Bruno Loubet’s Grain Store is Closing

An official announcement from chef Bruno Loubet’s press office this lunchtime announced that on 23 August Grain Store, in Granary Square, King’s Cross will close permanently.

Loubet opened the restaurant four years ago in partnership with Michael Benyan and Mark Sainsbury of The Zetter Group, which includes the Zetter Hotel and Zetter Townhouse — both in Clerkenwell — and Zetter Townhouse in Marylebone.

The closure comes as Loubet has decided to retire from full-time cooking after spending over 40 years in kitchens across the world. In his career he has cooked under Pierre Koffmann at La Tante Claire and with Raymond Blanc at Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons; his first solo restaurant was Bistro Bruno on Frith Street in Soho. He made his return to London in 2009 from Australia with Bistro Bruno Loubet at the Zetter Hotel. After a short spell as Grain Store Unleashed that restaurant closed in 2015.

The announcement comes as Granary Square is in a state of flux — with new restaurants thought to be competing for sites in the area, as Eater reported last week. This morning Eater learned from sources that Patty & Bun, Chick ‘n’ Sours and Padella are all bidding for a space on the estate.

Grain Store received attention when it opened as Loubet, like Alexis Gauthier, put vegetables at the forefront of his menu. In 2013 it was unusual for a chef from Bordeaux to have taken such a route. But it may have been prescient. A narrative of sustainability has been present in Loubet’s projects since he teamed up with Sainsbury who is a founding director of the Sustainable Restaurant Association (SRA).

Grain Store Gatwick in Gatwick airport will continue to operate. The announcement state that he will continue his work with ARE (Airport Retail Enterprises) on this project.

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