Recession is history in London

Loughton_Monkey

It's a little while since I dined in London, but celebrating our anniversary last week, Mrs LM & I ventured to an old favourite, Le Pont de la Tour. Very decent place, costing north of £100 per person with the basic trimmings, and earning 3 knives & forks in Michelin. I washed down the pan fried foie gras and whole lobster with a very decent Burgundy.

But while leisurely sipping the large G&T [Champagne for Mrs LM] we couldn't help noticing a very stark contrast to previous visits. We were struck by the heaving packed restaurant (thankfully we had booked early) and clientelle with an average age of [I guess] about 25. Virtually all Gen Y with a few Gen X. We were, by our reckoning, just about the only boomers there!

No longer is the place home to silver-haired doyens of commerce & Industry. The home to boomers who have taken half a lifetime to afford comfortable surroundings. It seems more a place for all the rich kids to lavish their money on while [presumably] they cry in their Champagne about London house prices, the difficulty of saving for a mortgage, and the way they have been financially raped by the boomer generation.

I declare 'austerity' well and truly over - at least for the younger generation. London is booming!