On October 8, 2026, Google released its first "Fan-Favorite Dining List," an annual roundup of food trends and popular restaurants in 10 cities, including Tokyo. Beyond reviews and ratings, the selections also draw on people's behavior, such as searching for directions to a restaurant, to pick standout spots in each city. In Tokyo, reviews mentioning "mochi" rose 168% year over year, while in London mentions of hojicha grew. But these figures reflect interest left behind on Google Maps, not how much was eaten or how much a restaurant sold. To use the list when choosing where to eat, you need to understand the different yardsticks of popularity it relies on.
The annual list is new; recommendation features are not
The list covers Tokyo, New York, London and others, 10 cities in total. In the US, Atlanta and Chicago are included, along with the West Coast cities of San Francisco and Seattle. Melbourne, Montreal and Santiago have also been selected. It is not a ranking of restaurants in every city around the world, but a snapshot of food trends in the chosen cities.
The data period for the "2026 edition" also deserves attention. According to the official site's explanation of its selection process, the information used covers September 1, 2025 through August 31, 2026. Google says it based the selections on Local Guide reviews and ratings and on aggregated directions searches, followed by a final check. Rather than a full-year wrap-up running to year-end, it reads as a look back at information through the summer. Lists for cities you like can be saved in Google Maps and used for later restaurant searches.
Google Maps did not just start recommending restaurants, however. In Japan, an announcement on April 10, 2024 said lists featuring rising-popularity spots, longtime favorites and hidden gems would roll out in six regions of the country. At the time, it also highlighted picks from Tabelog's editorial team and Ikyu, in addition to user contributions.
Google is also pointing people to the weekly lists available in the app's Explore tab alongside the annual list. What has been added is a new entry point that presents existing recommendations as a time-bound feature. It lets people use weekly trends and an annual look back in different situations.
How to read the 168% rise in Tokyo mochi mentions
According to Google's announcement, reviews in Tokyo mentioning "mochi" rose 168% from the previous year. Examples of places include Tsubameya Nihonbashi. Overseas, a revival of cold desserts was also seen: in New York, reviews mentioning frozen yogurt rose 320%.
| City | Food in the spotlight | Year-over-year rise in review mentions |
|---|---|---|
| Tokyo | Mochi | Up 168% |
| New York | Frozen yogurt | Up 320% |
| London | Hojicha | Up 114% |
| Seattle | Dosa | Up 136% |
Figures are those Google presented in its 2026 edition announcement. They reflect increases in reviews mentioning each food, not growth in sales or visitor numbers. Dosa is a South Indian dish.
In addition to hojicha in London, matcha mentions are also rising in many of the featured cities. That offers a clue to how Japanese teas and sweets are being talked about overseas. Still, it is premature to read the Tokyo mochi figure as proof that Japanese consumption habits have suddenly changed.
Google cites a possible influence from increased tourism behind the rise in mochi mentions. However, the announcement gives no breakdown of reviewers by place of residence or language. Even a sweet that is familiar to locals can stand out as a topic on the map if visitors write about it as a fresh discovery. Who is writing changes what the same growth rate means.
The absolute number of reviews before and after the increase has also not been disclosed. Nor is the share of all reviews known, so it is not possible to compare New York's 320% with Tokyo's 168% and rank the scale of demand for the foods themselves. What the figures do show is which foods have begun appearing more often in reviews in each city.
Directions searches and reviews measure different kinds of popularity
The restaurant Google named as having the most directions searches in Tokyo is Seafood Buffet Dining Ginza Happo. In New York it was Katz's Delicatessen, and in London, Fallow, under the same criterion. Rather than simply listing names, noting what behavior a restaurant was selected on makes the nature of this project clear.
The volume of directions searches, topics within reviews, and ratings by purpose are each separate indicators. Google's annual list itself has a corresponding category for each. Based on the behaviors and use cases described on the official site, here is a summary of how each category can be used.
| List angle | Main information examined | What it tells you when choosing a restaurant |
|---|---|---|
| Popular by directions searches | Behavior of looking up how to get to a place | Places many people were interested in as destinations |
| Dishes buzzing in reviews | Growth in mentions of a food name | Dishes that became a talking point in the city, and where they are served |
| Picks by purpose | Ratings for celebrations, atmosphere, price and portion size, and so on | Places you can consider to suit your occasion |
The scope is the same 10 cities of the 2026 edition, and the selection period is the one described above. The table, however, organizes the meaning of the categories Google published; it is not a recalculation of restaurant scores.
Directions searches tend to reveal real interest in going somewhere. But that behavior alone cannot confirm whether the person who looked up directions actually visited, got a reservation, or enjoyed the meal. A restaurant whose dish name surged in reviews did not necessarily see sales rise by the same proportion. Ratings by purpose also factor in things beyond taste, such as atmosphere and ease of use.
Google says it performed a final check, but its selection explanation does not reveal details such as how each type of data is weighted, the minimum number of reviews, or how that check was carried out. The list is therefore best used as material for finding candidates from user behavior and impressions. Being listed cannot be equated with an expert tasting evaluation or a guarantee of food quality.
From a trending place to the right restaurant for you
Alongside the release of the annual list, Google also introduced existing features for finding restaurants. In the weekly lists, you can follow places whose popularity is surging under "Trending," new local favorites under "Gems," and longtime staples under "Top." By saving places that catch your eye, you can carry candidates found in the annual look back into your later plans.
In addition, Ask Maps, the conversational search powered by Gemini, lets you type in the dish you want or your seating requirements in plain language. Examples Google gave include a dessert spot with outdoor seating and a search for a burger to eat with a milkshake. While the annual list shows a city's overall interests, conversational search is a way to layer on your own conditions for the day. Pre-visit hints, such as how to book, where to park and recommended dishes, can also be checked on a restaurant's page.
However, the regions where you can search for restaurants and the regions where you can go on to place an order need to be considered separately. In its announcement on August 6, Google included Japan among the places where Ask Maps is available, but said food ordering and similar features would be offered starting in the US. As of that date, the integration partners were Square and Toast, with Uber Eats described as coming soon. The October 8 announcement includes Uber Eats among delivery partners, but it shows no update to the regional conditions saying that ordering is available in Japan.
For restaurants too, being searched for by directions, having dishes remembered in reviews, and being chosen for occasions such as celebrations are different strengths. These categories offer a clue to why a given restaurant is drawing attention. Still, the effect of being listed on visits or sales has not been measured.
What users should ultimately check is not how big the popularity is, but whether a place fits the dish they want, their budget and the atmosphere they are looking for. If you find candidates in the annual list and confirm the conditions on the restaurant's information page, a project about watching city trends becomes material for deciding your next meal.