The first months of 2009 saw a decrease in the number of people dining out, which resulted in a drop of turnover of restaurants by even 30 percent.

To boost demand the owners have cut the prices of meals up to 20 percent, writes Gazeta Prawna.

Traffic is dwindling especially in the case of business customers, from smaller companies in particular, which have significantly cut entertainment expenditures, claims a restaurateur quoted by the paper. Yet the worst is over, as with the warming of the weather and al fresco eating areas and beer gardens are sprouting up across cities, business is slowly picking up.

This does not, however, mean that the turnover figures will match those of 2008, and they still lag behind by around 15 percent. 

Only high-end restaurants located within Warsaw’s Old Town firmly resist the cost-cutting trend, and look to other ways of combating recession, such as discounts for hosting corporate events.

Also budget eateries refrain from slashing prices, as business appears to be booming even, or rather especially, in the face of recession, with a 15 to 20-percent hike in the number of patrons in some fast food chains.