Wagamama to open 40 new restaurants and revamp 100 sites

Wagamama is set to open as many as 40 new restaurants and undertake more than 100 refurbishments over the next three years.

The news came as the Japanese inspired restaurant group opened the doors on its new flagship restaurant on Great Marlborough Street in London.

Wagamama, which last year was voted the number one brand in the UK in the CGA Peach brandtrack survey in 2014 for "satisfaction" and "intention to revisit", is one of the UK's original Japanese-inspired restaurant groups, having launched its first restaurant in Bloomsbury in 1992 under founder Alan Yau.

In 1997 the group was bought out by Ian Neill and Graphite Capital who helped to steer the brand's meteoric growth.

It was sold for £102.5m to private equity firm Lion Capital in 2005, which in turn sold it in 2011 to Duke Street Capital.

It now operates in 18 countries but in recent years has faced UK competition from smaller operators all moving into the Japanese restaurant space, such as Shoryu, Bone Daddies and Tonkotsu.

The new flagship site is expected to serve as a model for the way in which Wagamama's other existing sites are refurbished.

The site features new central open kitchen will form the heart of the restaurant, and although Wagamama's canteen-style benches will remain, there will also be breakout areas and booths to allow customers to linger for longer. New crockery has also been designed for the company by Grayshott and will feature in all restaurants.

Meanwhile, the team at Wagamama has created a new menu for the Great Marlborough Street site, including a new breakfast offering.

Breakfast dishes will include yasai okonomiyaki (Japanese omelette) and a British twist on Asian classics, including yaki soba noodles served with bacon and eggs.

Steve Mangleshot, executive chef, added: "I can't wait to showcase our latest menu and brand new Asian breakfast offering at Wagamama, Great Marlborough Street. My personal favourite is the okonomiyaki; a Japanese-style omelette, we're sure our customers will love it! Wagamama continues to reinforce positive eating by using fresh ingredients served in atmospheric surroundings."

Wagamama sales up 13.5% driven by new restaurants >>

Wagamama opens its 100th restaurant >>

Steve Easterbrook leaves Wagamama to return to McDonald's >>