Back in Westfield, probably for the last time this year, the retail thrill-seekers are gone and in their place are shoppers and a lot of hungry people.

The mall still has plenty of people wandering around and for those making a repeat trip, there are a brace of new stores to look at, all of which have welcomed their first customers over the past fortnight.

In the main part of the centre, Hollister is the most obvious new arrival, open at last following a number of construction hitches that hit its schedule. For fans of the brand, there is now the chance to be met with the “Wassup” greeting as they pass through its doors, just like in Brent Cross.

Elsewhere, there is Suit Supply, where if you get tired of looking at the whistles, there are always tuxedo-clad mannequins sporting full-length, black-feathered wings, dark angel style. Sadly the sign on one of the units stating “Ghost - opening December” seems a little misplaced given the turn that events have taken.

And then there's The Village, the development's designer area. At last it's up and running proper with Prada, De Beers, Gucci and Tateossian, among a number of brands that have made it past the starting blocks.

As a rule of thumb, Westfield has now come into line with the rest of the high street and substantial reductions are available on request - on top of the advertised discounts. Indeed, in one of the more upscale jewellery retailers, just a glance at one of the display cabinets was enough to solicit a “we can give you a 5 per cent discount”. When no reply was proffered, the ante was raised to 15 per cent.

So shoppers are shopping, in-store discounts are on hand and a few more stores are open - all pretty much as might be expected in the run-up to Christmas 2009 in a UK shopping centre.

There is one difference, however. The restaurants and eateries, all of which are in the middle of the mall, are full to bursting, even mid-afternoon. There are probably a couple of reasons for this. For a start, the food offer is well above average and the selection is impressive. But there is also the point that for those in search of fine dining, Westfield's hinterland is not up there with London's best. All of which should be enough to ensure a reasonable first Christmas for this west London newbie.

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