Data from Barclaycard Payments - which processes nearly 40 per cent of all card transactions in the UK - shows that restaurants are down 7% on last August overall.
The figures do not include the cash restaurants will get back from the Government but they also don’t account for the huge rise in card payments as both restaurants and diners shun cash.
Wednesdays saw the biggest increase during Eat Out to Help Out, as spend grew 39.7 per cent month-on-month.
Demonstrating consumer appetite for the scheme, the number of transactions also grew by 33.7 per cent.
However, the average transaction value on Mondays to Wednesdays remained fairly stable, rising from £11.85 in July to £11.91 in August, indicating that the discount encouraged diners to order more food and non-alcoholic drinks, in order to spend roughly the same amount overall.
Barclaycard Payments says that four in 10 Brits made use of the scheme, and almost one in five plans to continue eating out more often to support the industry.
Outside Eat Out to Help Out, Thursdays to Sundays in August also saw strong growth compared to July, with total spending in restaurants and fast food outlets up 33%.
Head here for an in-depth look at Eat Out To Help Out and what it might mean for the sector in the medium to long term.
