Report: Eating Out Meal Occasions - UK

While around 24m consumers eat out for a special occasion, almost 19m do so just because they feel like it and 15m eat out as a regular treat. The rise of discounting in recent months has helped eating out to remain accessible to consumers during the recession, especially families.
Although dinner and lunch continue to be the main meal occasions for which 29m consumers eat out, around 12m enjoy coffee breaks/afternoon tea out of home and 8m eat out for breakfast or brunch. Eating out for afternoon tea or coffee breaks has a strong AB/high income and female bias.
21m eat out in pubs, which have become the most popular eating out venue. Around 29m diners expect to pay under £10 per person for an everyday meal but 24.5m diners are willing to spend £10-29 for a meal out for a special occasion.
Reliability is critical to diners - 22m choose a restaurant because they know it’s always good food and service; 20m diners are influenced by location/convenience or price.
Ethical products and reviews matter less than many think. Fewer than 2m diners choose a restaurant for its use of ethical products (eg organic, locally sourced), while recommendations by food critics, guides or media reviews influence just 2.5m diners.
Eating out offers the chance to indulge. Just 6m diners want to see how many calories are in each dish compared to 11m who want to enjoy a meal out of home without worrying about the calorie content.

Eating Out Meal Occasions - UK - October 2009