West End restaurants that survived nearly 18 months of closure and restrictions are now seeing bumper bookings and revenues above pre-pandemic levels for the first time.
A slow recovery that began in mid-September has accelerated over recent weeks as the Christmas season has got under way.
Des Gunewardena, chief executive of D&D London, which owns venues such as Quaglino’s and 100 Wardour Street, said revenues at its central London restaurants were up three per cent last week on the same week in 2019, and would have been higher still if staffing shortages had not limited trading.
Mr Gunewardena said: “Through September, central London started to recover quite strongly and then in the last few weeks we’ve been trading ahead of 2019, not dramatically but it’s a big deal.”
He said corporate bookings for Christmas parties and other events are still lagging but reached about 80 per cent of pre-Covid levels by the end of October, and should be above 90 per cent by December so long as new restrictions are not brought in.
Sam Hart, director of Hart Bros Restaurants, which owns Barrafina, Quo Vadis and El Pastor, said takings were up by 15 per cent on the previous week making it “our biggest week since Christmas 2019”.
Simon Thomas, head of the Hippodrome Casino in Leicester Square, said the venue was “absolutely heaving” at the weekend. Demand at the weekend is now “considerably above” 2019 levels.
He added: “People are determined to celebrate and get back their lives and are using the West End to do it.” Covent Garden was also full with families drawn to an installation based on Disney’s Frozen the Musical and hourly “snowfalls” in front of the Christmas tree on the West Piazza.
Michelle McGrath, executive director at Capco, the biggest landlord in Covent Garden, said: “We’re very encouraged by the volume of footfall visiting Covent Garden this weekend... as a result, in certain cases we have seen trade exceeding 2019 levels.”
