Nuno Mendes to "reinvent" Taberna do Mercado at new site
The chef moved the Portuguese restaurant, which opened in 2015, out of its 40-cover site on 6 March.
It has relocated to a unit in The Kitchens, the street food space in Old Spitalfields Market he helped curate ahead of its launch last year.
Announcing the move, Mendes wrote on Instagram: “It's a great opportunity for our brand to evolve and we welcome the chance to be part of the new vision for @oldspitalfieldsmarket - exciting times! Reinvent yourself or die ;-).”
The chef will retain ownership of the original Taberna site.
A spokesperson told BigHospitality: “Taberna will become a wine bar / bottle shop that will service Old Spitalfields Market.
“The menu [at the new site] will have some of the dishes from Taberna and others that are adapted for the market format.”
Challenging trading
In December Mendes took to Instagram to admit 2017 had been a difficult year for his “beloved” restaurant.
“We took some major hits this year and we were faced with some of the biggest challenges so far,” he said.
“I honestly didn’t think we would manage to stay open until the end of the year. There is a lot of uncertainty at the moment so I don’t know if we will manage to stay open to see the end of next year but let’s hope so.”
Mendes previously ran Michelin-starred London restaurant Viajante until its closure in 2014, when he became executive chef at Chiltern Firehouse.
