Kimpton’s annual “Culinary + Cocktail Trend Forecast” returns this year to unveil the unique dining styles, bold ingredients and expert techniques set to shape the global hospitality scene in 2026. From heritage and third-culture cuisine to fruity milk alternatives, Kimpton’s global chef and bartending community are setting trends that will define food and beverages in the year ahead.
This annual forecast underscores Kimpton’s culinary creativity and playful approach to food and drink, brought to life at more than 100 restaurants and bars across its 83 properties worldwide. Paving the way for creative hospitality, Kimpton hotels, restaurants and bars embody masterfully crafted techniques and robust dining experiences that continue to shape the food and beverage landscape across the globe.
Katherine Wojcik, director of programs & partnerships at IHG Hotels & Resorts said: “As guests seek deeper connections through what they eat and drink, we’re seeing a shift toward experiences that engage every sense. Cocktails, beverage programs, and food menus have become storytelling platforms—expressions of place, culture, and creativity. Our chefs and bartenders blend global inspiration with local character to craft drinks and dishes that surprise, delight, and invite conversation. It’s not about chasing trends—it’s about leading with authenticity, artistry, and a touch of play.”
(IHG Hotels & Resorts)
Guests of Kimpton hotels, restaurants and bars around the world will have the opportunity to experience new flavors that bring these trends to life all year long. This year’s Kimpton Culinary + Cocktail Trends are:
On the Plate: The Culinary Concepts Coming to Pass
Charcoal Gets Fired Up
Driven by a desire to reconnect with authentic flavors and culinary craftsmanship, charcoal will experience a renaissance both as an ingredient and as a medium for cooking. Whether it’s protein or veggies, guests can expect to specifically experience Binchotan, a Japanese white charcoal prized for its minimal smoke and odor. Expect to see menu items like charred cauliflower satay with lemon cream at select properties in the coming months.
Pancakes Get a Passport
As global cuisines become more accessible, international pancake variations like Moroccan Msemen, Korean Hotteok and Vietnamese Bánh Xèo will serve as a versatile base for creative flavor pairings. These globally inspired pancake combinations will invite guests on a culinary journey that elevates the dish, like the paella-inspired martini with blinis and caviar on the side found on menu at Kimpton Sawyer Hotel in Sacramento.
Heritage & Third-Culture Cuisine
In 2026, Heritage & Third-Culture Cuisine will come to the forefront of the food scene to celebrate multiple cultures all in one dish. Menu items will be unapologetic about traditional flavors and emphasize personal, lived experiences within one or multiple cultures. This style combines influences from the chef’s multicultural upbringing, creating unique dishes that defy traditional culinary boundaries. This upcoming trend can be found at Kimpton KAFD Riyadh where a terrine of local lamb is served with fresh mixed leaves and herbs alongside a lamb chamomile demi-glace, creating a refined interpretation of local Saudi ingredient and European techniques.
Citrus Gets Zesty
Varieties and unique hybrids of citrus like Calamansi, Hallabong and Sumo will appear on food and drink menus, offering a fresh alternative to their more common citrus cousins. These vibrant, flavorful fruits bring unexpected tartness, sweetness, and aroma, inspiring chefs and mixologists to experiment with imaginative pairings and presentations like yuzu-infused cocktails and Calamansi–miso dressings for seafood or salads.
(IHG Hotels & Resorts)
Entrée-Inspired Dips
The era of Girl Dinner is gone and in its place step in “Snacky Suppers” with more consumers skipping a larger traditional main course in favor of smaller plates. This will see the in-between eating aesthetic evolve as entrée-inspired dips are reimagining classic dishes like gumbo and cacio e pepe to create bite-sized noshes of beloved classic meals.
Lamberto Valdez Lara, executive chef at Kimpton Maa-Lai Bangkok, summarizes: “2026 will be the year that packs a ‘crunch’. Chefs are layering textures to create dynamic dishes that turn techniques and ingredients into added palate experiences. We’re also seeing charcoal come to the fore in a big way. This is down to its ability to impart rich flavor with global influences—like Korean Hotteok or Vietnamese Bánh Xèo. Comfort foods like pancakes are being redefined through a global lens, while natural botanicals and unique citrus varieties bring freshness and vibrancy to the plate.”
In the Glass: The Cocktail Trends Raising the Bar
Botanicals Swap Out Sugar
As consumers embrace fresh, natural ingredients, unexpected sweetness will be on the menu in the coming year. Commonly added sugar will give way to fruit and botanicals like rose, elderflower, and cherry that impart flavor and sweetness naturally. Cocktails like “Souq of Byblos” use rose to sweeten a combination of gin, grapefruit, lemon, bitters and cardamom at Ladyhawk at Kimpton La Peer Hotel in West Hollywood.
Texture Takes Over
Crispy, crunchy, foamy, fizzy, silky—texture will take over in 2026. Whether it’s a matcha with creamy foam and a crunchy topping or gummy boba in a silky-smooth latte, across the kitchen and bar, chefs and bartenders will experiment with ingredients that add textural complexity and juxtaposition across the palate, transforming every bite and sip into a multisensory experience.
Going Bananas for Banana Milk
Move over oat milk. Popular in Korea, this milk alternative, often paired with coffee and espresso, will gain broad appeal globally in the coming months. With a natural sweetness and smooth, silky texture, banana milk can be paired with other sweet flavors like whipped cream, cinnamon, caramel and chocolate for a perfect morning pick me up, available on request at select Kimpton properties worldwide.
(IHG Hotels & Resorts)
Cultivating Coffee Cultivars
Specialty beans, terroir flavors, climate-resilient types, co-fermented and seasonal blends will drive bold, unique coffee trends in 2026. Coffee connoisseurs will rejoice as new varietals of beans like Columbian Gesha, Ethiopian Hambela, Ethiopian Uraga Heo, Papau New Guinea Volcanic Robusta and Lijang Yunnan Bam gain traction at Kimpton properties around the world.
The Newest Spritz: The Garibaldi
The Garibaldi is going to unseat the Aperol Spritz as the new favorite aperitivo cocktail. Low ABV but high in refreshing flavor, menus will feature variations using combinations of unique citrus and Italian aperitifs. Simply delicious, the mixture of bittersweet Campari will the acidity of orange juice balances on the palate for a refreshing happy hour, available at select Kimpton properties worldwide.
Layered Drinks
Taking “eating with your eyes first” to the next level, blended beverages will be replaced with drinks featuring distinct layers of flavor that you can see and taste creating a feast for the eyes and taste buds. From cocktails to coffee beverages, layered beverages will bring together delicious taste pairings to indulge in.
(IHG Hotels & Resorts)
Garden to Glass: Plants
With the popularity of herbal and earthy drink flavors on the rise, plants including aloe, chayote, eucalyptus, and pepperberry will appear in more cocktails as the latest evolution of the industry’s garden to glass movement. Garden to glass offers guests the opportunity to taste the freshest seasonal, locally sourced ingredients possible like in the Alianthus—a cocktail that balances the unique flavor profile of black pepper, ginger and lemon grass that’s featured at Kimpton Da An in Taipei, Taiwan.
Cocktails Get Techy
Bars will transition from smoke to aromatic machines and adapt innovative processes, including switching and sous-pression that rely on deep-freezing to alter or release flavor. Watch this trend come to life in the cocktails “Berry Opera,” which uses lacto-fermentation to create a homemade berry vinegar that pairs with peach, raspberry and hibiscus tea; and “Almost Famous,” which leverages molecular gastronomy spheres to blend fat washed whiskey with black truffle oil, curaçao, chocolate absinthe and orange bitter spheres for a savory delight. These intricate concoctions can be found on bar menus at Kimpton Qiantan Shanghai.
Wine: APAC on the Rise, Bordeaux is Back, & Spanish Wine Cocktails Get Fizzy
Asia-Pacific wines and fizzy Spanish wine cocktails, like Kalimotxo, Tinto Verano, and Rebujito will grow in global popularity, while Bordeaux, side-lined for other popular grapes over the years, will enjoy a comeback on wine menus, including those of Kimpton Qiantan Shanghai. With that, wine cocktails are rising to the surface, with creative mixology bringing to life beverages like “Sakura Sake Spritz,” which mixes Sake, gin, Sakura, lime juice and Cava; and “Bordeaux Berry Fizz,” which features Bordeaux, white wine, blackberry liqueur, lemon juice and simple syrup.
Jim Wrigley, beverage manager of Kimpton Seafire Resort + Spa summarizes: “Tech is transforming every corner of our lives, and our drinks will be no exception. 2026 will see more innovations like aroma technology and cryogenics release new flavors at the bar. We’ll also see layered drinks that are as beautiful to look at as they are to taste, a re-envisioning of the garden-to-glass botanical cocktails, and stalwart spirituous serves superseded by low-ABV alternatives like The Garibaldi. Ingredients like banana milk, with its natural sweetness and velvety texture will allow us to reimagine what comfort in a cup looks like, as guests seek real experiences amongst all of the screen time. It’s a time of curiosity and creativity, especially for Kimpton.”
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