Launched by Lowe and business partner John Ogier in partnership with JKS Restaurants in 2014, the modern British restaurant holds a Michelin star and is currently listed on The World’s 50 Best Restaurants 51-100 list and Restaurant’s own list of the top 100 places to eat in the UK.
JKS Restaurants will retain the site for a new restaurant project, with more details set to be announced in due course.
Lyle’s - which celebrated its 10th birthday last year - is among the UK’s most influential restaurants having pioneered a produce-led approach to modern British cuisine.
Operating from a stripped back dining room in Shoreditch’s Tea Building, the restaurant is also notable for having eschewed much of the frippery of top end restaurants to provide high quality cooking at a relatively accessible price point.
Ogier stepped away from the restaurant in 2021.
“I couldn’t be prouder of everything that we’ve accomplished at Lyle’s over the last eleven years’” Lowe says.
“I love what we’ve done, how we’ve grown, adapted and learned. I want to say an enormous thank you to all members of the team past and present, it’s been a privilege to have worked with so many brilliant people.
“Lyle’s has also given me the opportunity to work with some of the best fishermen, artisanal producers and farmers in the UK. To evolve our food alongside them has been a journey that’s kept me inspired year after year.
“I’m looking forward to what comes next.”
JKS Restaurants co-founder and CEO Jyotin Sethi adds: “We are honoured to have partnered with James and been a part of Lyle’s incredible journey over the last 11 years. What James created at Lyle’s became a beacon of hospitality and an institution in modern British cooking.
“We are incredibly sad that this journey has come to end. We wish James the best of luck on his solo project and are excited to see what comes next for him.”
Chefs have taken to Instagram to express their shock at the news but to also praise the restaurant and its legacy. Elliot Hashtroudi, head chef at Camille described Lyle’s as ‘one of the most inspiring restaurants’ while Mountain and Brat’s Tomos Parry congratulated Lowe on ’11 great years and inspiring many chefs and restauranteurs (sic)’.
Jackson Boxer said that it ‘will always be the greatest restaurant in London’.
Lowe and the team say they are looking forward to welcoming guests for a ‘joyful last hurrah’ over the restaurant’s final few weeks.
The kitchen is serving a daily-changing menu featuring some of the Lyle’s signature dishes and a few fan favourites from over the years.
Guests can expect a set menu served in the evenings, with à la carte on offer at lunch.
Lyle’s last service will take place on Sunday 18 May.
More details for Lowe’s solo project will be revealed in due course.
