Dining trends: Modern British restaurants see bookings boom
Bookings for restaurants specialising in UK cuisine have more than doubled since 2014-15, according to reservation platform Bookatable.
The Michelin-owned site analysed two years’ worth of data on its 3.8m users and found that Modern British food was the most popular variety of cooking on the site.
It now accounts for 27 per cent of all bookings, up from 12 per cent in 2014-15.
Modern British restaurant Aqua Shard was the most popular venue of the past year, with OXO Tower Brasserie, Cloud 23 Manchester and The Grill at The Dorchester all making the top ten.
Joe Steele, CEO of Bookatable, said: “There’s no doubt, Modern British cuisine is proving incredibly popular right now as the standards in British gastronomy continue to flourish.”
Upcoming Modern British openings to watch include Open House's The Lighterman in Kings Cross, Leonid Shutov's restaurant at the Leadenhall building and chef Paul Foster's debut eaterie Salt.
Booking trends
Public appetite for dining out continues to grow with the total number of reservations made using Bookatable rising 103 per cent between 2014 and 2016.
During the same period bookings for fine dining restaurants grew by 71 per cent, while casual dining and independent sites saw a 125 per cent and 133 per cent growth respectively.
The research also indicated an increase in last-minute reservations driven by a rise in tablet and smartphone usage.
In 2014-15 24 per cent of bookings were made within less than 24 hours of dining, but this figure rose to 31 per cent in 2015-16.
“It’s now even easier to book on the move so it’s no surprise we are identifying a move towards shorter notice bookings,” said Steele.
“Consumers still want to know they don’t have to queue for a table and be secure in the knowledge they have a reservation, but are making more spontaneous decisions on the go.”
Bookatable’s Top 10 Most Popular Restaurants 2015-16
1. Aqua Shard
2. Cucina Asellina
3. Hutong
4. OXO Tower Brasserie
5. Hakkasan – Hanway Place
6. Cloud 23 – Manchester Deansgate
7. Asia de Cuba
8. STK London
9. Sticks n’Sushi – Covent Garden
10. The Grill at The Dorchester
To view the previous year's top 10 click here.
