Zagat Survey Shows Optimistic Restaurant Industry Outlook With Upbeat Consumer Opinion, Spending, And Openings

- A RECORD 9,583 VOTERS ASSESS 1,995 CITY RESTAURANTS

- THE CUMULATIVE RATINGS FOR LONDON'S CULINARY CREATIVITY AND DIVERSITY EASILY OUTPACE THE RATING FOR SERVICE

- WINNERS: WOLSELEY – FAVOURITE; PITT CUE Co. – NEWCOMER; WATERSIDE INN RESTAURANT – FOOD; ROGANIC – SERVICE; SKETCH – THE LECTURE ROOM & LIBRARY – DECOR; MOOLI'S – BEST BUY

LONDON, Sept. 10, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Today the world-renowned Zagat Survey released the results of its annual review of dining in the capital. With a record of 1,995 restaurants rated and reviewed by another record 9,583 surveyors, this is Zagat's most comprehensive survey of London's culinary scene*. Providing an unrivalled insight into London's dining scene, survey participants sampled 1.1 million meals out in the past year, i.e. nearly 3,000 meals a day.

Recovery: Despite the general gloom and doom over the British economy, there are many signs that London's dining industry is recovering. First, 40% of local diners say the dining scene is better today than a year ago; only 3% say it's worse. Second, surveyors report spending more this year than last. Third, there has been a rise in restaurant openings this year and many of these newcomers such as Pitt Cue Co., Dabbous, Pizarro, Burger & Lobster and Cut at 45 Park Lane have achieved very high ratings in their first year. Finally, numerous sophisticated chefs and restaurateurs both from here and abroad have placed a vote of confidence in London's dining future by making investments in new restaurants, namely:

Italy's Bruno Barbieri's Cotidie; Chris Corbin and Jeremy King's Brasserie Zedel and The Delaunay; Australia's Bill Granger's Granger & Co.; Mark Hix's Hix Belgravia and Tramshed; Sweden's Mikael Jonsson's Hedone; Russell Norman's Mishkin's; Jamie Oliver's Union Jacks; Israel's Oded Oren's Kitchen 264 @ The Collection; Peru's Virgilio Martinez's Lima; the U.S.'s Wolfgang Puck's Cut at 45 Park Lane; Gordon Ramsay's Bread Street Kitchen; Vivek Singh's Cinnamon Soho; and Arjun Waney's Aurelia.

However, Londoners are eating out only 2.2 times per week - well below the rates in New York, Paris and Tokyo, which run from 3 to 4 times a week.

*1,351 restaurants are in the 2013 Zagat print guide with the rest being added online.

And the Winners are: Zagat guides are famous for having myriad top lists. Following are abbreviated versions of the most important of these lists, with last year's ranking in brackets:

A Few Major Improvements Deserve to be Noted: The Spanish restaurant Barrafina jumped from 48th place to number 4 for food this year while perennial favourite The Waterside Inn jumped from number 6 to number 1 for food. As overall favourites, Hakkasan, Le Gavroche, River Cafe and The Ledbury all moved up at the expense of Gordon Ramsay's two eponymous restaurants.

It's also worth noting that the following restaurants appear on these lists for the first time: Dinner by Heston (No. 9 for Favourites); Roganic (No. 5 for Food, No. 1 for Service), Espelette (No. 2 for Service), Yashin Sushi (No. 9 for Food), plus Mooli's, Tortilla and Bahn Mi Bay (all Best Buys).

Green and Healthy Dining: The trends toward locally sourced, organic and sustainably raised food continues to dominate diners' behaviour with 73% saying these issues are "important" to their choice of restaurant and 56% saying they're even willing "to pay more" to have such ingredients.

In other news, London surveyors were asked if they thought that restaurants should be required to post results of food hygiene inspections in their windows. Tim Zagat, co-Chair of Zagat stated, "A staggering 71% of surveyors said that restaurants should be required to post the results of food hygiene inspections in their windows. These two survey results send a clear message to the industry that Londoners are placing ever more importance on the sources of their food and hygiene standards."

Hospitality: With restaurants increasingly eschewing reservations for a first come first served policy, 61% of London diners state that they are not willing to wait any longer than 30 minutes for a table. However, once seated, these diners continue to bemoan restaurant service with 73% naming it as their top dining complaint. This is reflected in the lower overall results for London restaurants with 14 for hospitality and 13 for table availability on the signature Zagat 30 point scale as opposed to overall ratings of 25 and 22 for culinary diversity and creativity, respectively. "London consistently amazes us with the increased creativity and diversity of its restaurants. The one thing that needs more attention is how to improve service," said Nina Zagat, co-Chair of Zagat.

Diners' Tastes: When it comes to what Londoners want to eat, the flavour of the year is Italian cuisine (25%) followed by French (17%) and Japanese (14%). Surprisingly, only 1 in 10 diners name British cuisine as their favourite.

Hot Neighbourhoods: As is fitting for such meccas for visitors, Covent Garden and Soho boast many exciting openings, including Leon de Bruxelles, Meat Market, Suda and 10 Cases in Covent Garden and Ceviche, Copita, Ducksoup, La Bodega Negra, Mele e Pere, Pitt Cue Co., Tapasia and 10 Greek Street in Soho.

Survey Details: The 2013 Zagat London Restaurants Survey (£10.99) was edited by Sholto Douglas-Home, Susan Kessler, Claire Coleman and Bill Corsello. Zagat's ratings and reviews of London restaurants are integrated throughout Google, including Search, Maps, Google+ and mobile. Guidebooks are also available at all major retailers.