45 million Indians saved ₹1,360 crores while booking 8,588 tables per hour using Dineout in 2021

After a period of lull due to Covid, Indians got back to dining out and that emerged as the most preferred activity in 2021 while accepting the new normal with fewer travel plans and frequent hang out rituals. More than 45 million Indians loved eating out at their favourite restaurants. 8,588 tables were booked per hour on the Dineout app with  its users from across the country saving ₹1,360 crores via Dineout discounts and offers.

According to the latest Dineout Trends Report 2021 India’s largest dining out and restaurant tech platform, Dineout, ₹ 2,670 was the average bill paid in 2021 as compared to ₹ 1,907 in 2020. The 40% increase in ATV is due to revenge eating phenomena and pent up dining out demands as it was the only source of entertainment for people in between multiple travel restrictions. Further, Delhi bagged the title of “Dining Capital of India” for the 3rd time in a row accounting for 32% of the total diners in India followed by Bangalore at 18%. Not much to our surprise, Butter Chicken, Dal Makhni & Naan yet again won the league making North Indian food a hit among Indians at 38%, Chinese at 18% and Continental at 16%. The City of Lakes, Udaipur, is the new “City of Love” with 44% of its bookings under “Table for 2” whereas the cities of Agra and Ludhiana had the maximum “Table for 4” reservations.

Interestingly, as much as India is a land of foodies, it boasts a significant number of drink enthusiasts. Bangalore consumed 50,000 litres of alcohol in the month of December alone making itself the Liquor capital of India in 2021. The report also throws light on the fact that dinner is the most preferred time to eat out by Indians. While the city of Agra loved to dine out during the night with 59.3% reservations made for the dinner, it was surprising to know that dinners in Chennai planned the most number of luncheons with 47% of table reservations done during lunch-time.

Diving deep in – the 2021 report, these were the most popular dining hubs across the country.

Talking about the dining trends of the year 2021, Ankit Mehrotra, Co-Founder & CEO – Dineout said, “It was another year sailing our boat in the new normal and we’re glad to be a part of every foodie’s journey where they were able to put an end to their cravings. In the year gone by, it was interesting to observe how revenge dining shot up the average bill by 40% but still diners made a considerable savings. This is a testament to Dineout’s value for the diners. We also saw people getting cautious about their choices to dine out at luxury restaurants or places with 4+ reviews and ratings. A total of 73.5% of transactions were made pan India at 4+ rated restaurants. Mumbai stood out from the rest of the cities with a total of 85.2% of transactions done at the best restaurants in the city. Speaking of the overall restaurant revenue, modernizing technologies in restaurants did help us achieve an improved customer satisfaction, thereby boosting restaurant sales.”

Owing to the higher disposable income thanks to our WFH lifestyles, luxury dining across India has increased by as much as 120% & fine dining by 105%, and the average number of diners per booking has also risen.

Highlights from the report:

• Bangalore loved to chill on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays with over 73% of reservations made over the weekends.

• 44% of the total reservations in Ludhiana were made on weekdays.

• Connaught Place, Delhi was the most popular dining hub in India.

• A diner Chinmay paid 238 times via Dineout Pay in 2021.

• Vikram, another diner, paid INR 7.15 Lacs- single highest bill at BrewDog MidTown, Mumbai.

• Diners saved INR 214 Crores using Dineout Passport Membership.

• 2021 saw a total of 1.6 million of Dineout Passport transactions.

• A Dineout Passport Member transacted 207 times in 2021 & saved a whopping amount of 2.41 lacs on fine dining.