Boom in popularity for British cuisine

A poll of diner across the UK has shown the popularity of British cuisine is booming.

Bookatable’s Quarterly Dining Trends, based on its 3.8 million database of diners, found British cuisine now accounts for 27% of all the company’s bookings – up from 12% in 2014-15.

The trend for the best of British continues into the list of most popular restaurants for 2015-16 with Aqua Shard taking the top spot. Other restaurants with a Modern British offering that make it into the top ten include OXO Tower, Cloud 23 Manchester and The Grill at The Dorchester.

The research also shows appetite for dining out continuing to grow with Bookatable reporting a bookings increase of 103% between 2014 and 2016. Fine dining has grown by 71% during the same period, with casual dining / chain restaurants and independent restaurants seeing a 125% and 133% growth in bookings, respectively.

Saturday night continues to be the most popular night to dine taking a quarter of the bookings, with Friday night closely behind at 18%And whilst Brits may not be known for dining out as late as those on the continent, the most popular time to dine is a respectable 7pm to 8pm (23%) with 17% of bookings after 8pm.

When it comes to booking behaviour, Bookatable has identified a trend shift towards shorter notice bookings. In 2014-15, 24% of bookings were made within 24 hours or less of dining and 35% of bookings were made four weeks or longer in advance. However, in 2015-16, 31% of bookings are made within 24 hours or less of dining and 29% are made four weeks or longer in advance.

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. We also have some really fantastic destination restaurants on the Bookatable platform serving up a contemporary take on British cuisine which are well worth sampling.

“With the rise in tablet and smart phone usage, it’s now even easier to book on the move so it’s no surprise we are identifying a move towards shorter notice bookings. 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 Cuisines 2015-16

1. British

2. Italian

3. Steaks and Grills

4. American

5. French

6. Pizza

7. European

8. Chinese

9. Fish & Seafood

10. Japanese

Bookatable’s Top 10 Most Popular Restaurants 2015-16