A new-look Japanese restaurant has opened at a shopping centre.

YO! Sushi - the popular restaurant chain which offers food on a conveyor belt - opened within the new Ashford Designer Outlet extension at 10am today.

It comes after news of the chain moving in - which already has two stores in Canterbury and Bluewater - was confirmed by centre bosses last month.

The latest restaurant features a brand-new design and changes to its kaiten belt layout, which will flow through three large communal tables seating around 54 people.

The 2,228 sq ft site also has a sizeable dedicated 'YO! To Go' area for those looking for grab and go options.

Chief executive Richard Hodgson said: "We’ve spent the last 18 months looking at how we fully capitalise on the opportunity we have to lead the charge in democratising Japanese food and sushi by making it more accessible for more people. In order to do this, we need to be able to deploy different formats and options depending on the site and customer mix.

"The opening of Ashford, where we are trialling a dramatically different kaiten belt layout, which allows us to better seat groups and families together, demonstrates just one element of how we are evolving our offer in the UK to broaden our appeal.”

The Designer Outlet is undergoing a £90 million expansion - which will see 50 new premium and luxury brands added to the centre.

Set to be completed in Autumn 2019, the expansion will include new facilities such as an events space, food piazza, an interactive children's playground and 725 additional car parking spaces.

Today, motorists faced delayed as bosses shut Newtown Road for a second time to complete traffic calming measures for the centre's expansion.

The road is now closed at the junction with Romney Marsh Road until Friday, July 19, causing delays across the town for two-and-a-half months.

YO! Sushi is the second store to open within the new extension, as coffee and sandwich chain Pret A Manger opened its doors earlier this month.

Zwilling - one of the largest manufacturers of kitchen knives, cookware and flatware - is also set to open today.

It will be followed by the arrival of fashion brand Paul Costelloe on Thursday, May 16.

The Irish-American designer brand will offer womenswear, menswear, bags and jewellery.

Later this month, the £400,000 interactive playground, which has space for more than 200 children to play at one time, will open at the centre.

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