Soho Restaurateur Introduces Off-Peak Dining

Since opening its doors nine years ago, Bob Bob Ricard has been at the forefront of introducing value to special occasion dining, from low margins on fine wine and champagne to keenly priced caviar. Now, eager for even more people to enjoy everything his Soho institution has to offer, owner Leonid Shutov is introducing the concept of ‘off-peak’ pricing.

Bob Bob Ricard in Soho is offering off-peak diningLeonid told Belle About Town: “Off peak pricing is standard practice across much of society; we pay less for a luxury resort if we visit off season, we get a better deal on a business class seat
if we fly off-peak. Yet restaurants charge the same on a Monday lunch as they do on a Friday dinner.

“When restaurants do offer special menus, these are inevitably pared-down, budget versions of their normal fare – not quite the same as having the real deal at a better price. It is time top-end restaurants fully embraced ‘off-peak’ pricing, so from now on Bob Bob Ricard’s entire menu will be noticeably better value at lunch versus dinner, and at dinner on certain nights of the week, with ‘off-peak’ prices as much as 25% below those on the regular menu.

“This will be a permanent state of affairs, not a one-off promotion or a limited-time offer. The entire à la carte menu will be offered as ‘off-peak’ (circa 25% off the regular food menu prices) and ‘mid-peak’ (circa 15% off). Diners will simply be handed menus listing applicable prices; they will not need to concern themselves with unseemly calculations. The Bob Bob Ricard website will provide details of menu pricing applicable at any given time.”

Bob Bob Ricard’s menu, overseen by the legendary Chef Eric Chavot, will not change, it will simply be priced more affordably at off-peak times and days. So, off-peak diners will be able to
indulge in hugely popular signature dishes such as Beef Wellington, Lobster Mac & Cheese or the Strawberries & Cream Soufflé, but what they pay will be more reflective of the time of day or the day of the week.

Emily Cleary

After almost a decade chasing ambulances, and celebrities, for Fleet Street’s finest, Emily has taken it down a gear and settled for a (slightly!) slower pace of life in the suburbs. With a love of cheese and fine wine, Emily is more likely to be found chasing her toddlers round Kew Gardens than sipping champagne at a showbiz launch nowadays, or grabbing an hour out of her hectic freelancer’s life to chill out in a spa while hubby holds the babies. If only!