Early bird dining: Are Kiwis flocking to restaurants earlier than ever?

Is dining out at 5pm the newest trend in hospitality? Photo / 123rf

If the thought of going out for a long and leisurely dinner these days feels like a bit of an ordeal, you’re not alone.

Dining out at 8pm can mean you’re not home until 11, with barely enough time to digest your dessert before falling asleep. While I love a long lunch as much as the next person, I’m less and less keen to be out and about after 9pm these days.

And it seems more and more Kiwis are on the same page, whether they’ve got young kids, don’t want to head home after work to change before they eat, or simply can’t wait to crash on the couch with their favourite reality TV show.

It’s part of the appeal of the site First Table, which offers diners a 50 per cent discount on participating restaurants if they book a table at the very start of a dinner service. Whether it’s fine dining or a pub-style meal you’re after, it’s an incentive to eat early and leave the rest of your evening free.

With that in mind, have Kiwi chefs and restaurant owners seen a surge in early dining?

Ahi's Chris Martin, left, and Ben Bayly. Photo / Tez Mercer

Chris Martin, who co-owns Ahi in Commercial Bay with Ben Bayly, has started opening at 5pm for dinner due to demand.

“Recently, we’ve been doing our nightly dinner briefings and we’ve been getting interrupted in a good way - with people wanting to come to dinner quite a lot earlier than expected,” he tells the Herald.

“So I just made the call to open at 5pm and it’s basically had an immediate impact on our trading. Very rarely are we seating people at 9 o’clock these days. We’ve got a higher demand for 5pm or 5.45pm than 8.45pm or 9 o’clock and after, and as it’s not really a late-night area, we generally are busy early.”

As someone with a young family, Martin says he can understand the appeal of a 5pm dinner booking.

“I dine a lot earlier these days than I used to when I was younger, just because it’s better not to eat super late,” he says, adding it’s good for his staff as well.

“I was quite used to working extremely late, well past midnight, and that’s just not the case anymore. If we’re leaving the restaurant after 11.30pm now that’s considered quite a late night for us, which is great.”

He notes the majority of guests looking for an early dinner tend to be tourists - and Ahi is in a prime position at Commercial Bay for incoming cruise ships.

“Auckland is kind of the first port of call for a lot of people’s holidays, so they might want to dine early, try a nice restaurant, and then get prepared for an early start the next day.

“It’s actually really good - it spaces out our dining period, because if no one wants to come in at 8.45pm or 9 o’clock, then, realistically I’m only open from six until 8.30pm,” he points out.

“So I have to make all my revenue and look after all my guests in two-and-a-half hours. That’s not super sustainable for any of us, so just by stretching that out, that works really well.”

Inati's Simon and Lisa Levy. Photo / Jerome Warburton

In Christchurch, Inati head chef Simon Levy agrees he’s seen “a real pattern” of guests seeking early sittings.

“We’ve actually opened up at 5pm on Saturdays now for people before concerts and shows because we’ve noticed they want to book but still come and have a nice start to their evening.

“I wouldn’t put it down to any age group. I just think people are choosing to come out that bit earlier. Maybe they’re wanting to enjoy the following morning by getting up feeling a bit fresh, ready to rock.

“We used to be open from 5pm Tuesday to Friday, and we actually pushed it to 5.30pm because no one really came in at 5 o’clock. But we are talking about bringing it back on other days potentially as well.”

Opening earlier means there’s “a bit more pressure on” his staff, he admits. “But we do control it and make sure we don’t over-stretch ourselves or the team.”

Due to the demand from tourists, he’s also decided to open Inati for lunch sittings on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays.

Restaurant Association's Wellington branch president Mike Egan. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Mike Egan, Wellington branch president of the Restaurant Association and owner of Monsoon Poon in Te Aro, says Kiwis’ dining habits have inevitably changed over the years thanks to Covid-19.

After lockdown, “people were keen to go out earlier and get done and dusted, so to speak.

“Especially if it’s not an occasional dine, but just a convenience dining experience. So if people are going out for an occasion, they’ll meet their friends, have a drink, and make a bit of an evening of it. But if it’s convenience dining because of busy lives, they’ll come straight from work without having to go home and change, and eat and go. So it gives businesses the opportunity to resell a table later on in the evening.

“Tourists really like it because tourists often go out a bit later, so when they turn up, tables are freeing up from those early diners, so restaurants can sort of roll them over.”

Monsoon Poon is open all day anyway, but he has noticed other Wellington restaurants opening at 5pm or even 4.30pm instead of 6pm.

“And it’s widespread, so it could be young 20-somethings who come as a group after work and dine or people with kids maybe wanting to go to a movie or show as well.”

However, Auckland Restaurant Association branch president Krishna Botica thinks it’s less of a rising trend and more of a sign fewer people are actually going out for dinner at all.

Krishna Botica. Photo / Carolyn Elliott

“I don’t think it’s a thing,” Botica, who Cafe Hanoi, Ghost St and Perch, tells the Herald.

She says she’s noticed fewer people dining out in general as Kiwis try to manage the rising cost of living - so while earlier dinner times may be getting more popular, the number of people going out for dinner hasn’t necessarily increased.

“Because that’s part of their discretionary spend. When people do go out, maybe they’re going out for a drink first because they’ve already committed to going out socially, so it may look like that,” she explains.

She notes she can only speak for central Auckland, which has struggled to get back to pre-pandemic levels of nightlife. Just last week, award-winning rooftop restaurant INCA, owned by Nic Watt, was forced to close the doors of its Newmarket location. Watt said the restaurant had “exhausted all other financial options available” and he had come to the “gut-wrenching realisation” there was no other option but to go into voluntary liquidation.

“Ponsonby is empty far earlier than it used to be. People have mortgages, they’re starting to think about Christmas, there are all these other costs,” Botica says.

“And hopefully that changes over summer when there are more events on. I mean, last summer people weren’t going out because of the weather.”

Bethany Reitsma is an Auckland-based senior writer covering lifestyle and entertainment stories who joined the Herald in 2019. She specialises in telling Kiwis’ real-life stories, foodie hacks and anything even remotely related to coffee.