The Natural History Museum (NHM) in London has launched a new 270-seat restaurant.

Designed by a partnership involving architects RWCA and interior designers Path Design, the 6,500sq ft restaurant is the third of the Museum's visitor catering zones to be re-vamped in the space of 12 months.

To create the eatery, the museum had to obtain a listed building consent as plans included breaking through the original building fabric to an adjacent gallery, providing the additional space.

The extra space was used to 'open up' the kitchens and bring them front-of-house - an unusual design feature for a museum restaurant.

The restaurant is part of a £3m re-fit and facilities refurbishment programme for NHM, and completes a strategic re-modelling of the museum's eating and refreshment facilities

The three-phase, year-long overhaul has been project-managed by Cultural Innovations, which has been responsible for co-ordinating the consultant team and for procurement of fit-out contractors, catering equipment and furniture suppliers.

Zoe Watts, head of events and catering at the NHM, said: "Our aim in this project has been to ensure our eating and drinking facilities match the Natural History Museum's pre-eminence as a world-leading museum.

"We have increased visitor choice and quality of food and service, and we have embraced the challenge of providing a fantastic offer which meets the wide-ranging needs of our main visitor profiles.

"We believe our new restaurant is now at the cutting edge of international museum restaurant design offers high-quality cuisine and will add to our visitors' experience of the Natural History Museum."