Why We Buy - Consistency

I was fortunate enough to attend a dinner at a well-known restaurant last night as part of the Sydney Crave Festival and Pyrmont Uncorks the Hunter Valley promotion.  The discussion at our table turned to why our restaurant was fully booked and another well-known establishment just around the corner was not.  The deal on offer was roughly the same - a degustation menu. It turns out the second restaurant trades under the name of it's owner, let's say Stephen's Bistro, and I wondered why the restaurant was not fully booked as 'Stephen' is very well known in Sydney and widely regarded as arguably the top chef (there are always polite arguments about this :) ).    

Someone at the table mentioned that 'Stephen' owns another restaurant and is the top chef for this restaurant as well (quite close by too), thus dividing his time between the two establishments.  They went on to say that the 'consistency' of the offering at 'Stephen's Bistro' had suffered, and (quite logically) locals were not prepared to take the chance of 'Stephen' not being there on the evening.  

All of this is a long story (apologies) to illustrate the point about consistency - and that it sells.  As human beings we tread a careful divide between wanting variety or 'new-ness' (novelty), and a desire for predictability.  How does your brand cater for this balance ? Do you know which your customers value more and when ?  How can you leverage this knowledge to fine tune your offering ?

It  should be simple.  Insight pays.