Trends for 2025: Mr Lyan reckons pop-ups are back

The latest in our series of articles about food trends: 2025 will see the return of the pop-up, and tropical cocktails, reckons Mr Lyan

Mr Lyan’s bars have won the accolade of world’s best bar twice. He runs cocktail venues across the capital, including Lyaness, Super Lyan and Seed Library. He also writes books and runs a creative studio under the same guise.

Here he shares his thoughts on the food and drink trends likely to pervade the capital in 2025.

What will be the most prominent drinks trend in 2025?

I think the idea of locality is going to become much more notable – but not just in the way it’s been applied in the past. With homogenisation happening across the world (small plates, natural wine, the same ingredients in all types of restaurants; clarified drinks, everything fermented, and forced fun in cocktail bars) it’s a chance for bars to start bringing something that speaks to their location and style to the table. This can cross boundaries (it’s the beauty of alcohol; it’s a preservative) so as always, I’m excited to see things like tropical fruits (in a true application rather than synthetic or confected way) and aromatic spices get more of a spotlight.

Where do you see the low-and-no alcohol scene going next year?

We’re seeing a better proliferation of brands, and how to use them, across the board. But there are also changes in habits from consumers too, so I think we’ll start to see an evening-out of these habits rather than a binary push into drinkers and non.

Which is the most exciting part of the capital for 2025?

Geographically – East for new ideas, as always (but shout out to some of the new projects in South London), but also the rebirth of Soho and a proliferation of venues that uphold the unique character of that part of the city. Style-wise – the continued intersection of a cuisine with a British lens or ingredient. Think KOL, Ikoyi, Anglothai, Smoking Goat, Rambutan (and I’ve been told Akoko but I’ve not been yet!) – both food and drink wise.

London has the best cooking and bartending in the world, so it’s great to see the amazing ingredients here from the smaller producers get the spotlight they deserve. The return of pop-ups and residencies – everyone is being very conservative given the fact that the economy is shot, but that’s also the best time to double down on innovation and this is being demonstrated by the very cool collabs from the likes of Mam Sham, Eat with Spoons, Sertaç Dirik, as well as GH Drinks, Woven and Fermento.

What is the one drink you want to get rid of from the capital’s scene next year? What’s unfairly stolen all the glory?

There’s a lot of ironic cocktails abounding that really are just sugar bombs – we can have fun without bad drinks. Why should we visit your venues next year? This year has been great for us, and we’ve been able to double down on our commitment to do new things, but the plans we’ve been able to set in motion for next year really see us return to pre-pandemic form on the innovating front. Plus, across the board, the team have really hit sixth gear across the venues in terms of their menu R&D, so they’re all specific to their own spaces, but each have some incredibly exciting menus to drop (objectively speaking!)