Gen Z's perfect time to dine? Bookings for 6pm are booming

Times

2 days ago

This summer, one London restaurant is introducing a £50 early evening set menu aimed at the growing crowd of purposeful post-work diners.
'It's a more accessible experience that still reflects our standards,' said Joe Laker, the co-founder and head chef at Counter 71 in Shoreditch, London. 'It's a more relaxed way to unwind.'
And Laker isn't alone. Across the country, restaurants are adapting to meet demand from customers who want to eat earlier. Fashionably late is out — in 2025, it's the early diners who are first to the fork.
Data from OpenTable, the online restaurant reservation service, reveals a sharp rise in 6pm reservations, up 11 per cent in London and 6 per cent across the UK compared with the same period last year. Zonal, the hospitality tech service, pegs the new national average dining time at 6.12pm, with nearly half of all bookings falling between midday and 6pm.
Laker's new £50 menu at Counter 71 includes snack highlights from its long-form dinner, a main course focused on whole chicken and 'playful' desserts. But it's more than a menu shift — it's a response to a cultural change.
'Many of our guests now live further out than before,' Laker says. 'They want to eat early so they're not sprinting for the last train.'
What began as a post-pandemic adjustment is now reshaping the way we eat out, pushing restaurants to overhaul their service models and menus, while diners swap late-night indulgence for early evening sobriety. Commuters and wellness-focused professionals are driving the shift in attitudes, along with the sober-curious and cost-conscious — and the restaurant industry is taking note.
According to Lucia Reisch, a professor of behavioural economics from the University of Cambridge, Covid was a pivotal moment. 'People who work from home tend to start and finish earlier, which naturally leads to earlier dining. Add the lack of a commute, and people have far more flexibility,' she said. 'There's also now broader public awareness that late-night eating isn't great for health.'
It's not just about health, although wellness is a major factor. 'Younger diners especially are making choices that reflect physical and mental wellbeing, but also financial health,' said Dr Richard Piper, the chief executive of Alcohol Change UK. 'Earlier dining helps avoid expensive late-night drinking — people want to socialise without the hangover.'
That sentiment is echoed by Laura Willoughby, the co-founder of the low and no-alcohol specialist Club Soda. 'This isn't about being virtuous. It's about making the most of the week — whether that's getting to the gym early or having a quiet dinner midweek and saving bigger nights out for the weekend.'
For Aamena Hanif, a London-based professional who frequently dines out, the draw is less logistical and more personal. 'I've started booking dinner around 6pm because the vibe just suits me better,' she said. 'I don't drink, so I'm not looking for a buzzy atmosphere. Early evenings are calmer. You can actually hear your friends talk.'
Restaurants are already responding. At Sael, a private dining room in St James's Market, London, the chef and restaurateur Jason Atherton says the early prix fixe menu has proved popular.
'People are commuting farther and want to get home earlier — and health is a big factor,' Atherton said. 'Before the pandemic, we'd be plating main courses at midnight. Now, most of our venues close well before that.'
Outside London, earlier dining is also gaining traction. At Fifty Two at the Rudding Park Hotel in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, Sunday dinner now starts at 6pm sharp — a response to guest preferences.
'Eating out is becoming a way to socialise without compromising other goals,' said Linda Haden of the hospitality analysts Lumina Intelligence. 'We're seeing more smoothies and fewer cocktails on dinner tables.'
Peter Backman, a restaurant analyst, believes 6pm bookings now reflect something deeper. 'Dining at 6pm signals the end of the workday. It's not just about food — it's about reclaiming time,' he said.
Andrew Oswald, an economics and behavioural science professor at the University of Warwick, agreed. 'Londoners had the longest commutes in the UK. The pandemic broke the psychological mould. People had time to realise they didn't want to arrive home at 9pm any more. I doubt they'll go back.'