It’s not the Amalfi Coast, but those left behind during the great travel exodus to Europe for the northern summer are taking solace in fine Italian dining at home. And at least it’s not hard to get a table.
Bookings are holding steady in some of the country’s best restaurants, data shows, defying a traditional slowdown in winter when those who can afford it, and have the time, head for warmer climates. Italian restaurants are doing particularly well.
“We started to notice a week-on-week increase in June for Italian cuisine, which coincidentally is also when everyone started jetting off to Europe for their summer vacation,” said Renee Fleming, marketing boss for booking platform The Fork. “For Aussies that might not be doing a Euro trip, they’ve been … visiting their local Italian restaurants.”
Executive chef Daniel Leyva serving southern rock lobster at Woodcut in the Crown Sydney. Louie Douvis
More than 850,000 Australians left the country in April for an overseas holiday, compared with 725,000 who jetted overseas in March, Australian Bureau of Statistics data show. The previous April, just 400,000 travellers left the country.
Travel bookings giant Flight Centre says one in six of its customers these days are bound for Europe via London – which has surpassed the US as the top destination for Aussie travellers. Italy, Germany and France have also entered the company’s top 10 list of global destinations.
At Crown Sydney, the harbourside precinct with top-end eateries including Nobu, a’Mare and Woodcut, managers say demand at the most exclusive and vaunted restaurants is holding up despite the dark days of winter.
“While there has been a large uptake on overseas travel throughout the winter months this year, we have seen strong and consistent demand for our premium restaurants, hotels and spas,” a Crown Sydney spokesperson said.
Weekend booking numbers across Crown restaurants in Melbourne, Sydney and Perth are up 10 per cent from the same period in 2019.
Italian restaurants were among the top three restaurant choices in Sydney and Melbourne in June, even as total booking numbers fell lower in every city except Brisbane, according to The Fork.
The online booking aggregator has noticed other trends this winter, too, including that diners are going out in smaller groups – a table for five or fewer is more common than six or more.
Australians stuck at home in the middle of a Euro summer travel boom have driven a surprise spike in demand for Italian restaurants, over a winter period that some restaurant and hotel owners say has been softer than usual.
The most pronounced trend is a shift towards value, in time as well as price.
During the week, diners are increasingly opting for set menus and packages that Crown calls a more “efficient” dining experience. In Sydney, customers are going for fixed-price options and set times that allow them to get in and out within a known window.
“This trend is most commonly from the corporate lunch market who want to entertain clients while still being able to predict spend and be efficient with time during the workday,” the Crown spokesperson said.
Crown’s cult Japanese eatery, Nobu, has a $50 “Winter Teishoku” lunch package on the menu, while coastal Italian-inspired haunt a’Mare has introduced a mid-week $79 Pranzo al Volo set menu. Chinese restaurant Silks has also introduced a $68 lunchtime yum cha package for diners from Monday to Thursday.
Rival hospitality outfit Hunter St. Hospitality, which owns Rockpool Bar and Grill and Spice Temple in Sydney and Melbourne, is also catering to the efficiency trend as lunch tastes change.
Chief executive Thomas Pash says diners are either keen for a no-holds-barred languid lunch or they are constrained for time and looking for value for money.
“We’ve noticed a less formal approach to dining on Mondays and Fridays. There seems to be less serious business lunching underway and a more casual feel,” he said.
“On these days, guests tend to dine for longer, the overall feel is more casual, and the working-lunch-business-meeting is less evident.”
At the same time, the group’s restaurants have all introduced fixed-price menus for those on a time and cash budget.
All three Rockpool venues in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth now have a $29 burger with chips and a beer on offer in each bar. Spice Temple Sydney has a lunchtime bar menu, offering a bowl of noodles and a glass of wine or Tsingtao beer for $25.
Still, finding a table at the highest end of the fine dining market can be a challenge.
“On weeknights and weekends, we are still seeing big celebrations, interstate and international tourists, and non-corporate events,” Pash said.
At Crown, the two-hatted Yoshii’s Omakase and three-hatted Oncore by Clare Smyth are largely booked out for the rest of the season, with both releasing reservations every month. Fridays and Saturdays at Oncore book out within a day, while Omakase – which seats just a dozen people – books out in minutes.
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