High rents fuelling London dining scene creativity

‘Fine dining is over’ seemed to be the consensus at the Future of London Dining event held last night at the Vincent Rooms. The panel, composed of restaurateurs and food writers, discussed the casual dining trends they noticed in the capital, and it appears the recent economic crisis helped to accelerate the momentum.

Martin Morales, founder of Peruvian restaurant Ceviche, said: “Different factors collided at the right moment. With the crisis, people lost their jobs and realised that life wasn’t just about money, creating a new generation of truly passionate restaurateurs. Pop-ups​ are making the London dining scene more exciting by giving a chance to people with less money.”

David Atcherley-Symes, retail leasing director at Land Securities, agreed: “The economics or property investment do dictate restaurant income to a certain extent, and pop-ups have gone through the roof since the disappearance of bank finance for start-ups.”

For audience member Kerstin Rodgers, who founded The Underground Restaurant in her own home, there is no doubt that supper clubs “were born out of poverty”.

Though pushed by high costs, there is more to pop-ups than a financial aspect, according to Henry Dimbleby, co-founder of Leon. “Because minimum rents are around the £5,000-£10,000 mark, people are experimenting with street food before investing too much.  Every week there are at least 50 restaurants opening in London, but compared to a few years ago, all of them are good. Food in itself is quite boring, pop-up creators understand that food is about creating a narrative, and that restaurants are about excitement,” he said.

Panellists’ concerns over licensing laws that attempt to categorise dining venues in a way that can’t follow current trends were answered by John Walker, operational director of development planning at Westminster City Council, who said rules and planning systems were necessary to minimise inconveniences for local residents.

And although the UK economy is on its way to recovery, costs are set to remain a decisive influence in the future of the London dining scene. Bobby Chin, founder of House of Ho, explained: “It’s hard to predict how things will go but at the moment staffing and real estate prices are big issues, so cost will probably remain a big thing.”

The trend for pop-ups and casual dining is set to continue, with even high-end restaurants now joining the momentum​​, while successful pop-ups sometimes turn into permanent locations (think The Clove Club​​).

 “Pop-ups are the grass root of the underground food culture in London, and they are worrying the big boys by making them look stale. This shows the power of the street to influence the restaurant nation. The new generation of dining will be person-centred, not chef-centred,” added Kate Spicer, food columnist.