London restaurant bookings lag rest of UK

BOOKING at London’s restaurants are still lagging far behind the rest of the UK and have yet to recover to pre-Covid levels, according to new figures today.

The number of seated diners in London during September was 14% behind pre-pandemic volumes while the rest of the country enjoyed bookings that were 18% ahead of 2019 levels.

The figures from booking website OpenTable suggest the capital’s vast hospitality sector is still being held back by challenges such as lower numbers of commuters and foreign tourists, labour shortages and interruptions for events such as the Queen’s funeral.

The research also revealed that six Tube stops is the average diners would travel for a meal, with Gen Z diners preferring to stay local and tolerating no more than three to four stops while boomers and millennials are willing to travel 10 or more stops.

The data came as OpenTable launched a new pop up Dine London for October, which will be open on the South Bank this weekend and King’s Cross on Tuesday and Wednesday.

OpenTable’s European boss Lucy Taylor said: “Dine London provides inspiration for diners looking to reignite their love for restaurants in the capital this autumn, and support an industry that continues to face a multitude of headwinds.”