Many people in England will be celebrating the ease of lockdown restrictions today, by wrapping up warm by heading to dinner or grabbing a pint in a pub garden.
But many much-loved restaurant features won’t be back until 21st June, with many eateries ditching their popular buffets, while some are waving goodbye to table service and going cash free.
Others will be putting up perspex screen between tables and will be cutting back on their menus.
So what can brave Britons that embrace the cold spell for an outdoor meal expect today? From bookings of no more than six to no more self-service and high Perspex screens, here FEMAIL reveals what you can expect from dining out today…
Many people in England will be celebrating the ease of lockdown restrictions today, by wrapping up warm by heading to dinner or grabbing a pint in a pub garden. Many Pizza Huts across England will open ‘pizza gardens’ today, with stringent hygiene and cleaning measures in place.
NO MORE BUFFETS AND SELF-SERVICE
Many Pizza Huts across England will open ‘pizza gardens’ today, with stringent hygiene and cleaning measures in place.
But their famous all-you-can-eat buffet won’t be in place for now – with a ‘bluffet’ in place instead.
Staff at the Italian-American chain will bring customers a small pan or thin pizza with free tortilla chips, a bowl of salad & garlic breadstick bites, cheese & broccoli pasta or tomato pasta.
The chain said they’re working ‘really hard’ to bring self-service back as soon as possible.
NO MORE FREE REFILLS
Pizza Hut added to FEMAIL that its drinks will no longer be unlimited because customers won’t be able to serve themselves. Instead they will pay per glass, which is brought to them by a waiter.
REDUCED MENUS
The Verandah at Dishoom Shoreditch will be open for bountiful breakfasts, lazy lunches and lavish evening dinners from 8am-11pm Monday to Friday and 9am-11pm Saturday and Sunday. The Dishoom Carnaby terrace on Kingly Street will be open daily from 12th April for long lunches, afternoon snacks and bountiful evening feasts. Meanwhile, McDonald’s is still offering reduced menus alongside fellow fast food
Iranian Bombay Cafe Dishoom is reopening two of its restaurants for outdoor dining from today, but both with short menus.
The Verandah at Dishoom Shoreditch will be open for bountiful breakfasts, lazy lunches and lavish evening dinners from 8am-11pm Monday to Friday and 9am-11pm Saturday and Sunday.
The Dishoom Carnaby terrace on Kingly Street will be open daily from 12th April for long lunches, afternoon snacks and bountiful evening feasts.
Meanwhile, McDonald’s is still offering reduced menus alongside fellow fast food giant Greggs, while they’ll also be offering a free McCafé hot drink to new customers they download the app.
ORDERING FROM YOUR PHONE AND NO TABLE SERVICE
When they reopened in summer, Pizza Hut too introduced an app where customers order and pay on the phone, minimising interaction with staff.
Ordering from your mobile phone is a practice already used in other settings, such as Wetherspoons, and is one surefire way to avoid unnecessary contact.
Rosa’s Thai Cafe have also introduced online ordering, meaning customers will scan a QR code and order their meal through their website.
Paying by card is another initiative that most shops are currently pushing at the moment in order to avoid the handling of cash.
Rosa’s Thai Cafe have also introduced online ordering, meaning customers will scan a QR code and order their meal through their website.
Deliveroo has launched an in-restaurant feature for its partners too.
The in-app function enables customers to browse the menu, order and pay at a restaurant via the Deliveroo app, making it easier for customers to visit and eat in at restaurants while maintaining social distancing.
Prezzo will also have digital ordering from a smartphone or tablet using the QR code displayed on each table with the restaurants going cashless.
Customers can settle their bill using Apple Pay or Android Pay, contactless or Chip and PIN.
Other places – such as Sanskruti vegan restaurant in Manchester -is offering disposable menus.
Meanwhile, Byron have created outdoor areas for 18 of their restaurants ahead of their reopening, to fall in line with Covid regulations, and will be offering table service only.
Byron are also offering all their customer free Mac and Chesse balls to mark Testicular Cancer Awareness Month.
The chains as partnered with Testicular Cancer UK to drive awareness of the warning signs of cancer and encourage people to check at home, with all burgers will be wrapped in a 4-step guide, using Byron’s Mac and Cheese balls to showcase the steps.
GOING CASHLESS
Wahaca have also gone cash free. A spokesperson told FEMAIL: ‘Payments will be cash-free and items such as credit card machine pin pads will be wiped down with sanitiser after each use’
Wahaca have also gone cash free. A spokesperson told FEMAIL: ‘Payments will be cash-free and items such as credit card machine pin pads will be wiped down with sanitiser after each use’
HIGH PERSPEX SCREENS
High-quality Perspex screens have also been installed at all counters, with designated pick-up points for mobile order collections at Costa, while customers visiting a Costa Coffee Drive-Thru sites will see a bespoke one of a kind serving hatch has been installed (specifically designed for Costa Coffee) to ensure customers can collect their order with no contact.
These cleverly designed hatches, which lower items from the service hatch down to customer’s vehicles, have a built-in acrylic hygiene screen to provide maximum protection for both customers and Costa Coffee team members.
Wagamama has announced plans for return to re-open their dine-in operation using sliding screens to keep diners safe whilst maintaining an enjoyable experience
Meanwhle, wagamama will open 72 restaurants for outdoor dining today.
Since wagamama has never taken bookings – they are staying true to this ethos – no pre-bookings are required, meaning guests have maximum flexibility and teams will seat guests quickly and safely.
They will also have screens up to separate tables from one another.
A wagamama spokesperson told FEMAIL: ‘We’re excited to begin this first stage of reopening and we’ve got some incredible new dishes for guests to try. We announced in January that we had developed our biggest vegan range ever, including our vegan chilli squid.
‘But with some of these dishes not being suitable for our delivery and click + collect menu, guests are yet to try them. We can’t wait to re-open with these new vegan versions of our most iconic dishes. Our outdoor dining experience offers guests the same great wagamama experience whilst complying with coronavirus safety regulations, ensuring both guest and staff safety.’
FACE MASKS ON AND HEIGHTENED VENTILATION
Marcos Fernandez, CEO and founder of Iberica Restaurants and Arros QD told FEMAIL his restaurants will be taking extra safety precautions.
‘At my Iberica and ArrosQD restaurants, our tables have been extended in space between tables to 2m.
‘We’ve replaced the ventilation systems with ones that replace all the air in our restaurants between ten to 21 times an hour (five times more efficiently than the recommendations) to ensure the air is as clean as possible of the viru. Most importantly we’ve adapted how we cook and serve food to ensure diners and staff feel safe and education around that is high
Za’ta UK opened in September right in the middle of the pandemic in Baker Street, London. They have screens throughout the shop, hospital grade air conditioning, sanitiser everywhere before handling doors.
They are using OrderPayUK – click and collect ahead of your visit, or from the table avoiding any contact via the Order Pay app.
DINING PODS
Craft in Bimrmingham is famed for their outdoor terrace and they have build several state-of-the-art outdoor private dining pods to help keep war,
Spacious enough to seat up to eight people, Craft’s pods come complete with built in heating, well ventilated spaces and an Alexa music system.
Their garden can fit up to 110 people and has a fire pit seating area too, and will open from Wednesday
BOOKINGS CAPPED AT SIX PEOPLE
With the rule of six still in place, pubs and restaurants will cap bookings.
Commuter’s favourite coffee chain Pret will allow only four customers to a table, which will be space one metre apart.