New restaurants and bars announced for £80m Stansted redevelopment
The hospitality industry showed that it was keen to get involved with the new transformation, with Stansted receiving 70 food and drinks brands submitting tenders for only 12 available units. The final selection was chosen with the intention of offering customers the choice of a range of restaurants that cater to different budgets and offer sit-down dining options as well as quick ‘grab and go’ choices.
The 12 new brands are:
- James Martin Kitchen
A premium style bakery from British TV chef James Martin, the café will offer takeaway and eat-in options. It is making its debut at Stansted.
- itsu
itsu will serve low fat and low calorie Asian dishes such as chicken noodle soups and hot brown rice potsu.
- Harris + Hoole
The venue at Stansted will be Hassis + Hoole’s first airport stop. The speciality coffee shop launched two years ago in London and has an app which allows customers to both order and pay from their smart phones.
- Giraffe
Giraffe offers dishes from around the world and aims for a friendly and lively atmosphere, marketing itself as a good stop for families. Its menu offerings include pasta dishes, salads and club sandwiches.
- Halo
Halo is a champagne bar concept created for Stansted and set in a prime central location in the departure area.
- Leon
Leon offers quick ‘hot box’ options for travellers that have less time to wait around, offering a variety of options including Chilli Chicken, Moroccan Metalballs, Sweet Potato Falafel and salads, burgers and noodles. It also has a large breakfast offering.
- Cabin
Cabin is more of a luxury restaurant experience, serving fine wines and a contemporary British menu from an open kitchen. This venue is Cabin’s airport debut.
- Coast to Coast
This is an American dining concept serving dishes such Aberdeen Angus burgers, Chicago style deep pan pizzas and seafood. Coast to Coast also has a varied breakfast menu including American favourites such as pancakes with maple syrup.
- Pret A Manger
Pret A Manger has been in Stansted for 10 years but is moving to a larger unit in a more central location.
- Starbucks
The Starbucks at Stansted has been designed specifically for travellers with its new ‘Evenings’ concept with a tapas and wine menu.
- Burger King
The Stansted Burger King is designed for convenience and offers travellers amenities such as power supplies to charge smart phones and laptops.
- JD Wetherspoon – The Windmill Pub
The Windmill Pub has been at Stansted for 10 years but now J D Wetherspoon has invested £2.4m into a redesign which will include a new mezzanine bar and a windmill centrepiece.
The new restaurants and bars are planned to open in Spring 2015, except for the Burger King which will be open later this year.
This is part of an expensive move by the airport to improve passenger facilities, and all the restaurant and bar options will be located in one area near to the exit points to the departure gates, so customers can relax not far from their gates. Stansted will be installing screens in all the food and drink venues too, so that flight status information is always readily available for those in the units.
Beth Brewster, the MAG retail director responsible for delivering the new international departure lounge at Stansted said: “We’re not just giving Stansted a make-over, this is a multi-million pound investment to create contemporary, convenient, innovative and stylish terminal facilities and I’m sure all our passengers will be thrilled to see the new and exciting range of cafes, bars and restaurants that have secured their part in this exciting development.
“We’ve listened to what passengers want and really hope they will all be delighted with the choices on offer.”
