A RESTAURANT boom led by The Ivy 'could help lift the rest of the city centre from the shadow of the Westgate Centre'.

The upmarket restaurant is set to move into the former Natwest building in High Street after Lincoln College submitted plans to redevelop the building and include four apartments on the upper floors.

Plans for another new restaurant and bar – The Plough – in the former Austin Reed shop in Cornmarket Street, reinvigorating the 17th century Plough Inn have also gathered pace.

A £9.75m project to redevelop 1-5 George Street and nearly double the size of the restaurant area could also be submitting for planning approval soon.

With national chains such as Prezzo and Jamie's Italian struggling but opting to stick with their Oxford restaurants, chairman of traders' group ROX, Graham Jones, said the city's restaurant scene was thriving.

He said: "It must have one of the best restaurant offerings in the country, particularly for the size of the city.

"There's so much choice across all cuisines and there's more to come – it's becoming the Mecca of restaurants.

"With the retail that has disappeared and been lost to the Westgate Centre it's better to have a nice new restaurant there than nothing.

"There will be a fallout from this in the next couple of years and some restaurants will probably close – but the good ones and the ones that get their act together will remain, which can only be good for Oxford."

The Ivy, popular with celebrities, is an institution of London's West End and has several cafe branches in the capital as well as one brasserie in Bristol.

The company said it was 'exploring various opportunities' but was yet to sign on a particular location.

But the Oxford Mail has seen proposals for the Natwest building to be adorned with signs for The Ivy.

Drawings also revealed it would have space for 125 diners on the ground floor and seat 206 diners in total.

Oxford City Council's head of economic development, Bob Price, said the restaurant surge was great for the city and proved it was adapting.

He said: "Oxford has a lot of good quality chain restaurants but it hasn't got very much in the way of upmarket restaurants.

"The Westgate has provided some of those and The Ivy has the sort of profile that will tap into the university and tourism market in Oxford, and will add to the offering for visitors.

"The impact of the Westgate was always going to create a turnover of businesses – and some empty units – in the city centre but we are seeing new characters in different areas of the city."

Mr Price added that extremely high visitor numbers were expected this summer and talks had progressed with retailers over filling some of the remaining empty units before the rush.

Another new restaurant on the horizon will see the former Austin Reed shop in Cornmarket Street – originally The Plough Inn from 1656 to 1925 – brought back into use for the first time since the fashion retailer closed in June 2016.

The Plough – as it will be called – will have a restaurant and bar, teaming up with a local microbrewery, and will also offer apprenticeships to budding hospitality students.

Local businessman Chris Mulhall, who launched the 1855 bar in the Castle Quarter in 2013, is behind the scheme and said he wanted to reinvigorate the famous old building.

He said: "I had the idea to take it back to its roots.

"The Grade II listed building has been run down over the last 100 years with face lifts that were more in line with retail fashions than letting the beauty of the building live and breathe.

"That is our aim, to create an amazing space, light, airy yet a place where you can relax in equal measure.

"The Plough will be the first bar / restaurant of its type in Oxfordshire housed in a most special building reinvigorated and brought back to life from its once former self."