Nov. 2 (Bloomberg) -- London restaurateurs say business is showing signs of bouncing back from the depth of the recession, with more customers and diners starting to spend more on wine.

It’s the bankers and corporate customers who are helping lead the recovery, though chefs still worry about what will happen after Christmas. I spoke to almost 30 of the U.K. capital’s leading restaurateurs last week. Here’s what they say.

Tristan Welch (Launceston Place): “Touch wood, it’s going well. August was better than last year and things started picking up gradually throughout the year. These last couple of months, there has been a bit of a boom, which you can put down to seasonality, but not the increasing wine spend.”

Marcus Wareing (Marcus Wareing): “How’s business? You’re joking aren’t you? It’s mad. I’ve had a fabulous year. I haven’t seen a dip in numbers. It has been consistent. Demand is great and the waiting list is longer. There’s a good vibe.”

Jun Tanaka (Pearl): “It’s a lot busier than we thought it would be, but we’ll really know in the first quarter 2010 if business has returned. This has been the hardest year since I became a chef, and that was 18 years ago. Our sales of top-end wines have been good in the past few months. I don’t know if it’s a trend or a hiccup.”

Michel Roux Jr. (Le Gavroche): “Business is good. We’re full every lunch all the way through to January and very few slots are available in the evening. There are thrifty people about, but also people who don’t shy from spending hundreds of pounds on wine. The bankers have never really gone away. Maybe they’re less conspicuous in spending but they’re back in spending mode. Like-for-like, we’re 6 percent down but that can change. I only need a couple of tables to go silly on Petrus and I’m back on budget.”

Gordon Ramsay (Gordon Ramsay): “There’s an increasing air of confidence, which has been particularly apparent since the beginning of September. We’ve noticed an improvement across all private dining and chef’s tables, the areas of business that were most affected by the downturn. Bookings for the rest of the year are extremely strong across the board and we’re looking forward to a Christmas of robust trading.”

Gary Rhodes (Rhodes Twenty Four, Rhodes W1): “We’ve seen a small movement of the bankers being more tempted to come out for lunch. Dinner is no problem: We’re full. We were doing 80 to 90 covers for lunch, and suddenly it was down to 40-50. We’re doing more wines by the glass, which has helped tremendously. People were sticking with water and orange juice.”

Peter Prescott (Boundary, Lutyens): “Next week is looking like the strongest we’ve ever had. On wine, we’re not getting the big 1,000 pound-plus bottles sold to small tables but larger tables are buying 100 pound to 150 pound bottles. The bankers are around but they’re drinking water. The policy of only water at lunchtime has spread across the city. We can do 120 or 130 for lunch but only a few are having bottles of wine.”

David Moore (Pied a Terre, L’Autre Pied): “We’re having our best month of the year. It’s back to pre-meltdown. We have more bums on seats and the spending is returning. People are looking at the nicer end of the wine list. The bankers are back, not in the same numbers and more quietly and discreetly than before. They’re taking out their prime customers. If you’re No. 2 in a company, they’re not going to invite you.”

Michelle McGuire (Palm): “Three weeks ago, Palm had its busiest week since opening in May, with record takings. Weekends are well up in both revenue and customer numbers, which indicates that personal spending is on the rise, too. There doesn’t seem to be a recession in Belgravia.”

Francesco Mazzei (L’Anima): “There was a dramatic improvement in mid-September. Things are much better than a year ago. People are spending good money on wine, and we’ve sold 2.5 kilograms of white truffles. The bankers are back. They’re a bit tight but if they invite clients for business, they want to forget the crisis. We used to sell beers, beers and more bloody beers. Now, there are cocktails as well.”

Thomasina Miers (Wahaca): “Business for us is booming. It’s half-term and we’re flooded on both sites and we have high hopes for Canary Wharf (opening on Nov. 9) as well. In a recession, people are more aware of value for money and they know they can get well-sourced food from us and good service.”

Rowley Leigh (Le Cafe Anglais): “We’re very busy at the moment. I don’t know if the bankers have ever been away. There’s a good feeling that they are coming back, fueling resurgence and a general return of confidence. We’re mindful, though, that the market may change in the New Year and be bumpy in January.”

Philip Howard (The Square): “Business is booming. It’s the strongest since early 2009. Trade is continuously picking up, as is spending. I’m optimistic. As long as you are offering quality and value for money, you are fine. The bankers are back, not massively, but they are.”

Mark Hix (Hix, Hix Oyster & Chop House): “Business is good. The new place is doing well because there’s initial interest. We should have a good run-up to Christmas. We do well on high-end wines. I’m confident. We just get on with what we’re doing. We haven’t spent millions of pounds on the business. We haven’t got lots of investors. I’m optimistic.”

Angela Hartnett (Murano, York & Albany): “Murano is full lunch and dinner and York & Albany has doubled since the summer. It’s doing my head in. You get the feeling no one is proud to be a banker at the moment, which is unfortunate, but I’ll take anyone’s money. We’re not out of the woods yet. People are still being cautious on wine and they are more focused on value for money. They know more and they don’t want to go over the top.”

Sam Hart (Fino, Barrafina, Quo Vadis): “There’s a fragile improvement. Two weeks ago, we had a cracking week, but it only takes something like a school holiday, a rainy night or a football match and suddenly it’s less good. I don’t think the bankers are back in great numbers but we’ve never had them because they’ve been in schtuck since we opened. Dinner is 2 percent off the top and lunch about 25 percent off. Lunch is way down. We’re level pegging with last year across the board.”

Brett Graham (The Ledbury, Harwood Arms): “Business is going well. We’ve improved on last year, probably about 5 percent. The last few weeks seem to be stronger, especially dinner. Things are fine. We have lots of bookings already for November and December.”

Chris Galvin (Galvin Bistrot De Luxe, Galvin at Windows): “Everyone I talk to says the past four or five weeks have been better. It has been tough: up a week, down a week year-on-year. The first thing that hit everyone last year was the wine spend: People ordering 30-35 pound wines instead of 60 pounds. Maybe that’s an indication people are making smarter choices.”

Anthony Demetre (Wild Honey, Arbutus): “Business is good, and has been for both September and October but the test will be in January and February. People are looking for deals -- even more than last year -- and are conscious of budgets, especially on wine spending. We’ve always had bankers, especially at Wild Honey, but they are opting more for set-lunch menus.”

Richard Corrigan (Corrigan’s Mayfair, Bentley’s): “Business is strong, especially in Bentley’s. Lots of tourists are coming over to shop, especially French and Italians. We’re getting the same spending on food, but lower on wine. The bankers are definitely back, but they keep a low profile.”

Claude Bosi (Hibiscus): “Things have been reassuringly positive since September. People have started to book further in advance now, especially in the run-up to Christmas. Entering into our second year in London, we have now noticed repeat bookings, both in the main restaurant and private dining room.”

Vineet Bhatia (Rasoi Vineet Bhatia, Urban Turban): “Thank goodness it’s got better in the past six to seven weeks. At Urban Turban, the spending is almost the same and at Rasoi it’s going up. We always had bankers but they were low profile. Now, it’s beginning to come back.”

Herbert Berger (1 Lombard Street): “One week is good, the next is down. I wouldn’t say there’s a clear trend toward things getting better. The bankers probably don’t want to be seen much or may even be avoiding the area and going somewhere else like Mayfair. It’s strange. I wouldn’t dare predict the beginning of next year because there are a lot of problems out there.”

Will Beckett (Hawksmoor): “It has been great for us. In September, we were around 50 percent up on last September in revenue and we’ve been busy in October. We used to get the showy banking spenders but we haven’t had those for a long time. Maybe they aren’t around anymore. People are spending now because they have good taste, not just a lot of money.”

Jason Atherton (Maze): “It’s our peak time of the year, but January to March could bring a big downturn again because everything depends on the economy. We’re about 15 percent to 20 percent up on the previous three months and roughly where we were last year. If this bonus thing is sorted out then the bankers won’t be scared of spending. They don’t come in splashing their cash because there has been a backlash. We’ve been cooking at people’s houses, where they can drink expensive wines and have a good time, but not in the public eye.”

Tom Aikens (Tom Aikens, Tom’s Kitchen): “Business is going well at the moment and we are busy. Over the last month, we’ve noticed a big increase in private dining bookings, which is great and much better than expected. I can’t really say if bankers are coming back, but we have had some really good spenders recently, which is encouraging.”

(Richard Vines is the chief food critic for Bloomberg News. The opinions expressed are his own.)

To contact the writer on the story: Richard Vines in London at rvines@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: November 1, 2009 19:00 EST