12 menu trends gaining momentum for 2016

Next year, restaurants will need to flex their creative muscles more than ever to satisfy many audiences. That's the conclusion offered by hospitality consulting firm Andrew Freeman & Co. in its annual entertaining roundup of predictions for what trends to expect in the coming year.

“Guests are looking for more multifaceted unique experiences, and sometimes those are conflicting," says firm president Andrew Freeman. "It wouldn’t be unlikely for a guest to want a vegetable-centric meal on a Monday and then want to have an over-the-top decadent brunch on that same Sunday. The boom of new offerings coupled with the labor crisis and the increasing costs of running businesses have also forced restaurants and hotels to reinvent meal periods, add new offerings and develop their several personalities."

Freeman's advice? Restaurants should feel free to "get their crazy on." Crazy or not, here are a dozen of the menu developments, crazy or not, that he predicts will pick up speed in 2016.