be significantly curlier’?

ALL Feature

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Our Predictions

Heat lamps, baby! - “By February you won’t be able to take three steps through Soho without landing in your own warm, muggy spotlight. It’ll be the toastiest winter on record. Around March, a Mayfair restaurant will reveal a heat lamp mermaid modelled on Bella Hadid and designed exclusively by Damien Hirst. And yes, it will be champagne-proof. We’ll all start steadily missing the simple life of tea light candles and stoically freezing our arses off like the proud Londoners we are. Or maybe - dream big kids - we’ll just be able to sit inside.” - Heidi Lauth Beasley

A ‘Dishy Rishy’ pop-up - I feel sick just thinking about it. - Jake Missing

The drive-thru - “Forget table service, 2021 is going to be the year where the drive-thru comes through. Picture this, instead of going inside the restaurant to collect your food, restaurants will just throw it at you. ‘Order 236? Quattro fromaggio? Catch!’.” - Rianne Shlebak

Curly fries - “I’ve said it once. Or twice. Actually, I won’t stop going on about it. But curly fries will happen. Everyone loves curly fries. They’re novelty, they’re delicious, they’re fried potatoes, and, most importantly, they’re absolutely begging for an outrageous London markup. - JM

photo credit: Soon

Goodbye to London’s divide - “Morley’s, Yard Sale, Anna Tobias & 40 Maltby Street: the north vs south London divide is crumbling. Nature, or rather, London biases, are healing. What next? An Infatuation review from - whisper it - outside London? Who’s to say.” - JM

The Lean Mean George Foreman Comeback Machine - “By now, enough people have realised that surviving solely off banana bread and TikTok recipe videos isn’t sustainable. The solution? Whipping out that old George Foreman from the back of your kitchen cupboard and grilling literally anything in sight.” - RS

DM to order - “Pies, samosas, burritos, and spanakopita. Instagram chefs are just getting started in London. More sweet things, please. - JM

photo credit: Bone apple tea

Giles Coren’s 654,354th cancellation - “Giles Coren, one of food media’s many self-appointed Lords of Wind Up Merchantry, will become a featured critic on Masterchef. He and Greg Wallace will be exposed in a News Of The World-style sting, filmed doing nefarious things with Maldon sea salt by a fake sheikh. Twitter will explode. Wallace will post more weird topless selfies. Coren will continue to be Coren. We go again.” - JM

More, more (& more) meal kits - This year’s greatest glo-up has been the DIY ready meal. Or at least, the almost-ready-meal. We’ve already got Quality Wines, that katsu sando, and Chishuru at-home. What’s next? Or rather, what isn’t? - JM

The happy hour’s time to shine - “Eat Out To Help Out was one small step for deals, one giant leap for happy hours everywhere. The government’s ‘please get back out there’ initiative quickly snowballed into one long hospitality Black Friday, opening the door to more US-style Happy Hours in 2021. And I’ll let you in on a little secret, Happy Hours are just EOTHO deals without the hand sanitiser.” - HLB

Très fashion restaurant merch - “This has been a long time coming and I, for one, am extremely here for it. Last year St. John featured on Junya Watanabe’s catwalk in Paris for CDG, and Bella Freud has done a chocolate nemesis jumper for The River Café. There’s much more where that came from. 40 Maltby x Margaret Howell? Koya x Needles? Take. My. Money.” - JM