Londoners can order a different takeaway every night for 57 years, thanks to the growth in outlets over the last 12 months, research has shown.
A new study by Magnet Kitchens analysed over 50,000 restaurants in the UK to reveal that London’s takeaway offering has increased by 40% between 2020 and 2021 – in spite of it being a challenging year for many businesses.
There are now a whopping 21,000 food options in the city, giving residents in the capital enough variety to order from a new place every night for over 57 years.
Since the pandemic, in London alone, restaurants are selling an extra 900,000 takeaway meals a week, via popular apps like Deliveroo and UberEats.
Marinos Alexandrou, owner of London Victoria’s Brass Monkey pub, said:
“We have seen pubs, restaurants and cafes all over the country brought to a halt by lockdown. Many have modified their business’ activities to offer a takeaway and home delivery service – these services have provided something of a lifeline for both businesses and the public who have been able to enjoy better food than ever before in their own homes.”
London is the capital of the Dark Kitchen revolution
The switch from eating out to ordering in during the pandemic has also allowed for the rise of the dark kitchen throughout the UK.
A dark kitchen (also known as virtual or ghost kitchens) is a revolutionary takeaway food business that has no eat-in or customer collection option and is solely delivery based.
The number of ‘dark kitchens’ listed on Deliveroo has increased by 12% over the past year alone, catering to the growing numbers of those ordering in while locked down.
Although areas such as Leeds (100%) and Salford (93%) saw the biggest rise in this offering. London currently hosts over two thirds of all the dark kitchens in the UK with Wandsworth (68%), Hamstead (30%), Battersea (20%) and Bermondsey (15%), all making the top eight.
