A new dining trend is emerging from New York City, where restaurants are creating miniature meals specifically for the growing number of customers using weight-loss medications like Ozempic.
These pint-sized portions cater to the significantly reduced appetites experienced by users of GLP-1 drugs, offering a solution to food waste and social dining discomfort.
The Birth of the 'Teeny Weeny' Meal
Clinton Hall in Midtown Manhattan has pioneered this concept with its 'Teeny Weeny Mini Meal'. For just $8, customers receive a burger the size of a slider, a shot glass filled with a few fries, and a syringe of ketchup, served with the choice of a mini beer, mini martini, or a weeny wine.
The restaurant's website playfully states, 'get a shot of fun... no prescription needed.'
Aristotle Hatzigeorgiou, the owner of Clinton Hall, told the Daily Mail that the idea came from observing his own friends. 'I started noticing that when I'd go out to dinner with friends, some of them would take one bite of pasta or chicken parmesan, have a sip of wine, and then be done,' he said.
Hatzigeorgiou realised there was a need for an option that people with suppressed appetites could enjoy without wasting food, a concern he also linked to his upbringing where wasting food was a big issue.
The Science Behind Smaller Appetites
This shift in dining is directly linked to the effects of GLP-1 agonist drugs such as semaglutide (sold as Ozempic and Wegovy) and liraglutide (sold as Saxenda).
Clinical evidence confirms their powerful impact on appetite. A 2017 trial found that semaglutide reduced participants' total calorie intake by 24 percent. Similarly, liraglutide has been shown to lower energy intake by 12 to 27 percent compared to a placebo.
These medications work by acting on both the gut, slowing stomach emptying, and the brain, activating satiety centres. This dual action helps people feel full much sooner and reduces their overall food consumption.
A Trend Taking Hold in New York
Clinton Hall is not alone in adapting to this new consumer behaviour. The upscale Italian restaurant Tucci in New York's NoHo neighbourhood has also begun offering an Ozempic menu upon request.
Restaurateur Max Tucci offers smaller, premium dishes such as a single piece of arancini topped with caviar for $12 and a single meatball in marinara sauce for $10. These plates are roughly one-third the size and price of their regular counterparts.
Hatzigeorgiou believes this is part of a broader shift in how Americans eat, driven by increased health consciousness. He encourages other restaurants to follow suit, highlighting the dual benefits of supporting healthier waistlines and tackling the problem of food waste.
He even mused that perhaps portion sizes are simply returning to a historical norm, recalling a customer who remarked that the Ozempic burger looked like how meals used to be served. 'That really made me laugh!' he said.
