Zest Data Reveals Dining Decisions Are Driven by Habit, Not

Dining decisions are more often defaults driven by habit and frequency than deliberate choices, according to new data from the AI-powered discovery app Zest. The findings reveal a clear gap between the restaurants people save as favorites and where they actually go to eat.

Zest cofounder and CEO Mario Gomez-Hall explained the phenomenon. "Most dining decisions aren't really decisions, they're defaults and defaults are invisible in review data because nobody reviews their routine," he said. "You only see them when you look at where people actually go."

The Gap Between Aspiration and Habit

The data distinguishes between saved restaurants, which reflect dining aspirations, and actual visits, which show real-world behavior. Sushi, Italian, and Mexican cuisines are gaining shares of user saves. In contrast, coffee shops, bars, and bakeries dominate real visits. Coffee alone accounts for roughly a quarter of all visits, with over half coming from repeat customers.

Gomez-Hall attributed this to frequency. A coffee shop can be an everyday habit attached to existing routines like a commute. A sushi bar is more likely a special occasion treat. The data reflects a value-conscious year, with fast food ranking as a top-three category by visits. Nearly half of fast food volume comes from repeat customers. Sandwich shops and delis also see repeat rates close to 50 percent.

"People are routinizing the cheap stuff and saving up the expensive stuff for occasions," Gomez-Hall noted. "The defaults are being set by price and proximity, not by ambition."

Trending Favorites Versus Routine Visits

Several trends emerge from the data. People are becoming more adventurous in where they want to dine, while their visits remain anchored in routine. Sushi, Italian, Japanese, and burgers are the fastest-growing favorites this year. Actual visits, however, stay focused on coffee, bars, and fast food.

Coffee is losing share of favorites while dominating visits, down about 3.6 percentage points from last year. "Nobody names their coffee shop as a favorite. They just go every day," Gomez-Hall observed. Bars are the single biggest gainer in share of favorites. Seattle is a notable exception, being the only major market where bars outrank coffee shops by number of visits.

What Drives Repeat Visits

Repeat customer loyalty is driven more by format and convenience than by cuisine type. According to Zest's data, the categories with the highest repeat rates are counter-service establishments with short menus and fast turnaround, typically under fifteen minutes. These are mostly daytime operations.

The data, compiled before a recent Cyclospora outbreak, shows salad shops have the highest repeat rate of any category, at around 50 percent. Vegan spots also show very high loyalty.

"Every one of those is counter service, under about fifteen minutes, a short menu, and mostly daytime," Gomez-Hall said. "What none of those categories have is a reservation, a wine list, or a two-hour table. Consistency beats peak quality here."

Identifying a Hidden Gem

The data suggests a signature for hidden gem restaurants: a high repeat rate from a small customer base. Gomez-Hall explained that not many people may have found the restaurant, but almost everyone who goes returns. This creates a ratio that star ratings cannot reveal.

"A 4.6/5 from 40 strangers and a 4.6/5 from 40 regulars are completely different businesses," he said.

Operationally, these restaurants tend to be tightly run. They often feature a short menu they have perfected over years, an owner present in the dining room, and hours built around their neighborhood's actual eating patterns. Gomez-Hall added that these spots usually do not spend on marketing, which is why review platforms often miss them. Their visits are their only evidence.