International cuisine statistics at a glance
International cuisine is not a niche story anymore. The current numbers show a menu landscape shaped by Southeast Asian dishes, value-minded operators, and delivery habits that keep pushing specific ingredients and formats into the spotlight.
Contents
- Fast facts
- What the latest culinary forecast says
- How 2025 compares with 2024
- Delivery platforms and ordering behavior
- What these rankings suggest for menus
- International cuisine statistics table
- FAQ
Fast facts
The strongest signal in the latest forecast is not a single dish. It is the combination of cuisine movement, ingredient momentum, and operational priorities that all point in the same direction. The 2025 What’s Hot Culinary Forecast from the National Restaurant Association ranks Korean cuisine #1 among dishes, Vietnamese cuisine #2, and Filipino cuisine #3 (National Restaurant Association 2025 What’s Hot Culinary Forecast).
A few other figures frame the scale of the shift. More than 70% of U.S. counties have an Asian restaurant (National Restaurant Association 2025 What’s Hot Culinary Forecast), and the same forecast says Chinese, Japanese, and Thai cuisines had dominated before consumers shifted toward Southeast Asian cuisines (National Restaurant Association 2025 What’s Hot Culinary Forecast).
At the platform level, Mexican cuisine was the most popular international cuisine on Grubhub in 2024 (Grubhub 2024 Delivered Report), while Uber Eats said burrito bowls were its most ordered item in 2024 (Uber Eats 2024 Cravings Report). That mix matters because it shows international cuisine demand is not just about fine dining or trend forecasting. It appears in mass-market ordering patterns too.
What the latest culinary forecast says
The National Restaurant Association’s 2025 forecast gives a layered view of international cuisine trends rather than one simple ranking. In the dish category, Korean cuisine sits at #1, followed by Vietnamese cuisine and Filipino cuisine, then customized croissants and mushroom-infused dishes (National Restaurant Association 2025 What’s Hot Culinary Forecast).
That top-three run is important because it ties together regional familiarity and broad consumer curiosity. Korean, Vietnamese, and Filipino cuisines were the three top-ranked Southeast Asian-influenced dishes highlighted in the forecast (National Restaurant Association 2025 What’s Hot Culinary Forecast). The report also says the broader market had previously been dominated by Chinese, Japanese, and Thai cuisines before the consumer shift toward Southeast Asian cuisines (National Restaurant Association 2025 What’s Hot Culinary Forecast).
The ingredients list reinforces the same direction. Honey and seeds rank #1, functional mushrooms #2, pineapple #3, tamarind #4, and ube #5 in the 2025 forecast (National Restaurant Association 2025 What’s Hot Culinary Forecast). This is not a random collection of flavors. It suggests chefs and operators are using familiar formats but adding ingredients that deliver contrast, color, and regional specificity.
The flavor and condiment ranking does the same thing in a different lane. Hot honey ranks #1, fermented or pickled foods #2, matcha #3, miso #4, and spicy maple #5 in the 2025 forecast (National Restaurant Association 2025 What’s Hot Culinary Forecast). That mix blends sweet, savory, fermented, and lightly spicy profiles. In practice, that means international cuisine trends are not just about origin labels. They are also about how diners experience flavor across menus.
2025 forecast highlights
- Korean cuisine ranked #1 among dishes (National Restaurant Association 2025 What’s Hot Culinary Forecast).
- Vietnamese cuisine ranked #2 among dishes (National Restaurant Association 2025 What’s Hot Culinary Forecast).
- Filipino cuisine ranked #3 among dishes (National Restaurant Association 2025 What’s Hot Culinary Forecast).
- Honey and seeds ranked #1 among ingredients (National Restaurant Association 2025 What’s Hot Culinary Forecast).
- Hot honey ranked #1 among flavors and condiments (National Restaurant Association 2025 What’s Hot Culinary Forecast).
- Sustainability and local sourcing ranked #1 among macro trends (National Restaurant Association 2025 What’s Hot Culinary Forecast).
Those macro trends matter because they show international cuisine is being filtered through business realities. Sustainability and local sourcing rank #1 among macro trends, value deals and propositions rank #2, smaller or streamlined menus rank #3, healthy kids’ menus rank #4, and pop-up restaurants rank #5 (National Restaurant Association 2025 What’s Hot Culinary Forecast). Hyper-local follows at #6, convenience proteins at #7, limited-time-only menus at #8, flights at #9, and artificial intelligence integration at #10 (National Restaurant Association 2025 What’s Hot Culinary Forecast).
The practical reading is straightforward. International cuisine is winning when it can be localized, priced clearly, and presented in formats that are easy to trial. Pop-ups and limited-time menus are especially important because they lower the risk of trying a new regional dish or ingredient set.
How 2025 compares with 2024
The 2024 What’s Hot Culinary Forecast shows the market was already moving in this direction, but with a different emphasis. World-stage soups and stews ranked #1 among 2024 trends, global chicken wings ranked #2, international BBQ ranked #3, incorporating social media trends ranked #4, and grilled or cooked cheeses ranked #5 (National Restaurant Association 2024 What’s Hot Culinary Forecast).
That 2024 list leans heavily toward globally inspired comfort food. The examples included under world-stage soups and stews were birria, chicken tom kha, laksa, salmorejo, and upscale ramen (National Restaurant Association 2024 What’s Hot Culinary Forecast). Under grilled or cooked cheeses, the forecast cited provoleta, queso fundido, raclette, halloumi, and juustoleipa (National Restaurant Association 2024 What’s Hot Culinary Forecast). Under stuffed vegetables, it cited chiles en nogada, stuffed peppers, and stuffed cabbage rolls (National Restaurant Association 2024 What’s Hot Culinary Forecast).
By 2025, the focus shifts from category-wide comfort formats to more specific cuisine identities and ingredients. That transition is visible in the rankings themselves. Compare the two years side by side:
| 2024 trend ranking | 2024 item | 2025 parallel signal |
|---|---|---|
| #1 | World-stage soups and stews (National Restaurant Association 2024 What’s Hot Culinary Forecast) | Korean cuisine ranked #1 among dishes (National Restaurant Association 2025 What’s Hot Culinary Forecast) |
| #2 | Global chicken wings (National Restaurant Association 2024 What’s Hot Culinary Forecast) | Vietnamese cuisine ranked #2 among dishes (National Restaurant Association 2025 What’s Hot Culinary Forecast) |
| #3 | International BBQ (National Restaurant Association 2024 What’s Hot Culinary Forecast) | Filipino cuisine ranked #3 among dishes (National Restaurant Association 2025 What’s Hot Culinary Forecast) |
| #4 | Incorporating social media trends (National Restaurant Association 2024 What’s Hot Culinary Forecast) | Hot honey ranked #1 among flavors and condiments (National Restaurant Association 2025 What’s Hot Culinary Forecast) |
| #5 | Grilled or cooked cheeses (National Restaurant Association 2024 What’s Hot Culinary Forecast) | Honey and seeds ranked #1 among ingredients (National Restaurant Association 2025 What’s Hot Culinary Forecast) |
This is not a clean one-to-one replacement, but the table shows the direction of travel. The 2024 list emphasized broad global fusion formats. The 2025 list narrows in on dishes, ingredients, and condiments that can signal authenticity, novelty, or regional influence more directly.
Delivery platforms and ordering behavior
Restaurant trend forecasts are useful, but platform behavior shows what people actually order. Grubhub said Mexican cuisine was the most popular international cuisine on its platform in 2024 (Grubhub 2024 Delivered Report). It also recorded nearly 1.3 million birria orders in 2024 (Grubhub 2024 Delivered Report).
That birria figure is a strong proof point for the continued pull of regional Mexican food. It also fits with the larger picture in which familiar international formats scale better in digital ordering. Customers can search, reorder, and share them more easily than highly technical or unfamiliar dishes.
Grubhub also said chicken appeared in nearly 40% of all restaurant orders in 2024, and chicken appeared in grocery orders almost three times as often as beef (Grubhub 2024 Delivered Report). Those figures matter for international cuisine because chicken is one of the easiest bridges between cuisines, price points, and delivery-friendly preparation styles.
A few more Grubhub numbers show how broad food behavior gets when international and comfort cues overlap. Corporate coffee orders increased 53% in 2024, corporate Chipotle lunch orders increased 27%, pickle orders increased 14%, and decaf orders rose 5% (Grubhub 2024 Delivered Report). Grubhub also delivered over one ton of cottage cheese orders and listed nearly 15,000 unique latte variations in 2024 (Grubhub 2024 Delivered Report). Even when these are not strictly “international cuisine” items, they show a menu environment where novelty, customization, and brandable flavor experiences are rewarded.
Uber Eats tells a similar story from a different angle. Customers requested 20x the normal amount of scallions in 2024 (Uber Eats 2024 Cravings Report), and hot sauce was Uber Eats’ top condiment in 2024 (Uber Eats 2024 Cravings Report). The most ordered item was the burrito bowl (Uber Eats 2024 Cravings Report), and fried rice ranked #10 among the platform’s most ordered items (Uber Eats 2024 Cravings Report).
The food-and-alcohol pairing data also matters. Uber Eats said its most frequently paired food-and-alcohol combination was frozen margarita plus steak in 2024 (Uber Eats 2024 Cravings Report), and Tito’s Handmade Vodka ranked #1 among alcohol orders while vodka was the most commonly ordered spirit overall, replacing tequila (Uber Eats 2024 Cravings Report). These are not just beverage facts. They show how dining occasions bundle together across cuisines, occasions, and delivery baskets.
Delivery signals that reinforce the trend
- Mexican cuisine was Grubhub’s most popular international cuisine in 2024 (Grubhub 2024 Delivered Report).
- Birria generated nearly 1.3 million orders on Grubhub (Grubhub 2024 Delivered Report).
- Burrito bowl was Uber Eats’ most ordered item in 2024 (Uber Eats 2024 Cravings Report).
- Fried rice ranked #10 among Uber Eats’ most ordered items (Uber Eats 2024 Cravings Report).
- Hot sauce was Uber Eats’ top condiment (Uber Eats 2024 Cravings Report).
- Scallion requests hit 20x the normal amount on Uber Eats (Uber Eats 2024 Cravings Report).
What these rankings suggest for menus
If you are reading these international cuisine statistics as a menu operator, the message is less about copying one hot dish and more about understanding which types of offerings have room to scale.
First, cuisines with a clear identity and flexible format are advantaged. Korean, Vietnamese, and Filipino dishes all show up near the top of the 2025 forecast (National Restaurant Association 2025 What’s Hot Culinary Forecast), and that matters because each can be expressed through bowls, noodles, sandwiches, handhelds, rice dishes, and shareable formats.
Second, ingredients that carry visual or flavor distinction help international concepts travel. Pineapple, tamarind, ube, miso, matcha, and fermented foods all appear in the top-ranked ingredient and flavor lists (National Restaurant Association 2025 What’s Hot Culinary Forecast). These items can be used in desserts, drinks, marinades, glazes, dressings, and sauces, which gives operators many low-lift ways to signal trend relevance.
Third, the macro trends show the operational side of the equation. Sustainability and local sourcing ranked #1, value deals #2, and smaller or streamlined menus #3 in the 2025 forecast (National Restaurant Association 2025 What’s Hot Culinary Forecast). That means the best international menu ideas are not necessarily the most complex ones. They are the ones that can be executed consistently, priced competitively, and explained quickly.
A simple menu-read framework
- If a dish is trend-forward but operationally heavy, make it a limited-time item first.
- If an ingredient is popular but unfamiliar, use it in a familiar format.
- If a cuisine is growing on delivery apps, build search-friendly naming and short descriptions around it.
- If a flavor is high-ranking, test it across multiple categories rather than one menu lane.
International cuisine statistics table
| Theme | Statistic | Source label |
|---|---|---|
| Top dish trend in 2025 | Korean cuisine ranked #1 | National Restaurant Association 2025 What’s Hot Culinary Forecast |
| Runner-up dishes in 2025 | Vietnamese #2, Filipino #3 | National Restaurant Association 2025 What’s Hot Culinary Forecast |
| Top ingredient in 2025 | Honey and seeds ranked #1 | National Restaurant Association 2025 What’s Hot Culinary Forecast |
| Top flavor in 2025 | Hot honey ranked #1 | National Restaurant Association 2025 What’s Hot Culinary Forecast |
| Top macro trend in 2025 | Sustainability and local sourcing ranked #1 | National Restaurant Association 2025 What’s Hot Culinary Forecast |
| Asian restaurant reach | More than 70% of U.S. counties have an Asian restaurant | National Restaurant Association 2025 What’s Hot Culinary Forecast |
| Top international cuisine on Grubhub | Mexican cuisine was the most popular in 2024 | Grubhub 2024 Delivered Report |
| Delivery volume signal | Nearly 1.3 million birria orders on Grubhub | Grubhub 2024 Delivered Report |
| Top Uber Eats item | Burrito bowl was the most ordered item in 2024 | Uber Eats 2024 Cravings Report |
| Top Uber Eats condiment | Hot sauce ranked #1 | Uber Eats 2024 Cravings Report |
| Biggest menu signal from 2024 | World-stage soups and stews ranked #1 | National Restaurant Association 2024 What’s Hot Culinary Forecast |
FAQ
What is the biggest international cuisine trend right now?
Based on the 2025 forecast, the biggest dish trend is Korean cuisine, which ranked #1, followed by Vietnamese cuisine and Filipino cuisine (National Restaurant Association 2025 What’s Hot Culinary Forecast). The broader pattern points to Southeast Asian-influenced dishes gaining more attention.
Are ingredients or dishes more important in these statistics?
Both matter, but they play different roles. Dishes show what gets top billing, while ingredients and flavors show how those dishes evolve. In 2025, honey and seeds, functional mushrooms, pineapple, tamarind, and ube all ranked among the top ingredients, while hot honey, fermented foods, matcha, miso, and spicy maple ranked among the top flavors and condiments (National Restaurant Association 2025 What’s Hot Culinary Forecast).
Do delivery platforms support the same trend story?
Yes. Grubhub’s 2024 report said Mexican cuisine was the most popular international cuisine on its platform, and Uber Eats said burrito bowls were its most ordered item (Grubhub 2024 Delivered Report; Uber Eats 2024 Cravings Report). Those platform signals suggest international cuisine demand is not limited to forecast language.
Which year looked more comfort-food driven?
The 2024 forecast leaned more heavily into global comfort foods such as world-stage soups and stews, global chicken wings, international BBQ, and grilled or cooked cheeses (National Restaurant Association 2024 What’s Hot Culinary Forecast). The 2025 forecast is more specific about cuisine identity and ingredient direction.
What should a restaurant do with these statistics?
Use the rankings to test dishes that are easy to explain, easy to reproduce, and easy to adapt into value or limited-time formats. The strongest signals in the data reward clarity, flexibility, and flavor distinction rather than complexity for its own sake.