Set lunch is saving “posh” F&B in London and way beyond … can it save Hong Kong?

The first thing to be cut in the food business is often lunch trade. Many restaurants in Hong Kong still struggling with staffing, high fuel costs and low volumes, fall to the temptation of cutting opening hours to reduce what’s on offer. But it is a downward spiral of reduced hours, lowered profile. Less trade leads to even fewer new customers even discovering you.

The idea of a “set lunch” at a good value point may have been looked down on by fine dining or high end locations and brands for years …  but now many UK operators, from the top down, are going in the opposite direction.

Sure, working from home has hit lunch trade numbers hard, the cost of living crisis we have all faced has also resulted in a drift to lower cost meals, but we can see offices are resuming operations in Hong Kong, working from home is no longer a right, so business lunches are back and people need to eat; why not offer real quality at a great price?

Everyone knows “set-lunch” is a favorite and often the core business at the lower end of the market, but now by making it viable as an affordable introduction to a fine dining location the latest trend under way – welcome to the “luxury set lunch”.  It may not alone ever be a big money maker but the flow through it can create is clear. There are always going to be benefits in the bigger picture and who can dispute that as truth with words like this from Rob Chambers of Luca in London quoted as saying:

“We don’t make much money on the set lunch menu but it’s a great for getting people in so they can understand what we’re about”

One common complaint in Hong Kong is that it isn’t worth opening for lunch in many places however how will people (with perhaps more limited budgets) ever know what you are truly capable of or even much about if you only push high cost evening trade? Drawing people in so they can experience something special they may be reluctant to spend on, except on a special occasion, is a great hack.  Being fuller is also always good because we know that buzz brings people to the places with ‘buzz’ and those that are sitting empty get skipped.

And this isn’t just London, Chef Lloyd Morse at the Palmerston in Edinburgh says a 3 course lunch is on offer for the equivalent of about HK$250 and was quoted as saying:

“On any given day during the week 80 to 90% of customers order the set menu … it gets bums on seats ..”

Adding:

“… it’s a great way of building up loyal regulars”

So perhaps, no matter how “high end” you are or where you are from the City to the New Territories (countryside) think about a great deal you can offer for lunch to give people an affordable taste of what you are all about. If not you might see them go next door for their big night of real high spending simply because you didn’t try to impress them with a great set lunch.

(Original story and content credit : Hannah Evan’s The Times UK “Want a posh three-course meal for 30 pounds or less? Join the set lunch brigade”)

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