CITY VIEWS: ARE YOU AND YOUR FRIENDS STARTING TO EAT OUT MORE?
NADEEM HUMDANI | JP MORGAN
“I am more keen to go out to higher priced restaurants than I was six to seven months ago ?– the medium priced ones I kept going to anyway. The City is buoyant but not as flush as it was pre-2008 levels. The banker bonus period is back which means extravagant meals and purchases.”
ATLE BEKKEN | HANDELSBANKEN
“It’s certainly harder to get a booking for the best places on short notice. For the popular places it’s now two to five weeks. Industry is picking up and as confidence returns and interest rates stay low people will spend more on restaurants. For me it’s the same, I go out to eat twice a week.”
THOMAS PATERSON | WELBECK CONSULTING
“Yes absolutely, I am definitely going out to eat more with my friends – there’s more optimism around in general. Last year I noticed more 2-for-1 deals around, I suppose they had to do something. There were lots of empty units around the City which in the good times would have been eaten up. But it is getting better.”