New Delhi: The year 2020 was a roller coaster ride for the F&B industry, but the pandemic didn’t stop foodies from showing their love for their favorite delicacies and their fondness for eating out as 2,147 tables were booked per hour and India saved 270 crores using the Dineout App. North Indian food emerged as the most missed, casual dining was most popular, and premium whisky and brownies continued to remain the preferred choice of alcohol and dessert respectively, reports the Dineout Trends 2020 report.

Commenting on dining trends, Ankit Mehrotra, CEO & Co-founder, Dineout said, “We had the perfect start for 2020 with a very successful GIRF and also celebrated our 8th anniversary, which only a few handful of startups have been able to achieve in the Indian ecosystem. However, the year has been unprecedented for the restaurant industry as it suffered a severe downfall like never before. But, the industry has emerged from months of shutdown by fundamentally altering its operations and by setting new standards. In December alone we’ve clocked 100 Crore worth of transactions and that shows how promising 2021 is going to be. With our mission for 2021 to support restaurant revival & growth of Dining out in India, we aim to act as a catalyst in technology adoption at restaurants across India ensuring safety of the diners every time they dine out.”

Highlights from the report:

• In 2020, 5 lakh tables were booked on 21st of February making it the national Dineout day. 
• Ahmedabad alone ordered 1,10,000 brownies. 
• Bangalore, the alcohol capital of India, chugged down 5,466 liters of liquor in February 2020 alone. 
• Hyderabad, the city of buffets, continued picking up the most food in buffets. 
• Goa grew into the new city of love for it had the maximum reservations for tables for two, while Agra & Ludhiana had the maximum reservations for tables of four. 
• Dinner outings have increased to 63% post-COVID as compared to 55% before COVID. 
• 58% of Indians chose to go out for dinner, while only 24% liked going out for lunch, except in Hyderabad where 40% of the populace preferred eating out during lunch. 
• Delhi spent the highest while dining out with an average transaction value of INR 2300 as compared to the rest of India where transaction value around INR 2000
• Dineout Passport members unlocked 1.4 lakh privileges and they saved INR 4.5 crores using their membership. 
• Over 76% used their Dineout Passport membership for dinner & 16% for lunch. 
• 61% of Indians preferred to dine out on weekends.

The report indicated that 15,000+ restaurants opted for the Contactless Dining suite from inresto. There was a 151% growth in Digital Menu transactions in the last 5 months indicating that the restaurant industry is slowly recovering and adapting to the new normal. Average transaction value also increased by 26% from INR 1610 pre lockdown to INR 2026 post lockdown.