In a few noteworthy ways, dining took a new form in 2025, as noted by Toast’s latest Restaurant Trends Report. The way people enjoy going out to eat is shifting in these key respects: it’s more common to seat at a table for one, Tuesday is becoming a popular night out, and breakfast and early-bird dining have also spiked.
Here’s a deeper dive into some of the most interesting trends noted in Toast’s analysis.
A Surge in Solo Dining
Consumers have become increasingly comfortable dining by themselves, as reservations for one saw a 22% spike compared to the same quarter last year. It’s important to note that, even with that significant uptick, single diners still only account for less than 1% of total booked reservations.
When it comes to dining alone, Rene Mondy, a licensed therapist at Dear John The Box, LLC, had some insight to share. Mondy’s employer has a Solo Dining Directory that tracks dining trends.
“Women are being more intentional about planning pauses in their day, and using a meal alone as time to reset,” Mondy told The Food Institute. “They’re also using solo dining as opportunities to venture out and make more informed decisions about destinations for future groups or romantic dates. What once seemed too high-end to try alone, is no longer seen as off-limits.”
Mondy said her business has seen restaurants leaning into the solo dining culture by carrying merchandise that celebrates the experience, which signals that solo diners aren’t an afterthought – they’re a demographic with spending power and brand loyalty.
Weekday reservations are also rising. Although weekends are still by and large the most popular time to dine out, Tuesday and Thursday reservations saw a notable year-over-year increase, with Tuesday leading at 15% over 2024 and Thursday with 12%. Weekends also saw growth, with Sunday up 9% and Saturday up 7%.
The Breakfast Club
It seems more people are interested in enjoying what many perceive to be the most important meal of the day. The 9 a.m. breakfast slot saw a 19% year-over-year jump in reservations and 10 a.m. followed, with 15% increase.
Brandon Dorsky, co-owner and consultant of Bagel Lords, LLC d/b/a Yeastie Boys, said that more diners are choosing to go on breakfast dates as a response to inflation and lifestyle squeezes.
“In addition to breakfast dates being in the zeitgeist, breakfasts are typically cheaper than dinners,” Dorsky said.
Early Bird Gets the Worm
Tied for the second largest reservation boom with 10 a.m. was the 4 p.m. “early bird’” time slot. These bookings, although growing in popularity, still only account for 4% of total reservations. The time slot of 6 p.m. is still the most popular hour, with 30% of all reservations, followed by 7 p.m. (19%) and 5 p.m. (18%).
“Early-bird dining allows diners to take advantage of cheaper pricing options, and as tariffs and inflation cause corresponding lifestyle creep impacts, early-bird and happy hour dining is a way to have the ‘dining out’ experience on a tighter budget,” Dorsky said.
Food for Thought Leadership
In this episode of Food for Thought Leadership, Food Institute VP of content and client relationships Chris Campbell sits down with Barry Thomas, senior thought leader at Kantar, to unpack the rapid rise of agentic AI — a new class of AI systems that don’t just generate information, but take action on behalf of the user.
