Giant shopping centre Westfield London opens today in Shepherds Bush, bringing with it more than 50 restaurants, cafes, bars and convenience outlets, and 25 different cuisines.
In what is probably the most diverse range of dining options to be found in a British shopping mall, the £1.7billion Westfield shopping mall scatters its food offering into several distinct food areas.
The Southern Terrace offers 17 restaurants and cafes from Esca, Gourmet Burger Kitchen and wagamama, to Allegra McEvedy’s Leon, and Thomasina Miers’ Wahaca. Dining space will be available both inside and outside, as well as on the exterior, sheltered upper level.
The Balcony overlooking the main shopping mall plays host to 13 more restaurant outlets, including Square Pie, Tiffinbites, Tossed, and Yo Sushi!, while the Loft’s mezzanine area provides a dedicated collection of restaurants for family dining, including a Nando’s, Pizza Express and Byron.
Searcy’s are also expanding their St. Pancras International Champagne Bar concept into a second outlet in Westfield’s Village area. As well as serving a selection of champagnes, the bar provides seating for up to 30 people, with a menu that has been devised by Michelin starred chef Richard Corrigan.
Amongst the many recognisable names in the shopping centre are a handful of concepts new to the UK including Ito, the new healthy grazing restaurant concept by Tom Etridge, which opens its first outlet in the Balcony section of Westfield.
He said: "Westfield has taken advantage of a one-off opportunity to develop 45 acres of retail space in central London into something unique. I think the centre will be a huge success and it`s exciting to be a part of it."
Pascal Aussignac and Vincent Labeyrie also unveil today Croque Gascon, the first restaurant from the pair showcasing the best food of South West France while Bamboo Basket from Atame and Shanghai Blues also opens, serving a selection of dim sum, noodles and rice dishes. Not to be forgotten, Nineteen Ten, an authentic and vibrant Mexican restaurant, also makes its debut.
Joining the new names are a few international favourites, including South African steakhouse The Meat and Wine Co., Vietnamese restaurant Pho, New Zealand caf? Sacred, and Dublin-based chocolate haven, Butler’s Chocolate.
Rachel Belam, Leasing Executive at Westfield said: “Westfield London’s unrivalled selection of dining options will offer its vast catchment area the innovation, choice, sophistication, quality and authenticity they crave. We’ve deliberately targeted the best and freshest names, names that are mostly new to this type of environment.
“We have created something truly special, something which will have banished every preconceived notion about shopping centre dining.”
Part of the heavily developing White City district, Westfield also houses some 265 shops, and covers over 150k square meters over five floors, making it the third largest shopping centre in the UK after MetroCentre and Bluewater.