 We are a nation of takeaway lovers, but that’s just the tip of the doner kebab.
According to NSO (National Statistics Online), “the UK's home of official statistics” that monitors “Britain's economy, population and society at national and local level”, food on-the-go is very much a way of life for most modern Brits. And, reflecting on a convenience-driven lifestyle, “fuelled by lattes and burgers”, the consumer affairs correspondent for The Guardian concludes that “this is the life we now lead, as revealed in the office for national statistics' retail price index”, which is published annually.
Further, the latest “Changing Face of Leisure – UK” survey of consumers' leisure habits, published by Mintel International Group Ltd. also confirms that our 'cash-rich, time-poor' British society is spending a larger chunk of its disposable income, each year, on buying convenience in order to save time. Significantly, the time we spend eating meals in the home as well as dining out is also becoming shorter. Not surprisingly, therefore, the takeaway features ever larger in our modern day society with our demand for convenience fodder continuing unabated.
Overall growth, however, in the Fast Food & Home Delivery Outlets Market, which includes fast food and home delivery outlets, branded fast food chains and independent takeaway outlets is showing indications of slowing down over the next three years.
So what has changed, in recent years? The answer, it would appear, is our perception of quality and what we have come to expect of today’s takeaways.
And, interestingly, we British are now clamouring for a lot more than bog-standard burgers, pizzas and of course our favourite Chinese or Indian takeaways; we’ve now latched on to something far more indulgent, far more rewarding in terms of instant gratification …
What has emerged from all these latest statistics and lifestyle surveys is that expectations regarding convenience food and your average takeaway have never been higher. To put it bluntly, we are no longer prepared to tolerate the notion that takeaway necessarily equals tedious. The delicately nurtured modern palate knows different and refuses to compromise where quality and inspiration are concerned. Just because food may be fast, it doesn’t mean that it can’t also be fine. And the joy of it is that the modern consumer is calling the shots, with an increasing number of quality restaurants responding to demands for something that’s a culinary cut above.
So, for takeaways with a difference you may wish to try:
3 Monkeys: 136/140 Herne Hill, London, SE24 9QH (Indian)
Abiruchi: 42 Stoke Newington Church Street, London, N16 0LU (Keralan)
Abuali: 136/138 George Street, London, W1H 5LD (MiddleEastern)
Addis: 42 Caledonian Road, London, N1 9DT (Ethiopian)
Anglo Asian Tandoori: 60/62 Stoke Newington Church Street, London, N16 0NB (Indian)
Apollonia: 17a Percy Street, Fitzrovia, London, W1P 9FE (Greek)
Arcadia: 35 Kensington High Street, London, W8 5EB (Modern Italian)
Arkansas Café: Brushfield Street Entrance, Old Spitalfields Market, London, E1 6BG (American Grill Style)
Aroma: 30 Church Road, Worcester Park, Kingston Upon Thames, KT4 7RA (Mediterranean)
Ar-Rum: 44/48 Clerkenwell Road, London, EC1 M5PS (Middle Eastern, European and South Asian)
Au Lac: 82 Highbury Park Road, London N5 2XE (Vietnamese with Chinese and Thai influences)
Au Lac 2: (Shoreditch): 102/104, Kingsland Road, London, E2 8DP (Vietnamese)
Axum: 266 Wandsworth Road, London, SW8 2JR (Ethiopian)
Ayudhya: 14 Kingston Hill, Kingston Upon Thames, KT2 7NH (Thai).
The age of the gourmet takeaway is upon us. Bon Appétit!
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