New site for Wagamama

Japanese noodle bar Wagamama has opened a second site in London’s Soho. Interiors are by David Chipperfield Architects.

The Soho restaurant, which opened on Tuesday, is on two levels and seats 172 people. The main change from the original Bloomsbury site, designed by architect John Pawson, is the indoor queuing area which looks on to the open-plan kitchen. “We wanted to engage the queue as part of the experience,” says Renato Benedetti, who was practice project architect along with Victoria Pike.

Sycamore wood, stainless steel and white Italian mosaic tiles are used. “A limited palette of mater ials keeps things abstract and cool,” Benedetti adds.

Two further sites will open in Kensington and Camden over the next two years and there are plans for a Paris venue. “Each restaurant will be designed by someone different, making it a chain which isn’t a chain,” says a Wagamama spokesman. Designers are yet to be appointed to these projects.