2020s Food: Top Dishes, Restaurants And Eating Trends

Lockdown banana bread, air fryers and cooking to a budget again.

Below: the dishes people actually ate in the 2020s, what was new at the time, what the kitchen had in it, and honest notes on cooking any of it now.

Useful for a themed party menu, a reminiscence session or working out what to cook for someone's milestone birthday.

Years covered in the 2020s

• 2020 - Lockdown, clapping on doorsteps and a year nobody needs reminding of. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-2020
• 2021 - Another lockdown, then a summer of football and reopening. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-2021
• 2022 - The Platinum Jubilee, the death of the Queen and three Prime Ministers. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-2022
• 2023 - The coronation, Barbenheimer and 'Last Christmas' finally getting to number one. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-2023
• 2024 - A July general election, the Olympics in Paris and Gavin & Stacey signing off. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-2024
• 2025 - The Lionesses retained the Euros and the Oasis reunion filled the stadiums. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-2025
• That is every 2020s year we have written up so far: 2020 to 2025.

Classic 2020s dishes

• Banana bread and focaccia from the first lockdown.
• Dalgona whipped coffee, briefly, in 2020.
• Air fryer chips, chicken thighs and anything else that fits.
• Baked feta pasta and other TikTok recipes.
• Batch-cooked chilli, curry and soup for the freezer.
• Roast dinners at home rather than out, because of the price.

Food trends of the 2020s

• Air fryers everywhere from about 2022, partly for energy costs.
• Cost-of-living cooking - Jack Monroe's budget recipes and supermarket value ranges.
• TikTok as the main place recipes now spread.
• Plant-based food normal rather than niche.

What the kitchen looked like (2020-2029)

• Air fryers, slow cookers and batch cooking to keep the oven off.
• Freezer use planned rather than accidental.
• Meal planning apps and supermarket loyalty pricing shaping shopping lists.
• Sourdough starters from 2020 still living in a lot of fridges.

Eating out in the 2020s: restaurants, cafes and takeaways

• Lockdown closes restaurants; takeaway, meal kits and delivery keep them alive.
• Eat Out to Help Out in August 2020 fills dining rooms for a month.
• Dark kitchens cook for delivery apps only, with no dining room at all.
• Outdoor tables, heaters and pavement licences become permanent in many towns.
• Service charge, tipping law changes and clearer pricing on menus.
• Plant-based menus move from a single option to a section of their own.

Cooking these now: honest notes

• An air fryer is a small fan oven - if a recipe works at 200C, it works at 180C in the drawer.
• Batch cook one thing a week rather than planning seven dinners you will not cook.
• Cheap cuts and a slow cooker still beat almost everything for cost per portion.

How to use this

• Themed party: pick three dishes, not ten - one thing to pick at, one main, one pudding everyone remembers.
• Put the 2020s playlist on while you cook and the theme does half the work.
• Reminiscence session: food smells prompt more conversation than photographs do.
• Milestone birthday: cook what they ate at eighteen, not what was around when they were born.

Shop prints and posters

How to write it so it lands

• Write the menu on a card and put it on the table - it makes a themed meal feel deliberate.
• Cook one dish nobody has had for thirty years; that is the one people talk about.
• Check for allergies before you build a menu around pastry, nuts or shellfish.

Where to shop next

• Look back to 2020
• Look back to 2021
• Look back to 2022
• Look back to 2023
• Look back to 2024
• Look back to 2025
• 2020s calendar: year by year
• 2020s trivia: fun facts
• 2020s music: albums, artists and songs
• 2020s fashion: clothes, hair and accessories
• 2020s books, films and TV
• 2020s party playlist
• The 2020s: the whole decade
• Viral and TikTok party games
• Phone party games
• How to run a quiz night
• Guess the year quiz
• Decade history: key events, politics and culture by era
• Decade books: best novels, authors and reading trends
• Decade recipes: dishes and food trends by era
• Music by decade: albums, artists and songs
• Decade fashion: clothes, hair and accessories by era
• Decade guides: books, films and TV by era
• Decade calendar: every year from 1920
• Decade trivia: fun facts by era
• Nostalgia gift shop
• Retro party supplies
• Milestone birthday cards
• Planning the party? Birthday party ideas
• How to make a balloon arch
• Photo booth prop ideas
• Pin badges
• All guides

Frequently asked questions

What food was popular in the 2020s?

Banana bread and focaccia from the first lockdown. The full list above covers the dishes that turned up week in, week out, not just the special-occasion ones.

What were the big food trends of the 2020s?

Air fryers everywhere from about 2022, partly for energy costs. The rest are listed above, including what was arriving in the shops for the first time.

Where did people eat out in the 2020s?

Lockdown closes restaurants; takeaway, meal kits and delivery keep them alive. The eating out section above lists the restaurants, cafes and takeaways of the decade.

Can I cook 2020s recipes today?

Yes, with small adjustments. Old recipes assume more time and different kit, so the honest notes section above tells you what to change - mostly seasoning, cooking times and which ingredients are hard to buy now.

Do you sell food or recipe books?

No. We make greeting cards, art prints and pin badges in the UK. This page is free to read, print and copy for a party or a care-home session.