Eateries were busy on the first day of the relaxation, with some customers treating friends and relatives to reunion dinners.

The owner of a western restaurant in Mong Kok said 70-80 percent of its tables were booked -- significantly higher than previous days.

And the restaurant was fully booked for Friday and Saturday, though business would only be back to normal by around June given the 50 percent cap on capacity.

LH Group executive director Simon Wong Kit-lung said his restaurants, mostly serving Japanese hotpot and barbecue, are fully booked for the coming two weeks and business was jumping back to 80 percent of pre-pandemic levels.

But he agreed that Chinese restaurants will benefit less from the easing measures because of the cap of four customers per table and 20 for banquets.