Eat out more cheaply with Early Table
Want to eat out at a potentially huge discount? Well Early Table has been up and running for a year now and it offers diners some great offers.
Early Table launched in April 2022 with Dining Week, an initiative to encourage more people to eat out and support the hospitality industry, in the wake of years of lockdowns. Via EarlyTable.ie, diners pay €1 per person and secure a reservation with up to 50% off their food bill, for up to 8 guests, in their choice of hundreds of restaurants nationwide.
The simple to use platform also makes it easy for participating restaurants to quickly add availability and decide discount levels, encouraging bookings and generating income at times when it is most needed. The average spend by EarlyTable diners, after discount, is €40 per person, when tables would otherwise sit empty.
There’s now over 15,000 registered subscribers, and daily, more restaurants are signing up nationwide, although there are not many Cork restaurants on there yet. The likes of SoHo Bar and Restaurant, Bocelli and Tequila Jacks in Cork city, the Cork Tree Restaurant in Bandon, Surf and Turf in Midleton and more are however.
From fine dining to fast casual, and solo operations to large hospitality groups offering every type and style of cuisine, there’s loads of venues across the country reaping the rewards of quickly and easily filling seats as, when and how they choose.
Salamanca Tapas Restaurant in Dublin are very positive about working with Early Table. “We’re delighted to team up with Early Table. It has allowed us to open up to new customers who can come and experience the food and relaxed atmosphere that we have created here, in the heart of the city centre. It is a great concept and we hope to continue and build our relationship with Early Table moving forward.”
The technology is simple to use, and being listed on EarlyTable is free. Feedback has also shown that the EarlyTable option of searching by availability, encourages diners to discover new restaurants, locations and cuisines, a bonus for participating restaurants and the hospitality scene generally. First time diners in a restaurant are more inclined to post reviews, also giving a boost to participating restaurants.
With up to 1,000 diners using EarlyTable to eat out each week, the EarlyTable team is finding the data, and feedback, fascinating. EarlyTable website traffic peaks around 3pm on week days – as the working day begins to wind down.
Most weekday bookings are for smaller groups of two to four, with colleagues and friends enjoying a post work catch up. Restaurants can now offers tables for up to 8 diners, and this is proving increasingly popular at weekends, as friends gather for a night out.
Early Table is the brainchild of entrepreneur James Lenehan: “Consumers and restaurants alike have really embraced this concept. We now generate at least €100,000 a month for our member restaurants which is revenue that might otherwise be lost out on. The lure of an attractive discount will always encourage people to eat out, and EarlyTable makes it easy to make a saving by being flexible, while still treating yourself. It really is a win-win!”
See www.earlytable.ie.