Restaurants across the country are preparing to reopen on Saturday after more than 100 days of closure.
But excited diners won’t have the same experience as the pre-Covid days, with slimmed-down menus, no more free refills and the end of all-you-can-eat buffets.
Table service too may not be the same, with many restaurants opting for apps to order food instead of waiters.
So which of your favourite restaurants will restaurants be affected and how? FEMAIL reveals all…
END OF SELF-SERVICE AND BUFFETS
Toby Carvery fans were left reeling after the chain recently announced it will no longer be able to serve its all-you-can eat roast dinner buffet.
Instead, diners will be served as much roast as they like by waiters, but this hasn’t gone down well with fans after the chain made the announcement on its Instagram page.
‘This means I can’t get a ridiculous amount of roasties,’ one said.
‘Nooo I won’t be able to serve myself,’ said another, followed by crying faces.
Mitchell & Butlers, which owns the chain said: ‘Safety is our highest priority and we are developing a number of robust measures to protect both our customers and team members.’
Toby Carvery fans were left reeling after the chain recently announced it will no longer be able to serve its all-you-can eat roast dinner buffet
Pizza Hut too is also dropping its buffet, in favour of a ‘bluffet’ where waiters bring unlimited pizza, free tortilla chips and a bowl of salad and garlic breadstick bites to the table.
A Pizza Hut Restaurants spokesperson said: ‘We will be encouraging people to book ahead and we are designing our dining areas to ensure there is the required space between guests for social distancing.
‘We have also been redesigning each stage of the guest journey to minimise contact, moving to single use menus, remaining cashless and we are a testing new technology so guests can stay at their table and order from their phone.’
For children, the chain also has a kids packs with single-use or take-home crayons and a new ‘Ice Cream Builder’ to replace the ice-cream factory.
Staff will bring a bowl piled high with soft scoop ice-cream and a bowl of sweets (varieties) for children to mix and play at the table, rather than letting them travel.
For children, Pizza Hut has a kids packs with single use or take home crayons and a new ‘Ice Cream Builder’ to replace the ice-cream factory
Many restaurants that are solely based around takeaways, including Cosmo World Buffet, have no immediate plans to reopen.
A spokesperson told FEMAIL: ‘COSMO will not be re-opening on 4th July 2020 due to the changes we are making in order to operate a safe restaurant for all our lovely customers and staff. The health and well being of everyone involved is paramount and we can assure you that we will be doing all that is asked and more to make sure you’re as safe as possibly can be when dining with us.
A date of re-opening is still to be confirmed but we will keep our website and social media channels updated with all details so please keep an eye out!
Japanese restaurant group YO! (formerly YO! Sushi) is ditching its famous belt where customers pick up their own dishes and pay at the end.
The sites will feature a new ‘kaiten’ conveyor belt, providing guests with a contactless dining experience.
Guests will be able to take a picture of a QR code and order and pay for their food through the digital menu on their phone, through a platform powered by Vita Mojo.
Their dishes, which are freshly prepared in each store’s kitchen, will then arrive straight to the guest on the kaiten belt.
An interactive traffic light system turns amber to tell customers when their food is on its way and then green when the food arrives in front of them.
Drinks will also arrive to guests on the belt, allowing guests to limit the number of times they physically interact with team members.
YO! CEO Richard Hodgson told FEMAIL: ‘We have really missed our guests and can’t wait to welcome them back to YO!. We’ve been working hard to make sure we can offer our guests the fun eating out experience YO! is known for while transforming our restaurants into safe, socially distanced environments. We’re excited to open our doors again and provide a really exciting, totally different dining experience.’
Japanese restaurant group YO! (formerly YO! Sushi) is ditching it’s iconic belt where customers pick up their own dishes and pay at the end
NO MORE FREE REFILLS
Pizza Hut added to FEMAIL that its drinks will no longer be unlimited because customers won’t be able to serve themselves. Instead they will pay per glass, which is brought to them by a waiter.
ORDERING FROM YOUR PHONE
Pizza Hut too are introducing an app where customers order and pay on the phone, minimising interaction with staff.
Ordering from your mobile phone is a practice already used in other settings, such as Wetherspoons, and is one surefire way to avoid unnecessary contact.
Paying by card is another initiative that most shops are currently pushing at the moment in order to avoid the handling of cash.
Deliveroo has launched an in-restaurant feature for its partners too.
The new in-app function will be available from July 15 and enables customers to browse the menu, order and pay at a restaurant via the Deliveroo app, making it easier for customers to visit and eat in at restaurants while maintaining social distancing.
Marks and Spencer’s cafe will encourage contactless payments. Colleagues will wash their hands every 30 minutes with additional washing immediately after taking cash payments.
Prezzo will also have digital ordering from a smartphone or tablet using the QR code displayed on each table with the restaurants going cashless.
Customers can settle their bill using Apple Pay or Android Pay, contactless or Chip and PIN.
SLIMMED DOWN MENUS
Soho-based gourmet Middle Eastern restaurants Maison Bab and Le Bab, known for its tasty kebabs, have slimmed down their menus due to only expecting to operate at 50 per cent capacity.
Co-owner Stephen Tozer told FEMAIL: ‘We’ve had to ‘lean up’ the menu a bit in terms of selection – we can’t put the full menu on because we’ll have fewer guests and can’t risk big wastage. But all of our suppliers have come through for us and we’re just listing our favourite dishes exactly as they should be.’
To manage social distancing rules, the restaurants are asking customers to use the toilets one at a time, and will only accept cashless payments.
‘Ordering will happen at a greater distance and we anticipate most people will view menus on their phone,’ Stephen said.
‘We’re not fully booked, and I think it’s because we’re in such central locations that are still quiet. We expect things to grow back slowly as people come back to shop and work in the middle of town.
‘Our capacity is about 50 per cent of pre-lockdown and we’re applying the usual 1.5 hour time slot, which we think is important to have an enjoyable meal.
‘We will ask people not to queue, and will call them when their table is ready.’
SCREENS TO SEPARATE DINERS
Wagamama has announced plans to re-open its dine-in operation using sliding screens to keep diners safe whilst maintaining an enjoyable experience.
The screens, inspired by Japanese partition designs, cleverly take advantage of the long wagamama bench designs to ensure safe dining.
The team at wagamama used guest feedback to devise the sliding screens which sit on tiny rollers and can be moved up and down the full length of the benches discretely separating parties of guests from one another.
Wagamama has announced plans for return to re-open their dine-in operation using sliding screens to keep diners safe whilst maintaining an enjoyable experience
CEO Emma Woods told FMEAIL: ‘The main question we have been working on as a team is how can our guests feel safe but still have a communal wagamama experience, sitting on our benches.
‘The team have applied our philosophy of kaizen – good change – to this challenge, and I am delighted we have found a design solution which provides social distancing for our guests in a way which is true to the design ethos of the brand.
‘We are looking forward to getting our guests back in and obtaining their feedback in the first 18 sites. If these tests go well, we will reopen the remainder of our restaurants throughout August and September.’
Other restaurants, including Caribbean diner Turtle Bay will allow customers to choose to have a Perspex screen fitted to the table, which can be requested on booking.
NO SHARED CONDIMENT BOTTLES
More than 100 of Marks & Spencer’s cafes in England and northern Ireland will reopen tomorrow in line with government guidance.
Customers will be given individual condiments instead of shared bottles, and colleagues will clean and sanitise all trays, tables and chairs after every use.
All tables will be at least one metre apart and hand sanitiser stations have been installed at the entrance to every café.
PUBLIC HEALTH ENGLAND POSTERS
Prezzo, the Italian restaurant chain, will be reopening 35 of their 180 restaurants tomorrow.
As well as social distancing markers to keep customers a safe distance from on another, the chain will also put up posters with Public Health England advise throughout the eatery.
Prezzo already has 9,685 people confirmed to dine since announcing their reopening.
Pub chain Harvester will also have hand sanitiser throughout the restaurant.
BOOKINGS CAPPED AT SIX PEOPLE AND NO DRINKING AT THE BAR
Pub chain Harvester is temporarily reducing their opening hours and won’t let groups bigger than six book tables.
They told FEMAIL they plan to have frequent deep cleaning and thorough cleaning routines taking place all day, every day but are encouraging people book before they come in.
But booking will be capped at six, and drinking at the bar will not be allowed.