Why Eating Out Still Makes Sense
Eating out can be great value. It is also good for the soul.
David Fox, founder of Tampopo, says the answer is not to stop going out. It is to choose where you go a little more carefully, and to order in a way that suits your budget. Do that and you can eat out more often, have more fun, and feel better for it.
Time Around a Table Is Good for the Soul
Social interaction is good for the soul. According to psychologist Susan Pinker, close personal relationships and regular face-to-face contact are among the strongest indicators of a long and happy life. In her TED talk she ranks them above giving up smoking, exercise and most medical interventions. Watch the talk.
Eating out also looks a lot better on value once you count everything a meal at home actually involves. Next to a delivery or a ready meal there is the shopping, the prep, the cooking, laying the table, clearing the table, and the washing up.
Source: Susan Pinker, TED talk.
What You Talk About Over Dinner
At home
- Whose turn is it to wash up?
- Did you get milk and bread?
- I think we have run out of bin bags.
In a restaurant
- Whose turn is it to book a night away?
- What gigs shall we go to?
- Where shall we go on holiday?
Restaurants Are in Decline
In 2025 the number of restaurants in the UK fell for the first time. It is a perfect storm: a cautious consumer market, unprecedented cost rises driven by higher National Insurance, one of the highest minimum wages in the world, and the highest VAT rate in Europe.
At the same time, people have more choice than ever about where their hard-earned leisure pound goes. Seen like that, the decline is no surprise. What it does mean is that the restaurants worth keeping are the ones people keep choosing.
Shop Smart
A generation ago, eating out was mostly a special occasion: a birthday, a leaving do, an engagement, something worth celebrating. Over the last thirty years, as disposable incomes grew, the number of restaurants grew with them and most high streets ended up with real choice and variety.
With that came the expectation of eating out regularly without having to think too hard about the bill. Has that become a thing of the past?
David Fox does not believe it has to be. People should not have to save eating out for special occasions. They do, however, need to be a little more considered than they have been in recent years about where they go and how they spend.
There are options to suit every budget and every occasion, and being careful about the where and the how is exactly what keeps a great value night out within reach in between the big events.
How Restaurants Are Helping You
Five ways to eat out well without the bill running away with you. Here is what that looks like at Tampopo.
Brunch & Light Lunch
Brunch and lighter lunch dishes are priced below the evening menu, and they run every day until 3pm.
Set Menus
Set menus bundle dishes at a keener price than a la carte. Our £16 Secret Menu runs Sunday to Friday until 6pm, and every day after 9pm.
Groups & Seasonal Offers
Group menus keep a big table simple and predictable, and there is usually a seasonal offer running through the quieter months.
Happy Hour & Bottomless Brunch
Two identical cocktails for £16, or two mocktails for £10, before 6pm and after 9pm every day. Bottomless brunch runs until 3pm.
Student & Blue Light Offers
Student, NHS and Blue Light, and hospitality worker discounts, on production of a valid card. Terms and days vary by scheme.
