New Delhi: The verdict is out. Biryani emerged yet again as the most-ordered dish in the country on New Year’s Eve, with as many as 1,300 plates being ordered per minute at one point of time.
According to Swiggy, one of the standout orders came from Bhubaneswar, where a single customer placed an order for a staggering 16 kilograms of biryani, highlighting how families and friends increasingly rely on bulk food deliveries for house parties.
The food aggregator’s report offered an insight on how consumers across metros and smaller cities celebrated the year-end, revealing familiar favourites, surprising order sizes and a growing appetite for both staying in and stepping out.
Biryani ruled the roost, Moneycontrol reported. According to the Swiggy report, nearly 2.19 lakh biryani plates were ordered before 7.30 pm on December 31. The rush peaked around 8 pm, when more than 1,300 biryanis were being ordered every minute.
This reinforces the fact that Biryani has emerged as a tasty and convenient option during special occasions.
The competition between pizzas and burgers also played out dramatically on New Year’s Eve. By 8.30 pm, Swiggy had delivered more than 2.18 lakh pizzas and around 2.16 lakh burgers, showing almost equal demand for both items, abp live reported.
Pizza emerged as the most ordered food item as 2026 was ushered in, indicating its status as a late-night comfort favourite.
In Bengaluru, a customer placed a single order for 100 burgers, while a user in Goa ordered 39 portions of kebabs and tikkas, pointing to large group gatherings and party-style menus.
In Nagpur, a particularly active customer placed more than 93 orders across the day, while in Surat, a user ordered food from 22 different restaurants on December 31. These patterns suggest that New Year’s Eve is no longer about one big meal, but a steady stream of snacks, mains and desserts throughout the day and night.
Dessert orders also surged as the night progressed. Around 10.30 pm, rasmalai, gajar halwa and gulab jamun emerged as some of the most ordered sweets on the platform.
While food delivery dominated much of the evening, dining out also saw a significant revival. Swiggy Dineout recorded strong growth in restaurant bookings, signalling that many consumers chose to step out after years of pandemic-era caution.
Bengaluru and Hyderabad led overall dine-out bookings, reinforcing their status as nightlife hubs. Ahmedabad saw a 1.6-times increase in dine-out reservations compared to last year, while cities such as Lucknow and Jaipur also reported higher booking volumes, pointing to growing participation from non-metro markets.
