How to Choose a Restaurant Cuisine – 43+ Most Popular Cuisines

“Restaurants are the shared kitchens and dining rooms of densely populated cities”. In this digital age, restaurants remain prosperous in an analog world in fact becoming the most important industry today as studies would show. It plays essential role in the business, social, intellectual, and the creative life of a developing society. We continue to grow eating the food of our cultures, hence, becomes part of who we are. Cuisines are passed on from one generation to the next while operating as an expression of identity. Each cuisine reflects history and while we embrace our own heritage, we have to be more open to trying what other cultures have to offer.

What to Consider While Choosing Restaurant Cuisine

According to a study conducted by Denver Daniels College of Business, customers are no longer lured by food quality and convenient location alone. Customers are easily ticked given the nice ambiance and great customer service. Customers also choose cuisines that are more labor-intensive. Perhaps, the same reason why some people choose French cuisine than ordering in a Chinese restaurant.

Tips to Choose Restaurant Cuisine

What are the important considerations when choosing a restaurant cuisine?

• A Little Research

If neighboring restaurants offer authentic cuisine, a research is one way to help you find out how authentic they really are. You may ask questions about the chef, the owner and their staff. Make sure also that their menu has the classic staples of a particular cuisine that you like.

• A Good Chef

After your research, your next job is finding a chef. Find out if their capabilities match with your restaurant cuisine needs. Most of the applicants have degrees but it is important to also consider their leadership skills in running a successful kitchen.

• Your Restaurant Kitchen

The kitchen brings life to your cuisine. A restaurant kitchen has a lot of people coming in and out so it’s important to keep it organized. It will not only save time during the busy hours but will also give your customers the impression that your meals are clean, hence, safe.

• Your Ingredients

It is important that you have a clock in mind. From the diner’s point of view, protein should be placed between three and nine. Carbohydrate should be from nine and twelve and vegetable from three and twelve. Be mindful not to overcrowd your plating too.

• The Perfect Plate

The plate is the canvass, the food is the medium. To make the food presentation more attractive, the plate should complement with your cuisine. Choose a plate that is big enough to highlight the dish. Color will play an important role too.

• Top your Sauces

Once plating is done, you are now ready to top your dish with sauces. Avoid careless pouring of sauces on the plate. You may create accent dots on the side or slowly drizzle sauces over the main ingredients so customers get a little bit of your sauce in every bite.

• Let the Garnishes Serve its Purpose

Your garnish should be edible and is related to your dish. Not because you have found leftovers in your kitchen. They are designed to enhance and complement the flavors of the dish you have created.

• Be Mindful of Cuisine Trends

As you put together a plan for your restaurant business, be aware of new trends These factors could help you improve your services and make your customers happy.

• Visit the Place Where the Cuisine Originated

If you wanted to open a restaurant that serves Indian cuisine, visiting India is one way of immersing yourself not only with the Indian cuisine but also with the Indian culture to educate yourself further.

• Settle for the Best

Offer consistently the best restaurant service. This is where your restaurant reputation is built.

5 Do’s and 5 Don’ts

To make the experience completely satisfying, it is important that we know that biggest Do’s and Don’ts before and after you have enjoyed your favorite cuisine.

DO’s

• Test your cuisine.
• In describing your cuisine, healthier adjectives can help point conscious eaters to a better direction.
• Ask, “how’s everything?” or “how was the cuisine”, listen to the answer and fix whatever is not right.
• If someone requests more sauce or gravy or cheese, give that to them but no pouring by yourself unless the customer requested. Let them help themselves so they are able to measure the quantity.
• Train your staff well regarding the menu inside and out. This way, they are able to answer questions about the cuisine confidently.

Don’ts

• Do not let anyone enter the restaurant without a warm greeting
• Do not include too many cuisine to please everyone, it will make the food selection process confusing and frustrating for customers.
• Do not inject your personal favorites when explaining the specials
• Don’t skimp on staff training.
• Don’t ignore empty water glass. Customer appreciates free items.

Importance of Choosing Right Cuisine

There are plenty of restaurant concepts and restaurant themes to choose from when starting a restaurant business. Do you want to offer Italian pasta or a taste of a Mandarin Chinese restaurant? if you are not sure, start by studying your competition. What are the cuisines that they already offer? Do you want to offer a new cuisine in the area?

Here are some of the world’s famous cuisines you may take reference from when trying to come up with your own restaurant cuisine(s).

• Mexican

Mexican cuisine has been named as an example of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO. Vegetables play an important role in Mexican restaurant menu Mexican food is fresh and fun, It is also colorful, spicy and uses an array of chillies that can be both fresh or dried. Corn and beans are staples in Mexican dishes.

• Italian

Cheese and wine are a major part of the Italian cuisine, the same as coffee, particularly espresso. Butter, meat, potatoes, pork, and parmigiano are common in the northern parts of Italy while southern cooking is focused on olive oil, tomatoes, eggplant, capers and fresh fish. Other key ingredients include basil, prosciutto, sausage, salami, and truffles.

• Greek

Like many mediterranean cuisines Greek cuisine has a reputation of being heart healthy, the reason for the ever-present olive oil. Fresh layers of lamb and eggplant usually smothered with sauce and cheese are common. Other widely used ingredients and flavorings include eggplant, tomatoes, potato, okra, lemon, cheese, herbs and honey.

• Chinese

Chinese cuisines are comprised of several distinctly different regional styles of cooking. One thing very common in their cooking is the use of ginger, garlic, spring onions, soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, sesame oil and bean paste. Taste, texture, flavour should complement with each other. Rice is essential in Chinese shared tables. Tea is drunk before and after meals.

• Japanese

Japanese are known to be refined and delicate so as their cuisines. Japanese dishes highlight the exquisite flavors, textures and colors of seasonal produce. They are advocates of clean flavor and simplicity. You will not find an authentic japanese restaurant mixing different food types and sauces, in fact, dipping condiments are always served in separate plates.

• American

American cuisine can be hard to define given the country’s culture influences, past and present demographics. A myriad of foods can be listed as American such as hamburgers, hotdogs, potato salad and coleslaw. If you go south, chicken- fried steak, biscuits, shrimps, fried green tomatoes and dumplings are famous from Cali to Maine. Cornbread and corn pudding common in thanksgiving, mac and cheese, baked meatloaf are very American too.

• French

“Cuisine” is French. In many chef’s education, french cuisine is always part of the curriculum regardless of your origin. Paris is famous for its incredible cheezes, chocolates and pastries. Bordeaux, on the other hand, is known for decadent foie gras, truffles and fine wines. Creamy lobster bisque and boeuf bourguignon shows how french menu have elevated food into art.

• Indian

Spices are undeniably the signature of indian cooking. Cardamom, cloves and peppers are South produced while chillies and turmeric come from the East. The West, however uses uses coconut and seafood, whereas the Central part of India is a mixture of all. Examples include, kedgeree (rice and lentil), mulligatawny also known as water pepper and curry a term used to refer a sauced dish of spicy meat.

• Turkish

A typical Turkish meal begins with a thin soup known as cobra with main ingredients such as lentils, yogurt or wheat. Their diets generously use vegetables, herbs and spices. Other essential ingredients are: lamb, beef, chicken, eggplants, nuts, and garlic. “Menemen”, a popular breakfast dish is made with tomatoes, peppers, onion, eggs and olive oil which is very abundant in Turkey.

• Caribbean

Caribbean cuisine is a mixture of African, Spanish and Creole cooking traditions. Seafood is a staple in this island as well as jerk marinade. There famous recipes like pork pepper pot, salt fish balls and prawn skewers with mango salsa are bursting with citrus, sweetness and spice.

• Mediterranean

Mediterranean cuisine is a shared history of interaction between people that lived around Mediterranean sea. Foods in the Mediterranean region are fresh, healthy and balanced. Lean proteins, chicken, fish and legumes, fruits and vegetables are staple in the Mediterranean diet.

• Moroccan

Moroccan dishes are shared with the family or the community. Guests should expect to be offered with food and tea. Tea is part of the Moroccan culture that even with the pouring of it is as important as the tea itself. Common ingredients in their artful cooking are saffron, mint, olives oranges and preserved lemons. A classic moroccan dish is made with inexpensive meats that are made tender through slow and careful cooking.

• Spanish

Tortilla de patatas (potato omelette), paella, jamon and serrano (cured hams), including various stews, sausages, cheeses, beans, all these play key roles in the Spanish kitchen cooking. Decadent spanish desserts such as flans, custards, rice pudding and churros have left us loving spanish dishes more.

• European

Also known as western cuisine or the collective cuisines in Europe.Sauces, seasonings and ingredients such as wheat and the humble potato are important to them. In European cuisine protein is important ingredient in various dishes, be it in the form of seafood or land-based protein.

• African

African cuisines mix local cereal grains,fruits and vegetables,meat and milk products. In other parts of Africa, the diet features curd, fresh and healthy vegetables and whey. Other parts have seafood, goat, lamb, beef, dates, olives, almonds as staple. Their spicy berbere lentil stew is deliciously seasoned with just the right amount of heat.

• Asian

Different varieties of rice are common to many Asian cuisines. Many Asians use curry and coconut milk as foundation in cooking. Ginger, garlic, sesame seeds, chilies, dried onions, soy, and tofu are add ons steaming and deep or stir frying.

• Vietnamese

Typical to Vietnamese cooking are ingredients quite similar to its neighboring countries. Having a distinct style of it’s own Vietnamese wants “cooling foods”. They like their dishes served fresh, fragrant and less spicy. A much loved “Pho” made of rice noodle soup, with beef or chicken and spices like basil,lime and sprouts is all over Vietnam. Another favorite is “bhan mi’, made with thin carrot and vegetable slices combined with meat and tofu fillings.

• British

Yorkshire pudding, steak and kidney pie, bread and butter pudding,treacle tart, fish and chips are among the popular traditional dishes that define the British cuisine. Roast beef being a famous culinary pride is also known as “joint” usually eaten with potatoes, vegetables or a strong horseradish, gravy, and mustard. Although fish remains a classic in their diets.

• Lebanese

Lebanese cuisine is known to be one of the most delicious food in the world. Hummus, meat kebabs, and kafta appear in many Lebanese dishes. Olive oil, garlic, and lemons are typical in Lebanese flavors. Lebanese like lamb or goat in their cooking. They also prefer poultry over red meat. Aside from that, Lebanese also loves desserts served with black coffee or tea.

• German

German chocolates cakes. beer. corned beef, potatoes. Now, you think Germans are unhealthy eaters? Not these days because they have already favored healthy food. They started by choosing beef, chicken and pork over dumplings, sausages and corned beef, which they are widely known for. Vegetables are also common in their cooking in a form of stews and soup.

• Korean

With their obsession to fermented vegetable called kimchi, cooked meat without much oil and cooking style with emphasis on vegetables, undoubtedly, Korean foods are one of the healthiest. A Korean banquet typically has a lot of side dishes that could be from steamed to simmered, pan-fried to stewed and fermented to raw. Koreans loves sauces and spices such as sesame oil, chilli pepper taste, garlic, ginger and chilli flakes. Koreans believe in the power of food that serves as medicine.

• Scottish

Found in Scotland’s lochs and rivers are wide variety of fishes, shellfish, oysters, prawns and lobsters. Honey and berries are abundant produce every summer. Part of the Scottish mobile nature, is to carry a bag of oatmeal that could quickly be turned into porridge and oatcakes. “Haggis”, a peppery, rich-flavored dish has become Scotland’s culinary icon.

• Australian

The Good Food Life coined the term “Modern Australian”. Australians have then embraced modern australian cuisine taking inspiration from all over the world. ‘Spag Bog” (spaghetti bolognese) is now Australia’s national dish while Thai pad and Malaysian laksas are not far behind. Menus found in pubs and clubs such as pasta, bangers, mash and creme caramel are all over Australian food hubs too.

• Swedish

You should never leave Sweden without trying their cinnamon bun. This delicious spiced rolls are available in almost all food shops. In Sweden, a working man’s meal is a blend of potatoes and root vegetables, meat from wild animals, fish from baltic seas and herbs. Foods like meatballs, pancakes and porridge are paired with sauces or jams. Often, Swedish cuisines revolved in dairy products, breads and sweets.

• Latvian

At first glance, latvian cuisines seem odd but dishes like kvass, smoked fish, beetroot soup, speck and dark rye bread will make you bring their dishes to your home. Typically Latvian dishes are high in calories but low in spices. Dishes are usually heavy fatty. During autumn, Mushrooms are abundant produce in Latvia which is commonly used for fried boletus.

• Brazilian

Tropical fruits come in variations and are very popular in Brazil. Brazilian loves savoury snacks paired with back coffee, other times,they like it paired with cheese breads.Their national dish, “feijoada”, uses ingredients such as dried beans, kale, cassava coupled with air-dried beef and pork. When in Brazil, preserved cheese is a must.

• Cuban

Cuban cuisine has strong ties to the Spanish cuisine. Cuban food greatly rely on starches such as roots and tubers, malanga, potatoes, plantains and rice. Some of their popular dishes include black beans and rice, slow roasted pork and chicken with sauce. Also their tortilla not similar to Mexican tortilla is a simple egg omelet. They also love pizza topped with ham, chorizo and onions

• Tibetan

The calorie-rich, ‘Tampa’ is usually eaten with salty Tibetan butter tea. Tibetan cuisine is highly characterized by yak meat, mutton, milk product, highland barley and potato. Stew, braise, simmer, steam, fry and roast are common styles of cooking their dishes. Steamed bread stuffed with potato, rice curry and ginseng sweet rice are just some of their desserts.

• Egyptian

Egyptian cuisine is unique in its way with majority of it is comprised of vegetarian dishes, alongside fruits and legumes. Egyptian national dish is molokhia, which takes its name from the tall leafy vegetables from which it is made. In the streets of Cairo, people would line up for a delicious mix of rice, lentils and noodles served with tomato sauce and onions.

• Portuguese

Strong flavors and cooking over hot coals, Portuguese cuisine is “food with white-hot irons”. What largely comprise in many of the portuguese dishes are ingredients like paprika, bay leaves garlic, olive oil and wine. Pork is their preferred meat usually smoke dover wood seasoned with various herbs, peppers, chillies, vanilla and saffron.

• Cajun

Known for being spicy, cajun cooking has originated in the southern parts of the US. The cajun cuisine involves crabs, oysters, alligators, crawfish, shrimp, catfish and redfish. Rice were replaced with potatoes, and bell peppers have replaced carrots in stews. Popular cajun dishes include gumbo, jambalaya and boudin (pork sausage).

• Kenyan

Tropical fruits are abundant in Kenya. A typical kenyan recipe includes rice, corn meal, wheat and millet flour. They are also avid tea drinkers that is served every after meal. Vegetable that are commonly included in their cooking are: kale, spinach, cabbage, tomatoes, beans and other leafy greens. Those considered a must eat in Kenya are Nyama choma and ugali.

• Algerian

Algerian cuisine is a mixture of Arab, Berber, Andalusian, Ottoman, French and Turkish influences. A semolina based pasta called,” Couscous” served with vegetable stew and meat is a staple. Most of the Algerian dishes are centered around bread lamb, beef or poultry, olive oil, fresh vegetables and herbs. pork is forbidden to Muslim inhabitants of the country.

• Libyan

Libyans always say: “One must et well”. Olive oil is always used in any dish for Libyans believe that it has healthy goodness and life-prolonging properties. One popular dish in Libya is Basin. It is made of flour in water and molded in pyramid shape. Another is Rishda, a home made pasta cooked in dried salted meat, legume and herbs.

• Russian

Russian cuisine take prides of its varied character from various ethnic expanse of Russia. A plethora of breads, pancakes, pies, cereals, beer and vodka come from crops of rye, wheat, barley, and millet. Soups and stews are common. There’s also abundance in fish, pork, caviar, mushrooms, honey and berries. In the earlier centuries, smoked meat, wines, ice cream and chocolates were introduced.

• Jewish

A traditional jewish dish is stuffed cabbage, which is also common in germany and eastern europe. Falafel and hummus are also found in Greek restaurants. However, the combination of both in one style and innovations in is uniquely Jewish. On staple ingredient in almost all jewish dish is the crumbs of matzah.

• Hawaiian

Hawaiian cuisine evokes pineapple, macadamia, nuts and spam. Traditional meals include mashed taro root, fruit and fish or pork cooked over hot coals. Poke, an addictive seasoned raw seafood salad, and loco moco, a classic combination of hamburger patty over rice with gravy and a fried egg have been getting plenty of attention. Charred barbecued short ribs and kimchi-spiked spam musubi are Classic hawaiian recipes.

• Irish

Lamb in spring, fish in summer. Stews and soups in the winter, potatoes at almost any time of the year. Irish food is simple and hearty that follows the seasons. A typical Irish breakfast generally consists of a combination of bacon, sausage, egg, fried tomatoes, mushrooms and hash browns. Toast and tea are essential that is also known cure after an evening drinking Guinness.

• Belgian

Everyone knows about belgian waffles. But not everyone knows that Belgium has the highest densities of Michelin- starred restaurants in Europe. Most of the Belgian dishes are based around meat and seafoods. On the sweet side, pastries and chocolates are also famous and are air with wine or beer.

• Canadian

One Canadian prime minister described Canadian cuisine as “a smorgasbord of other cuisines,” giving accurate description since it’s hard to pinpoint a particular texture or characteristic. Some well-known dishes, however, are Poutine, Tourtiere, Butter tarts, and Nanaimo bars.

• Cambodian

Sweet and bitter, salty and sour, fresh and cooked. This is how Cambodian cuisine is defined- all about contrast. Condiments and spices are necessary. A heap of fresh herbs and sliced vegetables, added fish sauce, chopped chilies, shallots, garlic, and palm sugar,black pepper, salt, and lime juice make the dish complete. Curries are a staple of Khmer food but less spicy than the curries in Thailand. Khmer food contain stir-fry vegetables, and is added with plenty of garlic.

• Vegan

Vegans avoid animal products all together. For a strict vegan diet, meat, eggs, honey, and dairy are substituted. But plenty of vegans avoid special substitutes as they believe these products are highly processed , hence, high in sodium and allergens. Preparing dishes using whole foods such as unprocessed legumes, grains, nuts, seeds, fruits and vegetables is healthier approach to veganism. Vegans find that cooking ‘real’ foods rather than substitutes result in healthier tasting meals.

With such a wide range of cuisines, you’re sure to find just the perfect dish you’re looking for. You may also want to check out various restaurant templates and documents that suit your needs.