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South Kensington celebrity haunt La Brasserie shutters after 45 years

Upmarket South Kensington eatery, La Brasserie, has closed its doors after nearly half a century in business after feeling the pinch of mounting overheads and costs.

The restaurant, which counted the likes of Nigel Havers and Joan Collins as fans, has been operating at 272 Brompton Road for 45 years, helmed by owner Peter Godwin.

In a Facebook post, as reported by the Evening Standard, Godwin cited a hike in the venue’s rents and rising costs that the industry is facing generally as reasons behind the restaurant’s closure, hinting at the parlous state of many independent eateries across the capital.

Godwin claimed that the venue had ‘exhausted all possible options’ to remain open.

According to the Standard, the final nail in the coffin is speculated to have been a hike in the property’s rent by the landowner, with the Wellcome Trust listed as the freeholder on the property.

The closure hints at the growing costs and difficulties for small business and restaurants in the capital, set to be exacerbated by the impending business rates hike set to be implemented in April.

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