The Good Evenings concept, now in its second week, has seen the shop transform into a casual dining experience from 6pm with diners greeted at the door and shown to tables.
The evening menu, on offer from 6pm to 10.45pm Monday to Saturday and 4pm to 8pm on Sundays includes 'small plates' including meatballs, sweet potato wedges and smoked salmon, quinoa rice pots, soups, salads and toasties. Red and white wine, Prosecco and British craft beers are also available.
As part of the new trial, diners order and pay at the till, but their meals are served to them at their table on specially designed 'Good Evenings' branded crockery. The menu is also available to order for take-away.
Nick Sandler, creative chef at Pret said the idea was to give diners in the area somewhere 'convenient and affordable' to eat before going to the theatre.
“Customers have been asking us for some time about creating an early evening menu, so we’re giving it a go," he said.
“We have the seating space, the kitchen, the fantastic ingredients and a talented team already in the shop, so it seemed like a logical next step to give the Good Evenings concept a try."
A spokesperson for Pret said the trial would be run indefinitely with its progress continuously monitored. There are no plans to roll the trial out to other sites she said. "Whether it continues in its current location will be dependent on its success also," she added.
The move by Pret follows the launch of Starbucks' Evening Programme which saw the coffee chain offer hot food, beer and wine from 4pm at its Stansted Airport site.