This legendary joint near Carnegie Hall in the Big Apple was known for its belly-busting pastrami sandwiches and had been doling them out to hungry New Yorkers since 1937. Carnegie Deli even had a stint on the silver screen in Woody Allen's 1984 movie Broadway Danny Rose. But sadly, despite its cult status, the branch shuttered in 2016. Owner Marian Harper cited the "long hours" the deli demanded as the principal reason for its closure.
El Bulli, spearheaded by chef Ferran Adrià, was a three Michelin-starred restaurant that earned the title of World's Best Restaurant not once, but five times. A pioneer of molecular gastronomy, the lauded spot served dishes such as spherical lamb brains (pictured) and white bean foam with sea urchins. But, in a shock move at the height of the restaurant's success, Adrià pulled the plug in 2011. He told Eater it was because he had "reached [his] limit" with the restaurant but that its creative philosophy will continue. Sure enough, Adrià is to open a "museum of culinary innovation" in its place.
Another Michelin-starred restaurant with a surprise closure, Restaurant André was the brainchild of French-trained Taiwanese chef André Chiang. Gracing both Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants list and the World's 50 Best Restaurants list, the swish venue was famous for its French nouvelle cooking and its so-called "octaphilosophy" – each dish was hinged on eight principles including texture, uniqueness and purity. After seven years, Chiang announced the closure in 2017. He spoke of his pride in all the restaurant had achieved but said he wanted to "re-prioritise [his] professional life."
This three Michelin-starred restaurant in Chicago's West Loop was one of the finest places to dine in the Windy City. The spot was revered for its fancy, New American food with global influences, from osetra caviar with yuzu and purple shiso to squab with kaffir and green strawberries. However, it closed suddenly in 2017 amid reported tensions between the restaurant's chef Curtis Duffy and its general manager Michael Muser, and the spot's owner Michael Olszewski. Multiple lawsuits have been filed since.
Billy Kwong, fronted by Australian TV chef Kylie Kwong, opened in 2000 and was a foodie staple in Sydney suburb Potts Point for almost two decades. The restaurant served contemporary Chinese food, given extra flair with the addition of Australian bush ingredients – favourites included organic saltbush cakes with chilli sauce and tamari, and red-braised caramelised wallaby tail with black bean and chilli. Kwong took the decision to close her popular restaurant in 2019 in order to "take a different direction in [her] life."
A kitsch tiki bar and restaurant in the city of Rosemead, Los Angeles County, Bahooka was legendary for its mai tais, its over-the-top decor – think palm leaves and pineapples – and its resident pacu fish called Rufus. But, much to fans' disappointment, the joint closed in 2013 when its owners decided it was time to retire. Now its mammoth rib plates and stuffed shrimp are nothing but a fond memory.
wd~50, a Big Apple restaurant hailed as one of the leaders in molecular gastronomy, shut its doors in 2014. The chef at the helm, the acclaimed Wylie Dufresne, told the New York Times "it’s a real estate thing", as developers planned to erect a new building on the site. In a final celebration of the restaurant's legacy, diners (including top chefs) gathered in November 2014 to enjoy a menu of foie gras, beef and béarnaise, and scrambled egg ravioli. The crowd-pleasing deconstructed s'mores (pictured) were a restaurant highlight.
Pioneering and game-changing were just a few of the words bandied around to describe Hedone, a Michelin-starred restaurant in Chiswick, west London. Food blogger-turned-chef Mikael Jonsson (pictured right) catapulted the restaurant to success with his inventive cooking style and use of fine produce – 45 day-aged beef from an acclaimed London butcher and the finest Scottish scallops both graced the menu. When Jonsson decided to close the spot in 2019, he told Big Hospitality that the dropping number of covers at the restaurant had been "disastrous financially".
French-style Brasserie Montmartre in downtown Portland has had something of a rocky ride – it closed it doors three times since it originally opened in 1978. Beginning life as a low-lit jazz club with tableside magicians, the restaurant enjoyed its last stint serving Mediterranean-style cuisine from 2011 through to 2015, when it finally closed for good. The reasons for the historic joint's closure were never reported.
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Triple Michelin-starred Hertog Jan was led by Belgian chef Gert De Mangeleer and top sommelier Joachim Boudens. The duo prided themselves on the restaurant's "close ties to nature" – it operated out of a sleek farmhouse and much of the produce used was plucked straight from the site's vegetable garden. Diners could choose from a string of tasting menus or à la carte options – think top-class meat and vegetable dishes, plated to perfection, no edible flowers spared. They called it a day in 2018, after 13 years of service, with the team saying they wanted time to "enjoy the little things in life."
Charlie Trotter’s had a good run indeed – the restaurant, something of a Chicago institution, was open from 1987 to 2012. For 25 years, the fine dining spot was a frontrunner of the Windy City's food scene, headed up by the eponymous American chef Charlie Trotter. Diners could expect impeccable service, inventive tasting menus and fusion dishes such as Thai chilli profiteroles with yellow curry ice cream. In a surprising move, Trotter closed his celebrated restaurant in 2012 to travel the world with his wife. He sadly passed away the following year.
North 44 was the vision of celebrity chef Mark McEwan of Food Network Canada fame. The joint lasted 28 years in Toronto's Midtown, with a menu that championed seasonal Canadian produce and expertly cooked meat and seafood dishes – examples included bison tenderloin with black truffle, and appetisers such as Brussels sprout purée with maple pancetta. McEwan took to Instagram to announce the restaurant's closure in 2018, putting it down to an expiring lease and a desire for new beginnings.
The definition of an old-school New York diner, Cup & Saucer straddled the border of Lower East Side and Chinatown for a little under three decades. Classic diner dishes – from corned beef hash to pastrami sandwiches and double cheeseburgers – kept punters pouring in but it was ultimately rising rent that forced this joint out. It closed in 2017, with owners John Vasilopoulos and Nick Castanos citing plans to look for a new location. Watch this space...
Top chef Dani García sent shock waves through the food world in 2018 when he announced plans to close his eponymous restaurant less than a month after he was awarded his third Michelin star. The restaurant's tasting menu was a celebration of Andalusian cuisine, including dishes such as a stew with caviar and red prawns. Chef García closed the spot in 2018, with a view to embrace more casual styles of dining and to "take [his] vision of Andalusian gastronomy to every corner and every audience in the world."
Chef Gaggan Anand was the brains behind Gaggan, a Michelin-starred restaurant renowned for its avant garde approach to Indian cooking and molecular gastronomy. The adventurous 25-course tasting menu included concepts such as Lick it Up, a dish which required bemused guests to lick a series of flavour-packed purées directly from their plates. But in 2017, at the peak of Gaggan's success, Anand closed the restaurant – he told Eater it was to avoid becoming "predictable", explaining that the venue was always destined to have a 10-year-max lifespan.
A stalwart of Mayfair's food scene for some 14 years, Maze was a fine dining concept from celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay. The spot won fans with its stylish interiors, and delectable steak and sushi, and even held a Michelin star from 2006 to 2015. Sadly, though, its tip-top reputation couldn't save it. Kavalake, the holding company for Maze and other big-name restaurants, announced a £3.8 million ($4.9m) loss from August 2016 to August 2017. Maze closed in early 2019.
For almost four decades, Little Pete's, an old-school all-night diner, stood proud in central Philly. The landmark spot, named for its diminutive founder, Greek immigrant Pete Koutroubas, amassed a loyal following, who raved about the joint's Reuben sandwiches and friendly vibe. But, in the words of Koutroubas himself, "the big fish eats the little fish" and the diner closed in 2017 to make way for a luxury hotel. A block party was held to celebrate the diner's near 40 years, drawing crowds from all over town.
A star chef in Seattle, Rachel Yang opened Trove in the city's Capitol Hill neighbourhood to much applause in 2014. The spot was a critics' favourite, lauded for its great, no-fuss food, including Korean barbecue and noodles, and its down-to-earth vibe. But sadly, it was short-lived and the popular joint closed in the summer of 2019. "This industry is tough and this wasn’t our turn," said Yang in a statement about the closure.
Alimentum, a fine dining spot in Cambridge, England, was praised for its striking dining room and top-quality food in its heyday but, sadly, the restaurant fell on hard times. In 2017, it lost the Michelin star it had held since 2012 and also reportedly received a gutting one-star food hygiene rating in 2018. Head chef Samira Effa, who took over in the restaurant's final year, spoke of the struggle to make the Alimentum "a profitable business" again and it eventually shut its doors in October 2018.
Pigs' head macaroni was the star dish at Acme, a hip restaurant held up for its Asian-Italian small plates and chic decor. The restaurant opened its doors in 2014 and had five solid years in the Sydney suburb of Rushcutters Bay, before the owners decided to call it a day in 2019. Co-owner Mitch Orr spoke of the highs and lows Acme had brought, and said it was simply time to move on to the next chapter.
Few restaurants are more legendary than this Greenwich Village bolthole which drew in celebrities and locals for more than four decades. Madonna and Anna Wintour were among the big names to grace Da Silvano's tables and eat from an innovative northern Italian menu packed with everything from whole grilled fish to meaty pasta mains. Much to the dismay of Da Silvano's fans, the restaurant was closed in 2016 – owner Silvano Marchetto put the closure down to ever-mounting operational costs.
An enduring favourite in London's Fitzrovia, Indian restaurant Gaylord racked up an impressive 53 years in England's capital. The restaurant focused on the Mughlai cuisine of Northern India, serving curried lamb dishes, veg-packed thalis and favourites such as chicken tikka masala. The venue was reportedly closed by the Food Standards Agency for a temporary period in 2017 but no reason has been given for its eventual permanent shuttering in 2019.
Magnus Nilsson is the latest world-class chef to hang up his apron, with the announcement that remote restaurant Fäviken Magasinet in Åre, Sweden will close by the end of 2019. The restaurant, set on a sprawling country estate, opened in 2008 and offers a creative 30-course tasting menu made from local, seasonal produce. Despite the spot's immense success, Nilsson has decided to leave the restaurant to focus on looking after himself and spending time with his family. With their star chef out, the proprieters decided it was time to close the restaurant for good.
London lost a cornerstone of its fine dining scene in April 2019 when Michelin-starred L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon closed its doors. The spot fell under the portfolio of decorated French chef Joël Robuchon – who sadly passed away in August 2018 – and whipped up fine French dishes, with the pommes purée especially loved by diners. No reason was given for the sudden closure of the restaurant which had been operating since 2006.
For a little over a decade, fine dining restaurant Le Moût was celebrated by critics and diners alike for its classic French dishes made with Taiwanese produce – dishes included scallops with wild balsam pear and fromage blanc. Pioneered by Taiwanese chef Lanshu Chen, the restaurant even made Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants list on more than one occasion. But, according to Chen, the pressure and "demands" of the restaurant became too much – Le Moût closed by the end of 2018.
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Top American chef Traci des Jardins ran her flagship restaurant – the trailblazing Jardinière in Hayes Valley, San Francisco – for more than two decades, and the venue was prized for its elegant French-style cuisine. Diners could expect classic dishes plated with flair, from halibut crudo to short rib with pommes purée, horseradish and consommé. In April 2017, Traci Des Jardins took the decision to close her much-loved restaurant. In an interview, she said that the restaurant was "healthy" but not "thriving" and explained her intent to explore new passions.