Member Article

Woking welcomes two new F&B brands

Woking Shopping, comprising the Peacocks Centre and Wolsey Place, has announced the opening of The Tea Terrace Restaurant & Tea Room, as well as the imminent opening of its sister brand’s debut restaurant The Ol’ West Grill & Diner. Located adjacent to one another on the upper concourse of the Peacocks Centre in Woking, next door to Primark, the two restaurant brands are the brainchild of husband-and-wife duo Rowena and Ehab Shouly, and bolster Woking Shopping’s rapidly growing and varied F&B offering.

Established in 2009, the Shouly entrepreneurs founded The Tea Terrace with the aim of reinventing the concept of English tea rooms, making the tradition of enjoying afternoon tea more affordable than offerings at five-star luxury hotels. They have been successfully operating four branches of The Tea Terrace in Guildford, Cobham and Central London, with the London branches being located in Oxford Street and on Victoria Street.

The new 4,123 sq ft Woking Tea Terrace, which represents the brand’s fifth and biggest so far, offers 120 covers and offers fairy-tale inspired interior design with three life-size golden Cinderella Carriages, as well as high-back leather ‘throne’ chairs and opulent sofas, in which customers can enjoy breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea and dinner. Tea Terrace Woking also offers their iconic ‘Selfieccino’, where customers can get their selfie printed onto the froth of their coffee, something that will certainly appeal to the Instagram generation.

The restaurant will also be home to the new generation of The Tea Terrace’s robotic waitress Theresa, which will start serving customers in January 2022. The Woking branch’s Theresa will be the brand’s second after the one currently serving at The Tea Terrace in Cobham, and will come with autonomous navigation, voice conversation and automatic dish delivery, offering visitors a truly unique F&B experience that cannot be found elsewhere.

Located adjacent to The Tea Terrace, Shouly Enterprises will also be opening the first restaurant of their new brand, The Ol’ West Grill & Diner, in December. Occupying a 2,523 sq ft unit with space for 55 covers, the debut Wild West-themed American steakhouse, grill and diner will serve high-quality Argentinian steaks as well as gourmet Wagyu beef burgers and a huge range of delicious Tex-Mex starters, main courses and desserts.

Designed in-house by the Shouly duo, The Ol’ West Grill & Diner will come with barn wood-style flooring, countertops made of old-style whisky barrels, hand-made pendant lights and chandeliers featuring replicas of bull skulls and leather cowboy hats, offering a fully immersive experience that transports visitors to the Wild West. The Ol’ West Grill & Diner will also have custom-made glasses with a metal bullet piercing through them, made by a bespoke manufacturer solely for the restaurant. The restaurant will even have the only animatronic bull of its kind in the UK, starting from February 2022.

Councillor Ayesha Azad, Leader of Woking Borough Council, commented: “The opening of these two independent operators will enhance Woking Shopping’s already strong F&B offering and is testament to the momentum we are creating in the town centre. Each restaurant adds something unique to Woking and we are sure residents and visitors to Woking will enjoy dining in both. We now have one of the best F&B lineups in the region, making Woking a great place to socialise and visit with family, friends and business colleagues.”

Ehab Shouly, Managing Director of Shouly Enterprises, owners of The Tea Terrace and The Ol’ West Grill & Diner, added: “It is amazing to be opening both of our restaurants in Woking town centre. We have always eyed Woking as our next location, as Woking town centre serves a broad and wealthy catchment area and is well placed to become a major destination due to the significant investment Moyallen and Woking Borough Council are making. We are very confident in the potential of Woking Shopping Centre so we’ve decided to open not one, but two restaurants right next to each other. We look forward to a bright future for The Tea Terrace and The Ol’West Grill & Diner here in Woking.”

The news follows the announcement of the opening of independent refill shop Bare + Fair at 52 Peacocks Centre and the signing of a new 5000 sq ft Tesco store at 31-33 Commercial Way, due to open later this year.

JLL and Nash Bond acted for Woking Shopping. Shouly Enterprises dealt direct.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Libby Gilbert .