Bar food sits at the intersection of casual dining, drinks, and social occasions. Available figures show that appetizers are widespread on menus, wings remain a strongly restaurant-oriented food, and changing costs continue to shape what operators offer.
Contents
- Appetizers are a core bar-menu category
- What customers want from starters and small plates
- Wings and familiar comfort foods
- The restaurant market behind bar food
- Regional food-away-from-home spending
- Menu prices and operator responses
- What the workforce data says about drinking places
Appetizers are a core bar-menu category
The Nestlé Professional appetizer ebook found that 88.5% of operators included appetizers on their menus. The same source reported an average price of $9.92 per appetizer item. That combination places small, shareable dishes near the center of the bar-food proposition: they are common menu fixtures, but they are not necessarily positioned as inexpensive add-ons.
Consumer interest was also substantial in the source’s historical measurements. In 2017, 44% of consumers said they were very likely or likely to consume an appetizer at the bar. In 2015, the corresponding figure was 41%. These are survey measurements for their stated years, not a current estimate of all bar visits.
The menu items tracked by the Nestlé Professional appetizer ebook show how broad the category can be:
| Item | Share of menus featuring it |
|---|---|
| Salad | 83.4% |
| Soup | 61.1% |
| Wings | 43.3% |
| Fries | 29.4% |
| Calamari | 22.0% |
| Chicken strips | 20.6% |
| Nachos | 18.8% |
| Fried cheese | 17.7% |
| Quesadillas | 15.5% |
| Meatballs | 15.4% |
Salad appeared on 83.4% of the menus tracked, while soup appeared on 61.1%. Wings were present on 43.3%, making them the most common of the more specifically indulgent bar-style foods in this list. Fries appeared on 29.4% of menus, followed by calamari at 22.0% and chicken strips at 20.6%. Nachos, fried cheese, quesadillas, and meatballs appeared on 18.8%, 17.7%, 15.5%, and 15.4%, respectively.
These percentages describe menu presence, not the share of orders or sales. A food can be widely listed without being the most frequently purchased item.
What customers want from starters and small plates
The Technomic Starters, Small Plates & Sides report separates several eating occasions that are often grouped together. It found that 59% of the appetizers consumers order are eaten as starters. Small plates were described as starters by 34% of consumers and as meals by 33%. The figures indicate that a small plate can serve two different purposes: opening a meal or functioning as the meal itself.
Sides can influence a much larger purchase. In the same Technomic report, 46% of consumers said they were less likely to order an entrée if it came with a side they did not enjoy. Also, 36% often chose entrées based on their accompanying sides. For a bar serving food alongside drinks, the side is therefore not just a minor plate component; it can affect the entrée decision.
Flavor novelty matters, but familiarity still has a strong role. Unique or ethnic flavors strongly influenced appetizer purchases for 38% of consumers and small-plate purchases for 39%, according to Technomic. At the same time, 45% preferred a familiar side item over an unfamiliar one. Together, these measurements point to a mixed demand: recognizable formats can provide comfort, while distinctive flavors can create interest.
The data does not identify one universal ideal menu. It does show several measurable tensions: starters versus meals, familiar sides versus unfamiliar ones, and classic formats versus more distinctive flavor profiles.
Wings and familiar comfort foods
Wings are one of the clearest bar-food examples of restaurant demand. A USDA chicken wings blog reported that 90% of consumers order wings from a restaurant or market rather than making them at home. This is a specific measure of wing purchasing behavior, not a claim that nine out of ten people eat wings regularly.
The same USDA source placed wing consumption in a longer historical context. It estimated average annual chicken consumption per football fan at 86 pounds in 2008, compared with 32.5 pounds of annual chicken consumption per person in 1967, the year of the first Super Bowl. In 1964, wings were still mostly viewed as a lesser chicken part cooked in soups. These historical observations should be read as dated measurements and descriptions, rather than current consumption estimates.
Other Technomic research helps explain why familiar foods continue to matter. In its Burger Consumer Trend Report, 59% of burger consumers preferred seasoned fries with their burgers. Forty-six percent said it was very important for operators to specify the type of beef used, and 58% said customization of burger toppings was very important. Fried-egg toppings were selected by 23% of burger consumers, up from 20% in 2015.
Poultry preferences also show several recognizable patterns. The Technomic Poultry Consumer Trend Report found that 33% of consumers said they would try to eat more chicken over the next year. Among millennial chicken eaters, 46% said they were likely to order chicken dishes for delivery. Half of chicken eaters preferred white meat to dark meat.
The same report found that 78% of consumers considered turkey healthy and 77% were more likely to buy poultry described as fresh. Preferred seasoning options varied by poultry item: basil was preferred by 30% of poultry consumers for chicken, rosemary by 27%, sage by 25%, cayenne pepper by 18% for chicken, curry powder by 19% for turkey, and ginger by 18% for turkey. These are preference measurements for the report, not sales shares.
The restaurant market behind bar food
USDA Economic Research Service figures put the wider food-away-from-home market at $1.52 trillion in the United States in 2024. Food-at-home spending reached $1.06 trillion, bringing total U.S. food spending to $2.58 trillion. Food-away-from-home spending represented 58.9% of total food expenditures, while food-at-home spending represented 41.1%.
Full-service restaurants supplied $552.7 billion of food sales in 2024, and limited-service restaurants supplied $550.7 billion. Together, those two segments accounted for 72.6% of all food-away-from-home spending. Full-service establishments represented 36.4% of the food-away-from-home market, compared with 36.3% for limited-service establishments.
| 2024 U.S. food-away-from-home measure | Amount or share |
|---|---|
| Total food-away-from-home spending | $1.52 trillion |
| Full-service restaurant sales | $552.7 billion |
| Limited-service restaurant sales | $550.7 billion |
| Full-service market share | 36.4% |
| Limited-service market share | 36.3% |
| Combined full- and limited-service share | 72.6% |
Bars are not identical to full-service restaurants. The U.S. Census Bureau defines NAICS 7224 drinking places as establishments primarily engaged in serving alcoholic beverages for immediate consumption, which may provide limited food services. That definition is important when interpreting market and employment figures: a drinking place can be part of the nightlife economy without being a conventional full-service restaurant.
Regional food-away-from-home spending
State-level figures from USDA Economic Research Service data show substantial geographic variation in 2024 per-capita food-away-from-home sales. Louisiana recorded $3,900 per person, the median among states. The figure is especially relevant to a Southern nightlife readership, but it measures statewide food-away-from-home sales rather than bar-food sales alone.
The highest listed figure was Washington, DC, at $11,364 per person. Hawaii recorded $7,131, Nevada $7,007, and California $5,504, which the source identified as the fourth-highest state. At the lower end, West Virginia recorded $2,885 per person. Iowa recorded $3,078, Wisconsin $3,099, Idaho $3,153, and North Dakota $3,262.
The spread reflects the broader food-service market, including restaurants and other away-from-home channels. It should not be used as a direct ranking of where bars sell the most appetizers, wings, or other specific foods.
Menu prices and operator responses
The National Restaurant Association’s menu-prices update reported that menu prices rose 0.2% in March 2026 and were up 3.8% from March 2025 to March 2026. Full-service restaurant menu prices increased 4.3% over that year, while limited-service restaurant prices increased 3.2%.
The same update placed those changes against earlier peaks. Overall menu-price inflation peaked at 8.8% year over year in March 2023. Full-service restaurant prices peaked at 9.0% year over year in 2022, while limited-service restaurant prices peaked at 8.2% in April 2023. The 2026 figures are current-period measurements in the supplied update; the peak figures refer to earlier periods.
The National Restaurant Association Business Conditions Survey measured how operators responded to higher costs. Eighty-seven percent increased menu prices, and 59% changed the food and beverage items offered. Forty-eight percent reduced operating hours, 38% postponed expansion plans, and 35% did not operate at full capacity because of higher costs.
Other reported responses included reducing the number of employees, reported by 32% of restaurants; incorporating more technology, reported by 21%; and eliminating third-party delivery, reported by 13%. These responses help explain why a bar menu can change even when customer preferences appear stable: operators may adjust prices, assortment, hours, staffing, or delivery channels at the same time.
What the workforce data says about drinking places
The U.S. Census Bureau profile for NAICS 7224 counted 40,835 employer establishments in drinking places in 2023. The category covers businesses primarily serving alcoholic beverages for immediate consumption and may include limited food service.
BLS OEWS chart data recorded an employment level of 153,870 for drinking places among food-preparation workers in May 2024. Separately, BLS Monthly Labor Review reported that employment in food services and drinking places rose by 130,000 in 2024. BLS CES table B-1a recorded 12,359.5 thousand workers in food services and drinking places in May 2024, while a BLS OES food-services-and-drinking-places highlight described drinking places serving alcoholic beverages as about 4% of employment in the broader category.
These measures use different definitions and scopes: employer establishments, a food-preparation occupation, an industry employment total, and a highlighted industry share. They should not be added together. Taken separately, they show that bar food operates within a sizeable hospitality workforce and that drinking places remain a distinct part of the food-services labor picture.