Lunch and dinner are off the menu as diners plump for brunches and afternoon tea

Breakfast and brunch bookings in the UK have more than doubled over the past two years, up 65%, according to OpenTable.

Since 2013, bookings for breakfast increased by 276%, and brunch saw an even bigger rise, at 369%, it says.

Millennials are driving the trend for breakfast and brunch out-of-home, according to the findings of a report commissioned by potato brand Lamb Weston last year. The age group is the most likely to eat breakfast or brunch a monthly basis across all types of hospitality venues, says the report.

Afternoon tea is also growing in popularity across the UK, with bookings having increased by 54% over the past two year, according to OpenTable. Since 2013, it says there has been an increase of 258% in bookings for afternoon tea.

Operators including Bea Vo, founder of Bea’s of Bloomsbury, are meeting demand by serving breakfast and afternoon tea in inventive ways.

Vo’s upcoming restaurant Butterscotch Tea Room in Fitzrovia, which opens later this month, will serve afternoon tea all day, with special breakfast and evening menus. Butterscotch Tea Room and its sister restaurant Butterscotch Bakery, in White City, also feature a Goldilocks Porridge Bar, where diners can customise their morning porridge with a choice of 60 toppings.