British Restaurants
Restaurants were initially exempt from rationing, but this was resented, as the rich could supplement their food allowance by eating out frequently and extravagantly. So new rules were introduced: no meal could cost more than five shillings; no meal could have more than three courses; meat and fish could not be served at the same sitting. Establishments known as British Restaurants supplied another almost universal experience of eating away from home. British Restaurants were run by local authorities, who set them up in various premises such as schools and church halls. They evolved from the London County Council's Londoners' Meals Service which originated in September 1940 as a temporary emergency system for feeding those who had been bombed out. By mid-1941 the London County Council was operating 200 of these restaurants; from 1942 to 1944 there were around 2000 of them. Here a three-course meal cost only 9d. Standards varied, but the best were greatly appreciated and had a large regular clientele. Similar schemes were run in other towns and cities.
Read more about this topic: Rationing In The United Kingdom
Famous quotes containing the words british and/or restaurants:
“It is said that the British Empire is very large and respectable, and that the United States are a first-rate power. We do not believe that a tide rises and falls behind every man which can float the British Empire like a chip, if he should ever harbor it in his mind.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“In the United States all business not transacted over the telephone is accomplished in conjunction with alcohol or food, often under conditions of advanced intoxication. This is a fact of the utmost importance for the visitor of limited funds ... for it means that the most expensive restaurants are, with rare exceptions, the worst.”
—John Kenneth Galbraith (b. 1908)