Restaurant Group and Giraffe unveil new concept: The Restaurant Group and Giraffe, the family dining brand owned by Tesco, have unveiled a brand new casual all day dining concept, Wondertree, to be opened at Heathrow’s ‘Terminal 2: The Queen’s Terminal’. The largest restaurant in the brand new terminal due to open in June 2014, Wondertree will occupy over 5,000 square foot with 210 covers and has been designed to take advantage of the airfield view over the UK’s hub airport. 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 updating 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’, a statement claimed. The design also incorporates the latest technology such as tablet menu translations, contactless payment and the potential to utilise device recognition mobile technology. Wondertree 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. Nick Ayerst, managing director of TRG Concessions, said: “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 of Giraffe Concepts, said: “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.”