Sushi menu and restaurant trends in 2024 will mainly revolve around technology and automation. Sushi restaurant robot servers and QR code restaurant menus are some of the sushi restaurant innovations that we’ll be seeing this year.
Food trend experts predict that Asian gourmet, particularly Japanese cuisine, will continue to thrive in the restaurant and F&B scene.
It’s no surprise that sushi trends 2024 is probably the most fashionable food alongside pasta. Furthermore, aside from its aesthetic and Instagram-worthy presentation, it’s a complete bite-sized meal packed with carbs, proteins, and minerals.
Moreover, sushi is an easily accessible Japanese dish you can find everywhere, from luxurious 5-star hotel restaurants to affordable gas station sushi.
Big names like Rihanna, Taylor Swift, Selena Gomez, Leonardo di Caprio, Jennifer Lopez, and even Jason Statham are included in the list of A-list Hollywood celebrities dining at sushi restaurants.
So, what’s rolling in sushi restaurants? Here are the top sushi trends 2024 we’ll see in menus and restaurants this year.
A local sushi restaurant in San Luis Obispo, Yanagi sushi, recently implemented a robot sushi server they named BellaBot. Its main functions include interacting with customers and bringing their orders to their table.
Instead of hiring more restaurant employees, using a robot server is the restaurant’s technologically advanced and non-conventional response to a staffing shortage.
2. QR code menu
We’ll be seeing more QR codes on sushi restaurants’ tabletops in 2024.
Not all restaurants can afford to break the bank to implement a robot server or employ additional staff; for most, a digital menu is a reasonable option.
Using a multi-featured QR code menu software like MENU TIGER is more practical since it can create a website with an interactive digital menu and built-in ordering page, sales and data analytics, QR code menu customization, etc.
Customers can place contactless orders and make payments using their mobile phones with the interactive digital menu made using MENU TIGER, in contrast to most view-only JPEG and PDF restaurant menus. This requires fewer FOH staff, which is beneficial for short-staffed restaurants.
Finally, a QR menu uses less paper because it does not require kitchen order tickets or menu printing, which is more environmentally friendly and sustainable.
3. Plant-based fish
Why not combine sustainability and sushi? Two of the biggest food trends for this year. Perhaps 5 or 10 years ago, you wouldn’t have considered substituting fish with plant-based alternatives.
A UN report found that global fisheries threaten habitats, species conservation, and food supplies. At the same time, toxins and heavy metals are found in tuna and farmed salmon. The increased environmental and health concerns stirred the idea of using fish alternatives.
Fish is what makes sushi, well, sushi. So, how can you make sushi without fish or seafood?
Plant-based fish are made from animal-free ingredients like tomatoes, eggplants, mushrooms, konjac, tapioca, sea vegetables, seasonings, or other components to resemble seafood’s appearance, texture, and taste.
4. Omakase
This sushi menu trend started last year, and we believe this trend will continue this year.
For many restaurant customers, dining in a restaurant is not only for the food but also for the experience.
Omakase, derived from the Japanese phrase Omakase shimasu or “I trust you, chef,” is a course dining experience where the chef creates the menu based on the fresh ingredients available for the day.
Digital sushi menu design using MENU TIGER
For the Japanese, food is an art form. Hence, it is only proper to incorporate artistic elements into your sushi menu.
MENU TIGER is the perfect tool you can use in designing your digital sushi menu. Follow these useful tips you can use to create an attractive digital menu.
1. Use sushi menu pictures
Food images increase the appeal of a food item on a menu. After all, customers eat with their eyes first. By using appetizing food images, you can show your customers how delicious your food items are.
Research shows that seeing a delicious-looking food item on the menu increases a person’s ghrelin, a hormone that stimulates hunger.
According to a study published in the journal of Physiology and Behavior, certain aspects of a dish’s visual appeal, such as “gloss, evenness, and form,” may affect how diners interpret its flavor and aroma.
Besides, appetizing sushi menu item stock images are available online that you can use for free. If you can allot a budget, you can hire a professional food stylist and food photographer to take photos of your food items.
To add images to your MENU TIGER digital sushi menu, go to the Menu panel and select Foods.From the Food Category, click the edit icon of the selected sushi menu itemScroll down, click the images section, then click and select or drag and drop the image file of your sushi menu item.
Finally, click Update/Add.Note: The preferred food image size is 400×300 pixels in JPEG and PNG format.
In choosing a food image for your sushi menu, it is essential to consider the following:
1. Camera-ready food arrangement. Arrange your food item in a way that shows its best features. Use complementing utensils and plate the subject of your photo in the middle.
2. Proper lighting. Use natural light or soft light. Position the light on the side instead of on top, and be aware of harsh shadows.
3. Play with angle. Take photos from different angles and use depth-of-field to focus on your food image’s unique aspects and details.
4. Edit food images like a professional. Neutralize cooler tones in your image and bring out warmer colors by adjusting the white balance. Also, use warmer colors as they look more appetizing and closer to life. Increase saturation, contrast, and brightness accordingly.
5. Be fun and creative. Experiment and channel your inner artist. Play with colors, perspective, theme, angle, composition, etc. Don’t be so worried about the rules and be creative.
2. Include sushi menu description
Turn your sushi menu item description into art by using the right words that increase revenue. Create an impact, catch your customers’ attention, and stir their curiosity.
In fact, the Association of Consumer Research study found that using descriptive words on your menu increases sales by 27 percent.
You can add menu item descriptions to your digital sushi menu using MENU TIGER.
Go to the Menu panel, select Foods,
then from the Food Category, click the edit icon of the menu item.
Click the Description section and input up to 100 sushi menu item description words.
Lastly, click Update/Add.
Don’t know what to write? Follow these five tips to ace writing sushi menu descriptions:
Know your market
Before describing Japanese food, know your audience. If you’re writing for locals, use terminology they use. If you’re writing for non-Japanese, explain Japanese gastronomy, especially rare dishes.
Use descriptive words
Instead of mentioning components, add adjectives. Customers should see, feel, and taste your dish using your menu item description before actually eating it.
Emphasize meticulous and unique food processes
Adding features like “artisanal,” “hand-pulled,” “handmade,” “wood oven-roasted,” and others can improve menu item sales.
Words like ‘tender,’ ‘fresh,’ and spicy make customers salivate, while ‘fragrant,’ ‘whipped,’ ‘tangy,’ and stews tend to repel customers, according to a study.
Keep it short and simple
Short and straightforward food descriptions are fascinating and easy to read. Long descriptions will demotivate readers and buyers. Use fewer than 100 words to describe a menu item if you can.
Highlight important ingredients and traditions
Your food item description can highlight a specific special ingredient.
The ingredients’ back stories will make them stand out, whether a homemade family sauce or a rare ingredient.
3. Add serving size and sushi price on the menu
Serving size and price are beneficial for new customers. Customers know what they’ll get and how much they’ll be paying.
The sushi menu with prices helps customers make informed orders, making their ordering process faster and smoother.
On your Menu panel, click Foods, choose the sushi menu item from the Food Category list, then click the Edit Icon of the menu item.
Set the price according to your chosen digital menu currency, add the size, and select the unit (grams, oz, liters, ml).
Then click Update/Add.
4. Don’t forget the ingredient warning
An ingredient warning on the menu is essential in providing restaurant transparency to your customers. It helps avoid any unwanted emergency situations in your restaurant, which is, obviously, bad for your brand image.
Also, it is a gesture showing that you value your customers’ health and welfare, which may be beneficial in improving customers’ brand loyalty.
To add an ingredient warning using MENU TIGER on your admin dashboard, select the Menu panel, and go to the Foods section.
Then from the list of Food Category, choose the menu item and click the edit icon beside it.
Choose the allergen and ingredient warnings applicable to the sushi menu item.
Finalize and click Update/Add.
5. Sushi menu item labels
Add labels to your sushi menu to highlight special items and offers.
You can use labels like “New” or “Bestseller” to inform customers about your new additional item or what other customers are ordering.
On the other hand, mark your menu item as “Sold Out” if the item is unavailable for the time being instead of removing it from the menu.
You can label your sushi menu items using MENU TIGER. Firstly,
Open your admin dashboard, go to Menu, choose Foods, then select the menu item on the Food Category list.
Choose the label you want to add and click Update/Add.
6. Customize menu QR code
The QR code menu is one of the most overlooked parts of a digital menu. You can customize your QR code menu by incorporating your brand colors, adding your logo, or changing your call-to-action phrases.
A customized menu QR code does more than just provide attractive QR codes; it also:
Strengthen brand awareness. Since most customers recall a brand through its appearance or logo, most branded QR codes help them easily recognize and remember the brand.
Consistent brand appearance. You can strengthen your brand and create a consistent brand image if you embody your brand colors and logo, even on minute details like your menu QR code.
Increase scannability. A customized QR code is a way to go if your goal is to increase digital menu orders. Moreover, a personalized menu QR code captures customers’ attention and sparks their interest, encouraging them to scan.
One unique feature of MENU TIGER is providing access to customize a menu QR code’s whole appearance, from its background color to its frame.
To customize your sushi menu QR code using MENU TIGER, go to Stores and click Customize QR code.
Add your sushi restaurant’s logo in JPG and PNG format, choose a QR code data pattern, and select the QR code eye shape.
Then set your QR code pattern, eye, and background colors.
Finally, customize your QR code frame color, font, and text.
When you’re done, click Update.
Sushi menu food trends
Unagi
If you’re wondering what eel is called on the sushi menu, it’s unagi.
Most sushi bars offer unagi nigiri, which is raw eel on top of rice, or unagi sashimi, carefully sliced raw eel meat served with soy sauce on the side. This is one of the top sushi trends 2024 in restaurants.
Rock N’ Roll sushi menu offers an eel sushi roll, a baked eel roll stuffed with avocado and topped with eel sauce.
Katsu
Katsu is usually made with pork meat (tonkatsu) coated with bread crumbs and fried until golden brown.
However, katsu made with chicken meat is also popular, like RA sushi menu’s chicken katsu, a panko-breaded chicken with Asian coleslaw and Asian BBQ dipping sauce.
Nori
Nori is a Japanese word meaning seaweed. It’s an essential ingredient in many sushi bars.
It’s a versatile ingredient in ramen and sushi rolls, like in Genki sushi menu’s vegetable roll, cucumber roll, and salmon roll.
Seafood
Well, no one can deny that when we eat seafood, we love it!
The perfect seafood sushi menu appetizers are in the Sushi Sake menu’s different seafood choices. In fact, they offer fish, shrimp, squid, and crab, which they deep fry or turn into tempura.
Design your sushi menu today with MENU TIGER
Sushi menu trends come and go. In 2024, we’ll be seeing trends focused on technology and automation.
Interactive digital menu software like MENU TIGER is useful in digitalizing sushi menus. It allows sushi restaurants to receive and fulfill digital menu orders in real-time.
It also allows restaurant users to customize their menu QR code, aside from allowing them to add food images, menu item descriptions, price and serving size, ingredient warnings, and labels to their digital sushi menu.
Did you know that you’ll get 14 days free to any subscription plan when you sign up for MENU TIGER today? Create an account now and grow your business with us!
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