James Cochran quietly shutters Valderrama’s
Restaurant understands the venue, which was located close to Cochran's flagship 12:51 fine dining restaurant on Upper Street, permanently shut its doors earlier this month.
No official statement regarding the closure has been made, but Valderrama’s is now listed as 'permanently closed' on Google and its website appears to have been shut down.
Restaurant has contacted Cochran for comment.
Named after Carlos Valderrama, the playmaker captain of the famous Colombian 90s football team, Valderrama’s opened in July last year and was billed as 'a bar that shows sport, but not a sports bar' that served a vast drinks selection that included a range of 'quirky' cocktails and Beavertown beers on tap
It also acted as a permanent home to Around the Cluck, the lockdown-born fried chicken brand Cochran operated out of 12:51 during the summer of 2020, offering a food menu of fried chicken burgers and doughnuts.
Valderrama’s marks the latest in a string of failed casual ventures launched by Cochran, who previously worked for Brett Graham at both The Ledbury and The Harwood Arms.
In 2017 he opened a restaurant in Islington’s Angel Shopping Centre, but closed it after just a few months, stating that it had been a pop up, although there was no mention of this at the time.
Then, in the summer of 2019 he launched a permanent location for his GOAT street food concept at Croydon Boxpark, just months after establishing the brand at Lewisham’s Model Market. However, the Boxpark site shut within six months with the GOAT website closing down at the same time.
His highly-regarded 12:51 restaurant, which explores the chef's Scottish and West Indian heritage and is listed in the Michelin Guide, continues to operate.
