Trend Alert: Tastebud Travel is the new wanderlust

Forget fridge magnets and duty-free gin (well, maybe not the gin) - the hottest souvenir right now is flavour. For Time Out’s latest Vibe Check, food is topping the list of what drives us to travel at the moment.

With more than 1,000 Time Outers sharing their favourite travel vibes, some 88% of them are most excited to try local food and drink when exploring new places.

Travel also remains an emotional purchase, with passion driving choice over price points. Don’t get us wrong, affordability remains relevant in picking travel destinations (63%), yet most time out explorers (81% ) allow their holiday plans to be influenced by emotional triggers.

Top 3 emotional triggers:

• The scroll factor - seeing inspirational content on social
• Friendfluence - recommendations from friends & family
• Cultural inspiration - from film to food, books to bands

And we’ve found that the cultural inspo hidden in kitchen across the globe is biting hard through tastebud travel.

And it couldn’t be more obvious than Cape Town’s dining scene (voted the fourth best food city in the world in 2025), with culinary pop-ups blurring the line between travel and eating.

These limited-time feasts are like plated passport stamps for tastebud travel - whether it’s a Michelin-starred chef reimagining South African classics in a lavender-speckled field or a cult-favourite Cape Town restaurant staging a takeover in the heart of London.

Here’s what’s on the horizon:

Cape Grace x The Savoy Afternoon Tea (21–24 August and 28–31 August 2025)

Two Fairmont hotel legends collide as the Cape Grace partners with London’s Savoy Hotel for a limited-edition Afternoon Tea at Heirloom.

Expect the best of both worlds: coronation chicken sandwiches and Franschhoek smoked trout, The Savoy’s famed strawberries-and-cream cake, and South African sparkle in every detail.

About R675 per person (£27pp) including bubbles; twice daily sittings. 

The Pot Luck Club Pop-Up, London  (until 30 November 2025)

Luke Dale Roberts’ cult Woodstock restaurant is serving its punchy small plates at The Waldorf Hilton in Covent Garden.

Dale Roberts and his Cape Town operations team personally oversaw the London launch in August, with sous chef Rachel Maroun staying on to lead the pop-up, giving Londoners a taste of one of SA’s most celebrated kitchens.

Think bold flavours, sharing plates, and a proper side of gees. 

JAN Franschhoek Season IV (3 September 2025 – 30 April 2026)

South Africa’s only Michelin-starred chef, Jan Hendrik van der Westhuizen, returns for another summer residency at La Motte estate in Franschhoek. Expect an ever-changing seasonal menu rooted in local produce, traditional techniques, and plenty of pickles and preserves – all paired with wines from the valley. Dinners run Wednesday–Saturday, with long lunches on Sundays. R3,400pp. Reservations for Sept/Oct are open now. 

Why Tastebud Travel matters as a trend: 

These pop-ups aren’t just foodie bucket-list moments though, they’re proof of how culture, travel, and dining are colliding in fresh new ways.

Just like “set-jetting” put Sicily on the radar for more travellers after The White Lotus and the likes of Chef’s Table ignited our desire to experience an ancient Japanese tea ceremony, “tastebud travel” is turning Cape Town’s chefs into cultural ambassadors, shaping not only where but why we travel next.