Eat Out to Help Out: Will a glorified meal deal convince the British public to leave home again?

Clare Finney explores whether it is only big chains that will benefit from the month-long government scheme starting today – and if people feel confident enough to dine out again

The Barn at Moor Hall had more than 5,000 bookings within just six hours of announcing it was taking part in the scheme (The Barn at Moor Hall)

Were you psyched for Super Saturday? Counting down the days as if it were Christmas? From the column inches, air time and social media oxygen devoted to it, you could be forgiven for thinking everyone was.

Yet while our newspapers and television screens the next day were filled with happy, beer-swilling, burger-guzzling faces, a report from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) a week later told a different story: only two in 10 adults said they were happy to eat out again, and almost 60 per cent said they would be uncomfortable or very uncomfortable eating indoors for a sit-down meal.

It is into this environment that the government launched its £500m Eat Out to Help Out scheme, giving guests of participating restaurants, pubs and cafes a discount of 50 per cent when eating in, up to £10 a person.