Expect to see mushrooms, Vietnamese coffee and value meals on restaurant menus this year. In addition to new thrills, diners will be looking for cheap thrills, as diners and restaurants continue to grapple with inflation.

That’s according to Yelp, which recently released its food and drink forecast for 2025, basing it on words and phrases Yelpsters used when they searched its website in 2023 and 2024.

Here are some of its findings — with some Northern California-specific shout-outs from us.

Hawaiian food

When something catches the attention of McDonald’s, it’s likely going mainstream. And chicken katsu has caught the attention of the fast food giant in Great Britain, where McDonald’s UK is rumored to be coming out with a katsu wrap some time in 2025; they already tried chicken katsu nuggets in 2020.

Chicken katsu, which is coated with bread crumbs and sliced, is a mainstay of Hawaiian restaurants, along with Spam musubi, a brick of rice topped with luncheon meat and wrapped in edible seaweed, and Hawaiian macaroni salad.

Yelp has seen a surge in searches — up 523 percent — for Hawaiian mac salad, as well as other Hawaiian menu items, according to its trends report.

Among the Hawaiian chain restaurants reaping the rewards of that trend are Ono Hawaiian BBQ, which is in the midst of a “Moana 2” tie-in promotion and has locations across the Bay Area from San Jose to Castro Valley, and L&L Hawaiian Barbecue, which is No. 21 on Yelp’s list of fastest growing brands for 2024. Based in Honolulu, the chain has two dozen locations scattered across the Bay Area, including Pleasant Hill, Hercules and Redwood City.

Non-chain Hawaiian eateries have been popping up here too, from Shaka Shack, which opened this fall in Alameda, to Little Aloha, which opened in San Francisco last March.

Mushrooms

Based on claims that they reduce stress and have other health benefits, mushrooms are attracting attention, and not just from Yelp users. The National Restaurant Association included fungi, which it calls “fun guys” in a news release in its 2025 trends roundup.

Much of the buzz has been generated by mushroom-infused coffees and teas that are available in bags at specialty grocery stores and some coffee shops but rarely served by the cup. Tender Greens has a more traditional use for roasted maitake mushrooms. They’re featured in the quick-service chain’s Longevity Bowl.

International coffees

Coffee drinkers are looking for new experiences and searching Yelp for such beverages as iced mojito coffee, which can be found at Philz Coffee cafes across the Bay Area, and Vietnamese coconut coffee.

“That alligns very closely with our menu-building plan for next year,” said Gregory Zamfotis, founder of Gregorys Coffee. The New York-based chain made its Southern California debut last year and will open cafes at the Stanford Shopping Center in Palo Alto and the Great Mall in Milpitas this year. “We’re launching a cultural coffee program. Each menu will offer a coffee prepared in a unique style from around the world.”

Food and drink flights

Flights, samples of similar items served in groups of three or more, are satisfying an urge for new experiences in dining, according to Yelp, which is seeing searches for — wait for it — egg flights and pasta flights.

Easier to find: Espresso flights at Oakland’s The Crown: Royal Coffee Lab and Tasting Room and Menlo Park’s Saint Frank Coffee. Mimosa flights at Danville’s Crumb’s, a breakfast and brunch spot. And chocolate chip cookie flights at San Francisco’s Dandelion Chocolate.

Value meals

Bundle pricing was big news in 2024, and Yelp’s research suggests we’ll see more of it in 2025.

McDonald’s led the way last summer when, amid customer complaints of high prices, it launched its $5 Meal Deal. The bundle combined four items from its value menu at a flat rate, which despite its name often cost $6.

Competitors such as Burger King and Del Taco came up with their own bundles, and it wasn’t just fast food. BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse enjoyed success with its $13 Pizookie Meal Deal, which is still available weekdays.

Lazy Dog Restaurant & Bar, which has eateries in San Mateo, Concord, San Jose and more, has a subscription program called the Campfire Club. For $5 a month, members get a free item such as an appetizer or dessert worth as much as $15, plus other perks.

“With inflation the way it is, value is super critical,” said founder and chief executive officer Chris Simms said in a September interview. “We’re trying to make sure we’re doing it in a way that’s fun and exciting. If you can do it at home, then why are you going to come here?”

Other trends

Yelp sees a surge of interest in sandwiches, citing Something About Her, a West Hollywood shop opened in May by “Vanderpump Rules” stars Katie Maloney and Ariana Madix.

People are also searching for bakeries that make burnaway cakes, which have become popular for celebrations such as gender reveals. They are topped with a special paper that when burned off reveals a hidden message.

And interest in dinner parties and large-group dining is surging, too, with Yelp searches for restaurants with private room dining up 6,531 percent and large group restaurants up 1,461 percent.