It is amazing how things come around in the foodservice industry. One of the first projects I ever worked on was The Pavilions in Birmingham where I met Ian Morgan, a local entrepreneur, who operated a number of kiosks in the food court. Fast forward to the opening of
Eat Central at Westfield Merry Hill and who should have two excellent kiosks but Ian Morgan offering both Harpers, a traditional ‘comfort food’ offer and Napoli, a pizzeria kiosk.
Eat Central, a £24m ‘deconstructed’ food court, opened in October 2009 and combines 16 kiosks with three restaurants, significantly increasing the foodservice provision in the centre to over 50 places to eat and drink. Not surprisingly, some units are not let in the current market.
The look and feel of the Napoli unit has definitely received the ‘Westfield touch’ and was modern, contemporary and stylish. It is nice to see that Westfield have also allowed rear signage in this food court location, as it makes menu selection before ordering so much easier.
As ever, the food in Napoli is hearty, well prepared and visually pleasing. We arrived on a cold Monday in January and enjoyed one calzone pizza special (with garlic bread, salad and regular drink) for £4.99 and one lasagne special (with chips, coleslaw and regular drink), again at £4.99. Both meal deals offered good value for money and the service was efficient and friendly. The plates were empty within minutes, reflecting both the standard of food quality and the hunger of the consultants!
Twenty years on, it is great to see an operator still producing good quality food and drink in the latest foodservice format.

Food    ★ ★ ★ ★ ✩
Service ★ ★ ★ ★ ✩
Value   ★ ★ ★ ★ ✩

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