3 restaurant trends worth watching in Feb.

This trio of foods and beverages is just beginning to have an impact on restaurant menus. Here’s your chance to jump on these trends early, as they combine soda alternatives, customization and health—all priorities of today’s noncommercial customers, too.

1. Next-gen coffee

Coffee culture has infiltrated the boutique soda category. Cafes are combining cold-brew coffee or iced espresso with fizzy seltzer or tonic water to create coffee sodas and coffee tonics. Chefs are pairing these slightly bitter soft drinks with food much as they would wine, beer or hard cider—but without the alcohol and little or no sugar.  “The tonic pulls all the fruitiness from the espresso, adding complexity and allowing customers to experience flavors they might not have noticed before,” says Kenny Sipes, founder of The Roosevelt Coffeehouse. 

2. Oatmeal goes beyond breakfast

OatMeals in New York City serves 30-plus variations of oatmeal. While a number are typical breakfast bowls—such as cooked oats swirled with peanut butter, bacon and bananas—many sway to the savory side and would be just as appropriate for lunch or a late-afternoon snack. Truffle RisOATto, a trademarked signature, blends Parmesan cheese and truffle oil into oatmeal. Customers can also customize a bowl, choosing from ingredients such as Gruyere, cheddar, honey ham, curry and Sriracha.

3. Chocolate-by-the-piece menu

Cheese and charcuterie boards are so 2015. Marco Canora, chef-owner of Hearth Restaurant in New York City, introduced the Dark Chocolate Board as part of his dessert menu. Guests can choose from four artisanal dark chocolates, each listing tasting notes and cacao percentage. One piece goes for $2.50 or three for $7. While this may sound like an exercise in decadence, the move was prompted by Canora’s revamping of Hearth’s menu to focus on cleaner, unprocessed ingredients. Dark chocolate is high in healthful antioxidants and may lower heart disease risk.