The queue for Supernova bends out the door and weaves along Soho’s Peter Street. This is hype manifest, scores of eager diners waiting patiently for a smash burger, some already lining up their Stories while being sure not to scuff their box-fresh Air Max on the greasy curb outside.
Supernova is a proud flag in a wider trend: hype restaurants, in part propelled by a new-age of food promoters who boast hundreds of thousands of followers on Instagram and TikTok. The famous Clerkenwell Boy (304k followers and counting) was once a novelty; today online affirmation is necessary. Who would open a restaurant without inviting Henry Southan in, food enjoyer and 2023 Big Brother star (381k across Instagram and Tiktok)? Diners are just as likely to scroll through pages like @truffleandtoast, @londonhotspots and @ks_ate_here as they are a restaurant guide. A reel from @eatingwithtod, a self-described “diary of a fat man”, will reliably pull in hundreds of thousands of views, sometimes millions. One post and a queue can appear.
