John Lewis to bring Italian restaurants into Oxford Street flagship

The department store will host Italian burger joint Ham Holy Burger’s first UK outlet along with sister restaurant Neapolitian pizzeria Rossopomodoro, both of which focus on fresh, authentic ingredients.

John Lewis retail director Andrew Murphy said: “Food is increasingly important to our customers, and ensuring that the restaurants in our shops are places which people seek out and want to spend time in is a key part of our approach to creating enjoyable and memorable social experiences at John Lewis.”

Rossopomodoro and Ham Holy Burger UK managing director Handley Amos added: “John Lewis represents uncompromising quality and service in the UK, and we believe both Rossopomodoro and Ham Holy Burger’s emphasis on premium, authentic ingredients make us a perfect partner for their customers.”

John Lewis is the latest retailer to up its food offer. Tesco last year acquired family friendly restaurant Giraffe and is bringing branches into its larger stores while John Lewis’s rival Debenhams’ revamped Oxford Street flagship has an enhanced food offer.

Ham Holy Burger is an Italian gourmet burger restaurant with three restaurants in Milan and Rome while Rossopomodoro, which was set up in Naples in 1999, now has eight sites in the UK in London and Birmingham.

The move builds on John Lewis’s recent opening of two branded catering outlets, Scandinavian juice bar Joe & The Juice in its Solihull shop and Hotel Chocolat’s cocoa bar cafe in Edinburgh and York.

John Lewis has tried to make its shopping experience more diverse and social and has introduced travel concession Kuoni and Beauty Retreat spas into stores.