For many South Florida diners, 2025 affirmed the obvious: Our food scene is not only emblematic of national trends but trailblazing.
In many ways, we set the pace. When it comes to the increasingly prominent trend of dining alone, South Florida restaurants get more requests than many other parts of the country. Other shifts, from noisy restaurants to patrons who bring their own food for a night out, may be happening elsewhere too, but in South Florida, diners make sure to voice their opinion, whether it’s approval or displeasure.
A popular place to share grievances, as well as restaurant news and reviews, has become the Sun Sentinel’s foodie Facebook group, “Let’s Eat, South Florida.” The site continues to grow, reaching a milestone 224,000 members recently. If you’re already a member, you may be familiar with these fads below. If not, keep reading and begin your journey as a South Florida dining trends expert.
Restaurants got LOUD
Many restaurants have gotten super-noisy, to the point where it’s hard to hear the server or the person sitting next to you. Delray Beach resident Steve Ruprecht put it this way: “Somewhere along the way, restaurants decided that dinner should come with a side of eardrum damage.” Some restaurant owners say loud music adds to the atmosphere, but others are trying softening techniques, such as sound-absorbing ceilings and stereo systems with volume control on each speaker.
Delia Caccaviello serves Beverly To as she dines alone at The Greek Joint Kitchen and Bar in Davie on June 3, 2025. (Carline Jean/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
Dining alone
It’s now no big deal to walk into a restaurant by yourself and request a table for one. The reservation platform OpenTable reported that 52% of consumers planned to go it alone at restaurants in 2025. A report by Resy, another booking service, said solo dining in Miami was up 14% in 2024, higher than Chicago at 12% and New York at 6%.
First Michelin stars
In a culinary coup for Broward and Palm Beach counties, two restaurants — the Chef’s Counter at MAASS in Fort Lauderdale and Konro in West Palm Beach — earned one Michelin star apiece in April. All told, five Fort Lauderdale restaurants picked up Michelin accolades, including Bib Gourmand designations, while Palm Beach County spots earned nine awards. Just a few months later, however, Konro closed after its co-founder, Jacob Bickelhaupt, was charged in the assault of a woman who was left in critical condition with a brain hemorrhage, and Michelin later stripped the restaurant of its star.
The sign on the door says it all. Tom Jenkins Bar-B-Q in Fort Lauderdale plans to close its doors on Dec. 21. (Mike Stocker/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
Closings
Restaurants close all the time in South Florida, and open too. But 2025 seemed to be an especially rough year, according to Sun Sentinel food reporter Phillip Valys. “We seem to shed hundreds of great eateries every summer like an old snake skin, and this year was especially brutal. (Not unprecedented … just brutal),” he said.
Here are just a few that we lost.
July: Grandview Public Market, West Palm Beach. Reason given: Operator asked to terminate lease.
August: Racks Fish House and Oyster Bar, Delray Beach. Reasons given: high costs of seafood, slow traffic over the summer, a lease renewal with higher rent.
September: Christine Lee’s, Hallandale Beach. Reason given: Owner decided to retire.
December: Tom Jenkins’ Bar-B-Q, Fort Lauderdale (closing Dec. 21). Reason given: Owners retiring and selling land.
Kosher restaurants
Kosher restaurants, with foods from the Middle East to Eastern Europe to South America to China, are flourishing, with new ones opening regularly. It’s easy to keep track of the eateries, as the Orthodox Rabbinical Board of Broward and Palm Beach Counties maintains an updated list online. Here’s the Sun Sentinel’s most recent story on new openings: SunSentinel.com/kosher.
Michael Broadmeadow, left, and Edwin Pont, both of Boca Raton, enjoy kosher chicken combination bowls at Avi’s Grill in Boca Raton on June 27, 2025. (Carline Jean/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
Bring Your Own Food?
The abundance of dietary restrictions among Americans today, coupled with shrinking menus post-COVID-19, have been dwindling diners’ options. Thus, a new trend has emerged: People bringing their own meals into restaurants. South Florida restaurant owners are not happy about it, but the diners say they usually buy something, whether it’s a side dish or a soft drink or dessert.
Bianca De Lange, visiting from South Africa, shops at Dutchy’s Gourmet Sausages in Plantation on Nov. 11, 2025. (Carline Jean/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
Growth of international markets
We’re lucky to have an abundance of these grocery stores in South Florida. Mediterranean, West African, Eastern European, Caribbean, South African, British, Scandinavian, Brazilian: Give yourself an extra hour sometime soon and lose yourself in the markets’ colorful shelves, filled with products unfamiliar to many Americans. Check out the Sun Sentinel’s sampling at SunSentinel.com/markets.
Dubai chocolate
Dubai chocolate continues strong sales across South Florida, where bakeries, chocolatiers and candy stores are prominently displaying the crunchy-creamy confection, a bricklike, hollow milk chocolate bar bursting with pistachio cream and kataifi (shredded phyllo dough). See our list of local stores carrying the bars at SunSentinel.com/dubai.
Amy Beth Bennett / South Florida Sun Sentinel
Sultan Nut House in Plantation reverse-engineered its own recipe for TikTok-famous Dubai chocolate bars. (Amy Beth Bennett/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
Bagel creativity
A plain bagel with cream cheese became quite passé in 2025. Look at Jeff’s Bagel Run, which opened in May in West Boca and this month in Coconut Creek, featuring 15 styles of chewy-soft bagels from cacio e pepe and asiago to cinnamon sugar and rosemary salt, alongside creative spreads (cookies and cream, cannoli, cake batter). Also new this year: PopUp Bagels, serving light, fluffy dough rings straight out of the oven that customers tear up and dip in schmears with creative flavors like vodka sauce, dill pickle and honey chipotle.
PopUp Bagels / Courtesy
Viral Connecticut chain PopUp Bagels has brought its polarizing rip-and-dip concept to South Florida. (PopUp Bagels/Courtesy)
Robots
This new technology is slowly making its way into South Florida restaurants, mostly delivering food to tables and occasionally cleaning up, too. Which brings up the question, as Pembroke Pines resident Angelica Gigi Garbis asked in “Let’s Eat, South Florida“: Should we still tip the humans who work at these restaurants?
“When you go to a restaurant with robot service, how do you tip for service?” she asked. “We go to Kura (an Aventura sushi bar) and you help yourself to the rotating sushi. The robot only brings drinks and no other service from a person. You put your dishes in a slot to be counted. Yes, someone comes to wipe the table when people leave, but is 20% still what should be left?”
Can you help Angelica with this dilemma? Get ready for more restaurant robots and other AI food issues in the coming year. If you have experience with restaurant robots or have witnessed any other notable South Florida restaurant trends, email AskLois@sunsentinel.com.