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Restaurants bring back dress code for credit-crunch dining
Amar Singh, Evening Standard08.08.08
The dress code could be making a return to the capital's top dining rooms.
Two restaurants opening this month, including the latest outpost of the Gordon Ramsay empire, are banning casual clothing such as jeans, sportswear and flip-flops.
Industry experts say the move marks a trend for formal dining as eating out becomes more of a "special occasion" during the economic downturn.
The Buddha Bar, which opens today in Waterloo, will ban flip-flops and trainers, just as it does at its Paris branch.
Murano, the Mayfair restaurant run by Ramsay's protégée Angela Hartnett, will open on 21 August with this dress code: smart, with jackets preferred for gentlemen. Jeans, T-shirts or sportswear not accepted. "The dress code is also applicable for Restaurant Gordon Ramsay and Gordon Ramsay at Claridge's," said a spokeswoman.
The move is an apparent U-turn by Ramsay, who scrapped the jacket-and-tie dress code when he relaunched the Savoy Grill in 2003. Last year, the Good Food Guide sparked a debate on dining attire when it dropped all references to dress codes, saying the number of restaurants with one had plunged.
Richard Harden, co-editor of the Harden's restaurant guides, said the credit crunch could herald a return to formality. He said: "Until recently the only two places with a cast-iron dress code were the Ritz and Le Gavroche. Most restaurants assume people will dress appropriately - and more often than not they do. But with the fear of a recession looming I suspect Ramsay is ahead of the zeitgeist. With dining out set to be more of a special occasion perhaps we are seeing a return of the formal dress code.
"With the Buddha Bar, you can sort of understand the no flip-flops rule. The concept is a beautiful lounge atmosphere, which earned its reputation in Paris."
WHAT TO WEAR AND WHERE TO WEAR IT
L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon WC2 - No dress code
Murano W1 - No trainers, no jeans and no sportswear
Gaucho W1 - No dress code
Asia de Cuba WC2 - No dress code
Suka W1 No dress code
Buddha Bar WC2 - No flip-flops and no trainers
Aaya W1 No dress code
The Fat Duck, Bray - No dress code. "We prefer our diners to be comfortable and in a relaxed atmosphere"
Zuma SW7 - No dress code
Roka W1 - No dress code
Pied à Terre - No dress code
Theo Randall at The Intercontinental W1 - No dress code
The Wolseley W1 - No dress code
Le Gavroche W1 - "Smart casual, although a jacket is required"
Pétrus SW1 - Smart. No jeans, no trainers. Shirt with a collar required, jacket preferred
Claridge's W1 - Smart. No jeans, no trainers. Shirt and jacket preferred, tie optional
The Ivy WC2 - No dress code
Le Caprice SW1 - "Not scruffy"
The Ritz W1 - Gentlemen at the Ritz restaurant, Palm Court and Rivoli bar are requested to wear a jacket. Blue jeans and trainers are prohibited
Annabel's W1 - No jeans or trainers. Tie not required but a jacket and standard shirt collar are
San Lorenzo SW3 - Smart casual. No trainers, jeans acceptable
Nobu W1 - No dress code
Reader views (16)
Here's a sample of the latest views published.
I think men can look smart without a dinner jacket. It should not matter what you wear as long as you look smart. The people who are more bothered about what the person on the next table is wearing as opposed to concentrating on the people at their own table are very sad!
- Lisa, birmingham
I eat out regularly and will not, under any circumstances, eat in a restaurant where I have to wear a jacket. Ramsay is not "ahead of the zeitgeist". He is merely planning his own down-fall by imposing a rather silly and snobbish restriction on who he allows to eat in his restaurant
- Warren Alexander, London, UK
For sure dress code adds up sparkle let alone showing that you have made an effort (in other words respect) to the ones you dine with. Above all human relations is showing you care if that's not the case then why you should go out and dine with anyone.
- Maria Sourmelis, Knigthsbridge
It's not bad to return to some old type good manners! Ladies can wear nice cocktail or evening dresses, guys can wear nice suits and go to a restaurant to enjoy a candlelight dinner in the classic way!
- Maria Lampraki, Athens, Greece
Maggie Kennedy, I am a well brought up young woman. I enjoy my life and am neither yobbish or chavvy, however I can't believe that my partner wearing a jacket and shirt with collar will make my life more pleasant.
I suppose I could expect no less from someone who comes from a place called Berwick upon Tweed.
The clothes I wear have nothing to do with my behaviour and I imagine if you put a bunch of 'yobs' into smart clothing they would still feel like making other people's life a misery.
I think you have reached an age where you have forgotten that there are unpleasant elements to every generation, the fault lies in parenting and not in clothing.
- Delphi, London
Good, the only time I eat at Michelin starred restaurants is on my wedding anniversary and mine or my wife's birthdays, all special occasions that I don't want spoilt by some z list celebrity chav in jeans and a t shirt.
- L Allen, London
When I go to a restaurant, it´s to eat a delicious meal and not to look at people at the next table.
- Patrick De Vigo, Spain
Bad manners, lack of courtesy and consideration for others and uncivilised behaviour in general appears to have increased to the point where I am reluctant to put myself in an environment, such as restaurants, where I might be subjected to any of the above and have to pay for the privilege.
Reinstating the dress code could be a start towards a return to decent standards of behaviour for those of us old enough to remember a time when society in general was polite and often sophisticated. It may also be a means of introducing the young (and not so young) to a way of life they might find more pleasant, comfortable and rewarding than the prevailing "yob" and "chav" culture that many of them have got caught up in.
- Maggie Kennedy, Berwick upon Tweed. England
My money's the same whether I'm in jeans and a t-shirt or a tailored suit. Restauranteurs should be concentrating more on their own food and service than what their customers are wearing.
- J.E.F, London, UK
Probably explains why these overpriced cafes are filled with saddos who are more interested in being "seen" than enjoying their meals. I go to a restaurant to enjoy the food, not because it's trendy.
- Lezl, London
I agree Joe. I pick up my chips in a jacket and everyone else is in crappy jeans - spoils the event for me also.
- Steve, Hereford
When I pay some hundreds of pounds for my guests and myself I want the option to choose a relaxed dress code.
Interesting to note in the survey, that most of the ''IN'' places to eat acknowledge this requirement of their diners.
Could be a reflection of the recession, or just acknowledgement that being relaxed is just a more enjoyable event
- Howard, Herts UK
The only places these days that enforce a suit dress code are chicken in a basket venues in the home counties that think they're 'posh'.
- Tony Mcmahon, London, UK
If you are concentrating on your companion and the food, why should it matter what other folks are wearing? I don't judge people by their dress. We are all different.
- Steve, Derby
Why would anyone pay hundreds of pounds for a meal only for some officious git in a penguin suit to tell them they're not dressed properly? I guess that's why I don't go to stupid, stuck-up, overpriced Central London restaurants any more, they are no longer appealing.
- Wearyourtrainerswithpride, Crouch End
Why would anyone pay hundreds of pounds for a meal only to have some scruffy git in jeans at the next table - spoils the event. I guess that's why I don't go to restaurants anymore, they are no longer "special".
- Joe, London
