John Lewis overhauls F&B offer with new restaurant launch

John Lewis has unveiled a new restaurant concept, Platter, which will replace its existing F&B offer across 32 stores including Edinburgh, Reading, Exeter and its London flagship.

The department store’s F&B refresh, which comprises part of its £800m store investment drive, comes as hospitality spend accounts for a fifth of John Lewis’ in-store transactions, with sales up 10% year-on-year.

Platter’s Oxford Street offering, which the retailer describes as the “fullest expression” of its new restaurant concept, will feature an open kitchen, cocktail bar, dessert parlour, open coffee roastery and food-to-go options including bean pots and an on-site deli.

The restaurant will also feature a fifth-floor terrace with fifty covers.

The restaurant will also include the Residency, a pop-up concept launching with London patisserie the Eclectic Collection, whose viral fruit-shaped desserts have previously only been available across its two shops.

John Lewis’ new restaurant concept will be operated in partnership with its long-term F&B partner Benugo.

John Lewis director of services and hospitality Katie Papakonstantinou said: “This is a real investment in something customers told us mattered. Sitting down for something to eat and drink has become part of how people shop and Platter is built for that.

“Platter serves our own coffee - with beans roasted right here in Oxford Street - alongside an open kitchen making pizza, deli and patisserie on site. Whether stopping for coffee, a pizza with family, a treat from the dessert parlour or a drink at the bar, we’ve created a space that makes a shopping trip even more special.”