HEREFORD will be getting its chopsticks out as the final Old Market restaurant, Wagamama, opens today.

And head chef Steve Mangleshot is expecting to serve more than 600kg of noodles within the first month at the new restaurant - the only Wagamama within 40 miles.

Diners at the pan-Asian chain are known to get to know one another – the restaurant is set out using long benches and shared tables.

Alix Wheeler, manager at the new restaurant’s new, said: “We’re looking forward to introducing a new style of dining at the Old Market shopping centre and bringing our pan-asian, freshly prepared dishes to Hereford.”

Also opening today is My Coffee Corner – the first local business to set up on the Old Market site.

Setting up in one of the site’s kiosks, the java joint is the sister of High Town favourite The Coffee Cart and will also offer a range of artisan gelato-style ice cream.

James Gardner, who set up The Coffee Cart Company in 1999, said: “It’s great to be given this opportunity to expand our local business and we’re all looking forward to being able to offer shoppers our continental cafe bar experience.”

As part its opening there will be a pedicab ferrying coffee fans between the old cafe and the new location – where they will be able to enjoy a jazz band while they sip away.