Half-empty London restaurants have started cutting their prices to encourage diners to keep eating out through the coronavirus crisis.
One of the first to make the move in the face of collapsing bookings was Stratford-based Allegra, which is offering 30 per cent off bills from Tuesday to Friday for at least the following 10 days.
The restaurant wrote on Instagram: “We are of course committed to all government guidelines to ensure that the restaurant is up to code with all precautionary health & safely measures. So if you’re feeling well — come eat, drink and be merry with us, we’d love to have you!”
Chef Patrick Powell said: “If we don’t have customers to make happy — then what is the point? So this is about keeping the dining room as full as possible, but also trying to keep stay positive and keep staff happy.”
He said bookings have fallen by 40 to 45 per cent over the past week, with weekends holding up more strongly than midweek.
The Nitery on St Martin’s Lane, which is run by cook, author and TV presenter Gizzi Erskine, is offering 50 per cent off dinner food bills on Monday nights only. After initially weathering the coronavirus storm, bookings took a massive dive last week, with some restaurants reporting revenue down by as much as 50 per cent. Private dining-room bookings have been particularly badly hit.
Local neighbourhood restaurants are said to be holding up better than big West End venues as diners choose to eat within walking distance rather than travel to central London.
Hotels are also suffering badly, with occupancy rates in some cases down to single figures, compared with the 80 to 90 per cent that would be typical normally.
