RESTAURANTS in Bournemouth have seen a 65 per cent boom since indoor dining returned, according to a recent survey.

The survey, conducted by card payments provider Dojo, says that since May 17, Bournemouth has had one of the largest week on week increases in spend for restaurants and pubs throughout the UK.

Of the UK locations that had the largest increase, Bournemouth ranked 34th in restaurant spending – ahead of major cities such as London and Newcastle.

Twelve Eatery, a plant-based restaurant in Bournemouth, is a dine-in only restaurant and could not operate before May 17.

Greg Rush, director of Twelve Eatery, said: “Since we’ve reopened our doors, it’s been phenomenally busy every day which is just great.

“The fact we don’t have outside dining meant that reopening was vitally important. I think we’ve been aided by the fact that Bournemouth is a seaside town, so there’s been a lot of new visitors as well as those who came regularly before lockdown.

“Also, I think lockdown changed people’s diets in a way. We’ve had people come in who became more conscientious about what they ate during lockdown which, as a vegan restaurant, is great for us.”

In terms of pub spending, Bournemouth ranked 15th in the UK as patrons flocked back to their locals, resulting in a 63 per cent increase in spend versus the week before.

However, not all pubs in the area have been able to enjoy as much success as others.

“It’s been dismal,” says Dawn McLachlan, landlady of The Porterhouse in Westbourne.

“I think after being in lockdown for so long, people have changed the way they live. We haven’t even reached 50 per cent of what we used to take in before COVID.

“We don’t have outside seating which makes it really difficult. Because were such a small pub, I think people are a bit nervous about coming back into a busy indoors environment.

“We’re now just waiting for restrictions to lift fully so that we can bring back our live music, which is a huge thing for us. I can only hope it will get better.”