The Festival is designed to raise the profile of the establishments involved and acknowledge the pleasure and sustenance given to all by London’s extraordinarily diverse range of restaurants.
The festival will comprise two main elements: Events and Festival Menus. There will also be a section of Side Orders – where individual restaurants will be encouraged and supported in devising activities with direct appeal to their own market.
This is a citywide celebration of eating out: you may not have thought about joining in this year, but check it out and consider it for 2013!
What exactly is the London Restaurant Festival?
The London Restaurant Festival is a citywide celebration of eating out, designed to raise the profile of restaurants involved and increase covers. The Festival, created by restaurant critic Fay Maschler and her business partner Simon Davis, was launched in 2009. With the help of key partners, in its first year the Festival saw some 400 restaurants from across the capital running special, fixed-price Festival Menus, with about 10,000 meals being enjoyed by Londoners and visitors.
Building on the awareness generated by 2009, nearly 600 restaurants in 2010 served up 30,000 covers as well as the likes of Alain Roux and Raymond Blanc joining culinary forces with Claude Bosi and Bruno Loubet respectively in unique, specially created events. During this time, the city’s restaurateurs work together to offer food lovers the chance to explore some of the capital’s finest cooking – from its high-profile Michelin-starred restaurants to coveted neighbourhood bistros.
In 2012, the festival has grown yet further and features over 800 restaurants serving Festival Menus to 50,000 people.
The London Restaurant Festival comprises two main elements: Festival Menus and Festival Events. Attractively priced Festival Menus, designed to showcase a restaurant’s individuality and cooking style, are the bedrock of the annual celebration and the means to increase revenue for the participating establishments.
Unlike other Festivals, the London Restaurant Festival is not a singular, one-location event for which a single ticket can be purchased. It is an umbrella festival under which a host of activity and individual events take place.
When is it?
The 2012 London Restaurant Festival will run from 1 – 15 October with Festival Menus being offered in restaurants throughout this period.
Why should I get involved?
Festival Menus are the most important part of the Festival and the most accessible opportunity for the wider public to get involved. Working alongside Livebookings and Bookatable, we hope that over 800 restaurants will participate in the Festival in 2012. There will be a detailed search function to ensure that restaurants will not be anonymous within the Festival.
The Festival represents an opportunity not only to participate in an exciting citywide celebration and piggy-back the media attention that comes with an event replete with high-profile names, but also in very practical terms, to promote your restaurant and increase your covers.
How can the London Restaurant Festival benefit my business?
Unlike other food-related celebrations in the capital, the London Restaurant Festival has been conceived to drive more business to restaurants and to raise their profile. It is an event that is committed to being universally accessible.
In 2009, 450 restaurants took part and 10,000 Festival Menus were booked, with many more enjoying walk-in trade. In 2010, nearly 600 restaurants generated in the region of 30,000 covers. Last year, through our partnership with Livebookings’, the average increase in covers was considerably higher. We served 50,000 Festival Menus.
What is a Festival Menu?
Festival Menus are specially created by the hundreds of participating restaurants and are available to customers throughout the Festival period. For the customer, they are a great-value way to try out new restaurants or revisit those establishments that might usually be less accessible. For restaurants, they are an opportunity to showcase how creative, sustainable and delicious their food can be.
Festival Menus should be available at lunch and/or dinner throughout the Festival period. An example of every restaurant’s Festival Menu can be uploaded by the restaurant on the London Restaurant Festival website from early September 2012.
For more information on The London Restaurant Festival click here
For answers to your questions click here