The best desserts don’t just satisfy a sweet tooth—they create a moment of engagement. And few desserts manage to capture guests as easily as a build-your-own sundae.

Ice cream, a few sauces, a handful of toppings, and suddenly a relatively simple dessert becomes interactive, customizable, nostalgic, fun, and highly shareable. Guests get to create their own ideal version—more sauce, less crunch, extra cherries, no rules. It’s the kind of thing that when guests see it arrive at the next table they immediately think, I need that.

DIY sundaes are a relatively low-lift idea capable of delivering an outsized impression, and the format can be as simple or elaborate as the concept demands. Some restaurants go all-in with rolling sundae carts, vintage glass jars, and ceremonious tableside assembly. Others keep it streamlined with a platter of toppings guests can pile on themselves. If you don’t have a pastry chef, embracing childhood nostalgia with an array of colorful store-bought candies, cookies, and classic ice cream flavors can be a great option. If you do have pastry talent on-hand, they can create custom ice cream or soft serve flavors reflective of the restaurant concept, along with toppings like house-made sprinkles or unique sauces.

Better yet, the formula is endlessly adaptable. Flavors and toppings can rotate with the seasons, reflect the restaurant’s culinary point of view, or create an easy platform for collaborations and limited-time specials. The sundae itself may be simple, but the possibilities are far reaching.

From polished tableside trolleys to playful DIY platters, here are a few of our favorite sundae experiences from across the country to spark a little inspiration.

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A few years ago, mango sticky rice had its social media moment. Videos showcasing the classic Thai dessert—made with ripe mango and coconut-infused sweet sticky rice—introduced many people to the dish for the first time, generating widespread curiosity and conversation online.

Now, it’s back in the spotl…

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In-room record players had their first hotel moment roughly 20 years ago, when turntables became shorthand for an edgy, youth-focused boutique hotel at the height of the hipster era. Today, they’ve returned with a very different meaning: part nostalgia, pa…

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A few years ago, it felt like umami was everywhere. Loosely translating to “deliciousness” the term was first coined in Japan in 1908, and has long been recognized in Japanese culinary lexicon as the elusive “fifth taste.” Over the past decades, the term broke into mainstream Western food writing and consumer vocabulary as shorthand for savory, depth, richness, and craveability. It provided a new way to talk about flavor; a new lens to understand why a dish resonates.

Now we’re seeing a similar obsession take hold, but this time it’s not about taste. It’s about texture.

Chefs, of course, have always known this. Texture has long been one of the quiet levers of great cooking—something that adds intrigue and contrast to a dish. Pastry chefs, in particular, are adept at utilizing texture: crisp against creamy, airy against dense, molten against crunchy. The kind of interplay that turns something good into something memorable.

What’s changed is that consumers are now actively seeking multi-sensory eating experiences. They’re more open to textures that once felt unfamiliar, even polarizing. Chewy, gelatinous, bouncy, foamy—textures that used to live on the margins are moving into the mainstream. And they’re not just noticing texture on the plate; they’re looking for it everywhere, from beverages, to snacks, to fast casual formats.

If umami expanded how we think about flavor, texture is broadening how we experience food altogether—adding a new dimension that’s just as critical to what’s considered craveable, memorable, and increasingly, shareable today. In a feed-driven world, that stretch, crackle, and pull resonates.

From Flavor to Feeling

What’s driving excitement—and attention—today is how food feels. The contrast of crispy and creamy. The pull of melted cheese. The bounce of a chewy bite. The crack, the stretch, the crunch. It’s not just about what something tastes like; it’s about what happens when you bite into it. It’s visual, it’s visceral, and it gives people something to react to.

According to Purato’s 2026 Global Taste Tomorrow Report—built on insights from over 23,000 consumers in 56 countries—71% of consumers say texture drives enjoyment, while 67% are actively seeking “novelty through new formats or unexpected mouthfeels.” The report also cites “texture mash-ups” as the second-fastest-growing trend in the bakery category today.

This shift is showing up everywhere—from menus, to marketing language, to the way people engage with food online.

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Private dining has always been one of the most attractive revenue streams in the hospitality business—higher price points, predictable spend, and a space that, when booked, works harder than the rest of the floor. The challenge is that too often it’s positioned like inventory: a room to fill, a minimum to hit, a line item to sell. In a landscape where every operator is competing for the same birthday celebrations and team dinners that approach starts to flatten fast.

The operators pulling ahead are reframing the pitch entirely. They’re packaging private dining into complete experiences: themed environments, immersive formats, chef-led moments, and interactive elements that give the event shape and story. In some cases, these are turnkey experiences or add-ons groups can reserve at any time; in others, they’re one-off or ticketed activations designed to turn slower nights into something with urgency and demand.

For operators working with a straightforward—or even underwhelming—PDR space, this approach is how you fill the room.

This approach mirrors a broader change across hospitality: people aren’t chasing exclusivity for its own sake—they’re chasing moments that feel curated, personal, and worth talking about. Private dining is one of the most flexible canvases to deliver that.

Read on for a selection of creative formats, activations, and packages from operators around the country who are evolving their private dining rooms from a space that can be sold into demand-driving experiences.

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Bread and butter used to be an automatic, quiet gesture — complimentary, expected, and largely forgotten. Then chefs began elevating the bread itself. Out went anonymous dinner rolls; in came house-milled heirloom grains, crackling levain, laminated brioche, airy shokupan, and regional vari…

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The burger is forever beloved—and one of the categories operators watch most closely for the next big idea. From bun swaps, to smash techniques, to ever-more-inventive toppings, it’s familiar, flexible, and endlessly adaptable, which makes it a natural platform for experimentation.

Over the past year, we’ve been seeing a playful new evolution popping up that doesn’t reinvent the burger itself, but rather, what it’s sitting in. Across markets, formats, and price points, chefs are splitting burgers and sandwiches and serving them directly on sauce rather than topped with it. Cheese, broth, beurre blanc, peppercorn gravy—these sauces aren’t condiments anymore; they’re the star of the plate. As sauce culture continues to heat up—and diners show no signs of tiring of dips, drizzles, pools, and pours—this format turns the plate into one big dipping experience. It’s indulgent, a little absurd, and taps into the same impulse driving the resurgence of French dips and au jus–soaked sandwiches: the joy of dunking, and an abundance of sauce.

Then in January of this year, Applebee’s dropped its O-M-Cheese Burger: A classic beef patty topped with American cheese, Applewood-smoked bacon, and spicy honey mustard, cut in half and served face down in a sizzling skillet of molten cheese.

What’s surprising isn’t that they put it on the menu (long known for their signature sizzling fajita platter, this taps into the same sensory appeal, while meeting the new sauce-obsessed moment), it’s that legacy casual-dining brands like Applebee’s don’t typically adopt emerging trends this quickly.

What started as chef-driven experimentation moved fast. Very fast. In a matter of months, this format has jumped from independent restaurants and cult sandwich spots to casual chains and theme parks—signaling not just a trend, but that innovation and adoption cycles are accelerating. What once took years to trickle down is now moving in months.

When a familiar category like burgers starts to evolve at the format level—and that evolution shows up simultaneously in indie kitchens and national chains—it’s a signal that the idea is both resonant and scalable. “Sandwiches on sauce” doesn’t ask diners to learn something new; it simply amplifies what they already love: dunking, indulgence, and a little bit of mess.

Check out some of our favorite examples from across the country.

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Last year belonged to cherry. This year, Cherry got a plus-one — and her name is Shirley Temple.

In 2025, cherry showed up everywhere at once: as a flavor, a color, a visual cue, and a cultural mood. From soda aisles to beauty launches to fashion feeds, it was everywhere. First, it landed as an aesthetic. Then, it scaled as a flavor.

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The humble vending machine has officially entered its next era. No longer reserved for sodas and stale pretzels, some of the coolest new machines are stocked wit…

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Chocolate mousse is having a retro revival. It first rose to popularity in mid-century America with Julia Child. At that time, fine dining meant French—which was considered the standard for elegance and haute cuisine—and chocolate mousse fit…

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Each year, our report captures what’s shaping hospitality now — and what’s coming next. It’s become a trusted resource for the industry…

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For years now, the story has been that wine is losing ground with younger drinkers. Global consumption is at historic lows, and reports keep telling us that Gen Z and Millennials aren’t interested in Cabernet the way their parents were. But walk into a packed wine bar on a Friday night and you’ll see a very different picture: groups of twenty- and thirty-somethings filling small tables, sharing plates, and working their way through glasses of orange wine, pét-nat, or chilled reds.

Both the San Francisco Chronicle and The New York Times have recently covered the surprising popularity of wine bars—especially amongst younger crowds—and their stronger-than-expected wine sales. The contradiction caught our eye, and in our new report The Next Era of Wine, we explored what restaurants can learn from the trend.

We wanted to dig a little deeper into what’s behind the boom, and the lessons restaurants can borrow from these spaces. Many of the natural-wine spots with communal tables and menus of tinned fish are still thriving, but a new wave is emerging—concepts that blend the spirit of a restaurant with the accessibility of a wine bar. These are chef-driven, wine-first destinations with a strong point of view, delivering unexpected pairings, market-driven menus, and wines chosen for their character as much as their pedigree. By focusing on distinctive bottles—sometimes affordable, sometimes rare—and pairing them with inventive, thoughtful food that expands the boundaries of what people expect to eat with wine, these places are redefining what a “wine bar” can be, and helping reshape the way younger diners connect with wine.

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What makes it especially ripe for th…

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In Florence, Italy du…

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Every operator knows the power of a proven crowd-pleaser. Caesar salad, burgers, chicken parmesan—these are the dishes that drive consistent revenue because they work across demographics and concepts.

We’ve identified seven dishes that have made the leap from specialty item to modern menu staple. These plates began in niche concepts— a trendy Brooklyn spot, a high-end sushi bar—but now appear everywhere from Korean BBQ joints to casual dining chains. They’re the new Caesar salads: dishes so universally appealing that operators treat them as revenue insurance.

Here’s what’s driving checks—and why these seven dishes have staying power.

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We called it in our 2025 Hospitality Trends Report: Turkish cuisine is having a moment—and dondurma (aka Turkish stretchy ice cream) is what’s coming next. Not because it’s new—it’s been around for centuries—but because it delivers a texture most Americans have never expe…

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In an age where immersive experiences drive engagement—and what plays well on social media can translate into real revenue—tableside theater hits the sweet spot.

Tableside service isn’t just making a comeback: it’s getting a serious upgrade. What was once the domain of white-tablecloth dining rooms and old-school steakhouses—relegated to Caesar salads, martini carts, and the occasional flambéed dessert—tableside presentations are showing up across a range of dishes and concepts as a strategic, sharable, and wildly effective way to bring drama, creativity, and connection to the table.

It’s not just about “doing it for the ’Gram”—though that doesn’t hurt. These eye-catching dishes drive buzz and business, increasing check averages when entire dining rooms say, “I’ll have what they’re having,” and generating organic social content that travels far beyond the table. Whether at a high-concept tasting counter, or a playfully casual spot, they’re the kind of must-order moments that can turn a dish into a signature—and a restaurant into a destination.

From flaming trompos, to instant ramen rehydrated in front of your eyes, and butter service that could be the main course, chefs are rethinking how food is finished, plated, and presented to create some seriously “wow” moments across dining rooms.

Check out some of the most creative, over-the-top, eye-catching new ways chefs are using tableside presentations to drive excitement—and revenue.

At Quality Bistro (New York, NY) the Butter Service Garni is a performance—and costs nearly $40. The metaphorical curtain rises and a large cart arrives at the table with a mountain of Battenkill Farms butter. A server carves off enough to butter an entire loaf of bread, smearing it thickly on a plate and seasoning it dramatically with sea salt, minced red onion, pepper and dash of aromatic spice. Thick, grilled country bread, radishes, cornichons, and bitter greens are mounded on the plate alongside, enticing guests to create their own perfect buttery bite. There’s even a small plate of sliced ham for jambon beurre! And a dish of deviled eggs too, if that wasn’t already enough. Is this bread & butter, or a not-so-mini meal made-in-France? Either way it is an unforgettable, over-the-top experience.

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So long soggy buns and sauce-stained shirts. These burgers are sealed, crisped, and ready to travel. Known by a variety of names from pocket burgers, to UFO burgers, closed burgers, and sealed burgers, they’re pressed in a specially-designed griddle until the buns form …

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Last November, we named “kataifi creations” the Dessert of the Year in our annual Hospitality Trends Report. Kataifi (also called kadayif) is a thin, shredded dough similar to phyllo. The name is often used interchangeably with knafeh (also spelled kunafa and other varia…

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