Grub up but chow down

The number of new restaurants and cafes has leapt to a five-year high.

Industry number crunchers LDC said 1,333 establishments have opened in the past 12 months, nearly double the rate over the past five years.

The biggest growth has been in cafes and tearooms, coffee shops and takeaways.

But that’s partly offset by a sharp fall in the numbers of pubs, night clubs, as well as both Indian and Chinese restaurants – all of which saw more closures than openings in the past 12 months.