The 3 Old-School Dishes Diners Want On Menus In 2026

Just like fashion, dining comes with trends. Reservation service OpenTable wrote a report on what 2026's top dining trends would be, and it found that nostalgia is a big factor in what people are craving this year. The company learned that diners are hoping to see more of three particular dishes on restaurant menus, and they're ones that fit squarely into the comfort food category. Its methodology involved an online survey which polled over 1,500 people.

These dishes are surprisingly simple. People simply want shrimp cocktail, meatloaf, and chicken pot pie. Shrimp cocktail, as you all know, is a mainstay on steakhouse menus (and a surprising choice, considering its relative high price point), meatloaf is almost as Midwestern as it gets, and chicken pot pie is simply a hearty meal in a pastry crust. But while these things are easy enough to make at home, apparently people are pining to also have them when dining out. Part of what's interesting is that 48% of the people polled described their most appealing restaurant quality as being "cozy" with "local charm," so maybe people are just seeking for the culinary version of a warm hug along with an experience to match.

If there's one thing we've found, it's that restaurants are leaning on nostalgia to win over diners because it plays on an emotional connection to many people's youths. The general consensus says that nostalgic foods bring up feelings of safety, security, and familiarity; things that are all like a warm, emotional blanket especially when the current economic outlook isn't so certain. In the world of business, those heartstrings the dishes tug on create a reliable revenue source, like when Taco Bell re-releases retro items such as the Enchirito to get people to gaze into the rearview mirror. 

While the OpenTable report doesn't say why these dishes in particular are being requested, they are a pretty safe bet. Meatloaf and chicken pot pie certainly make for a safe choice when you're hesitant to try something new, and shrimp cocktail is simple, yet an overall crowd-pleaser (unless you opt for a punishing style of cocktail sauce). While nostalgic meals aren't necessarily adventurous, it does go to show that the safe route might be the one many people secretly crave when they dine out.