Edmunds opened his eponymous restaurant in Soho in 1985 onin an 18th century town house on Lexington Street is Soho on the success of his antique prints business. His restaurant was regarded as one of the last bastions of ‘old Soho’ with an unpretentious and charming interior, seasonal menu and a wine list noted for its value for money.
Announcing the news, the restaurant posted a note on its website saying: “It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Andrew Edmunds.” He was 79 years old.
The restaurant will remain closed today (20 September) having previously posted on social media that it would be closed on 18 and 19 September ‘due to unforeseen circumstances’.
Chef and restaurateur Jeremey Lee from nearby restaurant Quo Vadis described Edmunds as a very great part of Soho and as “unique, inimitable, a consummate host, a superb vintner”. He also said that Edmunds “possessed a great charm”.
Writing in response to the news, Nick Gibson, owner of The Drapers Arms gastropub, said that Edmunds was his “inspiration for steadfast hospitality, absurd generosity, unfussy but fabulous food”.
Jesse Dunford Wood, who runs Parlour and Six Portland Road, described Edmunds as “an ardent stickler of the traditional, the scuffed, the unfashionable, the classic, the unfussy, the great value, the seasonal, the functional’.
Restaurant critics also paid their respects to Edmunds, with The Sunday Times restaurant critic Marina O’Loughlin describing him as “the best kind of restaurateur, in it for the love of it”.
O’Laughlin reviewed his restaurant back in 2015 when she was writing for The Guardian, describing it as having ‘a well-deserved reputation for romance’.
Fellow critic Jay Rayner wrote on Twitter: “So sorry to hear that the art dealer and restaurateur Andrew Edmunds has died. A true pillar of Soho. I've been recommending the lovely restaurant that carries his name to people for years.”