Wondertree, a brand new casual all day dining concept, is announced 8 July as the latest appointment to Heathrow’s ‘Terminal 2: The Queen’s Terminal’.
Wondertree is a collaboration between The Restaurant Group plc (TRG) and Giraffe Concepts (Giraffe).The largest restaurant in the brand new terminal due to open in June 2014, Wondertree will occupy over 5,000 sq ft with 210 covers and has been designed to take advantage of the airfield view over the UK’s hub airport.
Commitment to revolutionising passenger dining
Following the appointment of John Torode and Gregg Wallace in April this year to provide a critique of Heathrow’s bars and restaurants, the airport has made clear its commitment to revolutionising passenger dining. The Wondertree design responds to Heathrow’s focus on bespoke customer experiences to enhance the passenger journey through a choice of self-service café and a more relaxed dining area.
The design also incorporates the latest technology such as tablet menu translations, contactless payment and the potential to utilise device recognition mobile technology.
Food cooked to order
Wondertree will provide a fantastic option for all passengers travelling through Terminal 2, with its greatest appeal likely to be to the 62% of leisure passengers. Food will be cooked to order from an open plan kitchen which will feature freshly baked bread and world flavoured salads. Passengers will be able to choose from a quick coffee to a full family meal from a menu that includes stacked sandwiches, flatbread pizzas and global foods such as Los Cabos Chicken Tacos.
TRG and Giraffe
Nick Ayerst, Managing Director, TRG Concessions comments:
“When challenged by Heathrow to create an iconic restaurant for the new Terminal 2, we approached Russel Joffe to collaborate with us following our highly successful partnership with Giraffe in the airport. Wondertree embraces the new generation of eating and drinking and promises to provide a unique experience for Heathrow passengers.”
Russel Joffe, Managing Director, Giraffe Concepts comments:
“I am delighted to be working with TRG again and to be bringing a totally new and fresh all-day dining concept to the new Terminal 2. Wondertree will deliver high quality and great value dishes in a unique environment morning, noon and night – it was amazing to work with a clean slate and create something new.”
Muriel-Zingraff Shariff, Heathrow’s retail director said:
“The dining experience is so important to our passengers and our challenge together with our restaurant partners is to deliver a menu that is designed for busy travellers, caters to an international audience and enhances their journey. Wondertree is a fantastic addition to Terminal 2, especially for families who we know need a broad menu and a relaxed atmosphere.”
Terminal 2
- The Queen’s Terminal, phase 1 is a £2.5bn development
- The terminal will eventually serve 20 million passengers a year and be home to 23 Star Alliance airlines, as well as Aer Lingus, Virgin Atlantic Little Red and germanwings carriers
- An average of 55,000 passengers will arrive and depart from the Terminal daily once in full operation
- Terminal 2 will have 67 outlets in total including shops, bars and restaurants