Pubs drive dining trends

23 May, 2011

Pubs have changed the way people in the UK eat out, says the Guardian in a round-up of important recent trends. They have given diners the flexibility they have long wanted, it suggests, with the traditional boundaries between breakfast, lunch and dinner now blurring.

“Pubs have had a lot to do with it,” says Elizabeth Carter, consultant editor of the Good Food Guide. “With drinks getting more expensive they’ve had to adapt. Clever pubs have cottoned on to breakfast, small plates, deli plates, anything to get people in. And that did hit everybody’s imagination because it meant you could go out and get something to eat, and it wasn’t going to cost you £50 a head.”

Carter also notes the “gentrification” of burgers—once the preserve of fast food—as a welcome change. “Look at how many menus now do burgers… You can now get a really good burger, handmade, using good meat, and a good bun.”

For the full story, see The way we eat out.