Late Night Dining at Restaurants Is Back

You’ve likely seen all the news reports: When it comes to dinner reservations in some of the country’s most restaurant-obsessed cities, 5 p.m. has become the new 8 p.m. Lifestyle changes brought on by the pandemic have caused a shift in our dining habits, inspiring more and more people to eat earlier than ever; early-bird seating has never seen this much age-range diversity. And because a restaurant’s business may taper off soon after a 7 p.m. rush, many that were previously locking their doors at midnight or beyond may be announcing last calls for desserts as early as 9 p.m. But night owls who long for languorous evenings out will be excited to learn that not every restaurant out there has subscribed to this new meal plan. In fact, some restaurants are betting on a late-night resurgence.

Chef Colby Rasavong of Nashville’s year-old Bad Idea, a Laotian restaurant stuffed into an old church, says, “post-pandemic, everyone wanted to go out but the list of late-night options had dwindled down. For us [to stay open until 1 a.m.] was an opportunity to return to form.” At this wine-focused East Nashville dining room, Rasavong serves a dedicated late-night menu from 10 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. He says he wanted to “strip down all of the expectations of our dinner menu,” and instead serve snack-like bites that would allow guests to take full advantage of their unique space. So you can very easily walk around while double-fisting a fried bologna sandwich and a galabao, a Lao dumpling, bursting with pork and egg.

Returning to the carefree vibes of a pre-pandemic world has also been an inspiration for Ryan Fitzgerald, one of the owners at San Francisco’s ABV. “We’ve been open for 10 years, and prior to the pandemic, our kitchen was open until 1 a.m. daily, when people regularly ate later,” he explains, adding that it was important for them not to change too much once they reopened after Covid-related lockdowns. This mural-festooned Mission boîte remains in service until 2 a.m. with a kitchen churning out pork tacos, ceviches, and octopus a la plancha until midnight.

Fitzgerald says that the final 30 minutes of their kitchen hours are usually some of their busiest, when folks are trying to track down whatever might still be open in San Francisco. “People come from all over town to get that last drink and a burger,” he says. And while he can’t claim it’ll work for everyone—after all, most people are still dining earlier—he says being one of the few late-night destinations out there has definitely helped his business.

ABV is a bar that serves a fantastic (and robust) food menu, so keeping doors open late isn’t much of a surprise. But a tasting-menu venue like Cariño in Chicago has found success in the late-night business, too. From 6 p.m. to 10 p.m., they serve a 14-to-16-course meal that features flavors from all over Latin America. From 10 p.m. to midnight, service shifts to a 10-course taco omakase, which took over an 8:30 p.m. seating that was regularly the least popular booking of the night. Today, chef Norman Fenton says that the taco omakase is consistently sold out, adding that if you want a weekend reservation, you’ll need to book about a month in advance.

For Fenton, that guaranteed revenue has been incredibly helpful for his bottom line, but, perhaps more importantly, launching the omakase has allowed him to creatively flesh out his sustainability efforts. “We get to utilize byproducts from our tasting menu and turn them into items for the late-night menu, greatly helping us reduce our waste and food costs,” he says. 

And for guests, Cariño’s omakase sessions provide almost an entirely different restaurant experience. “The late-night energy is super cool,” Fenton adds. “People chattering with Control Machete and Bad Bunny bumping in the background; the hustle and flow of the kitchen—it’s like a rock show during late-night. We see tons of repeat guests because of it.”

As late-night crowds are only just starting to grow, vibes and energy are critical in seducing them to stay up beyond these earlier bedtimes. Bad Idea’s beverage director Alex Burch says getting playful and creative with how they activate during these hours have been helpful in getting people in the door. One of their strategies was a series of late-night takeovers in partnership with local chefs. “For example, Ryan Poli of Iggy’s took his ridiculously good garlic bread and threw in crab rangoon filling,” Burch says. “Those events have had a really strong support from restaurants around the city.”

While creating a dedicated menu or building up buzzy programing isn’t necessary, some shift-specific specials can help build interest. At New York City’s Superiority Burger, which is open until 1 a.m. on the weekends, there’s a standard menu served across all service periods, but chef/owner Brooks Headley says he also offers a handful of specials that you can only order during the late-night hours: personal-pie pizzas, sometimes tiramisu, a bowl of tortoni, cheap drinks, and bottle specials. He says they even occasionally auction off linguini pomodoro over the loudspeaker for those hankering for something heartier.

For restaurateurs championing that later-night push, many say they also do it for one particular demographic: fellow hospitality pros looking for a great place to have a meal, a drink, and good times. Fitzgerald says that a majority of ABV’s graveyard-shift guests are industry friends. And Headley says, “Late night can be busy, late night can be mellow, but no matter what, it’s always a neighborhood oasis. If I wasn’t always working there, it would be my favorite place to hang out.”