Pizza for 71p? Bao for £1? London food hall to sell discounted dishes to highlight soaring hospitality costs

Traders at Seven Dials Market in Covent Garden will be selling discounted dishes for one hour only this Thursday to highlight the reality of running a restaurant in the UK right now.

We’re talking slices of New York-style pizza for 71p, bowls of Cacio e Pepe for £1.50, bao buns for £1, and chicken sandos for £2.40.

The initiative is part of a wider campaign between digital magazine London on the Inside and market hall group KERB to shine a light on the brutal economics of running a hospitality business. To reveal just how tough it is for restaurants to stay afloat, a cohort of Seven Dials traders will sell their signature dishes for the exact amount they take home after costs, VAT and tax.

The offer will run for one hour only on Thursday 20 November, kicking off at 1pm, and we’re expecting major queues - so get there early! The initiative is being launched ahead of the government’s budget next week (26 November) in a bid to urge officials to lower costs for hospitality businesses who are already facing ‘razor thin margins’.

You can find a full list of the traders taking part in the campaign, including the dishes they'll be serving at a discounted rate:

The initiative aims to support UK Hospitality’s TAXED OUT campaign pushing for urgent reform in the November budget. The trade body are rallying for three main changes, calling on the government to lower business rates, cut VAT on hospitality to 10%, and to reduce National Insurance Contributions to support jobs and encourage hiring within the industry.

To pledge your support, you can sign the Save Hospitality petition here.