Restaurant Openings Surge To All-Time Record

More restaurants have opened in London in the past 12 months than ever before according to the new (17th) edition of Harden’s London Restaurants, to be published on 28 August. The guide records 158 openings of note in the past 12 months – some 13 per cent higher than the August 2006 figure (136), and smashing the former record of 142 noted in 2005.

“This is a golden age for the London restaurant-goer” says Peter Harden, co-editor of the guide, “with the restaurant scene reaching a stage which would once have seemed inconceivable. It continues to evolve – generally for the good – faster than ever. We are now seeing new openings annually at about three times the rate of 15 years ago (just before London’s restaurant ‘revolution’ began).”

“This year’s openings seem to represent a decisive step forward, with openings at last breaking out of the surprisingly narrow range – between 120 and 142 openings annually – which prevailed for the previous seven years. Perhaps it’s not not surprising when you consider the amount of money which seems nowadays to be swilling around the capital.”

Notable openings (or re-openings) in the past 12 months include Bacchus, L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon, Rhodes W1 Restaurant, La Petite Maison and Scott’s.

CLOSURES RISE EVEN FASTER

However it is not only the rate of openings which is on the up. After being relatively ‘flat’ for the past two years (65 last year, and 67 the year before that), the number of restaurants closing is up by no less than a third, at 89.

Peter Harden comments: “The closures we are seeing at the moment are in large part the flip side of progress. As more exciting and better restaurants open their doors, there is obviously greater pressure on unsatisfactory concepts, and on tired restaurants which are moving towards the end of their days.”

Harden warns that the closure pressure is likely to get greater before it abates: “Closures move on a 5 to 6 year cycle, and history suggests that, once established, a rising trend in closures will last at least two years. The coming year may, therefore, see restaurants shutting up on quite a scale, quite possibly exceeding the record number of 113, noted four years ago.”

Notable closures of the past 12 months include Astor Bar & Grill, Bank Alwych, Hosteria del Pesce, Mocoto and Tugga.