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The Eat Out to Help Out (EOTHO) scheme was used more than 10.5 million times in its first week, the Treasury has revealed.
Under the system, the Government foots the bill for 50 per cent of a meal eaten at a cafe, restaurant or pub from Monday to Wednesday until the end of August.
The discount, also playfully known as “Rishi’s Dishes” in a nod to the Chancellor, is capped at £10.
HMRC said that it had received 10,540,394 claims under the scheme, as of August 9.
The Government has set aside £500m to fund the policy, which has cost around £50 million so far, according to Treasury estimates seen by the BBC.
Rishi Sunak praised those using the scheme for helping to keep the struggling hospitality sector afloat, describing the figures as “amazing”.
“Britons are eating out to help out in big numbers. And they aren’t just getting a great deal – they’re supporting the almost two million people employed in this sector,” the Chancellor told The Sun.
The best Eat Out to Help Out deals happening at London restaurants
1/18 Manteca
David Carter’s collaboration restaurant with Chris Leach is also offering a four-dish deal on the Eat Out to Help Out days. Each diner at the Italian restaurant can get house-baked focaccia, two pasta dishes, and a scoop of either gelato or sorbet for just £20, £10 with the discount.
2/18 Aqua Shard
Not only will the Aqua Restaurant Group be taking part in the Eat Out to Help Out scheme, but it’ll be adding on a little gift. Tables booked on the designated days at Aqua Shard, Hutong or Aqua Kyoto will also be offered £10 off any bottle of wine priced at more than £40.
Paul Winch-Furness
3/18 Bala Baya
Chef Eran Tibi has created a special Taste of Tel Aviv menu, available to diners at the London Bridge restaurant on the designated days for £20, £10 after the discount has been applied. Guests can choose two of their favourite Bala Baya dishes, and also receive the restaurants pita and a dip on the side.
4/18 Pick & Cheese
Both The Cheese Bar and its sibling restaurant Pick & Cheese will offer all-you-can-eat deals in conjunction with Eat Out to Help Out. The Camden restaurant will serve bottomless raclette on Wednesdays for £18 (£9 to diners), while Pick & Cheese will reopen on August 7 inside Seven Dials Market, and will allow diners to choose as many British cheese dishes as they like from their conveyor belt for just £20 per person (£10 to diners) on Monday nights.
5/18 Murger Han
The Xi’an restaurants in Euston and Mayfair are offering diners a four-course meal deal for just £20 on the Eat Out to Help Out days (£10 to the customer). This means customers can get a starter, any noodle dish, an ice cream mochi dessert and a soft drink for a tenner.
6/18 D&D London
All open restaurants run by the D&D group are offering special set menus on Eat Out to Help Out days, priced at either £25, £30 or £40, with diners then able to take off another £10. Restaurants involved include Francesco Mazzei’s Radici (£25 menu), “First Dates restaurant” Paternoster Chop House (£30 menu) and Le Pont de la Tour (£40 menu), which comes with a spectacular view of Tower Bridge.
7/18 Hutong
Not only will the Aqua Restaurant Group be taking part in the Eat Out to Help Out scheme, but it’ll be adding on a little gift. Tables booked on the designated days at Aqua Shard, Hutong or Aqua Kyoto will also be offered £10 off any bottle of wine priced at more than £40.
8/18 The Cheese Bar
Both The Cheese Bar and its sibling restaurant Pick & Cheese will offer all-you-can-eat deals in conjunction with Eat Out to Help Out. The Camden restaurant will serve bottomless raclette on Wednesdays for £18 (£9 to diners), while Pick & Cheese will reopen on August 7 inside Seven Dials Market, and will allow diners to choose as many British cheese dishes as they like from their conveyor belt for just £20 per person (£10 to diners) on Monday nights.
9/18 Smokestak
David Carter’s barbecue restaurant is serving a “4For10” menu on Eat Out to Help Out days, offering diners four dishes for £20 (£10 to the customer). Diners can enjoy a starter, a signature meat dish or a bun, a side and a scoop of gelato, with dishes including Smokestak’s signature beef brisket with pickled chillies.
10/18 Hawksmoor
A 300g rump steak, a portion of beef dripping chips and a sauce of your choice would usually set you back £30 at the superlative steak restaurants. Hawksmoor are offering such a combination for £20 on the Eat Out to Help Out days at its open restaurants in Borough, Spitalfields, Seven Dials and Air Street, meaning it’ll cost £10 to diners.
11/18 Social Eating House
Jason Atherton’s Soho restaurant Social Eating House is offering two prix fixe menus on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, available at lunchtime or from 6-6.30pm. Two courses will cost £22, while three will cost £28 – this means diners can enjoy a Michelin-starred meal this month for as little as £12.
12/18 Aqua Kyoto
Not only will the Aqua Restaurant Group be taking part in the Eat Out to Help Out scheme, but it’ll be adding on a little gift. Tables booked on the designated days at Aqua Shard, Hutong or Aqua Kyoto will also be offered £10 off any bottle of wine priced at more than £40.
13/18 The Quality Chop House
For every day of August, the longstanding Clerkenwell restaurant will run a special £20 lunch menu of signature dishes: a pork chop with confit potatoes for your main, followed by olive oil ice cream for dessert. Those dining on Tuesday or Wednesday can get it for £10 with the Eat Out to Help Out discount.
14/18 Boxpark
The government’s Eat Out to Help Out discount only applies to soft drinks, but street food market group Boxpark is also offering 50 per cent off alcoholic drinks on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays in August. More than 40 food across its Shoreditch, Croydon and Wembley locations will also be applying the discount to food.
15/18 Yum Bun
The street food hotspot specialising in filled rice buns will reopen at Kerb’s Seven Dials Market on August 7, and will allow diners to purchase a yum cha “picnic set” for £20 per person (£10 to the customer). The menu will include a selection of the restaurant’s signature dishes, designed to share at the table.
16/18 Nando’s
The peri-peri chicken chain hit headlines this week, when it became clear that a conjunction of dropping VAT and adding the Eat Out to Help Out discount meant fans could get some big discounts this month – a quarter chicken, for example, is on offer on the designated days for just £1.85. Nando’s has, however, only reopened four London restaurants for dine-in so far: Westfield London, Bromley, Beckton and Park Royal.
17/18 Boparan Restaurant Group
The restaurant group that owns Carluccio’s, Slim Chickens, FishWorks, Giraffe and Ed’s Diner will be doing away with the Chancellor’s £10 cap at any of the aforementioned chains, meaning diners will get 50 per cent off their entire order of food and soft drinks. Carluccio’s, FishWorks and Giraffe will also offer £10 off a bottle of wine.
18/18 Bill’s
The all-day dining chain will be putting on set menus for the Eat Out to Help Out days, and will also throw in a free glass of wine when you order one of them. Choose from either the All Day Set Menu (two courses for £15.50 or three courses for £19.95) or the Incredible Menu (two courses for £19.95 or three courses for £24.95) and get a complimentary glass of red or white wine included. With the discount applied, that means you can enjoy a meal with wine for as little as £7.75.
1/18 Manteca
David Carter’s collaboration restaurant with Chris Leach is also offering a four-dish deal on the Eat Out to Help Out days. Each diner at the Italian restaurant can get house-baked focaccia, two pasta dishes, and a scoop of either gelato or sorbet for just £20, £10 with the discount.
2/18 Aqua Shard
Not only will the Aqua Restaurant Group be taking part in the Eat Out to Help Out scheme, but it’ll be adding on a little gift. Tables booked on the designated days at Aqua Shard, Hutong or Aqua Kyoto will also be offered £10 off any bottle of wine priced at more than £40.
Paul Winch-Furness
3/18 Bala Baya
Chef Eran Tibi has created a special Taste of Tel Aviv menu, available to diners at the London Bridge restaurant on the designated days for £20, £10 after the discount has been applied. Guests can choose two of their favourite Bala Baya dishes, and also receive the restaurants pita and a dip on the side.
4/18 Pick & Cheese
Both The Cheese Bar and its sibling restaurant Pick & Cheese will offer all-you-can-eat deals in conjunction with Eat Out to Help Out. The Camden restaurant will serve bottomless raclette on Wednesdays for £18 (£9 to diners), while Pick & Cheese will reopen on August 7 inside Seven Dials Market, and will allow diners to choose as many British cheese dishes as they like from their conveyor belt for just £20 per person (£10 to diners) on Monday nights.
5/18 Murger Han
The Xi’an restaurants in Euston and Mayfair are offering diners a four-course meal deal for just £20 on the Eat Out to Help Out days (£10 to the customer). This means customers can get a starter, any noodle dish, an ice cream mochi dessert and a soft drink for a tenner.
6/18 D&D London
All open restaurants run by the D&D group are offering special set menus on Eat Out to Help Out days, priced at either £25, £30 or £40, with diners then able to take off another £10. Restaurants involved include Francesco Mazzei’s Radici (£25 menu), “First Dates restaurant” Paternoster Chop House (£30 menu) and Le Pont de la Tour (£40 menu), which comes with a spectacular view of Tower Bridge.
7/18 Hutong
Not only will the Aqua Restaurant Group be taking part in the Eat Out to Help Out scheme, but it’ll be adding on a little gift. Tables booked on the designated days at Aqua Shard, Hutong or Aqua Kyoto will also be offered £10 off any bottle of wine priced at more than £40.
8/18 The Cheese Bar
Both The Cheese Bar and its sibling restaurant Pick & Cheese will offer all-you-can-eat deals in conjunction with Eat Out to Help Out. The Camden restaurant will serve bottomless raclette on Wednesdays for £18 (£9 to diners), while Pick & Cheese will reopen on August 7 inside Seven Dials Market, and will allow diners to choose as many British cheese dishes as they like from their conveyor belt for just £20 per person (£10 to diners) on Monday nights.
9/18 Smokestak
David Carter’s barbecue restaurant is serving a “4For10” menu on Eat Out to Help Out days, offering diners four dishes for £20 (£10 to the customer). Diners can enjoy a starter, a signature meat dish or a bun, a side and a scoop of gelato, with dishes including Smokestak’s signature beef brisket with pickled chillies.
10/18 Hawksmoor
A 300g rump steak, a portion of beef dripping chips and a sauce of your choice would usually set you back £30 at the superlative steak restaurants. Hawksmoor are offering such a combination for £20 on the Eat Out to Help Out days at its open restaurants in Borough, Spitalfields, Seven Dials and Air Street, meaning it’ll cost £10 to diners.
11/18 Social Eating House
Jason Atherton’s Soho restaurant Social Eating House is offering two prix fixe menus on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, available at lunchtime or from 6-6.30pm. Two courses will cost £22, while three will cost £28 – this means diners can enjoy a Michelin-starred meal this month for as little as £12.
12/18 Aqua Kyoto
Not only will the Aqua Restaurant Group be taking part in the Eat Out to Help Out scheme, but it’ll be adding on a little gift. Tables booked on the designated days at Aqua Shard, Hutong or Aqua Kyoto will also be offered £10 off any bottle of wine priced at more than £40.
13/18 The Quality Chop House
For every day of August, the longstanding Clerkenwell restaurant will run a special £20 lunch menu of signature dishes: a pork chop with confit potatoes for your main, followed by olive oil ice cream for dessert. Those dining on Tuesday or Wednesday can get it for £10 with the Eat Out to Help Out discount.
14/18 Boxpark
The government’s Eat Out to Help Out discount only applies to soft drinks, but street food market group Boxpark is also offering 50 per cent off alcoholic drinks on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays in August. More than 40 food across its Shoreditch, Croydon and Wembley locations will also be applying the discount to food.
15/18 Yum Bun
The street food hotspot specialising in filled rice buns will reopen at Kerb’s Seven Dials Market on August 7, and will allow diners to purchase a yum cha “picnic set” for £20 per person (£10 to the customer). The menu will include a selection of the restaurant’s signature dishes, designed to share at the table.
16/18 Nando’s
The peri-peri chicken chain hit headlines this week, when it became clear that a conjunction of dropping VAT and adding the Eat Out to Help Out discount meant fans could get some big discounts this month – a quarter chicken, for example, is on offer on the designated days for just £1.85. Nando’s has, however, only reopened four London restaurants for dine-in so far: Westfield London, Bromley, Beckton and Park Royal.
17/18 Boparan Restaurant Group
The restaurant group that owns Carluccio’s, Slim Chickens, FishWorks, Giraffe and Ed’s Diner will be doing away with the Chancellor’s £10 cap at any of the aforementioned chains, meaning diners will get 50 per cent off their entire order of food and soft drinks. Carluccio’s, FishWorks and Giraffe will also offer £10 off a bottle of wine.
18/18 Bill’s
The all-day dining chain will be putting on set menus for the Eat Out to Help Out days, and will also throw in a free glass of wine when you order one of them. Choose from either the All Day Set Menu (two courses for £15.50 or three courses for £19.95) or the Incredible Menu (two courses for £19.95 or three courses for £24.95) and get a complimentary glass of red or white wine included. With the discount applied, that means you can enjoy a meal with wine for as little as £7.75.
EOTHO has already sparked a surge in people visiting UK high streets, according to Springboard, which measures footfall.
It said the number of people returning to shops after 6pm last Monday –the first day of the scheme – was 19 per cent higher than the week before.
Meanwhile, lunchtime visits were up by 9.6 per cent.
The Treasury said 83,068 restaurants had signed up to the scheme, according to the BBC.
These range from fast-food favourites to Michelin starred restaurants.