Quietly Excellent Restaurant Sardine Will No Longer Transport Diners to the South of France

Alex Jackson’s Sardine will not reopen in Angel because of restrictions imposed on trading by the novel coronavirus pandemic. The quietly excellent restaurant, which focused on the cooking of the Languedoc and Provence in southern France, opened almost four years ago, with the support of restaurateur Stevie Parle.

The restaurant sent a letter to diners today, in which Jackson said:

We are really sad to have to announce that we will not be reopening Sardine.

We want to thank our amazingly loyal guests, our fantastic suppliers, and especially all of our team members past and present who have worked so hard to make Sardine the special place it was. We are truly sorry we are not able to continue to be there for you.

Sadly, despite government support and an understanding landlord, we are unable to see a path to reopening. For our small space any kind of social distancing would be very difficult to implement and we do not have the resources to trade through the inevitably difficult times ahead.

Sardine would have been 4 years old on the 5th of July, and in ordinary times we would be planning a party. We had a lot of fun over the years, and are immensely proud of the great times that we have created for our guests and our employees. Whilst there are no future plans at all right now, we know that Londoners will always have an appetite for the honest, delicious cooking and warm hospitality that Sardine brought to the city, and we hope that someday and somehow we will be able to cook for you all again.

More soon, including a conversation with Jackson about the decision and the future.