The rise of place: Marriott International reveals asia pacific's future of food

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

In The Rise of Place, Marriott International Asia Pacific excluding China (APEC) trends for 2027 - drawn from interviews with top foodie influencers and extensive research across its hotels in the region - a key transformation is taking hold. Driven by localization, evolving social behaviors, and a fundamental rethink of physical environment, this spatial shift across restaurants, bars and hotels creates a dining scene that feels deeply personal, genuinely rooted in place, and effortlessly social.

Diners are increasingly seeking authenticity and connection. Demand for authentic local signature dishes is surging, with 95% of surveyed properties identifying this as the biggest trend in their market. Alongside a broader appetite for regional cuisines, this is prompting hotels to weave locality through sourcing, design, and storytelling.

At the same time, formal dining is making room for fluid, social formats, with nearly half the properties (45%) reporting a growing preference for casual spaces. Guests now move seamlessly between bars, counters, and outdoor lounges, while fine dining adapts to tighter schedules with shorter, punchier tasting menus.

Physical venues are evolving in step. Operating within an intimate 40–60 seat sweet spot, emerging concepts are trading high capacity for sharp identity and distinct moods, with silent AI technology optimizing behind-the-scenes operations.

Ultimately, Asia’s next generation of F&B is clear: smaller in footprint, bigger in personality, local in soul, and thoughtfully built around how people actually want to gather.

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1. THE SPATIA L SHIFT

2. THE LOCA L ADVANTAGE

3. 99 MINUTE FIN E DINING

4. DININ G IN NUMBERS

5. ACROSS THE REGION

CONTENTS

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THE CHAPTER SPATIAL ^ONE SHIFT

Asia Pacific’s F&B landscape increasingly belongs to more personally relevant experiences, held in intimate venues and channeling focused micro concepts.

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1.1

SMALLER FOOTPRINT, SMARTE R SPACES

Hospitality is reexamining the spatial shift that affects everything, from what is served on the plate and how it got there to how long dinner lasts, what a restaurant looks like and how technology supports it behind the scenes.

Restaurant design is increasingly predicated on how many different experiences can be hosted, with dining rooms rethought to play host to multiple occasions and moved to varied spaces throughout the day.

Petr Raba, Vice President of Food & Beverage, Marriott International Asia Pacific excluding China sees a clear move towards smaller, more distinctive restaurants, with 40 to 60 seats emerging as a sweet spot. His idea of a “micro-concept within the concept” means that a large breakfast venue can transform into a more specialized, limited-seating restaurant for lunch or dinner, optimizing the use of the space and the resources and people to run it.

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CHAPTER ONE | THE SPATIAL SHIFT

Designing different

CEO of Japanese hospitality interior design firm Strickland, Yohei Akao feels that there’s room for a range of venues. “While demand for intimate, smallscale spaces continues to grow, demand for lively, large-scale restaurants will also remain. Both forms of dining experience are expected to coexist and thrive.”

Bars, counters, booths and private rooms can create different atmospheres, allowing guests to choose not just where but how they want to dine. Lighting

and acoustics become crucial, with illuminated tables, artwork, flexible furniture and curtains helping to soften a room as the day progresses.

Marriott International’s research also shows that in-room dining and more casual settings, such as bars or lounges are showing increases in most markets except Singapore and Malaysia. In South Korea, 68% of restaurants saw more covers in these more relaxed venues.

DINING IN BAR OR LOUNGE

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Let there be light – and music

Samantha Eades, Director of architectural designers Mitchell & Eades in Melbourne agrees that lighting - and also sounds - are two of the most effective design elements for transitioning from a high-energy space to a more intimate one:

Lighting does the heaviest lifting. In the evening, the emphasis can shift to pools of warm light, illuminated tabletops, highlighted artwork and a stronger glow around the bar.

Acoustics and sound are equally important. Curtains, upholstered surfaces and acoustic ceilings help soften the room, while music can move from ambient daytime energy to a richer, more immersive evening identity.

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AI

AI is another game-changer in the F&B design landscape, and nothing defines a smarter dining space more than its integration.

Its ubiquity is so complete that 100% of restaurants and bars questioned in Thailand and Singapore revealed that they are already using it. AI’s impact on restaurant operations extends from front of house to changes behind-the-scenes.

In back-of-the-house operations, AI is used to reduce food waste, predict staffing, engineer dynamic menus and optimize seating capacity. It further helps in marketing and social campaign plans to drive business and to deliver experiences.

add-ons. In back-of-the-house operations, AI is used to

In front-of-house, AI can help with guest behavior and preferences, ensuring more responsive operations. restaurants analyze patterns, refine menus and make operations.

At the same time, balancing digital efficiency and human personality feels increasingly important, but meaning that a dining room should, ideally, remain defiantly human.

Abba Napa, co-founder of the Moment Group

“ If I were opening a brandnew location tomorrow, I would design the restaurant around connected technology and data from day one rather than treating them as operational add-ons.”

Good storytelling creates a deep connection between the guest, the food, and the restaurant, giving what is on the plate context and meaning. The result? A more intelligent and nuanced operation – but still with a reassuringly human touch.

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Hans Christian and Budi Cahyadi, founders of August, Jakarta

“Technology should work quietly in the background, allowing the team to deliver warmer, more thoughtful hospitality rather than replacing human interaction.”

Ryuu Tam, Director, Global Operations, Tim Ho Wan is crystal clear:

“Digital tools should simplify the experience rather than complicate it. The best solutions are often the ones that feel almost invisible because they allow teams to focus more on hospitality and less on administration.”

HOW DO YOU USE AI IN YO U R RESTAURANTS AND BARS?

For inspiration on activations

For marketing campaigns and collaterals

For menu development

To create concepts

To track guest behavior

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1.2 T H E ### MODERN ### MENU

Ines Castañeda Matos from Roots Restaurant in The Philippines’ island of Siargao agrees:

“ Many of the techniques that were groundbreaking such as spherifications, gels, and airs came out of the need to surprise through texture, because flavor alone is no longer enough to surprise a diner who has tried everything. Flavor and texture don’t compete - real balance comes when they work together.”

Sensory overload

Modern Asian menus are becoming more and more expressive, with textures, aromas, spices and unexpected combinations ensuring even greater sensory impact.

Diners in Asia Pacific have always judged food on mouthfeel as much as taste and textures have rarely been as important on menus. Chewy mochi, crispy chicken skin, silky tofu, crunchy seaweed and gelatinous desserts are all prized because they create a multi-sensory eating experience.

Dishes are increasingly being designed around these contrasting textures in addition to the classic profiles of sweet, sour, salty and bitter. The key, as always, is balance.

In a national cuisine renowned for its balance and textural interplay, Summer Le at Nén in Vietnam explains: “To me, texture is just as important as flavor, although it is often overlooked. Flavor may be what people talk about first, but texture is what gives a dish rhythm, contrast, and memory.”

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Plant forward

The plant-forward movement is also progressing across modern menus as South Korea reports growing demand for vegetarian and vegan food, while India is seeing strong momentum around healthier dining.