Night shift

It's 1am and the night is still young in London, the self-styled 24-hour city. Clubbers are out and about and, in Soho, London's vibrant nightlife centre, the streets are teaming with late-night revellers looking for somewhere to go next.

Reflecting this demand, there has been an increase in the number of 24-hour restaurants in the capital. In 1986 there were just 17 in Westminster; now there are 182.

Last November, the Millennium City campaign, led by the London Tourist Board and the Government, promoted the city as the buzzing capital of Cool Britannia. Nevertheless, London still has a long way to go before it can match Hong Kong's or New York's 24-hour culture.

Many restaurateurs claim the licensing regulations stand in their way. At the moment, licensees have to obtain a separate "supper hour" certificate, together with the requirement to provide live music or entertainment, before they can secure an extended hours order. One factor expected to influence restaurant opening times is the Government's promised change to the licensing laws for England and Wales (Caterer, 14 October, page 5).

Others, such as EasyEverything, the 24-hour Internet café in Victoria, have shown a willingness to move towards all-night operations. And in April this year Thistle Hotels opened three 24-hour restaurants in central London hotels at a cost of £100,000. The brew shops, called Comotion, can serve hotel guests with alcohol 24 hours a day. The rest of the public can pop in to have a late or early sandwich, or indulge in a 3am coffee.

The general manager of the 700-bedroom Thistle Marble Arch, Heiko Figge, says the conversion from hotel lounge to Comotion has been successful. It was not difficult, as the hotel already operated 24-hour room service. "We are making five times more money," he says, declining to give specific profit figures, "and we do about 800-1,000 covers a week."

Typical weekly turnover is about £7,500 in the 50-seat restaurant and the average purchase is £5-£7 from the choice of pastrami paninis, Mediterranean salads and cappuccinos. Breakfast items such as the sausage stacker (£3.95) and the bacon buster (£3.95) are popular with early risers from 5am, who can also take away their breakfasts in branded Comotion bags.

Thistle Marble Arch also has a high proportion of Australian guests, who are happy to find somewhere open when jet-lag chases sleep away.

Two Comotion staff work overnight. Generally, they live in, says Figge. The night shift runs from 11pm to 7am, with plenty of activity between 11pm and 2am, and a steady trickle between 2.30am and 5.30am, until the early breakfast buyers start coming in.

In Soho, several restaurants are taking advantage of the trend towards late-night dining. Customers at Sir Terence Conran's 700-seat Mezzo in Soho can eat until 3am on Fridays and Saturdays, thanks to a light entertainment licence.

"At 1.30am, the West End is packed," says general manager Ronald Loges, adding that, by having entertainment but not charging an entry fee, Mezzo crosses the line between nightclub and restaurant.

Loges says most customers who arrive at the restaurant after 1am want finger food or light snacks. Popular items are Caesar salads, plates of chips, Malay noodles (£8.50) and Thai red pork curries (£9.50).

Reservations are light after midnight but passing trade typically builds up to about 280 diners after midnight on a busy Saturday night. Loges says he has noticed a growth in the numbers of late-night diners in the four years that Mezzo has been opening late.

Supermarket trends

He also points to the trend for supermarkets staying open 24 hours, which he says indicates that more and more people are either working late at night or that London is increasingly becoming a 24-hour society.

At Mezzo, night shifts are shared out between the restaurant staff. Typically, there are 35 working after midnight, compared with 85 at 9pm. Although many have their own transport, Mezzo also has a preferential rate with a taxi firm.

Industry sources say that, based on normal profit models, a restaurant taking on two extra staff to work through the night would have to make an extra £60,000 to start making a profit - for workers earning about £10,000 a year.

Bar Italia in Frith Street was the first eaterie in London to be granted a night café licence by Westminster Council 10 years ago. "Most people come for the coffee - that is what we are famous for - but they do have sandwiches," says manager Rossi Cinquemani.

Bar Italia, which has been run by the Pollereri family for 50 years, typically has six staff working through the night. "Some people prefer working nights," says Cinquemani. "And we are close to the night buses at Trafalgar Square." He claims the past few years have seen competition increasing for late-night customers in Soho.

Prady Balan, owner of Soho-based Old Compton Café and Balans restaurant, both in Compton Street and both 24-hour, agrees. "It was a rare thing when I first did it, but now it is so busy at weekends - at four, five or six in the mornings."

In addition, late-night customers are likely to spend a little more - an average of £15-£20, compared with £10-£12 in the daytime.

Balan opened the 40-seat Old Compton Café 13 years ago. The 85-seat Balans started operating a 24-hour service four years ago. Having the two businesses in the same place is helpful, with Balans's kitchen providing the food for Old Compton.

"After 3am, the demand is very much for breakfast," says Balan, although he is appalled that, because alcohol can only be served until 3am, there is no chance of a Champagne breakfast for the dawn chorus.

The key to 24-hour opening lies in getting a night café licence, which Westminster Council does not give out lightly. If residents object, the process can take months, and even then there are no guarantees. Westminster Council licensing policy adviser David Chambers says: "I suspect the residents would oppose it - Soho is a residential area."

In the USA, opening a restaurant late is a simple process compared with the bureaucracy of the UK, says Balan, who operates a Balans restaurant in South Beach, Miami. "I don't need any licences. I can open all hours. The government there works on behalf of the business."

But closing times are a-changing. The Government has committed itself to liberalising licensing laws in England and Wales, perhaps to bring them in line with Scotland's laws, and a consultation paper is expected early next year.

In a Commons debate in June, then home office minister George Howarth said new regulations should reflect changing social trends. Once the new licensing laws are in place, the idea of a 24-hour London may become more of a reality than the smoky illusion it has been in the past.

Keeping time

• If a restaurant wants to operate 24 hours it must have a night café licence. There were 17 night cafés in Westminster in 1986, 182 in 1999. The average time to process a night café licence application in Westminster is five to six weeks.

• A liquor licence extension until 3am can be obtained if entertainment is provided, otherwise 1am is the cut-off time.

• Alcohol cannot be served between 3am and 11am in a restaurant.

• On New Year's Eve 1999, licensing laws will be waived, allowing all restaurants to open 24 hours.

SOURCE: WESTMINSTER COUNCIL