Writing on its website, the company posted a statement announcing the ‘difficult decision’ to close the restaurant, saying that reopening the restaurant with customer distancing measures would make the business unviable.
The statement reads: “RL, the company which licensed brand Indian Accent in London is deeply saddened to announce its permanent closure. This difficult decision was made as a last resort after carefully considering all the factors in play as a direct result of COVID-19. Social distancing would reduce the restaurant capacity to just 30 covers. This combined with the significant fixed costs as a result of operating on one of the most expensive streets in the world and the general economic uncertainty in the UK, means that the business is unviable at its current location.
“A huge thank you to all our guests for their love and support and to the incredibly talented and dedicated London team whom we shall miss.”
Indian Accent opened in late 2017 to critical acclaim. Head chef Manish Mehrotra won plaudits for his Indian takes on western dishes, with a menu that featured blue cheese-stuffed mini naan breads; meetha achaar pork ribs, sundried mango, onion seeds; baked sea bass, amritsari masala butter, sweet corn kadhi; and doda barfi treacle tart, vanilla bean ice cream.
Evening Standard restaurant critic Fay Maschler awarding it a rare five-star review and the restaurant was ranked at number 75th on last year’s UK Top 100 Restaurants list. However, it failed to get recognition from Michelin, which overlooked it from its star rating.
It is one of a number of high-profile restaurants to announce that they won't reopen once lockdown is lifted, with uncertainty hanging over whether Brett Graham's two-Michelin starred restaurant The Ledbury will ever reopen its doors. Le Caprice in Piccadilly, The Frog Hoxton, Siren at The Goring and Texture will also not reopen.
The statement goes on to say that Mehrotra and the rest of the team hope to bring Indian Accent to London at a larger location at some point in the future.
Two other India Accent restaurants, in New Delhi and New York, will remain open and are currently getting ready to safely reopen in compliance with local guidelines, says the company. They are unaffected by this independent decision taken by the London company, it says.
