Region’s restaurant and bar scene powers ahead of London

The booming restaurant and bar scenes in York, Leeds and Bradford are growing at greater rates than that of London.

Latest industry data shows that Northern cities dominate a new league table of hospitality growth, occupying six of top eight places, with independent operators leading the surge as some casual dining chains struggle.

New analysis by Northern Restaurant & Bar, the trade show for the Northern hospitality industry which opens in Manchester next week, and CGA, the hospitality data and insight specialists, has shown that the North of England is a hotspot for new restaurants and bars.

The number of city centre outlets within York itself has increased by 19.5% in the last five years, in Leeds by 20.5% and in Bradford by 15.1%; significantly higher than that of London, which had a 10.4% increase during the same period.

Thom Hetherington, CEO of Northern Restaurant & Bar, said: “We’re delighted but not surprised by the data, as we have seen the changes first hand – new restaurants and bars are opening almost every day. Yorkshire is building a top class food and drink scene, and that’s great news for diners. Despite this being a challenging period for hospitality businesses, the growth is being largely driven by ambitious regional independents, and we’re proud that NRB can help to inspire and inform them.”

City Centre Restaurant & Bar Growth

Jamie Campbell, retail business unit director of CGA, says: “Of course London is a much bigger restaurant and bar scene in absolute terms, but percentages don’t lie, the change in the cities in the North is more pronounced and has a proportionally greater impact on diners, whether residents or tourists. Moreover we are working on additional data which shows that growth in the region is indeed being driven by independents, with the featured Northern cities showing an increase in independent outlets at over twice the national rate.”