Early Pioneer of Modern British Restaurant Template Will Close After 12 Years

Great Queen Street, a site which blurred the lines between an early gastropub and a modern British restaurant in the post-St. John era, will close on 11 July. The restaurant made the surprise announcement on twitter this lunchtime.

It said that the decision was being made with a “heavy heart” and that it was the end of “12 fantastic years.”

Great Queen Street opened on the street of the same name in 2007, bringing to a close a 12 year tenure which has drawn plaudits from across the industry spectrum.

It belongs to the influential and hugely original pub group behind the Canton Arms, and, perhaps the most famous of them all, the Anchor and Hope on the Cut. The Camberwell Arms, also formerly part of that group, was bought by Frank Boxer of Peckham’s Frank’s Cafe in 2017.

The restaurant was part of a group which emerged following the influence of St John in the mid 1990s. It also followed the opening the Eagle in Farringdon, with both restaurants the brainchild of Michael Belden, and the Eagle the pub that many call the spiritual godfather of the gastropub template.

No reason has yet been given for the closure, but its announcement has led to an immediate outpouring of tributes from across the restaurant industry.

More soon.