Restaurants to accept business lunches through Covid loophole

Hospitality chiefs say many London eateries will close if they are not allowed to host City diners

Some of the City's top restaurants are set to take advantage of a Covid loophole and restart bookings for business lunches despite a ban on household mixing in London.

Firms including the Michelin-starred Galvin La Chapelle, The Wolseley and steakhouse chains Gaucho and M Restaurants have said they will accept business reservations with immediate effect due to an exemption written into the Government's guidelines.

Swathes of other restaurants in London could now follow suit, along with those in other cities under so-called Tier 2 and Tier 3 regulations such as Liverpool and Manchester.

People in Tier 2 or Tier 3 areas are banned from socialising with an another household indoors, including in pubs and restaurants.

But this week Downing Street and local authorities suggested that such meetings are permitted so long as they are for "work purposes".

No10 has since stressed that the exemption is designed for freelancers or the self-employed who do not have an office to conduct face-to-face meetings.

However, it is understood that this is simply guidance and individuals who meet for a working lunch will not be liable for fines.  

Restaurants in central London - which was placed under Tier 2 restrictions last week - are heavily reliant on sales from business customers, who account for the vast majority of daytime trade from Monday to Friday.

Operators said they had begun to see signs of office workers returning before the Prime Minister placed the capital on a ‘high’ alert level last week, triggering the Tier 2 regime. 

Kate Nicholls, chief executive of UKHospitality, said many central London restaurants face closure if they are prevented from accepting bookings for business meetings. 

Chris Galvin, who runs the fine dining group Galvin Restaurants with his brother Jeff, said it saw 50pc of reservations cancelled by customers after Boris Johnson’s announcement on Thursday. He said the group will now start accepting reservations for groups from more than one household where the primary purpose for the booking is to conduct a business meeting.

Gaucho Restaurants, which owns steak chains Gaucho and M Restaurant, said it will allow its members to book meeting rooms at its sites in the City where the guest deems it "reasonably necessary for work purposes”.

Martin Williams, chief executive of Gaucho, said: “At these meetings, food and beverages are permitted to be served."

In an email to customers on Tuesday, Jeremy King, co-founder and chief executive of The Wolseley owner Corbin & King, said it had been inundated with requests for information about business lunches and confirmed it would allow diners to book for business reasons.

Mr King said: "The problem with Tier Two is that it is the worst of both worlds as we are left in ‘no man’s land’ with our clientele discouraged to come but no compensatory help from the Government.“What will really aid the survival of restaurants is confirmation that business meetings are a legitimate reason to visit a restaurant indoors with people from different households.”

Will you be taking advantage of the business lunch loophole? Let us know in the comments section below.
License this content