More than 50 years on, central London Jewish deli Gaby's is to close

As owner retires, nephew says cafe cannot compete with West End restaurant chains

Gaby’s Deli, a landmark Jewish cafe serving salt beef and falafel in the heart of London’s theatreland for more than half a century, is to close at the end of this month, seven years after leading performers and writers campaigned to save the site from redevelopment.

The deli’s proprietor, Gaby Elyahou, an 82-year-old Iraqi Jew, is to retire and his nephew, Menachem Kojman, 72, who helps to run the cafe, has concluded that he can no longer battle against the march of chain restaurants dominating the West End of London.

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