Previously sitting down for dinner at 5pm usually meant one of three things. You were going to the theatre. You had a toddler. You were of an age where you had a free bus pass. But now we are becoming a nation of early birds; 5pm is the new 8pm and restaurants are adapting accordingly. Special early-evening menus are on the rise.
At Skye Gyngell’s Spring restaurant in Covent Garden, a £30 “scratch” menu – featuring dishes made using waste produce such as a moreish bread-and-butter pudding made from yesterday’s loaves – is served between 5.30pm and 6.15pm.
