John Lewis has revealed its new in-store restaurant concept in full, with the opening of the flagship Platter at Oxford Street.
Platter will replace John Lewis restaurants across 32 stores, from Exeter to Edinburgh, by the end of 2027, with Bluewater, Chichester and Reading already reopened. The programme forms part of an £800m multi-year investment in John Lewis.
Platter Oxford Street is the fullest expression of John Lewis’ new restaurant concept, with an open kitchen serving hand-stretched pizza, a made-on-site deli, a dessert parlour, a bar overlooking the shop's atrium and 50 outdoor covers on the fifth-floor terrace, above Britain’s busiest high street. With seating for 300, Platter is one of the biggest restaurants on Oxford Street.
The retailer says the change reflects how differently people shop now: "Hospitality accounts for more than 20% of John Lewis in-store transactions and sales have grown by nearly 10% in the past year, as customers spend longer in shops and increasingly treat eating as part of the trip rather than a break from it."
John Lewis opened its first cafe in 1965, and now has 62 cafes and restaurants across the country.
The restaurants are operated in partnership with Benugo, building on a 10-year relationship. Each Platter is designed around the scale and character of its shop, so what customers find will vary by location.
Katie Papakonstantinou, director of services and hospitality for John Lewis, says: "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."
This summer John Lewis announced a £50m investment across five shops, including a £20m refurbishment of John Lewis Glasgow – its largest single-shop investment in recent years – alongside Cambridge, Leicester, Reading and Liverpool.
