Dining out at restaurants has become significantly more expensive this year, rising 3.9% over the last 12 months, according to data from the most recent consumer price index.
While many consumers have been forgoing restaurants in favor of cooking more meals at home, others are leveraging a different strategy to make up the difference.
In a recent survey conducted by Lightspeed Commerce, a provider of point-of-sale technology for hospitality businesses, almost half of U.S. adults (44%) said they’ve been ordering from restaurants’ kid menus while dining out.
Leith Steel, director of insights and brand communications at Carbonate, a creative agency, told The Food Institute that there are two strong factors at play:
- Inflation: “The kids menu offers value, with lower prices that appeal when food costs are rising.”
- Health: “The kids menu offers smaller portion sizes, which means fewer calories, and for GLP-1 users who have reduced appetites, the children’s portions are often a better fit.”
“We expect to see more places offering smaller portion options on their menu,” the industry expert said.
Steele expects restaurants to start offering more signature dishes in small and large sizes, or even offering a dedicated menu of smaller-sized options to meet growing demand.
Economic Stress Reshapes Food Delivery
In addition to the motivators identified above, Michael Della Penna, chief strategy officer at InMarket, says that nostalgia is often part of the equation as well.
“As people deal with tariffs, inflation, and daily stress, they look for comfort in what’s familiar. Restaurants are paying attention,” Della Penna said.
“McDonald’s brought back hits like the Snack Wrap and launched Adult Happy Meals, mixing old memories with a good deal.”
Consumers are adjusting their dining behavior in real-time in response to economic pressures and economic uncertainty, including choosing to share dishes rather than order individually and also ordering smaller portions, including adults ordering off of the kids menu.
Brandon Dorsky, a food and hospitality business lawyer, consultant, and co-owner of Yeastie Boys Bagels, pointed to the “increasingly high volume of promotional activity within food delivery applications like Uber Eats and DoorDash,” a phenomenon he says reflects a recent trend toward “more cost-conscious and price-discerning customers.”
“Yeastie Boys has increased food-delivery application-based promotions in 2025 as part of an effort to not only reach more consumers, but also to better understand the behavior and price sensitivities of our average customer,” Dorsky said.
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