New Delhi, Aug 11: ClarityX Restaurant Preference White Paper 2026 reveals that while hyper-local consumer behaviour drives the restaurant economy, the Indian cuisine and Multi-cuisine eateries find favour with the consumers. And Indians still love the Humble Cuppa of tea in the mornings. But during monsoons Chai-pakodas are being challenged by Coffee-Croissant tag team! These are some of the findings of the ClarityX Restaurant Preference White Paper 2026. Leveraging the mobility search behaviour data of 45 mn+ MapmyIndia Mappls app users during the FY 2025-26, the ClarityX Restaurant Preference White Paper 2026 is based on a sample size of 400 k + records and 700 MB + data.
“The ClarityX Restaurant Preference White Paper 2026 is full of surprises that challenge our conventional beliefs while at other times it reinforces some of the things that we are witnessing unravelling right in front of our eyes. Like the rapid ‘Coffeeisation’ of urban spaces in metros but down south which is traditionally a coffee market, we see Tea-stalls running the roost. And then there is that growing Pub culture which is strong across all regions while north India is fast catching up on it. The F&B sector is seeing a lot of regionalisation, the preferences shift as with pin-codes change and sometimes within the pin-codes too. Along with this, we are noticing a strong correlation of mobility search behaviour as a proxy to restaurant spending trends. All in all Premiumisation, Localisation and Occassionlisation are key drivers of the Indian Restaurant Economy,” says Rakhi Prasad, Co-founder, ClarityX & Non-executive Director, MapmyIndia Mappls
Key insights of the ClarityX Restaurant Preference White Paper 2026
Hyperlocal preferences are redefining Restaurant Economy – High-activity restaurant markets and hubs are fast becoming focal points of food consumption. Distinct regional ecosystems are emerging across zones, while highways and transit corridors are creating entirely new demand centers outside traditional urban cores. Simultaneously, non-branded restaurants continue to play a critical role in driving discovery and engagement, particularly across emerging and mobility-led markets.
Restaurant searches are strong markers of consumer spending – There was a strong correlation between premium restaurant searches and the UPI transaction values, suggesting digital restaurant discovery is becoming an early indicator of broader consumer spending trends.
Regional restaurant economies continue to strengthen – The research identifies distinct consumption patterns across India’s geographic zones, while confirming that local and regional restaurants remain highly influential despite the continued expansion of national brands. The unbranded dessert and sweet establishments continue to dominate discovery volumes across many smaller markets. 33% of unbranded sweet shops searches happen in Tier 3-5 cities versus 19% of searches for branded sweet shops, along with several central markets, continue to rely heavily on local sweet shops and regional dessert formats.
Highways are a new F&B consumption hubs – With mobility increasing amongst Indian with rising incomes, access to cars, more out of city trips etc. have resulted in highways dotted with food courts and other restaurant chains, more of them being branded. Searches for mass branded restaurants showcase middle income travellers. Roadside diner affinity is strongest for unbranded restaurants and stronger for mass than premium for branded ones. It is mostly searched across Northern and Central India, with Haryana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Delhi, and Punjab emerging as leading markets. These regions coincide with some of India’s busiest transportation corridors. High-activity restaurant pincodes are closely aligned with major highways such as NH48, NH44, NH65, NH27, and NH52. These corridors are emerging as restaurant discovery ecosystems in their own right. Amrik Sukhdev, situated on the Grand Trunk Road is one of the best candidates demonstrating a brand built entirely on Highway Mobility, commanding more 16% of all the searches within the highway dining segment, far exceeding any competitor.
Indians love Indian cuisine – The Continental, Chinese, Korean, Italian and other international cuisines may find a lot of traction and be treats for special occasions; but it is the Indian cuisine that is in command, with 51% searches happening for Indian/Multicuisine restaurants. Out of the 66% of searches for branded Indian restaurants, 40% were for premium branded Indian restaurants, reflecting a consumer that seeks an elevated experience when eating Indian cuisine.
Premiumisation is reshaping food and beverage market – Coffee, representing 7% search share, is fast becoming the beverage of choice amongst Urban Centres, representing aspiration and premium experiences. Tea is a lifestyle beverage that is deeply embedded into the Indian DNA, that even southern markets dominate, 36% of all India tea-stall searches share. The high correlation score of 0.89 between Tea and unbranded restaurants and roadside diners demonstrate its popularity amongst non-metro, semi-urban and rural geographies, and as a preferred beverage on the go!
Dining is becoming more experience-led & Reward-led – It is not just for the food that you visit a restaurant but increasingly for experience-led, a sort of reward or celebration of a success, achievement or an occasion – the speedy rise of Premium cafés, bakeries and dessert formats are markers of this trend of growing indulgence-driven consumption in urban markets, while the unbranded neighbourhood sweet shops continue to dominate across smaller cities, creating two parallel growth stories. The rise of Pubbing across regions is another indicator of occasion/reward led F&B consumption like after office Pint, watching an IPL game etc.
India’s restaurant preference landscape is becoming increasingly nuanced and localized. While restaurant preference has traditionally been viewed through the lens of cities and states, the data suggests that consumer behaviour is now shaped by far more granular factors such as pincode level demand clusters, regional cuisine ecosystems, mobility corridors, and evolving lifestyle preferences.Mobility, local relevance and lifestyle preferences are rapidly becoming the defining factors behind restaurant choice.