Slash price of meals after 9pm to save London's nightlife, says top chef
Restaurateurs in London should consider cutting the price of meals after 9pm to help save the capital's dying nightlife, one of Britain's top chefs has said.
Vivek Singh, the owner of the Cinnamon Kitchen restaurant group, said offering discounted meals later in the evening could aid business owners as they battle to revive the capital's late-night economy.
He suggested they could mimic the 'dynamic pricing' used by airlines, where tickets for less popular flights are sold at cheaper prices.
Mr Singh said: 'Demand needs to be created. Sectors like airlines, they're all dynamically priced. Nobody questions why their seat is half the price it was last night.'
Mr Singh is widely regarded as one of the UK's most influential and successful Indian chefs. He opened his first restaurant, the flagship Cinnamon Club, in 2001, and has since grown the company into a group of five across the UK and one in Dubai.
His comments come amid a mounting outcry over the capital's declining nightlife. Hundreds of venues have closed since the pandemic, during which restaurants were forced shut for months at a time.
The closures have been blamed on a combination of soaring costs, sky-high taxes, draconian licensing rules and younger people going home earlier and drinking less.
Mr Singh said: 'It's completely unlike any other time in the past 25 years that I have been here in London. We never had to encourage people to book a table at 9pm or beyond, it was just unthinkable.
'When I opened The Cinnamon Club, we were trading from 12pm to 2.30pm and then opening at 6pm and taking bookings until 10pm because there were still people looking to book at 10pm in the night. Now we take bookings only until 9.30pm and we barely get any [at 9:30].'
He said there had been an increase in people eating far earlier in the day, with an increase in diners wanting to eat as early as 5pm.
Mr Singh said: 'If you're trying to change diner behaviour, or footfall, or demographic, and want to do something rather than just sit there and complain that there's not enough business, then this is one of the things that people will consider.'
Ministers have said they will hand fresh powers to Sir Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, allowing him to 'call in' blocked planning applications, and have kicked off consultations with other industry chiefs about how best to revive the UK's nightlife.
However, restaurants are also grappling with increased taxes and labour costs in the wake of the Chancellor's Budget. The Telegraph revealed earlier this month that some pubs are now calling last orders as early as 9pm to cut costs.
The practice of dynamic pricing, though common in other industries, has proved controversial when implemented in pubs, restaurants and bars in the past. Pub giant Stonegate, for instance, was heavily criticised when it emerged it was charging customers more for pints at busy times in 2023.
Mr Singh stressed that he does not believe restaurants should increase prices at busier times. He added: 'The bit that I'm talking about is not necessarily surge pricing, it is just a slightly more refined way of discounting. You're not going to put your tasting menu up to £150 just because a lot of people want to have it at that time.'
He added he believed restaurateurs had previously stayed away from practices such as dynamic pricing owing to a 'romantic' view of how hospitality businesses should operate.
However, Mr Singh said: 'We live in a totally different world now, and the way people are both experiencing, transacting and consuming is so different that it does require a completely different prism to look at it through.'
Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Entrepreneur
44 minutes ago
- Entrepreneur
Crafting Men's Confidence
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. You're reading Entrepreneur India, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media. What began as an ambition to offer Indian customers the same high-quality fashion that was being manufactured for global giants like Zara, Mango, and Marks & Spencer has today evolved into a profitable, Shark Tank-backed D2C menswear brand. The Bear House, co-founded by Harsh Somaiya, was born out of a belief that Indian consumers deserved better design, fit, and fabric—online. "We thought if an Indian factory can design and manufacture for global brands, why shouldn't Indian customers experience the same premium products and quality? At that time, there was a common perception that good quality products weren't available online. So we decided to change that narrative," said Somaiya. Built on the pillars of great design, fit, and affordability, The Bear House chose a D2C-first approach to maintain control over the entire customer experience. "That means no middlemen, no dilution of brand story," Somaiya explained. "This helped us build loyalty and get instant feedback, which shaped everything from fabric choices to fits." The brand's breakout success was its innovative take on flannel shirts—traditionally warm and heavy—which they re-engineered using lightweight 100% cotton to suit India's climate. "Our flannels have been a bestseller since day one and still contribute to 40% of our shirts revenue," shared Somaiya. With 85% of its sales coming from marketplaces like Myntra, Amazon, and Flipkart, the brand has built a strong digital footprint across over 20,000 pincodes and has a loyal customer base of 20 lakh. It has also stepped into offline retail with stores in Bengaluru and Hyderabad, and is eyeing 10–15 more stores by FY 2025–26. Quick commerce, though a non-traditional fit for fashion, is another frontier the brand is testing. "We've made select collections available on Zepto as a strategic experiment and are noticing good results," said Somaiya. "We're confident that quick commerce fashion will be essential going forward." Internationally, The Bear House has begun its foray into the Middle East and is exploring further global expansion. Closer home, tech-enabled personalisation and new lifestyle categories are on the roadmap. "From bootstrapping to now building a brand with depth, it's been incredibly fulfilling," reflected Somaiya. "At the heart of it, we believe today's men don't just want clothes—they want brands with soul." Facts:
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
MIT Startup TechNext Awarded Patent for Breakthrough Technology Forecasting System
The first-of-its-kind system enables data-driven R&D and innovation strategy ARLINGTON, Va., June 10, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--TechNext Inc., a Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) startup, has been awarded U.S. Patent No. 12,099,572 B2 for its novel system that predicts improvement rates across the vast spectrum of definable technologies, from quantum computing to self-driving cars. Lack Of Quantitative Tools Hinders Innovation With global R&D spending exceeding $2 trillion annually, organizations struggle to allocate resources effectively, often wasting billions on technological dead ends. "R&D has become one of the fastest-growing expenses for companies, yet most decisions still rely on intuition rather than data. We have been flying blind," said Anuraag Singh, TechNext co-founder and co-inventor of the patented technology. Singh, together with co-inventor and co-founder Prof. Christopher L. Magee (Professor Emeritus, MIT), identified the acute need for objective forecasting tools based on their experiences shaping technology strategy at global leaders such as Honda Japan and Ford. Transforming R&D from Intuition to Intelligence "Traditional forecasting methods can't keep pace with technological change," added Prof. Magee. "Our newly patented system for quantitative technology performance forecasting, provides the crucial missing piece: a rapid, data-driven, and systematic way to anticipate the future." The system relies on large empirical datasets, patented algorithms to precisely define tens of thousands of technologies and to forecast improvement rates in their performance. For example, consider Tesla founder Elon Musk's stance that the spinning LiDARs on Alphabet's Waymo are unlikely to be competitive with their exclusively camera-based perception system. The TechNext system can precisely forecast which of the two approaches is likely to perform better in the long-run and whether an alternative technology might outperform both. TechNext helps organizations: Anticipate and capitalize on disruptive technology opportunities Identify acquisition targets years before competitors and avoid expensive dead ends Create new revenue streams by identifying promising technologies early TechNext's customers include the U.S. Air Force, leading Multi-national Corporations, the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative, think tanks, venture capital firms, and investment funds. TechNext's research is utilized by national laboratories and universities worldwide, with coverage in The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, and Fast Company. For more information, visit View source version on Contacts Anuraag Singh, Chief Technology Officer, anuraags@ Sign in to access your portfolio


Business Wire
an hour ago
- Business Wire
MIT Startup TechNext Awarded Patent for Breakthrough Technology Forecasting System
ARLINGTON, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- TechNext Inc., a Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) startup, has been awarded U.S. Patent No. 12,099,572 B2 for its novel system that predicts improvement rates across the vast spectrum of definable technologies, from quantum computing to self-driving cars. "R&D has become one of the fastest-growing expenses for companies, yet most decisions still rely on intuition rather than data. We have been flying blind" Share Lack Of Quantitative Tools Hinders Innovation With global R&D spending exceeding $2 trillion annually, organizations struggle to allocate resources effectively, often wasting billions on technological dead ends. "R&D has become one of the fastest-growing expenses for companies, yet most decisions still rely on intuition rather than data. We have been flying blind," said Anuraag Singh, TechNext co-founder and co-inventor of the patented technology. Singh, together with co-inventor and co-founder Prof. Christopher L. Magee (Professor Emeritus, MIT), identified the acute need for objective forecasting tools based on their experiences shaping technology strategy at global leaders such as Honda Japan and Ford. Transforming R&D from Intuition to Intelligence "Traditional forecasting methods can't keep pace with technological change," added Prof. Magee. "Our newly patented system for quantitative technology performance forecasting, provides the crucial missing piece: a rapid, data-driven, and systematic way to anticipate the future.' The system relies on large empirical datasets, patented algorithms to precisely define tens of thousands of technologies and to forecast improvement rates in their performance. For example, consider Tesla founder Elon Musk's stance that the spinning LiDARs on Alphabet's Waymo are unlikely to be competitive with their exclusively camera-based perception system. The TechNext system can precisely forecast which of the two approaches is likely to perform better in the long-run and whether an alternative technology might outperform both. TechNext helps organizations: Anticipate and capitalize on disruptive technology opportunities Identify acquisition targets years before competitors and avoid expensive dead ends Create new revenue streams by identifying promising technologies early TechNext's customers include the U.S. Air Force, leading Multi-national Corporations, the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative, think tanks, venture capital firms, and investment funds. TechNext's research is utilized by national laboratories and universities worldwide, with coverage in The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, and Fast Company. For more information, visit