Is the new Individual Restaurants loyalty scheme worth joining? Our review of Club IR rewards.
I’m not usally a big fan of Restaurant loyalty schemes. So, we take a look into the new loyalty scheme by Individual Restaurants. Launched recently the IR rewards scheme we are told is focused on experiences and tailored event invitations.
Individual Restaurants collection comprises of Restaurant Bar & Grill, Piccolino, Riva Blu and Piccolo by Piccolino, totalling 31 restaurants across the UK.
From seasonal cuisine and steaks at Restaurant Bar & Grill, to the finest authentic Italian cuisine at Piccolino and Naples-inspired Riva Blu, Club IR rewards are valid across every restaurant in the group.
Points are Pointless
Points are Pointless was the clever strapline used to launch Club IR, their new loyalty scheme. This line spiked my interest, as my dislike for loyalty schemes comes from my past experience of collecting points on rewards cards only to find the cards years later in the bottom of a drawer with the points never used. Usually, to gain any worthwhile rewards, you need a gazillion points.
So what makes the Club IR different?
Well, there is no points system. That’s a good start for me. Club members gain rewards simply by spending at any of the 31 restaurants within the group (restaurants are all over the UK). As I understand it, there are three membership tiers, which are spend-based. I‘m not list all the benefits; after all, that’s their job, but I will list links giving full details at the bottom of my article.
However, if you download the App and join the initial membership benefits includes,
A round of drinks on your Birthday
50% off Wine & Champagne on Wednesdays
15% off Dining on Mondays & Tuesdays
Plus, other exclusive offers and news
Not bad just for signing up and looking at my membership app, it tells me that total spend of £750 is required to move onto the next level.
Members in the higher tiers receive invites to exclusive club events, such as wine and food tasting, clay pigeon shooting, and vineyard trips. The benefits and rewards list is impressive, including money-can’t-buy experiences and invitations to Club IR parties. Also, expect an enhanced experience at the restaurant, with your favourite drink being poured on arrival as part of the concierge service. Rumour has it that they are launching an exclusive wine club for members; as yet, I do not have any details.
This reward scheme is ideal for regular dinners or if you do a lot of corporate entertertaining, where it would be easy to move up the levels. It is nice to have a perk or two to offset your spending.
I will mention that I’m not getting any incentives for people to sign up, simply putting it out there. However, I can confirm I did take the plunge and signed on the app and am a member the new loyalty scheme. For those of you worried that by signing up your inbox will be full of marketing emails I can say so far I have recieved an email from Individual Restaurants about once a week which for me is about right.
To date I have experienced one event from the loyalty scheme: an Italian wine-tasting event at Piccolino on Heddon Street. It was a great evening, and the team at the restaurant went over and above to make the guests, including myself feel very welcome, so much kudos to Sales Manager Alessia Rosini, General Manager Simone Laucci and Head Chef Natale Falcone for their hospitality on the night.
I will leave this for you to check out below, as their website goes into more detail on Club IR.
For more information, please visit https://clubir.individualrestaurants.com/
Individual Restaurants
