Response to TDR statement

Restaurant Group PLC
20 January 2004

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
20 January 2004

NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION IN OR INTO THE UNITED STATES,
CANADA, JAPAN OR AUSTRALIA


                            The Restaurant Group plc
    (previously City Centre Restaurants plc) ('The Restaurant Group' or the 
                                   'Company')
                Response to statement by TDR Capital LLP ('TDR')

The Board of The Restaurant Group notes the announcement today by TDR that it is
continuing to pursue discussions with ASK Central plc, following TDR's previous
announcement on 9 January 2004.

ASK Central entered an offer period on 12 November 2003 and The Restaurant Group
announced its Offer for ASK Central on 18 December 2003.  The Board notes there
continues to be no offer from TDR and indeed TDR has repeated today that there
is no certainty that any offer will be forthcoming.  The Offer by The Restaurant
Group announced on 18 December 2003 and posted to ASK Central Shareholders on 22
December 2003, remains the only Offer capable of acceptance.

Based on the Closing Share Price of The Restaurant Group Shares today of 77.75
pence, the Offer by The Restaurant Group is worth at least 185.7 pence per ASK
Central Share.  In addition, ASK Central Shareholders who accept The Restaurant
Group Offer have the opportunity to receive dividends amounting to 4.4 pence per
ASK Central Share.

ASK Central Shareholders are reminded that the closing date for The Restaurant
Group Offer, which has the unanimous recommendation of the ASK Central Directors
each of whom has accepted The Restaurant Group Offer, has been extended to 3.00
pm on 26 January 2004. To the extent they have not already done so, ASK Central
Shareholders who wish to accept the Offer should complete and return their form
of acceptance in accordance with the procedure set out in the Offer Document.



Enquiries:

The Restaurant Group plc
Alan Jackson (Executive Chairman)
Andrew Page (Group Managing Director)

Tel: [phone]

Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein
Charles Batten
Christopher Baird

Tel: [phone]


College Hill
Matthew Smallwood

Tel: [phone]

Terms used in this announcement shall have the same meaning as those in the
Offer Document and the Listing Particulars dated 22 December 2003.

Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein Limited, which is authorised and regulated in the
UK by the Financial Services Authority, is acting exclusively for The Restaurant
Group and for no one else in connection with the Offer and the Placing and will
not be responsible to anyone other than The Restaurant Group for providing the
protections afforded to customers of Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein Limited, or
for affording advice in relation to the Offer and the Placing or any matters
referred to in this announcement.

The Offer by The Restaurant Group is not being made, directly or indirectly, in
or into, or by use of the mails of, or by any facilities of a national, state or
other securities exchange of any US Restricted Jurisdiction, Canada, Australia,
Japan or any other jurisdiction if to do so would constitute a violation of the
relevant laws of such jurisdiction and the Offer should not be accepted by any
such use, means, instrumentality or facility, or from within any US Restricted
Jurisdiction, Canada, Australia, Japan or any such other jurisdiction and doing
so may render invalid any purported acceptance of the Offer. Accordingly, copies
of this announcement and any documents related to the Offer are not being and
must not be mailed, forwarded, sent, transmitted or otherwise distributed in,
into or from any US Restricted Jurisdiction, Canada, Australia, Japan or any
such other jurisdiction and all persons receiving such announcement (including,
without limitation, custodians, nominees and trustees) should observe these
restrictions and must not distribute, forward, mail or transmit or send them
into or from any US Restricted Jurisdiction, Canada, Australia, Japan or any
such other jurisdiction.





END


                      This information is provided by RNS
            The company news service from the London Stock Exchange