In August 2023, TV chef and restaurateur Michel Roux Jr announced he was closing Le Gavroche, one of London’s most iconic and longest standing restaurants. He had been there for 34 years; his father Albert 22 years before that. But the building lease was up for renewal and Roux decided to call it quits, “to spend more time with my family and on other business ventures”.
Three months on from its closure and Roux has done just that (he’ll open Chez Roux at The Langham in the capital in May) but restaurateurs are still reeling from the shock of losing such a stalwart. It felt like a bellwether for Britain’s hospitality industry, which in 2023 saw a total of 1,932 restaurants go bust – a 45 per cent increase on 2022. A spate of high-profile closures followed this year.
Yet this is also the year in which several restaurants will mark significant anniversaries – including Raymond Blanc’s Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons, which turns 40 – and which sees the return of one of Britain’s most celebrated restaurateurs, Jeremy King. These places have weathered Covid, strike action, cash-strapped consumers, rising interest rates and the end in government support for energy bills and food inflation – but how? The answer cannot simply be good food and good service, for plenty of restaurants offer that and struggle to break even.
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