What's the average price of a main course? £12.04

The average price diners expect to pay for a main course in the UK and Ireland is £12.04.

That's according to a new report into UK and Irish dining culture, produced by local ‘discovery engine' LivingSocial.

The finding comes as part of a survey of nearly 7,200 diners across 16 cities in December last year.

The average price diners were willing to pay varied from cuisine to cuisine, with people willing to pay the most for a seafood main course (£14.20), followed by French dining (£13.75), with British in third (£13.28). Vietnamese food was the type of cuisine for which diners expected to pay the least (£10.76 for a main course), below Brazilian (£11.24), and Chinese (£11.37).

Other findings in the report included the fact that the nation's average tip was 5.5% of the bill, while the availability of deals and offers was more important than reviews when it comes to choosing a restaurant.

Price was the most important factor when choosing restaurants, with 70.5% of diners saying it influenced their decision, according to the survey.

That was followed by personal recommendations (41.8%), availability of deals or offers (41.4%) and the ability to book a table over the phone (40.3%).

One in five said they favoured the ability to book online or via a mobile app.

The common perception that a 10% tip is the norm was dispelled by the report, according to LivingSocial, with its findings showing that the average actually sat at 5.5%.

Diners in Edinburgh were found to be the most generous tippers (8.8% of the bill), followed by London (7%) and Southampton (6.5%). The least generous city was Nottingham (4.5%), below Newcastle (4.8%) and Bristol (4.9%).

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