Simpler menus, less meat and closing for lunch: how UK restaurants are adapting to tough times

Vivek Singh of the Cinnamon Club removed the popular butter chicken dish from the menu to save money. Photograph: Christian Sinibaldi/The Guardian

For pubs and restaurants hoping to save money and stay afloat in the face of a record squeeze on disposable incomes, there is now a new normal: younger staff, simpler menus, less meat and closing for lunch.

Since the onset of the pandemic the sector has been hit by skyrocketing energy costs, food inflation, high interest rates, a recruitment crisis and consumer uncertainty.