Cult Punjabi Restaurant Tayyabs Forced to Close by Immigration Authorities [Updated]

The cult Punjabi restaurant Tayyabs in Whitechapel, in east London, was forced to close — apparently only temporarily — by the Government’s immigration authorities.

Eater London reached a manager called Aleem at lunchtime today who confirmed that the restaurant reopened for their lunch service at midday. He said, “We were given a closure notice, which meant a 48 hour closure. That’s now expired.” He explained that the problem related to documentation that wasn’t on the premises. “We just had to get those documents in place,” he added. He also said that the restaurant had appointed personnel in charge of human resources, where before it had been the responsibility of a “recruitment company.”

Aleem also confirmed that the restaurant closed on Tuesday, despite the news breaking late on Wednesday evening.

Two days ago the restaurant to had posted a notice to their door, stating they had been issued with an Illegal Working Closure Notice by UK Immigration Enforcement.

A second notice on the door — a letter, from Tayyabs — read:

Dear Patrons,

As you are aware our restaurant has been issued with a closure notice.

We are working hard to resolve this matter.

We hope to be open on Thursday 31st August [today].

Sorry for the inconvenience.

We hope to see you soon.

Tayyabs.

Although Tayyabs themselves had also posted a “Be back soon” message on Twitter (since deleted), some users of the site reacted to the news with a mixture of alarm and surprise.

Food blogger, Chris Pople reacted in succinct terms:

The restaurant — famous for their grilled lamb chops, more than anything else — has been open since 1972.