Summer is officially over and it has been a massive one for food and drink orders in the Australian on-premise according to new data released by at-table ordering solution me&u.

The data shows more than two million me&u orders were processed in January alone, with a huge 81% rise on food spend and 45% increase on drink sales compared to the summer of 2021/2022.

The top five most ordered food items over the past couple of months are summer staples: chicken parmigiana, chicken schnitzel, chips, margarita pizza and garlic bread.

In fact, garlic bread kicked the trusty fish and chips off the top five list this year. 

The warmer weather saw Australians treating themselves to cocktails, with the top five drinks orders in the on-premise being the Espresso Martini, Aperol Spritz, Margarita, Mojito and Corona.

Sunday was the most popular day of the week to visit the on-premise, closely followed Saturday, with the busiest day of the summer season being Saturday, January 21. 

Top food orders over summer 

1. Chicken parmigiana
2. Chicken schnitzel
3. Chips
4. Margherita
5. Garlic bread

Top drink orders over summer 

1. Espresso Martini 
2. Aperol Spritz
3. Margarita
4. Mojito
5. Corona 

Busiest time at venues over summer 

• Monday – 1pm
• Tuesday – 6pm
• Wednesday – 6pm 
• Thursday – 6pm 
• Friday – 6pm 
• Saturday – 1pm 
• Sunday – 12pm 

Top 10 venues over summer

1. Opera Bar
2. Felons Brewing Co 
3. Fish & Chips (Howard Smith Wharves)
4. Portsea Hotel
5. Felons Barrell Hall 
6. Breakfast Creek Hotel
7. El Camino – Surfers Paradise
8. Little Creatures Great Hall & Brewhouse 
9. Mr Percivals
10. El Camino – The Rocks

The Aussie suburbs that order the most beer