Re-opening dates for dine-in at Milton Keynes wagamama restaurants revealed

The chain will offer dine-in from next Monday, using sliding screens along the bench seating to keep diners germ free.

The screens, inspired by Japanese partition designs, sit on tiny rollers and can be moved up and down the full length of the benches to separate the different groups of guests.

The wagamama restaurants in Central Milton Keynes will offer dine-in from July 27 and the restaurant at MK1 retail centre will follow a few days later, on July 31.

Earlier this month wagamama re-opened four trial sites to test the safety and efficiency of the designs which were put in place to meet strict social distancing and increased hygiene measures.

By the end of August there will be 138 wagamama restaurants open and all will participate in the ‘Eat Out to Help Out’ scheme.

Other measures the restaurant is taking to ensure guests 'stay safe the wagamama way' include social distancing queuing, disposable menus on placemats, and front of house team members in face visors.

The restaurants will also be cashless, providing a simple pay on phone mechanic at the end of the meal which minimises staff contact and adheres to the government’s request of taking the name and phone number of at least one person in the group visiting the restaurant.

The return to dine-in has been guided by a survey of wagamama customers which asked what was important to them when considering reopening restaurants. Safety, whilst maintaining the much loved ability to sit on our benches within the restaurant came back as key messages.

During the first weeks of re-opening guests will be asked to give wagamama feedback so that they are constantly learning and improving.

Design Director Mark Standing said: “Sliding screens (shoji) are at the very heart of the Japanese architectural aesthetic. They have been used for hundreds of years to divide spaces in buildings and rooms. I took my inspiration for the design of screen dividers for our long sharing tables and benches from this tradition”.

CEO Emma Woods said: “The main question we have been working on as a team is how can our guests feel safe but still have a communal wagamama experience, sitting on our benches. The team have applied our philosophy of kaizen - good change - to this challenge and I am delighted we have found a design solution which provides social distancing for our guests in a way which is true to the design ethos of the brand.”