In 2024, we began a research project exploring the history of public dining in the UK. Together with over 100 community researchers, we wanted to uncover the story of British and Civic Restaurants, as well as other communal dining examples. This story has been pieced together in the public diners national exhibition that will be touring the country in 2025/26.
This research has helped shape the case for reimagining public diners in the UK.
Timeline: British/Civic Restaurants
1940. The British Restaurant scheme is born and first restaurant is open.
1943. Over 2,000 British Restaurants operate across the UK, including 90 in Scotland.
1949. 678 Civic Restaurants remain, including 13 in Scotland.
1963. The last Civic Restaurant closes in the UK.
How did they work?
A national subsidy system. The national government, via the Ministry of Food, delivered start up support and then regular subsidies to local governments.
Local delivery. Local governments were responsible for the local delivery of the restaurants. Some restaurants were simply called ‘British Restaurant,’ others (most of the restaurants in Scotland) chose different names to reflect their place – things like ‘The Ravenscraig’ and ‘The Castle.’
Institutional standards. The use of public money meant there were agreed institutional standards all restaurants had to meet. For example:
- Meals served had to be of a certain nutritional quality
- Prices of meals were capped at an affordable rate (2/3 the price of typical alternatives at the time)
- Workers were paid the nationally agreed union rate
The restaurants weren’t perfect, but they model that it is possible for the state to support restaurants. There is a case for reimagining that today.
Map of British/Civic Restaurants
This research was made possible thanks to the passion and effort of a cohort of community researchers who dedicated hundreds of hours to this project:
Aaron Young, Abbie Eccles, Alina Haque, Andrew Macnair, Aytalina Andreeva, Carinne Geil, Casci Ritchie, Catriona McNairn, Chara Stephanou, Charlotte Guidi, Christine Campbell, Eleanor Sparks, Evan Buckley, Evelyn Anderson, Fiona Moore, Florence Rousseau, George Gray, Grace OLeary, Iona Coogan, Janice Robinson, Jasmine Watson, Jordan Mckibbens, Julitta Lee, Kaska Hempel, Katie Revell, Katie Harrison, Leigh Connolly, Lizzie Martin, Lucy Longman, Mairi Macleod, Maria Grigoli, Marzieh Ghasemi, Mia Jones, Mindy Simpson, Molly McLeod, Murray Pringle, Nicola Reid, Pooja Chavan, Rebecca Marcone, Salsabila Irwanto, Sarah Paton, Shawn Bodden, Sofia Glynne, Sreenithi Venkataragavan, Steph Marsden, Tara Smith, Tia Sharp, Verity Fowler, Xinxi Tan, Yan Zhang.
Oral histories and testimonies to inform this exhibit were provided by:
Christine Edgar, Cici Zhong, Frank Smith, Phil Chesterton, Quan Yuan.
The steering group supporting the project:
- Audrey Wilson – Partnerships and Engagement Manager at the Scottish Council on Archives
- Prof Bryce Evans – Professor of Modern World History at Liverpool Hope University and author of Feeding the People in Wartime Britain
- Donald Reid – General Editor, Food & Drink at The List Magazine
- Dr Isabel Fletcher – Senior Research Fellow in Food Policy and Systems Thinking at the University of Edinburgh Business School
- Magdalen Lambkin – Development Director at Interfaith Glasgow
- Zarina Ahmad – PHD Researcher at The University of Manchester