HOSPITALITY venues across Sunderland are celebrating another successful Restaurant Week.
The week-long event – which offers diners a variety of special deals at restaurants, cafes and bars around the city.
And organisers, Sunderland’s BIDs, has announced that the event – held twice yearly – brought an estimated economic impact of £509,000 to the city.
A record 65 businesses took part with diners downloading 16,997 vouchers to take advantage of the deals on offer.
Once again Rumour Has It at Green Terrace proved the most popular choice, with Signatures Italian, at New Silksworth and Asiana, based at the Echo 24 building taking up second and third place.
Other eateries which were among the top 10 included Koji, Wild Fire, Tarantinos Steak Seafood restaurant, Vitos Osteria at the Sheepfold Stables, Babaji, North and Rio Brazilian Steakhouse, which opened its doors for the first time on the final day of restaurant week.
This was the first time that Wild Fire, a pizza restaurant and bar at Hanover Place – took part in the event and they were delighted to also made it into the Top 10.
Wild Fire co-owner Josh Wild said: “Restaurant Week was great exposure for us.
“It gave people who might not have visited us the incentive to do so and it gave our regular customers the chance to enjoy some great deals.
“It was a positive experience all round. We loved taking part and look forward to doing it again next year.”
David Turton, marketing manager at Nexus said the company was delighted to supporting the week.
“Sunderland’s food scene is thriving - and there’s never been a better time to explore it,” he said.
“With fast, frequent, and convenient services, Tyne and Wear Metro is your ticket to discovering the amazing restaurants across the city and we're proud to once again support this great initiative.”
Roberta Redecke, Head of Business Services at Sunderland’s BIDs, said it was wonderful to see Restaurant Week continue to go from strength to strength.
“Over the past few years Sunderland has very much become a destination for food lovers thanks to the variety and standard of our restaurants and bars,” she said.
“The fact that this time round we had the largest number of participants we’ve ever had reflects the vibrancy of our hospitality scene.
“What is always particularly encouraging is the number of people who travel from outside the city to sample what we have to offer – and the reviews they give our venues are excellent.”
To find out about future events in Sunderland, please visit sunderlandbid.co.uk