Brits’ Appetite for Dining Deals Surges 61%: TheFork Data Exposes UK’s Hidden Restaurant Savings Hotspots
New booking data from TheFork, Europe’s leading restaurant reservation platform, reveals that 42% of UK restaurant bookings this summer were made with a promotion, up from 36% last year. That marks a 61% surge in discount-led reservations, signalling a tipping point where value-first dining has become the new normal.
Far from treating promos as an occasional perk, diners are making them a default part of the dining experience. On average, UK customers saved £10 per food bill, or around 35% off their meal, showing that cost-consciousness is shaping not only how often people eat out, but also where and what they order.
TheFork’s findings reflect a wider shift highlighted by Barclays’ latest 10 Years of Spend report, which showed that two-thirds of consumers (66%) are paying more attention to their budgets than they did a decade ago. In restaurants, this is reinforcing a new cultural behaviour: the rise of the “value-first diner.”
“It’s been a challenging period of economic uncertainty for both diners and the hospitality industry, but our data proves people still want to eat out; they’re just doing it smarter. We’re proud to help restaurants attract new customers while giving diners unforgettable experiences that don’t break the bank,” said Patrick Hooykaas, Regional Managing Director at TheFork.
Where Diners Really Save: Cheshunt Tops the League
London is often considered UK’s most expensive place to eat out, yet new data upends this myth. The average pre-discount bill in London is £28.68—only the 10th highest in the country. It’s smaller cities and commuter towns that top the leaderboard for both big spending and bigger savings:
Cheshunt (Hertfordshire): £36.07 average bill, with £18.03 saved per meal (50% off)
Belfast (Northern Ireland): £34.14, saving £14.72 (43% off)
Peterborough (Cambridgeshire): £32.40, saving £13.08 (40% off)
Exeter (Devon): £30.00, saving £15.00 (50% off)
Bath (Somerset): £32.29, saving £10.63 (33% off)
While the capital doesn’t top the city-wide savings league, it does host the UK’s most generous individual restaurant discounts, including:
Pivot Bar & Bistro – saving of £45 on a £90 meal
The Franklin Restaurant by Alfredo Russo – save £37.50
Ginza St. James’s – save £35
See attached map for a full city-by-city breakdown
What’s hot on the plate
While savings drive behaviour, it hasn’t stopped diners chasing premium experiences. Some of the fastest-growing categories for promo-led bookings are:
Steakhouses – +439% year-on-year
Japanese restaurants – +343%
Indian restaurants – +205%
This shows that promos are no longer just about midweek pizzas, they are democratising access to once-luxury cuisines.
Most-booked restaurants of Summer 2025
TheFork’s Summer campaign revealed the venues topping the UK dining charts:
Cabana – Covent Garden
PJ’s Chelsea Brasserie
Colonel Saab – Trafalgar Square
Ukai – Notting Hill
Naroon – Marylebone
