RESTAURANT TRENDS 

Australia’s infatuation with Asian cuisine continued apace this year, with Indian the most popular cuisine ahead of Thai and Chinese. Italian and Middle Eastern food rounded out a salivating top five. 

2022 was a powerful year for poultry, with chicken burgers and chicken burritos featuring in half of the orders in our top ten most popular orders list from local small businesses across Australia.

The most popular side, clocking millions of orders, was chips – so it’s perhaps unsurprising that among the country’s most requested accompaniments were cola, iced lattes and hot chocolates. Arguably bucking that trend were those living or holidaying in Bryon with the highest percentage of healthy orders hailing from the famous beachside locale.

Though they would be unlikely to boast about it, people from Bairnsdale had the best manners. Eaters there included a please in more than a third of their orders placed on Uber Eats. That was well ahead of the metropolitan average with the best mannered metros Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Hobart including some polite prose in just 1 in 10 of their orders. 

As well as pleasantries, restaurants also received some bizarre requests this year. 

Melburnians were big on removing items – no jalapeños, no shrimp, no bean shoots, no spring onions, no ham and no bbq sauce were requests repeated more than 50 thousand times. Those housed in Hobart were also subbing out big time – no seafood, no aioli, no red onion and no bbq sauce clocking up thousands of requests. While Perth locals were adding items in with extra mayo and crispy bacon common refrains. Sydneysiders were more likely to ask for their meal folded or for extra chicken salt. Adelaide natives wanted it saucy but separate with extra mayo and gravy on the side proving popular, while Brisbanites were most likely to request that it was hot. 

Nationally onion was the most maligned morsel on menus with Australians asking for the bad bulb to be subbed out of meals most frequently.

No town had a monopoly on late night munchies. Adelaide ordering the most between midnight and 4am with Melbourne, Sydney, Darwin, Hobart, Newcastle, Geelong, Perth, Brisbane and Launceston all in the top ten nocturnal snacking list. 

Residents outside the capitals seemed to be more inclined to stretch their legs, using the pickup feature more frequently. Busselton, Kingaroy, Warnambool, Latrobe and Mount Gambier residents with the highest percentage of click and collect from their neighbourhood favourites. 

GROCERY TRENDS

Despite rising interest rates smashed avo continued to soar nationally – with the humble Hass avocado in the top three most popular grocery items nationally on Uber Eats but bested by the perennial favourite – the Cavendish banana.

At a state level in supermarkets on our app South Aussies were most keen on croissants, Victorians pined after milk, New South Wales placed white bread on the top of their shopping list, West Aussies went big on potatoes, as Queenslanders soaked in bottled H20.

Examining orders on Uber Eats before and after the Covid outbreak and there weren’t any drastic changes in Aussies virtual grocery baskets, although Pepsi was a pre-pandemic favourite, but had been eclipsed by Coca-Cola once the vaccines started rolling in. 

CONVENIENCE TRENDS

2022 was a big year for convenience ordering, Adelaide natives fuelling up on Coffee, Queenslanders favouring donuts, Victorians ice cream and Perth locals most likely to be chowing down on chocolate.

Across the continent were some curious convenience combos. Fabric softener and continental cucumbers among one of the most common coupled orders nationwide. 

18+ ORDERS*

Beer proved more popular post pandemic than it did before the shutdowns. With two beers in the top 10 before the outbreak compared to four in the top 10 following the shutdowns. Victoria Bitter edged out Corona and Carlton Dry for the most popular beer on the Uber Eats app but Queenslanders and Victorians were more likely to order Vodka, with New South Wales leaning towards white wine as their preferred post pandemic tipple. 

*Must be 18+ with ID. Merchant’s liquor license in-app. Drink responsibly.