'No-booking' restaurants leave bad taste with Londoners

William JordanUS Elections Editor
April 19, 2014, 8:38 AM GMT+0

Most Londoners are not a fan of the city’s rising gastro-trend

As rapidly as new restaurants crop up in London, it might seem hard for diners in the capital to keep up, but a new trend among London eateries has them waiting out on the curb. In order to maximise the number of people they can serve in a night, a growing number of restaurants restaurants have instituted no-booking policies, complete with two hour long waits and queues out the door.

Londoners aren’t having any of it, according to a new YouGov poll of people living in the city. Only 11% have a favourable opinion of restaurants that have customers queue outside rather than allow them to book ahead. A sizable proportion, 29%, say it makes no difference, but the majority (53%) of London diners say they don’t like these restaurants.

Of course, the long lines suggest plenty of people are willing to wait either way, and Londoners continue to be avid restaurant goers. There are over 10,000 eateries in the capital, and the average Londoner goes to one 5.1 times a month, according to a recent survey.

See the full poll results

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