The Plaza restaurant development opens at Bluewater

Former MasterChef winner Thomasina Miers was on hand to open the Plaza, a new development of restaurants at the Bluewater shopping centre in Kent.

Jamie Oliver's Jamie's Italian is among the 11 restaurant brands, six of which are new to Bluewater, that will occupy the space of over 54,000 sq ft.

Noodle chain Wagamama and Tapas Revolution, Omar Allibhoy's second site, will join Oliver's restaurant on the upper level of the Plaza alongside Ed's Easy Diner and TGI Friday, which have both undertaken complete refurbishments.

The lower level sees new restaurants from Miers' Wahaca, Balans and Browns join Gourmet Burger Kitchen, Nando's and La Tasca, all of which have also been refurbished.

The Plaza links Bluewater's Thames Walk to the forthcoming events venue Glow, which will launch at the end of the month.

Commenting on the new dining brands, Guy Thomas, head of retail leasing at Lend Lease, said: "The Plaza provides guests with an exciting new destination for dining at Bluewater, where the experience is very much focused on the theatre of food.

"The critical mass of entertainment-themed restaurants and bars are also the perfect complement to Glow, our amazing new events destination that will create an innovative new model for asset enhancement in the industry."

David Taylor, director and co-owner of Balans, added: "Bluewater has always enjoyed an excellent reputation and consistent commercial success, to such an extent that it was the only place that we considered for our first Balans outside of London.

"We are in a prime location and anticipate benefiting both from Bluewater's existing footfall and the increase that will naturally come with the opening of Glow."

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By Janie Stamford

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