The Bar Journal

We look into our crystal ball to bring you what we think will be the ten biggest food and drink trends in the UK this year, part 2!

5: The continued brasserie boom

If 2012 was the year of the steakhouse in London, 2013 will be remembered as the year of the brasserie, with seasoned French chef Eric Chavot scooping a Michelin star mere months after opening his eponymous Brasserie Chavot in Mayfair and Bethnal Green-born father of five Keith McNally upping sticks from New York to open the hotly anticipated London outpost of his hugely successful and oft star-studded brasserie Balthazar in Covent Garden.

6: Back to basics

There will be a return to simplicity on the cocktail front this year, with contemporary twists on classic cocktails continuing to thrive and molecular mixology shunned in favour of simple creations that shine a light on the quality of the base spirit. In line with the trend, elaborate garnishes will be out, and understated presentation in quality glassware in. The number of ingredients used in cocktails will be reined in to focus on two or three key components. This stripped back approach is in play at Ryan Chetiyawardana’s White Lyan in Hoxton, which brazenly shuns the use of ice, citrus, sugar and fruit and champions pre-made cocktails.

7: Americana

The capital has gone bonkers for all things American, with diners popping up faster than Miley Cyrus can take her clothes off. Late last year saw the likes of the Soho House group’s Soho Diner in Old Compton Street and Jackson & Rye on Wardour Street join the party, offering everything from buttermilk blueberry pancakes, buttermilk-fried chicken, creamed grits and clam chowder to hard shakes. Expect the trend to continue this year through the likes of Strip Bar & Steak in Barbican, Avenue in St James’s, Brooklyn Bowl at the O2 and Big Easy Covent Garden, whose bar will shine a light on Tequila, Mezcal and Bourbon.

8: Craft beer

Having already exploded in the US, 2014 will be the year when the UK fully embraces craft beer, driven by the proliferation of small independent brewers popping up around Britain. With a slew of new craft brewers shaking things up in the capital, pioneering Meantime is now joined by the likes of the Camden Town Brewery, which produces 30,000 pints a week, Crate in Hackney Wick, The Kernel in Bermondsey and Redemption Brewing Company in Tottenham.

Often boasting quirky, eye-catching packaging, these lovingly crafted brews are bringing beer to a new audience and broadening its appeal. London restaurants and bars are also doing their bit in flagging up these homegrown hops, led by the likes of the Craft Beer Company and the Draft House.

9: Pork

We’ve gone clucking mad for chicken and barmy for beef, but the meat on everyone’s lips in 2014 will be pork. In keeping with the Americana trend, pulled pork will continue to headline on menus, with pioneering Pitt Cue Coe inspiring a new legion of restaurant that specialise in smoking, such as the newly opened Ember Yard (the latest venture in Simon Mullins’ Salt Yard group) in Soho, where you’ll find hot smoked old spot pork belly with Basque cider glaze. At Russell Norman’s new gastropub, The Ape & Bird, pig’s trotter Scotch eggs are already proving a hit, while the latest addition to The Pig hotel group’s litter, The Pig-near Bath, is due to open in March, celebrating all things porcine on its menu.

10: Hipster wine bars

Wine is having a bit of a moment with London’s hipsters, spurred on by the opening of Sager + Wilde in Hackney, a no-reservations bar that started life as a pop-up run by husband and wife duo, Charlotte and Michael Sager-Wilde. Achingly hip in an unpretentious way, with open brickwork walls, 1920s station lights and a cast iron bar, S&W serves everything from big gun producers like California’s Ridge to obscure boutique names via Basque Txakoli and Mosel Riesling, including hard-to-source bottles for a set £20 mark-up.

Also making waves are The Remedy in Fitzrovia, which focuses on natural wines from Europe served alongside charcuterie and cheese platters, and Compagnie des Vins Surnaturels in Covent Garden, from the team behind the Experimental Cocktail Club. Passionate about championing the unsung rising stars of the wine world, CVS is constantly on the hunt for new independent producers to flag up on its list, which changes on a weekly bases depending on what’s selling. 2014 will see the continued democratisation of wine in the UK through evens like Wine Car Boot, run by former fashion model Ruth Spivey, and London Wine Sessions, which are doing their bit to help bring wine to a younger, hipper audience.