Gastro-slump as new restaurant openings drop by two-thirds
THE number of London restaurants due to open in the autumn’s key “launch season” is down by at least two thirds on last year in an unprecedented gastronomic slump.
Figures compiled for the Evening Standard reveal how the devastating impact of the pandemic on central London has resulted in dozens of plans being put on hold or shelved altogether.
So far this year only 22 new restaurants have opened or are confirmed to launch by Christmas, with a further 19 “possibles” that may be delayed until 2021. The likely maximum of about 40 during what is normally the busiest time of the year for new ventures compares with 126 in 2019, a fall of 68 per cent.
It is also well below the 104 openings in autumn 2018 and the 114 in 2017.
London’s fine dining sector has been badly hit by the fallout from the pandemic, particularly in the West End and the City. Less than half the normal number of office workers are at their desks and very few foreign tourists are visiting the capital. Boris Johnson’s new legal limit of six on social gatherings is another blow as it wipes out lucrative private dining and events bookings in the run-up to Christmas.
Openings that are being paused include Portuguese chef Leo Carreira’s Claro in Soho, and Michelin-starred Jason Atherton’s H.O.M.E in Mayfair.
Projects pressing ahead include Dan Keeling and Mark Andrew’s Noble Rot Soho in the former Gay Hussar site in Greek Street; Asma Khan’s Darjeeling Street in Covent Garden; Italian Giannino Mayfair, the first overseas outpost of one of Milan’s most famous restaurants; and MasterChef: The Professionals 2018 finalist William JM Chilila’s West African restaurant Akoko in Fitzrovia.
Those on the “possible” list include French cookery school Le Cordon Bleu’s Cord in Fleet Street, and Chris Corbin and Jeremy King’s Manzi’s in Soho.
Gavin Hanly, co-founder of the Hot Dinners website, which compiled the figures, said: “While there are still some very interesting new openings to look forward to this year, like Noble Rot Soho, we’re likely to see more activity in the clearer waters of 2021.”
There are still some very interesting openings to look forward to this year, like Noble Rot Soho Gavin Hanly,
Hot Dinners website