6 London restaurants that closed this December

Sure, there are loads of new restaurants about to open in London, but let’s also pour one out for the capital’s eateries which didn’t make it to the end of the year. 

2024 was the year in which we said goodbye to Michelin star favourite Cornerstone in Hackney Wick, as well as Jason Atherton’s Social Eating House in Soho, Mayfair’s Pollen Street Social and Galvin at Windows, and Monica Galetti’s Mere in Fitzrovia. Perhaps the biggest closure of them all was Michel Roux Jr’s Le Gavroche, which was opened in 1967 but served its last in January. 

Following the great restos that closed through the autumn, here’s everyone who closed this past month. 

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Tiella, Highbury

Thankfully, this isn’t so much of a goodbye as a farewell. Run by the boss Dara Klein, Tiella was the kitchen-in-residence at Islington pub The Compton Arms from April 2022. Dara’s rustic Italian menu was one of London’s best, featuring an almighty chicken milanese, ever-changing and ever-delicious pasta dishes and giant slabs of cheese drenched in honey. We will miss it terribly, but we have it on good authority that we’ll be tasting Dara’s cookery elsewhere in 2025. In the meantime, we’re looking forward to the pub’s new whole beast butchery residents Rake, who’ll be popping-up from Jan 9.

Socca, Mayfair

Socca was a big ticket Mayfair restaurant that didn’t quite go the distance. Despite its fine-dining credentials, this French-Provençal bistro – which had a menu by Claude Bosi and backing from Jamavar, MiMi Mei Fair and Koyn restauranteur Samyukta Nair – closed after less than two years on the scene. 

Orasay, Notting Hill

Since 2019, Orasay has been one of the best in the west for seafood. Alas, due to rising fish prices and chef-founder Jackson Boxer’s commitment to quality, Orasay trades its last on NYE.

‘We specialised in working with a fragile and elusive product with a minuscule shelf life… and though we're busier than we've ever been… those guests have considerably less freedom to spend than perhaps they once did, and as such, being unable to raise prices, and being unwilling to work with a cheaper and inferior product, we have decided to imagine a bold new future for ourselves in quite another direction,’ explained Jackson.

The new direction is Dove, which will open on the same site on January 7 with a menu that features a pork and duck meatball, steamed hake with grilled cabbage, and roast chicken with fennel and blood orange.  

Salt the Radish, Finsbury Park

This much-loved veggie cafe on Finsbury Park’s Blackstock Road opened back in 2017, serving up brunch, lunch, coffee, cake, salads, sandwiches and all the good stuff. Sadly, their landlord didn’t renew their lease and they shut up shop on December 15.

‘Looking on the bright side, it’s not the end for Salt the Radish,’ they commented. ‘We’ll be continuing with our events, supper clubs, catering and perhaps a few new ideas, so watch this space!’

Temper, Shoreditch and Paddington

BBQ and steakhouse spot Temper’s Paddington site only opened at the start of the year, but it – and the Shoreditch location – closed after their operating company entered administration. The Soho, Covent Garden and City sites remain open for now. 

Bandol, Chelsea

Despite a tidy menu of Provençal and Niçoise classics, this Chelsea neighbourhood spot has served its last bouillabaisse. Sister restaurant Margaux in South Kensington is still open, if you need an urgent carafe of Sancerre and some roasted frog legs.

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