Restaurant Week deals aim to whet appetites

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 9: Bermuda’s top restaurants will be cooking up some great deals as they try  to spark business in the New Year.

The Department of Tourism is sponsoring the first-ever Restaurant Week from January 16 to February 6 (it runs for a three-week period) and 31 restaurants have agreed to take part.

The restaurants will be offering three-course meals in one of three price ranges: $29, $39 or $49.

Philip Barnett, co-chair of the Restaurant Division for the Bermuda Chamber of Commerce and president of the Island Restaurant Group, is backing the effort.

Mr Barnett said: “This is a great initiative and this certainly allows us all to get together and offer tiered pricing so that can appeal to everybody on different levels.

“This will hopefully make what is traditionally one of the slowest couple weeks of the year a little busier.”

Mr Barnett helped work on formulating the best way to do this through the Chamber when the Department of Tourism and the Bermuda Hotel Association approached them.

“At that time of the year any improvement in sales is massive.”

Mr Barnett said Restaurant Week may not help drive people to book a Bermuda vacation but it will add value to people who are considering a holiday here.

“It will be in conjunction with what the hotels are offering.

“They will certainly be rolling out the red carpet as well.

“More initiatives like this will help us all weather that seasonal storm.

Chris Garland, manager for Flanagan’s Irish pub, said Restaurant Week should help drive more people to eat out during that time frame.

“For some, it’s just to drive sales. It’s quite obvious that there are many restaurants that are struggling and some need the cash flow — that’s the bottom line.

“But this is something that Bermuda features every year anyway to help support the industry.

“Plus with the discounted prices during the winter, it’s also a way for us to give back.”

“Restaurant Weeks in other places are extremely popular.