LONDON, March 12, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — OpenTable is lifting the lid on how Brits are celebrating Mother’s Day in 2026, and breakfast in bed is falling out of favour. OpenTable dining data shows Mother’s Day was the biggest dining day of 2025,* while new consumer research reveals that 40% of Brits plan to dine out at a restaurant to celebrate this year.**
To help families turn Mother’s Day plans into reservations, OpenTable has released its annual Top 100 Brunch and Lunch list for 2026, backed by diner reviews and metrics.*** From neighbourhood favourites like Le Garrick in London and Fava in Edinburgh, to special-occasion dining like at the Butchershop in Glasgow and 14 Stories in London, the list helps diners find a place mum and mother figures will love, and encourages them to book ahead for one of the year’s busiest dining days.
“Despite Mother’s Day being the biggest dining day of the year in 2025, 53% of reservations were made within a week of the day itself*,” said Sasha Shaker, Senior Director at OpenTable in the UK and Ireland. “Our Top 100 Brunch and Lunch Restaurants for 2026*** list takes the pressure off the 33% of the UK who stress about finding the right spot.** Whether mum is partial to a Sunday roast, brunch with bubbles or a fancy dinner, diners are spoiled for choice with this new list.”
Mother’s Day Dining Trends 2026
While 41% of mums usually receive the traditional breakfast in bed at home on Mother’s Day, only 9% say it’s how they actually want to celebrate, with over half (53%) preferring a meal out with family instead.** This preference is already showing up in dining behaviour, with 2025 OpenTable data revealing that dining at 10am on Mother’s Day was up 11% year-on-year.*
The reality of the tradition may explain why it’s falling out of favour – 64% of mums who’ve had breakfast in bed say they had to clear up afterwards and 33% describe the breakfast as a nice gesture but fairly basic. Many aren’t waiting around for plans either, as 39% of mums have booked their own Mother’s Day meal before, and 25% would even consider dining out alone as part of their celebration.**
Meanwhile, Brits are still cutting it fine. 11% admit they’ve forgotten Mother’s Day altogether, and 24% have panic-booked a table within 24 hours, rising to 34% of Gen Z compared with 22% of Millennials.** When they do show up, Brits expect to spend £64 on average, per person, on a Mother’s Day meal this year.**
When it comes to what was on the table on Mother’s Day 2025, the most popular cuisines when dining out was British, Italian and French, however Mediterranean (+69%), Scottish (+22%), and Indian (+14%) emerged as the top trending cuisines for Mother’s Day dining year-over-year.*
METHODOLOGY
*OpenTable data: OpenTable looked at the number of seated diners, and per hour and cuisine when noted, from online reservations for all active restaurants on the OpenTable platform in the UK in 2025 and on Mother’s Day 2025 (Sunday 30th March 2025) and compared to Mother’s Day 2024 (Sunday 10th March 2024), when noted. Cuisines are determined by restaurants. The number of reservations on Mother’s Day 2025 (Sunday 30th March) was also analysed.
**Consumer Research Methodology: An online survey was conducted by Ripple Research among 2000 UK consumers celebrating Mother’s Day, including 1199 that will be celebrating Mother’s Day as Mothers/ Mother Figures. Fieldwork was carried out between February 10, 2026, and February 12, 2026. All data was collected in accordance with MRS (Market Research Society) and ESOMAR guidelines, ensuring ethical standards and robust data quality.
***Top 100 Brunch and Lunch List for 2026 Methodology: The Top 100 Restaurants for Brunch and Lunch Methodology: OpenTable’s Top 100 Restaurants for Brunch and Lunch in the UK for 2026 list is generated from over 780,000 reviews from verified OpenTable diners and dining metrics from 1st Jan 2025 – 31st Dec 2025. Restaurants with a minimum threshold of diner reviews were considered and evaluated by a compilation of unique data points, including diner ratings, the percentage of five star reviews, the number of alerts set, the percentage of reservations made in advance, percentage of capacity and direct searches. Metrics were weighted to comprise an overall score. The qualified restaurants were then ranked on having a minimum number of brunch reviews and Sunday lunch availability. The resulting list appears A-Z, not in ranked order.
About OpenTable: OpenTable, a global leader in restaurant tech and part of Booking Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: BKNG), helps more than 60,000 restaurants worldwide fill 1.9 billion seats a year. OpenTable’s world-class technology empowers restaurants to focus on what matters most – their team, their guests, and their bottom line – while enabling diners to discover and book the perfect restaurant for every occasion.
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