The Disturbing Truth About The Simple Restaurant Menu Trend

Restaurants began to cut down on their menus amidst the pandemic to deal with rising costs and logistical difficulties, reports CNN, but continuing challenges in the industry indicate that the trend of simplified, smaller menus may be here to stay. These issues can be as straightforward as a potato shortage thanks to the Russia/Ukraine event, as both countries together account for 10% of the world’s potato supply (via Grub Street). 

Other problems are far more complicated. Owners tell Grub Street that about 90% of restaurants are functioning with an understaffed crew and chefs admit that they simply don’t have enough team members to focus on both prep and cook. As a result, chefs are pushing dishes that can be prepped and assembled in advance so that they’re ready to go when orders come in without needing to be cooked by another team of chefs. This is also why certain items like chicken parmesan, raw bar selections, and cheese platters are becoming more popular, replacing the more complicated items on restaurant menus.

Elsewhere, expensive food items are being scrapped from menus to keep up with shrinking margins and menus are being shortened to improve efficiency and keep food waste to a minimum (via Food & Wine). Additionally, The Wall Street Journal reports that 60% of the 4,800 menus surveyed by Dataessential in 2021 across the U.S. reported having simplified their menus, with the number of items on menus being downsized by nearly 23%.