In February, Little Bay in Farringdon shocked London foodies and hit the headlines when they asked their customers to pay only what they thought their meal was worth. The restaurant was fully booked for the whole month and owner Peter Ilic declared the scheme a roaring success.
“I’ll admit I was nervous about letting people pay whatever they liked,” he explains, “But it has restored my faith in people’s honesty. The average spend per head was higher than normal and we’ve had great feedback from a lot of new customers.”
Over 10,000 customers were served in February and each paid £17.25 on average - nearly 30% higher than the restaurant’s usual average food spend of £13.50. The most paid by a diner was £40 per head and the lowest was just one penny per person, plus a £5 tip, from two students who said they wanted to prove that the promotion was genuine.
“Most surprising has been the new customers we’ve attracted,” says Ilic, “I’d say over half were City workers. I guess even the big spenders are looking for a good value meal right now. I can categorically say the promotion has been a success, putting Little Bay’s fresh, good value meals on the map for a lot of new customers.”
In March, Little Bay are putting the prices back on their menus but bargain hunters needn’t panic – they are still very reasonable. Starters and desserts are just £2.25 from noon until 7pm (£3.25 after), while mains are £5.25 during the day and £7.45 in the evening. One of their Aberdeen Angus burgers will set you back £5.80.
If you fancy saving some money this month, without cutting back on dining out, then check out our Special Offers page and see what takes your fancy.
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