European cuisines are evolving stateside and growing in popularity, with restaurants adding modern twists to traditional dishes
By Sara Perez Webber
At the hard-to-get-into pastaRAMEN in Montclair, New Jersey, diners don’t have to decide if their meal will include Italian flavors or Japanese flavors. They’ll get both in such crowd-pleasing dishes as Cacio e Pepe Gyoza and Temomi Ramen Shrimp Scampi.
The pastaRAMEN menu celebrates Wafu Italian, which combines techniques and flavors from both Japanese and Italian cuisines. The Calamari Fritti appetizer features spicy miso crema, nitsume and shiso, for example, while the Pork Chop Scallopini adds an Italian flair to tonkatsu, a Japanese pork cutlet.
Cofounder and chef-partner Robbie Felice—who helms two additional Italian restaurants—discovered Wafu when he was “looking for any possible way to be different in our saturated industry,” he says. “I really loved it because it’s not fusion; it’s in a league of its own. It is super common throughout Japan and even Italy.”
The restaurant exemplifies a major 2024 food trend in the U.S.: European 2.0. Classic European cuisines such as Italian are evolving stateside and growing in popularity, according to food-and-beverage market research firm Datassential, which identified the trend.
“On the rise is a new generation of Italian, Greek, French and other European concepts that showcase what it means to offer a modern, European-inspired experience,” says Jaclyn Marks, senior publications manager and trendologist at Datassential. “They’re opening all over the U.S., displaying new ideas, next-generation ingredients and dishes that are lesser-known to U.S. consumers, interactive experiences influenced by eatertainment, a less formal atmosphere, and sometimes even in combination with other global cuisines.”
For Felice, who partnered with Montclair Hospitality Group to open pastaRAMEN in early 2023, tapping into the European 2.0 trend is paying off in spades. “I am so grateful for the past year,” he says. “We have been completely booked—filling up months in advance.”
Flavors From Across the Pond
In Fairfield, Connecticut, the British-inspired cuisine served by Gruel Britannia has gained a devoted following. Every week, for example, chef and owner Karen Hubrich sells more than 200 pounds of bangers, or English sausages.
Hubrich says there’s “no question” that consumers are gravitating more toward European cuisines, and that the reputation of British food in particular has improved greatly in the last 15 years. Amidst a profusion of Mexican, pizza and Chinese eateries in Fairfield, Gruel Britannia has carved out a niche for itself as offering something different. Since opening five years ago, the restaurant’s growth has been “unbelievable,” says Hubrich. “I guess because we are very unique and quirky. It’s like eating in my kitchen.”
In her homey 35-seat restaurant, with scrubbed pine floors and mismatched china, Hubrich offers updates on British classics. The modern mushy peas served with the customer-favorite fish and chips, for example, are lighter than the traditional version, made with fresh-frozen peas instead of marrowfat peas, and pureed with mint, vegetable stock and a little butter.
Customers love Gruel Britannia’s traditional afternoon tea, with finger sandwiches in such varieties as smoked salmon, egg salad and coronation chicken salad alongside an array of sweets, like mini loaded scones and chocolate-lemon curd tart. Yet the menu also includes such global flavors as gluten-free Thai Chicken Meatballs, and mashups like the Shepherd’s Pie Empanada and the Britannia Burrito, with back bacon, bangers, scrambled egg, avocado, aged cheddar and curry ketchup.
“A lot of Brits come here that have withdrawal symptoms,” notes Hubrich, who adds that other customers seek out Gruel Britannia when they are embarking on or returning from a trip to the U.K.
Continental Cravings
There’s no doubt that Americans traveling to Europe—which as of November 2023 had jumped 28% compared with 2022, according to air travel statistics compiled by the U.S. National Travel and Tourism Office—come back home craving the food they tasted while vacationing. “With consumers traveling again post-pandemic and tourism booming in countries like Greece, stateside consumers returning from travels to Europe may seek out more modern European concepts in their home country,” notes Datassential’s Marks.
They’ll find it in such restaurants as Theía in Los Angeles, where owner Max Simon was himself inspired by a trip to Mykonos to create a restaurant experience that blends Greek cuisine with nightclub-like entertainment. Customers wait weeks for a reservation at Theía, where their night will include a D.J., belly dancers, live music and even the chance to break a plate while yelling “Opa!” (The Breaking Plates Menu ranges from five plates for $75 to 40 plates for $400.)
The food and drink are part of the entertainment, with dishes like the Smoked Rack of Lamb smoked tableside underneath a glass dome and cocktails designed to be Instagram-friendly—the Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Purple, a twist on the margarita, changes color with the addition of butterfly pea flower tea, for instance. Yet the menu is grounded in the basics, with ingredients and wines sourced locally. “You can make really good Greek food as long as you stay simple with good ingredients,” says Simon.
Many Theía customers “either went to Greece or want to go to Greece,” observes Simon, a native of France. “But American flavors are different than European flavors. If you open a restaurant in America, you have to be able to please American tastes.”
For example, the tableside-prepared Greek salad includes lettuce—not authentically Greek but what Americans expect. Simon also points to Theía’s Saganaki appetizer, with kasseri cheese that’s flamed tableside. “It’s actually nouveau Greek because it was created in Chicago in the ’70s,” he says. “It’s a very visual dish and very tasty—almost fried cheese, with lemon juice and ouzo.” Another example is the Truffled Moussaka, which elevates the traditional beef and eggplant dish with truffle oil and shaved truffle on top.
Crowd-Pleasing Tapas
Fred Castellucci’s love of Spanish cuisine and culture inspired him to open The Iberian Pig in Decatur, Georgia, in 2009. “The energy is everything, and the food is so easily crowd-pleasing,” says Castellucci, CEO of Castellucci Hospitality Group (CHG). “The famed jamón ibérico was one of the best things I’d ever tasted, and I knew if we built a restaurant around it, we could make people really happy.”
His instincts were right, as CHG has now expanded The Iberian Pig to Atlanta’s Buckhead neighborhood and to Nashville. Menu items are designed to be shared, with a variety of tapas that include many vegetarian and gluten-free options. Some are traditionally Spanish, like Pan Con Tomate and Patatas Bravas, while others are inspired by the ingredients of the Iberian Peninsula, like the Ibérico Mac N Cheese. A selection of cheeses and charcuterie, plus larger, more traditional plates like suckling pig and the customer-favorite paella round out the menu.
Castellucci says he’s noticed an uptick in customers talking about their vacations to Spain: “We love that people want to reconnect with their memories of travel through food and other experiences.”
Top-sellers include B.W.D. (Bacon-Wrapped Dates), served with romesco sauce; Ibérico Croquetas, filled with béchamel and served with sofrito aioli; Pulpo, or Spanish octopus, served with Canary Island potatoes; and Gambas al Ajillo, Argentinian red shrimp served with a sherry-garlic butter sauce. The new Nashville location offers some dishes designed specifically for the Music City crowd, like Pork Cheek Risotto.
“European cuisine is definitely evolving in the United States,” says Castellucci. “American food has always been an offshoot of the diversity of the people and cultures that make up the fabric of the U.S. to ultimately create something truly unique from a culinary perspective. I think now, combining these European cultures and cuisines with ingredients that are more sustainably available is finally becoming an accepted and celebrated practice.”
For More Information
Datassential
datassential.com
Gruel Britannia
gruelbritannia.com
The Iberian Pig
iberianpig.com
pastaRAMEN
pastaramen.com
Theía
theia-la.com
