Brits say bye-bye to BLT lunches and TV dinners

The concept of eating out has dramatically changed in the course of the last few years with restaurant dining now a normal everyday occurrence, finds online travel and leisure retailer lastminute.com as its annual London Restaurant Week kicks off today.

No longer is eating out considered as a special occasion just for the weekend, with more casual lunches and mid-week evening bookings taking off.

As lastminute.com’s London Restaurant Week bookings carry on in full swing, the retailer is witnessing a stronger interest in lunchtime covers than evening reservations with 60% of customers opting for the daytime option.

Heavy long lunches are now a thing of the past though as restaurants increasingly offer competitively priced and well balanced lunch menus served in less than an hour proving great value as well as stress-free on top of being a pleasant way to break the day.

lastminute.com has also registered a 46% increase in weekday bookings, highlighting that restaurants are no longer just for special weekend occasions and proving that Britons enjoy eating out more and more and no wish to wait for the weekend to enjoy a good meal out.

Mark Bower, Lifestyle sales director at lastminute.com commented: “London Restaurant Week celebrates the fact that London is the world capital of dining. Britons love their restaurants and do not wait for special occasions to have slap up meals anymore, any good opportunity will do.“

“London Restaurant Week is clearly proving the trend. With great deals to be had in many top eateries in the capital, people are rushing to make their bookings, whether at lunchtime or dinnertime during the week. To illustrate this, our sales for London Restaurant Week are 370% up from last year.”