Even after waiting in line for 10 hours, they still want to eat. This Spring Festival, young people's New Year's Eve dinner was taken over by Sushi Lang.

This article is sourced from Times Finance. Author: Li Xinting

Editor’s Note: Carpooling home, group buying New Year goods—this year, have you “pooled” for the New Year? When Generation Z leads the Spring Festival, it doesn’t mean tradition disappears; instead, the flavor of the New Year shifts from solid to liquid, transforming from top-down inheritance to bottom-up creation. In the Year of the Horse, Times Finance presents the special feature “Piling Up the New Year,” witnessing a reshaping of the festive atmosphere.

This Spring Festival, traditional choices like staying home to make dumplings, gathering around a table for classic hot pot, or heading to old-brand restaurants for a fixed New Year’s Eve dinner are no longer the only options for young people today.

Traditional New Year’s Eve dinners often involve half a day of busy cooking or a few signature dishes from well-known old brands. This ritual has persisted for many years, though the process can be quite cumbersome. Nowadays, young people still value the ritual of family reunion during the Spring Festival but prefer to enjoy it more casually and trendily. As a result, popular restaurant brands like Sushi Lang, Griller, and Haidilao have made their way onto more people’s New Year’s Eve dinner lists.

Times Finance learned that as of February 9, over 50,000 reservations had been made at Haidilao stores nationwide for New Year’s Eve dining; assuming at least two people per table, at least 100,000 people celebrated New Year’s Eve at Haidilao. According to the Sushi Lang mini-program, from February 13 to 17 (the 26th to the first day of the lunar new year), reservations at Sushi Lang’s Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Jinan locations were fully booked during peak hours. For the Sichuan-style grilled fish brand Griller, which only accepts same-day queueing, social media buzz included questions like “Will I get to eat Griller for the New Year?”

Young people are increasingly seeking a more relaxed and modern flavor of the New Year’s gathering, moving beyond traditional dinner formats and procedures.

Sushi Lang queues. Photo provided by interviewee.

Booking in advance, crossing provinces for check-ins—these internet-famous restaurants have become the new favorites for New Year’s Eve.

In the past, young people would bring home New Year goods to put on the table. Now, they prefer to go directly to their favorite restaurants.

On February 13, Sushi Lang’s first store in Shandong opened in Jinan. A month before the opening, Jack set a countdown and managed to snag a reservation for the evening of February 15 (the 28th of the lunar month) with millisecond precision.

Jack is a sushi enthusiast and a loyal fan of Sushi Lang. He told Times Finance that he had already eaten at Sushi Lang 19 times in China. To him, Sushi Lang’s products are authentic overall, with a wide variety, good quality, and high cost-performance ratio. “The 10-yuan tuna belly sushi is rich in fat and tastes great, and limited-edition items like foie gras sushi for 8 yuan are also very attractive.”

“Elder family members back home rarely eat sushi, and Japanese sushi chains hadn’t opened in Jinan before. Taking my family to Sushi Lang is really about giving them a ‘taste tour’,” Jack explained. His idea isn’t unique. After sharing a screenshot of his reservation on social media, many private messages flooded in from people wanting to “buy a reservation.”

Sushi Lang. Photo provided by interviewee.

Another popular New Year’s Eve dining choice is Griller.

Originating in Chengdu, this grilled fish brand has expanded into Beijing, Xi’an, and Shanghai in recent years, maintaining high popularity with queues often exceeding a thousand tables per store. On January 30, Griller’s first store in Shanghai opened, with queue times surpassing 13 hours on the opening day. Some Shanghai customers even posted early-morning photos of waiting in line, saying, “Only by eating at Griller can I have a good New Year.”

Penny (pseudonym), living alone in Shanghai, also plans to check out Griller during the Spring Festival. “I don’t cook myself, so I go out to enjoy good food. Plus, eating fish is a good omen—may the new year bring abundance.”

Besides the rapidly popular Sushi Lang and Griller, established internet-famous brands like Haidilao continue to perform steadily.

A week in advance, Ms. Guo in Beijing booked her New Year’s Eve dinner at Haidilao. She and her husband also brought their parents to Beijing. “Our big family has elders and children, and after considering everything, we still think dining at Haidilao creates a better atmosphere.” A manager from Haidilao’s family-friendly themed store in Shenzhen also revealed that all ten private rooms for New Year’s Eve were fully booked, with only a few seats left in the main hall. “Most customers booking New Year’s Eve are families traveling together, including locals from Shenzhen and multi-generational families staying in the city.”

Haidilao. Photo source: Haidilao

Despite waiting 10 hours, the popularity remains high, and young people’s emotions are being captured by Sushi Lang.

The surge in popularity of internet-famous restaurants during the Spring Festival is no coincidence. Over the past two years, long queues have become a regular part of dining at these brands.

In August 2024, Sushi Lang’s first Beijing store saw 1,500 tables queued on opening day. By April 2025, after opening in Hangzhou, all online reservations were booked within a month. In December 2025, two Sushi Lang stores opened simultaneously in Shanghai, with wait times exceeding 14 hours. Additionally, established stores in Guangzhou and Shenzhen regularly see weekend queues of 200 to 500 tables.

Griller also attracts queues of young people. Since opening its first store in Beijing in September 2024, queues outside the store in Sichuan and Chongqing often last 10 hours, becoming almost a “standard” experience for those wanting to eat there. Media reports indicate that the average daily turnover rate at representative Griller stores nationwide is around 9 to 10 rounds.

Behind these queues, young people’s expectations for “a meal” are changing. They no longer settle for a decent meal but seek more diverse options and more exciting experiences. Cost-performance and emotional value have become key words driving the popularity of these internet-famous brands.

The success of Sushi Lang and Griller perfectly taps into this trend. Both brands have an average spend of around 100 yuan per person but leverage product strategies and service design to enhance perceived “gains” beyond just cost-performance.

Sushi Lang’s dine-in menu in China offers about 220 dishes, with 65% priced between 8 and 15 yuan. This price point lowers the barrier for trying new items. “Low trial costs mean you can try many ingredients you haven’t had before,” said Tracy, who became a fan last year. “Many ingredients are just ten or twenty yuan per plate, so it’s easy to experiment.” She added, “At the same price, their product quality is better than others.”

Additionally, new stores in North and East China have introduced 1.5-meter ordering screens, with interactive features like ordering, lotteries, and games, further entertaining diners.

Social media users share content about Sushi Lang’s large screens.

Besides various Sichuan-Chongqing style grilled fish, as well as specialty dishes like fermented root tofu and pepper ice cream, Griller also emphasizes extending the service experience. They offer activities like coloring plaster cats in waiting areas, singing for birthday customers and giving birthday gifts, and providing themed Mahjong sets for members, strengthening emotional connections with customers.

“Celebrating birthdays at Griller” has become a trending topic.

The same “creative engagement” trend is also sweeping Haidilao. Over the past two years, Haidilao has launched themed stores around late-night snacks, family-friendly, pet-friendly, and street food scenes, creating buzz.

Spring Festival is just a microcosm. When traditional dining tables can no longer accommodate young people’s expectations for gathering, they choose to entrust this meal to restaurants that understand them better.