John Lewis has opened the flagship version of its new Platter restaurant concept at Oxford Street, as it prepares to roll the format out across 32 stores by the end of 2027.
The new 300-seat restaurant includes an open kitchen, made-on-site deli, dessert parlour, cocktail bar, fifth-floor terrace and an in-store coffee roastery.
Platter will replace existing John Lewis restaurants across 32 locations, from Exeter to Edinburgh, with Bluewater, Chichester and Reading already reopened with the new concept.
The programme forms part of John Lewis’ £800 million multi-year investment in its shops and digital experience.
The Oxford Street opening is the fullest version of Platter so far. Its open kitchen will serve hand-stretched pizza, while the deli will offer freshly prepared salads, cold meats, fish and grab-and-go options.
The restaurant also includes a dessert parlour serving sundaes and Belgian waffles, a cocktail bar overlooking the store’s atrium and 50 outdoor covers on its fifth-floor terrace.
For the first time, John Lewis has also introduced an in-store coffee roastery. Overseen by a Master Roaster, it will roast a single-origin Arabica bean sourced exclusively for the retailer, with customers able to buy the coffee as beans or ground coffee to take home.
Platter Oxford Street will also house The Residency, a rotating pop-up space launching with London patisserie The Eclectic Collection.
Hospitality grows at John Lewis
The investment comes as hospitality plays a growing role in how customers use John Lewis stores.
Hospitality now accounts for more than 20% of John Lewis in-store transactions, while sales have increased by nearly 10% in the past year.
John Lewis said customers are spending longer in its shops and increasingly treating eating and drinking as part of the shopping trip rather than simply a break from it.
The retailer opened its first café in 1965 and now operates 62 cafés and restaurants across the country. Its restaurants are operated in partnership with Benugo, building on a ten-year relationship.
Each Platter will be adapted to the scale and character of its individual store rather than following an identical format across the estate.
Katie Papakonstantinou, Director of Services and Hospitality for John Lewis, 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.”
