By Marie-Antoinette Issa.
In 2025, what we ate didn’t just satisfy our hunger; it required its own hashtag. Classics got a glow-up, new flavours strutted onto menus and brunch arrived with an attitude. Here are six of the biggest food trends of the year that made us stop, stare and snap.
Peak Pistachio and the Dubai Food Phenomenon
If Biscoff was the reigning champ of cafe culture in 2024, 2025 dethroned it with one glorious sweep of crushed pistachios. Pistachio paste, pistachio gelato, pistachio lattes and even pistachio protein powder – by mid-year, the green-shelled nut wasn’t so much having a moment as it was having a residency.
The real sweet spot was Dubai chocolate - the luxe Middle Eastern-inspired bar filled with nutty pistachio paste and strands of crisp knafeh pastry, to satisfy both our real-life sweet tooth and our Instagram feed.
However, not to be restricted to a humble sweet treat, a host of other food trends also emerged out of the UAE, this year. These included the TikTok-famous paratha burger - a crispy, buttery paratha ‘bun’ jammed with creative fillings that first blew up thanks to KLAY Bakehouse in Dubai, before Sydneysiders eventually got a taste of the viral sensation at Cafe Levant.
With everything people loved about a classic burg - juicy double smash patties, house sauce, fresh veg - wrapped in a golden, flaky paratha, it proved rich, crisp and wildly indulgent. It also showed, once again, that the UAE set the pace for global food trends.
Matcha …Another Green Flag
Alongside pistachio, matcha also left its green mark all over 2025, breaking free from teacups to become the dessert ingredient du jour. In particular, searches for ‘strawberry matcha’ soared, signalling a shift from purist to playful. At its peak, popular Eastern Suburbs cafe, Blackwood Bondi couldn’t keep up with demand - with more than 400 drinks sold per week at $8 each!
Whether online or in real life, there was no shortage of cloud-soft soft serves, hot drinks and layer cakes so green they practically hummed with antioxidant energy that went viral.
While the health halo helped, it was the colour story that sealed the deal. Matcha became the complementary hue to pistachio – the pairing that dominated dessert counters.
Tiramisu Takes Over
Proof that classics never really leave, tiramisu returned this year with a makeover that no longer restricted it to coffee and mascarpone (unless you were feeling particularly nostalgic).
The tiramisu takeover of 2025 saw:
- Pistachio tiramisu (obviously).
- Matcha tiramisu (inevitable).
- Yuzu tiramisu (iconic).
- A single serve one kilo version (no judgment).
The beauty of tiramisu is in the layering – and this year, it became the blank canvas for flavour innovation. Trend trackers began calling it the new cheesecake and we honestly couldn’t disagree.
Cottage Cheese Called
In 2025, cottage cheese infiltrated every mealtime – whizzed into dips, whipped into frosting, folded through pasta sauces and even blended into smoothies.
High in protein, low in guilt and, depending on the recipe, surprisingly delicious. TikTokers churned it into ice cream, cafés piped it into croissants and we even saw a pistachio and matcha cottage cheese bowl go viral. Peak trend convergence and the comeback we never saw coming.
The Rise of Rice Paper Remixing
Rice paper for spring rolls is so 2024. In 2025, users discovered that a little soak and reshaping could turn the humble sheet into everything pastry dreams are made of.
Enter: Rice paper croissants; rice paper spanakopita; rice paper apple turnovers; rice paper lasagne sheets and so on…
It was the illusion we didn’t know we needed – how to say, "I’m being good" while still eating something crispy. Gluten-free bakers loved it. So did wellness influencers and TikTok? Obsessed.
Expect to see rice paper on more cafe menus next year, sitting smugly between filo and puff pastry like it always belonged.
An Avo Toast Alternative
We’d never dare suggest the end of the icon that is avo toast, but 2025 has a new brunch hero and it’s not a pancake stack – it’s steak and eggs.
Once the domain of gym buffs and American diners, steak and eggs has officially muscled its way into Aussie cafes. From high-protein breakfasts to comfort-leaning menus, diners are hungry for dishes that are hearty, flavour-forward and feel like a genuine upgrade from the usual brunch rotation.
One of the pioneers proving this trend is no mis-steak is The Rusty Rabbit in Concord. Since July, its steak and eggs have been doing a quiet little flex of its own – week after week it’s been the dish flying out the door, with the cafe now ordering 20-30 kg of steak just to keep up. You know a trend has hit when the staff start naming their suppliers like they’re part of the squad.
Why the obsession? Protein isn’t just for gym-goers anymore – it’s a lifestyle and brunch is catching up. Google searches for ‘high protein’ have been on a steady climb, TikTok is buzzing with #protein and #highprotein content and creators are happily breaking down the macros of everything from pancakes to parfaits.
