Runnymede invests £1m in new restaurant

The Runnymede Hotel & Spa in Egham, Surrey, is investing £1m in the development of a 140-seat riverside restaurant in an ambitious bid to drive up food and beverage revenue.

The hotel has ripped out its traditional, 90-seat restaurant and is replacing it with a designer-styled unit, to be called Left Bank, which will open on 11 June.

Head chef Laurence Curtis said he expected the new restaurant to attract higher usage from residents and entice people attending conferences at the hotel to come back for a meal.

"Like everybody else in the hotel industry, we want our restaurant to be full. At present, it's half full," he said.

Mr Curtis said the hotel restaurant would continue to feature a modern menu with Mediterranean influences, but this would be extended.