No fireworks, no dishes created for social media, no mouthy chefs poncing about: no wonder it’s such a success
There’s a chill wind whistling around the capital. The award-winning gastropub has had to close its doors. The branché Provençal place in Exmouth Market has disappeared, in its place one of the new breed of coffee chains. A Michelin star couldn’t save the Soho stalwart. That indie meat joint I always meant to get to: gone. Even restaurant titans are suffering: Jamie Oliver blaming Brexit for the closure of six of his outlets. (Food lovers, however, are not so sure that it’s just Brexit that’s to blame.)
London, always rapacious, looks set to be even less hospitable to restaurants in 2017. Yes, Brexit will have an impact, not only on staffing but on ingredient costs. Big-paying companies, the lifeblood of the biz, are making plans to shuffle off. A recent study suggested that as many as four in 10 restaurants will have to shutter if rents and rates continue to increase at their current unholy speed – a predicted further 20% come April. With margins calculated at a miserly 10%, only the heroic or the foolhardy are launching into this most unstable of industries.
Related: Luca, London EC1: ‘It’s an exciting mongrel marriage’ – restaurant review | Marina O’Loughlin
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